NEW YORK — It’s early in the morning and Buddy the Cat is wide awake, meowing insistently for breakfast.
The tabby cat’s familiar muscular physique has wasted away, replaced by a gaunt, sickly appearance. Squint and you can almost make out his ribs, while his coat — normally silky and glowing — is now coarse and dull.
After a few minutes Buddy gives up and collapses with a sigh, resigning himself to the same tasteless kibble and unsatisfying salmon, chicken, beef and tuna wet food he’s been eating for weeks.
“I haven’t had a morsel of turkey since Oct. 6,” Buddy said mournfully. “If I don’t get turkey soon, I’m not sure I’ll make it.”
With demand outpacing supply, logistical gridlock in the shipping industry and the country suffering from inflation levels not seen in decades, Americans are finding it more difficult to find and afford the foods they need.
Turkey has been especially scarce, leaving families bereft of the bird with Thanksgiving approaching, but perhaps no one has suffered more than Buddy the Cat, who normally subsists almost entirely on turkey.
“Our forecasts show things are not going to improve even after Thanksgiving,” said James McCann, a supply chain analyst and economist at Boston University. “That’s bad news for American families and the larger economy, but it’s terrible news for Buddy the Cat.”
Buddy’s hopes were further dashed on Thursday when his human servant logged onto Chewy.com and found his favorite brands of wet turkey on back order.
Pet food manufacturers have been “working hard to make sure America’s pets are getting the nutrition they need,” said Jan Schroeder, communications director for the National Association of Yums.
“We realize this has been hard on cats, especially Buddy,” Schroeder said. “The situation is urgent, and Buddy needs his turkey. That’s why we’ve asked suppliers to expedite shipments of the good stuff, particularly to Buddy’s home state of New York.”
But suppliers may not realize how dire things really are. Back in New York, Buddy’s once-loud meow has become a scratchy mew as his body reacts to the lack of turkey.
“Can’t…survive…much longer,” Buddy said as he was forced to eat Blue Buffalo chicken treats and moist salmon Bursts. “Need…turkey. When will…this nightmare…be over?”
Pain In The Bud 
Funny! I’m using Blue Buffalo threats to wean the cats off Temptations … results are, shall we say mixed.
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That’s what I used to get little man off the Temps 🙂 He likes them and he doesn’t act like a crack addict with them, which he totally did with the Temptations. Which treats are you using? Kitty Cravings look just like Temps, and there’s another kind called Bursts that are very similar as well.
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I’m using Blue Buffalo Bursts because that’s the only high end brand available locally. The cats like them, if not as well as the Temptations.
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Oh, so you shop at Chewy.com too? I ❤ that company.
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I really like them too. They’re even more crucial now that it’s much more difficult to find the stuff Bud likes in local stores, but they did have his precious turkey on backorder at one point.
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So sad for Buddy! Surely one of his many contacts on the street can get him some bootleg turkey?
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Yep, he’s gonna have to go back to his criminal roots and get some of that black market turkey! Jokes aside, he had his first turkey in weeks yesterday and cleaned the bowl. I mean CLEANED it. Not a morsel left lol.
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❤BUDDY…..IF I HAVE TOO I’LL GIVE MY 12 LB. TURKEY OUT OF THE FREEZER ,DAM MY FAMILY…LET THEM EAT McDonald’s
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Let them eat cake! Buddy greatly appreciates the sentiment, Eiko. May the turkey be with you and may it always be delicious!
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I Hope an PRAY To GOD* The WORLD* NEVER Runs Out Of CAT FOOD* AND That It Never Runs Out Of PEOPLE 😏 Food* The PEOPLE THAT RUN The World Can MAKE The Whole WORLD 🙌 GO UNDER* THAT PEOPLE Will Be KILLING For FOOD* The Bad VIRUS An Everything* PEOPLE Are Going CRAZY In The World* The Prices Are Going Up Up Up* While Our Law Makers Get Rich The World is Going Under* How Much 💰 Money Do These Rich LAW MAKERS WANT. If The World Goes UNDER* WHAT Will All There MONEY Do For Them. PEOPLE Are Out Of Work an The Food an Things Cost To Much Money. That’s Why There Are SOO Many Robbings an Killings Going on in the WORLD. The Law Makers Are Not For The People* There All For The MONEY* They Should Watch Who THEY Put in High OFFICE** We Need Big CHANGES in This WORLD 🙌 Before IT’S To Late. YES* THANK YOU**
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Did You OK My Message* I Don’t See it. Can you Let Me No. Thank YOU
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THANK YOU** I See My Message*
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