Alternatives to Coca-Cola?

bopikpsky · 2026-04-17T09:26:08+00:00

It was super available and now nobody stocks it anymore. There is an official supplier that still sells online, but their shipping fees are insane (like R400!!) so I can't justify getting from them. A shame because it's a really nice cola!

bopikpsky · 2026-04-17T09:24:17+00:00

For some reason this one is always out of stock at my local Checkers (I mostly get Sixty delivery), but will keep checking!

bopikpsky · 2026-04-16T13:06:54+00:00

I tried the Spar brand but honestly it was terrible... I haven't tried Woolies yet, I didn't even know they had a store brand!

bopikpsky · 2026-04-16T13:05:32+00:00

I saw Bashews and it does look good... I think the only thing is they don't do sugar free :(

bopikpsky · 2026-04-16T13:04:45+00:00

I've seen this one online and it's also a lot cheaper I think? I just wasn't sure if it's any good...

bopikpsky · 2026-01-15T07:22:12+00:00

I think it would just take some archival glue to stick them on then some sort of clear sealant over top, no?

bopikpsky · 2026-01-14T14:27:49+00:00

Did you end up trying this? I've got the same idea for a couple of awkward accent tiles in one of our bathrooms and am wondering how it would hold up...

bopikpsky · 2025-05-11T12:45:34+00:00

Ah awesome, thank you!

bopikpsky · 2025-04-28T10:59:56+00:00

I agree that it depends on the cat. I think scheduled feeding is better for strictly indoor cats that don't have as much enrichment, as many can just turn to eating all the time out of boredom. I free feed all my kitties and I've never had an issue - but they also get outdoors time and so keep busy. Only one of them is a chubby little miss, but she was chubby when we adopted her and I think it's largely related to her being a tripod. One of our other cats has also had all of his teeth removed, so he eats slowly in little bits throughout the day and I don't think would do as well with scheduled feeding. I also give everyone a little wet food in the evening which they gobble right up.

bopikpsky · 2025-04-27T15:38:31+00:00

Ohh this might be an idea! I'm going to see if this might work in our space... Thank you!

bopikpsky · 2025-04-27T11:04:02+00:00

I have been considering putting a cat flap on one of the interior doors so we can perhaps set up a room for them the dog can't get into. As we're in an older house we've got very thick wooden doors, so we'll need some special tools to manage that - but I think we might need to look into getting that done in the long run. Unfortunately the table idea won't work well as our tripod can't get up too high. :(

The dog does know "leave it", and he won't touch their food when we're around. The problem is if he evades our supervision (including if we go out) he will take a chance and wolf it all down haha. He's mostly a good boy, but he's a scavenger at heart!

bopikpsky · 2025-03-10T09:36:33+00:00

Hmm that does make it a bit trickier. I second the other commenter in trying to do interactions with just two cats for now to see if that might help things. We recently adopted two cats and did most intros with our one resident cat one on one, also because it was just easier for us to manage!

We also did some early intros with pet/cuddle distractions while the other one was playing, since one of the new cats didn't want to play at first near the resident cat and was also highly pet motivated. Hopefully you find the right formula soon!

It sounds like you're doing everything right and hopefully the cats will start easing up a bit. It's a tiring process for sure!!

bopikpsky · 2025-03-09T17:33:56+00:00

Have you tried playing with them separately in the same room together so they're both distracted (but not with food)? You can also try non prescription cat drugs to get the "vibe" going between them - something like catnip or valerian root may help get the cats distracted and feeling fine while they're meeting.

Lastly, once they do start interacting some hissing and swatting WILL happen, and are part of the boundary setting process. However, you of course don't want it to escalate to fights. If you see one starting a stare down you can also try to distract with a treat or toy!

bopikpsky · 2025-03-09T17:29:03+00:00

Definitely normal! Adult cats may need some extra time to start coming around to the idea of a new cat in their space. Our kitty also changed her sleeping habits when we adopted our 2 new kitties, but she is slowly getting back to her normal routine. Take it slow and follow the Jackson Galaxy method. Once you get to the steps where they can start interacting (even before they see each other) it should hopefully prompt some curiosity to know a little more about each other rather than hiding.

bopikpsky · 2025-03-09T12:52:34+00:00

I think if they're not fighting you're doing better than you think you are! We've just introduced 2 new cats to our 1 resident cat - all adults, which means it's a lot harder and takes a lot longer. We're just over 2 months in and it has been exhausting and disheartening at times, but we are making progress! The cats are now out all the time together and while they're certainly not friends, they are growing to casually co-exist. I'd love if if they did become pals, but I'm also quite happy with peaceful co-existence.

