Friday, January 31, 2014

Some days you feel like a phony


And yesterday was just such a day.. 

I am a cat owner.  I own seven cats that all generally get along. I take a small measurement of pride in that people who come into my house do not automatically think I have a multitude of cats. I also take a small measure of pride in that my cats all seem to get along.  Occasionally Jack and Kit get into a snit with one another and squabble to the point where I feel the need intervene, but it is rare.  Occasionally Twee won't understand when the other cats tell her no when she wants to play with them and she gets beaten up.. 


But now that Jack is dealing with what ever it is that is bothering him and he is peeing in the bathrooms (yes, he is under the care of a vet) He did it a couple of days ago, then sometime yesterday so that I noticed it before I went to work, and then again before I got home from work.  It breaks my heart to know he is obviously not feeling well.  I mean I hate cleaning up cat urine as much as the next person, but I know full well it is not his choice.  I know what 'fixes' urinary issues in cats, as we 'fixed' Eli and had Jack 'fixed' for years, but what ever is going on with him is beyond my understanding, and I hate feeling so helpless.. 

Then, after sitting in the living room with my husband having our 'we got home from work' chat, I see this.. 

 
Now you very well may be asking "Connie, what on earth am I looking at".. yeah, sorry about that.  Twee was not all that amused at sharing this little mishap.  See.. this is her rear end.  If it was Jack's rear, I am sure I could have gotten him to lay down and spread 'em and gotten all the kittyporn shots necessary, but Twee is a little difficult.  She doesn't like to be put on her back *AT ALL* and she is even less inclined to let me take the camera to her private areas..   So lets edit that photo a wee bit.. 


Yes, the red arrow is pointing out Twee's anus. So apparently someone bit her on the butt and she over-groomed the entire area and that reddish patch south of her anus by about an inch is a scab. With the help of my husband I was able to examine it pretty well and it didn't feel hot or even overly warm.  It wasn't overly sensitive so I am pretty sure we avoided an abscess - but don't think I'm not going to keep a close eye on it. I put a little coconut oil on it to help aid healing so hopefully this is really nothing.. 

But really, just when you think you get a handle on things, and you start thinking you've got this thing down cats have this way of just knocking you on your tushie and making you feel a bit like.. 


I share to remind you (and me) that we are all human. Things happen and even if they all happen at once and you feel like... well for me it was a phony, but you might choose a different word... you shouldn't let it all get you down.  Pick yourself back up, go up there and get your award continue on.. 

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Thankful Thursday


So the other night Eli climbed up on my husband's lap.. While this is becoming his new norm, after going through 8 years of his not letting us touch him voluntarily, and 2 years of his tolerating us touching him with some reservation..  Well each time he does this we are thankful that he has finally come to accept we are not going to intentionally hurt him.


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Tweedle Tuesday



Tweedle might not be the shiniest crinkle ball in the pack, but that girl knows how to find herself a really comfy spot to sleep.  She is on a 'sherpa' blanket (both sides - it is wicked soft) on top of a pillow..

Saturday, January 25, 2014

My first Caturday Art Hop


So last week I saw on atonkstail.com there was a new blog hop involving art.. I wanted to participate but I wasn't feeling very creative. The week passed and I still hadn't gotten creative so when this morning showed up and I saw that it was once again upon me I was feeling a little bummed... until I remembered this..


The above was made by my kitty Muffin via an app on my Kindle called Flowpaper (also available on iTunes).  We had a lot of fun when I first discovered it making a few of these, but then her interest waned and I mostly forgot about it until I remembered the bloghop.. I am proud to share it with you now.

Hopefully before the next hop comes around I'll have something else to share with you :)

Friday, January 24, 2014

Former Foster Friday - Miles and Treads


I do not know how Anne does it, but when ever I start waxing nostalgic for my little Peanut, she sends me a photo of her handsome boy Treads..


I adore that he is still doing so well when he started life out so close to the rainbow bridge..

I also adore his brother Miles.. and the fact that he still has such a goofy face.. :)



Thank you Ann.  These two hold a very special place in my heart.. and you always will as well for continuing to share them with me.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

PetBox and The Crew - sponsored post


On New Years Eve, @Blogpaws and @PetBox had a twitter party and gave away a LOT of PetBoxes. There were a significantly more dog boxes given away vs cat boxes, so I attempted to win a dog box just looking to win something, figuring I might be able to either find something that would work for me, or I could find something that work for one of my bipetual friends, or I could do a give away, or I could donate it to my local shelter.. Well as my luck goes, I won, and I won a dog box.

A few days later I was asked to submit my information, and I explained my situation in form, and I was contacted and told that they would be sending me a cat box instead - YAY!!

A few days after that I was contacted by Lilli Lovberg at PetBox asking me if I might like a free box to review. Having seven cats, and gobs of fosters, I agreed. Two boxes would be better than one. This review is because of Lilli. I was under no obligation to review the box I won.

A few days later a box showed up at my door right as I was leaving for work. I put it on the counter and left for work. It wasn't in the house but two minutes when this happened.


She was CONSTANTLY on this box. I mean if I could see this box, it looked exactly like this. Two days later another box showed up moments before I headed out to work. I put it next to the first box, and said to Fleurp "now you have two so you can choose".. to which she responded..


and once again she was constantly on them. She was a bit obsessed, so I figured I'd wait her out... eventually she'd be somewhere else.. well the other day when I was getting ready to go to work I saw this..


OK fine, I got the hint.. I'd break into the boxes and see what we received.

One nice thing about PetBox is that you can get to pick what is in the boxes or you can choose to have them send you items they picked. I was not given an option, I simply got a box so I had no idea what was in them which made it kind of fun.


