It's an old argument, between those that don't see the point of bringing up old threads and those who don't have a problem with it. I am in the camp of not having a problem with it. Also I'd like to point out, that Houzz often places links to these old threads next to current threads and people click on them without realizing how old they are. That being said, I have to agree with GGal on the subject of natives. I was an organic garden 40 years ago, when few people knew what organic gardening was all about. Protecting, supporting and nurturing the ecology of your little garden corner of the world. And going along those lines, I also became very interested in growing native and started to buy a lot of them. 20 years Later, I still have many natives in my garden that have performed well, but I also have replaced or lost many others. Including two types of native trees that were expensive to lose. So my own personal experience supports each point that GGal made. It must be exciting to discover all the benefits that native plantings have in the wild and quite a project to devote yourself to replace everything in your garden with all natives. I would find it interesting to follow along with your progress and see how it all works out, so I hope you share your experiences in the forums. But… these statements that you made, provoke conflict. “…there is way better beneficial native shrubs that will offer pollen, nectar, sometimes fruits or seeds and can be a host plant for moths and butterflies which will feed baby birds.” Implying that non-native plants do not? “I could suggest some species but I need your state, it’s always better to plant for your region.” “Our pollinators and wildlife needs us, better add beneficial plants.” You sound like you are ready to set up your own seminar on natives right here in the forums and you are all ready to help us uninformed gardeners to get on board. Evidently you believe that you are doing the right thing for pollinators and wildlife and if we are not doing what you are doing then we are not. To say that ‘natives will ALWAYS be more beneficial in general’ That statement has been proven to be untrue by a number of people in these forum including myself. That’s a fact, not an opinion. We all want to support pollinators, but a native plant that won’t grow in your garden, does nothing for anyone. And there are many non native plants that provide what pollinators need. I’m always interested to hear about a new plant that someone is in love with and why. So any time you want to share how happy a plant is making you….do that. If you would just leave out the rest, it would be appreciated.

I too have had a bad experience with a product sold to me by Build Direct. It is from Yanchi Stained Horizontal Handscraped Collection, color: Appleton Cinnamon #1, Dimensions: 960X132X15MM, SKU:#10088121, Made in China. SHIPMENT WAS DELIVERED ON 03/31/14 . It sat for more then two weeks to acclimate to the house. After it was installed and the house was complete we noticed that after a damp cloth laid on it for less then 5 mins. it started forming a white stain that would not go away. We also noticed that it scratched very easily. When we got the on line Brochure it stated that it would wear like stone. This turned out to be untrue. We contacted Build Direct immediately. Over time we told them we would except a floor being sanded down and re-finished even though we will loose the hand scraped finish. We got two estimates As per Build Direct. They came back and said they would only pay half of the lower estimate because the warranty did not cover moisture.(I should have seen the rest coming) They had us pick an inspector from their list of certified wood flooring inspectors. They claim the inspector said it was due to excessive moisture. I have yet to see this report. This has been going on for over a year and a half. I think they think I am just going to go away. The story continues. I guess this is just an other bad review hidden on the internet somewhere. Poor Chinese building products surface again.

camarogirl219, I am so very sorry for your loss. That's a lot of years for you to pack into a single goodbye, I know. My heart aches for you and Daisy, who must be traumatized and disoriented by the loss of her bud. I suspect that the addition of a new feline might be a difficult adjustment for her, but I do think it would be best for her in the long run. I would NOT, however, recommend adopting a male feline UNLESS you find an older adult who is known to be laid back and to live peacefully with other cats. Male kittens and young adults tend to be VERY rowdy, demanding, and rough and relentless in their play. I think that might be completely overwhelming for Daisy. But an older, mellow, well socialized boy might make a wonderful companion for her after the initial adjustment period. A young female kitten might also be a good choice of companion, as they don't tend to be nearly as overwhelming as males. And Daisy might find it easier to accept a young kitten, since she will not see the kitten as either a territorial or physical threat. An adult female probably isn't the best choice, though, as they tend not to bond with other adult females with whom they have not been raised. That's my experience after having integrated many felines of both genders and all ages into my household over the decades. I wish you a peaceful grief and happy future with Daisy et al. Laurie

Our kitty started displaying symptoms of IBD at less than two years old, and it took a year of diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, and constant vet visits to figure it out. I remember how frustrating it was - how sometimes he'd pee or poop just outside of the litter box, and we couldn't help but feel it was to spite us somehow. Now we know better, and that he truly couldn't help it and was really sick. Any out-of-litterbox activity from him is now an immediate sign that something is off, and we need to switch his diet. Hubs and I started him on a new diet as well as steroids asap, and that did the trick. It took a while to find foods he was ok with - you have to test each meat type for a few weeks to see if there's a reaction. Lamb and Venison are the only two so far that he doesn't react to - rabbit and duck seemed ok at first, but gunked him up after a few weeks. After 8 months we weaned him off the steroids (slowly!) per a new vet's recommendation since he's such a young cat. His energy is back, he's gained weight back up to a healthy level (it took forever though), and he's his old self again. The diet that I found to be effective for him is a mix of: organic canned pumpkin for fiber feline antioxidants - I use Ark Naturals NuPet Cat Antioxidant Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Lamb OR Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea - I usually vary them morning and evening feline probiotics/prebiotics/enzymes sprinkled on top, not mixed in. I use Wholistics Pet Organics Feline Digest-All Plus Supplement. At the beginning, I would also mix in a little Rad Cat Raw Diet to get him to eat more since I was so worried about his weight. Hope this helps! It seems expensive at first to go the wet food route, but it's so much less expensive than vet visits and meds. It's also worth it to see him happy and healthy again!