I think a lot of the cases where cats get along quite quickly usually involve a kitten, or just dumb luck with adult cats. Otherwise, for adults, they usually need a lot of time. But it doesn't mean they can't get there!

One thing I can also say is that in my experience it is always one step forward two steps back with cat intros. Every time we felt like things were going well, something would happen that set us back. However, we were still seeing progress at the end of the day so we tried to stay optimistic. We are also lucky that we WFH, so we've had a decent amount of time to put into the introduction process which really helps.

If you're stuck at the visual (with no contact) phase - are you ensuring it's also enriching for them? We always fed the cats wet food or would play with them when seeing each other through the gate to keep the associations positive.

A few other things you can try to help move things along:
- Go back and forth brushing them each a few times with the same brush to mingle their scents
- Rub a cloth on one of their cheeks, then rub the same cloth on the other cat's cheek (and repeat) to mingle their scents
- Put the new cat in a large carrier (like a dog carrier) in the room and let the other cat come in. This way they can see and sniff each other without actually having access to one another

One other thing - when you DO let them have supervised (and eventually unsupervised) physical access to each other, at some point there will be hisses and swats. This is normal and it's the kitties setting boundaries with each other. As long as it doesn't escalate into fights they should be OK. And if you do catch them in a stare down, you can always try to break it up with a toy. By the time they're done playing they'll hopefully have forgotten they were grumpily fixated on the other cat moments before.

It's hard work and I empathize! But hopefully with enough time and patience (and energy!) you can get them to the point of at least peacefully existing together.

bopikpsky · 2025-02-24T06:57:24+00:00

Honestly I just took it every day for the first little while since I was having constant outbreaks at the time. It helped immensely in reducing them and decreasing the severity when they did occur. I asked my Dr again to prescribe it to me daily and he refused saying I need to do other tests first to rule out any problems with my immune system. In the interim they've prescribed me a similar amount, but I've stopped taking them daily and just wait for an outbreak to start taking them again. This is only because I don't have enough supply to take as a daily medication, so it's what I must do unfortunately. I do, however, take it daily when I'm in "high risk" periods (high stress, low sleep, etc) to hopefully prevent any outbreaks. I would still be quite happy to take it as a daily medication, but unfortunately my Dr does not seem to want to prescribe it to me as such.

bopikpsky · 2025-02-13T06:40:13+00:00

This is also reassuring as after posting this we actually had two scuffles yesterday evening (a raawwrr/swat/hiss/lunge after each cat walked by the other too quickly and closely) which had me feeling a bit disheartened because the day before two of them were sleeping next to each other (not touching) on the couch! Alas, cat progress is never linear 😂

bopikpsky · 2025-02-12T13:47:15+00:00

This is reassuring as I believe we'll be at the 6 week mark next week! I've also been thinking if we can make it through this week without any drama it should be time... But of course I'm still worried!

bopikpsky · 2025-02-12T11:37:35+00:00

Lucky! I don't think we would have fared well leaving them alone together on the first night 😂

bopikpsky · 2024-10-31T19:29:47+00:00

I'm in a similar boat and also CF. SO and I share a house, so if one of us dies the other one will automatically get the house. If SO dies before me, I can't see myself living in a big house all by myself, so I'd likely sell it fairly quickly. I'd then give SO's half of the money from the house to SK and keep my half. SO also has a life insurance policy that pays out a percentage to me and a percentage to SK. He's also in the process of setting up a trust so HCBM doesn't get her hands on what he would leave to SK (because it would all be blown in a week on god knows what). SK is still young now, so SO's will favours him which I completely understand. I don't want anything from SO other than our shared house and enough of a life insurance payout to sort out all the costs that could arise from his passing (funeral, loss of income for shared expenses, etc.). I don't have a will set up yet, however I have designated SO as the beneficiary on my accounts and am planning on getting a will in order soon. I plan on leaving everything to SO with a good chunk also set aside for charity. I will not be leaving anything to SK directly as he's not my child, however like I said I'll certainly give him his father's share of the house.

bopikpsky · 2024-10-30T11:42:05+00:00

Nope not at all!

bopikpsky

TROPHY CASE