At this point I wanted to open the second box to see if I got the same thing in both (I did but the brand of catnip was different. It was Sojo's in the first and Kong in the second) I tried to make nice with Fleurp.. but as you can see above and which I did not really see when I took the photo, she looked like she was totally not willing to make nice with me or surrender the box. Well it wasn't just looks. She actually nipped at me when I tried to remove her from it!! She was going to protect that box as it was very much hers!! (I did kick her off and I peeked in the box and then closed it back up for her. I normally don't put up with such insolence, and I should have taken both boxes and removed them from the room, but darn it if it wasn't just a little bit cute)

So I went back to investigating the items we got. The treats were off limits because of Jack.. Catnip is catnip, and we have a catnip nanner and that is loved, so that was a nice treat. I figured the rattan balls were going to be completely ignored. I had no idea how they would react to the SuperCat catnip caves, and I had always been quite curious about the cat shaped rubber brush from Kong so I tried it out on Muffin - who I almost never get hair off of when I brush her, but she's been having hairballs lately. The first few strokes produced nothing, the next few gave me a nice bit of hair.. I intend to keep that by my bedside as she seemed to really like it when I used it and every piece of fur I get off her is one more she doesn't have to try to digest.


So yes, I was totally wrong about those rattan balls.. :) It is nice to be pleasantly surprised. The "cat cave" is about the same size as a regular grocery bag, but a regular bag is about half an inch to an inch wide and no handles to worry about.

Boiled down.. the good, the products were all well received. The box is ADORED.. I don't think I've had a box in this house they've so overly loved like this. It is well packed, and there is one small piece of tape (huge bonus points from me for ease of opening, and not wrapping the whole darn thing up with tape - I really hate excessive tape) They also do regular donations to help feed rescue animals, which is always nice.

The not so good.. well I'm not a fan of the website. You can not see the products they are offering until you sign up with them and give them your email address. I know a lot of websites work like this, and I don't like them all... it is a personal thing. I would like to know what is being offered before I give up personal information. Since they already had it I signed up and surfed through the products to see. Another issue I had with the website is their really really large header/banner. It is really nice looking, but it takes up the entire screen and it is the same banner on each page so when you click on a link the page does change but you can not tell because as I said, that banner takes up the entire page. It makes sense on the 'landing page' as well as the sign up page, after that they really should either make it much smaller or eliminate it all together so you do not have to scroll past it each time.

For you bipetual people, they offer both cat boxes and dog boxes, but at this point in time they do not offer a cat/dog box. This means you can either pick cat items or you can pick dog items, but not both. While there is some cross over items in the list of cat vs dog (I know, I pretended I had a dog to look at them) but not much. Yup, pretty small petty negatives.. but I do like to include them so you get a full picture of my experience with a product.

They wanted me to include their blurb about their product..


PetBox is more than just a monthly delivery service that introduces its members to fun and healthy new pet products every month. Instead, they have decided to go the extra mile and personalize each member's monthly subscription by providing a better user experience that allows members to pack their own PetBox each month with products and supplies that actually make the most sense for their furry friends. The PetBox pet experts scour the planet looking for only the best products to offer its members. You won't find thousands of products to choose from, rather only products that make your furry friend's life more healthy and enjoyable.

Now, the cost.. If you want just one box to try it out it is $39.99 (shipping included) The more you are willing to commit to the lower the price drops. Lilli did offer my readers a 20% discount if you use the code "KITTYBLOG20" You get six "credits" per box, and most items are worth one credit so you can get six of those in your box, but some are two or more. But you do get to choose. (or not if you want a surprise they'll surprise you). The products change every couple of months, so you should be able to find things to choose from that aren't the same things you just got if you decide to sign up for a monthly subscription.

All and all six paws up and a big thumbs up from me.  Tweedle declined to participate, because well frankly she isn't a joiner.. and new things just kind of really bug her, so I never push trial things on her..


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

My trip to Kansas. Day Four



This day started like every other.. with Amy's cats waiting for me to come up from the basement. I don't know why this amused me, but it totally did.

We took NAC Yaz out for a run in the back yard.


and Amy took me out to the area of her yard that she has set aside as a memorial for Sebastian
.

Our plans for this day was a tour around the Hallmark headquarters that Lisa works at and then a meeting up with some women who volunteer at the local shelters to watch "The Paw Project". We drove down to Crown Plaza, a shopping mall which is part of the Hallmark complex and then went to the Hallmark Visitors Center. It was really nice to have someone who knows so much of the history of Hallmark being the guide.

In the Mall.
Did you really think I'd get through a trip to Kansas with out a Dorothy reference?
Lisa's office and two of her many many awards
We then went out for lunch.. it was yummy.  We did a little shopping where I picked up a few souvenirs and gifts


We then headed over to Lisa's house to watch the show.. and I fell in love with her kitties all over again


and then we went back to Amy's where I fell in love all over again with Harvey and Lowenstein.. (yup, I'm so fickle)



The next day was a pure travel day.. Despite a big storm brewing over home, there were no delays and I got home at a decent hour. Of course as soon as I got off the plane we went right over to the e-clinic to pick Jack up and bring him home. In the short time we were there the truck got completely covered with snow, and the drive home was a little tricky.

I am totally scared to leave home again, as I can not help but wonder if the stress of my leaving caused problems with Jack causing him such trouble. If I weren't so afraid, I would totally visit Amy and Lisa again in a heart beat - not that I have been invited.  They were so warm and gracious and it was an absolute blessing to be there. I have bought a ticket to Barkworld this October and look forward to meeting up with both of them there - that is if I can get over my fear of leaving Jack..
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...