Woof Woof Wednesday

We're here to share our usual Wednesday thing. That is, here's yet another photo of pup Astrid pouting in her window.

Have a wonderful day, friends!

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Doodle of the Day

We're finally able to share one of our new bookish kitty doodles. I've been experimenting in my sketchbook with what different home libraries might look like, and I saw somewhere online a pretty bookshelf that I simply had to draw in one of my doodles. So, here it is.

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Tip of the Day

Do you have furbaby hair on your sofa? What about in your car? Surely not on your clothes? Our pet parenting life hack for today is to keep some rubber gloves on hand. Why? Because, aside from the more commonly used lint roller or piece of tape, rubber gloves can be a reusable tool for removing furbaby hair from surfaces such as sofas and car interiors. You just put on a rubber glove and run it over the hairy sofa or other surface. The rubber glove will help lift the hair from the surface, and the hair will instead stick to the glove. When you're done using the glove to remove furbaby hair from your furniture, one easy way to get said hair off of the glove is by submerging the glove in water. The hair will float off of the glove, and then you can dip the hair out of the water and toss it. So, if you're looking for a quick, easy, reusable tool for removing your furbaby's hair from your furniture, consider giving the rubber glove trick a try.

Tonks Tuesday

Hello and happy Tuesday! Here's a Tonks all curled up for you.

Tonks is wishing you all a terrific day!

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Doodle of the Day

As I mentioned yesterday, today I'm sharing with you the doodle I scribbled up for my dad for Father's Day. My dad is not only father to myself and my sister, but he's also a cat dad to 12 felines. He has more than a few ornery little kitties, and he loves them all very much. He caters to their every whim, even when they rip the curtains off the walls, and even when they refuse to clean their own bums and my dad has to chase them down with baby wipes.

This doodle very likely makes far more sense to those in my family than it does to you poor souls. But if you had ever seen my parents' victimized curtains, and if you had ever witnessed my dad chasing down his cats to check and clean their dirty butts, you'd get what this doodle really means.

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Tip of the Day

I was going through old posts the other day, trying to recall some of the older tips we've given in the past. My search found me a series of tips that we first shared in 2018, and which I'd completely forgotten about. It's a series of tips of life hacks for pet parents, especially cat parents, and I've decided to reshare them now just for the heck of it. I'd even forgotten about some of these pet parent hacks. These hacks may be all sorts of random, but we hope these might offer some pet parenting tips for saving money, saving space, saving time, and, of course, keeping your furbaby happy and healthy.

Today's hack is about those windows, which may or may not be open during the warm summer months. We're here today to ask if you know that there is window screen tape on the market. Did you know that? If you are in need of a quick or temporary fix for a torn window screen, especially if there is any chance that the window might be opened and a furbaby potentially escape, then perhaps look into having window screen tape on hand. This tape can be applied to a tear in a window screen, and is meant not only to hold it together, but is also made to look like part of the screen. Of course, this is likely not mean to be a permanent fix, and may not be able to hold up to a determined furbaby. It is of course still wise to only open windows when they are safe and when the furbaby is supervised, but it might not hurt to have window screen tape on hand in case an emergency quick fix is needed.

Mancat Monday

Hello, friends! After a weekend of major thunderstorms, power outages, and an internet modem frying up in said power outages, we've reached Monday. Talk about adding salt to the wound.

Really, though, happy Monday! Evan is here to be your majestic mancat for the day.

What a hunk, right? I sure think so.

We hope you all have a magnificent Monday!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

I already have a handful of the doodles done in our new bookish kitty series. They're just been sitting around, waiting to see the light of day, but my plans to start sharing them got derailed this weekend with the aforementioned power outages, deceased internet modems, and even a temporarily dead laptop. Since I had to wait to finish up this post until I could use the internet at my workplace, this post is going up so late in the morning that I decided to just go with a flashback doodle for today. So, here's another sort of bookish doodle from last summer.

Tomorrow I'll actually probably share the doodle I scribbled up for my dad for Father's Day. It stars a couple of his ornery kitties, of course. After that, we'll finally move on to the bookish doodles that have just been sitting around, impatiently waiting to be shared.

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Tip of the Day

Today's summer safety tip for strays and ferals relates to the trap-neuter-release (TNR) practice. TNR is crucial for keeping the feral cat population under control, as well as keeping individual ferals as safe and healthy as possible. This being said, always keep the weather and environment in mind when embarking on a TNR effort.

The summer heat can of course pose an extreme danger to cats being trapped. Potentially fatal overheating or heat stroke can occur if a cat is trapped and left sitting in the trap in the sun. In addition to this, traps are often made of metal, which means that if these traps are sitting on a hot surface, such as asphalt, the trap as well as the cat inside can overheat in this way as well. To combat such issues, try to trap and thereafter keep ferals in the shade. After they are trapped, do not leave the cats sitting out in the sun and heat, but instead transfer them somewhere cool as soon as possible. Also keep in mind the cats' safety when transporting them. For example, as you all surely know, the interior of a car can quickly become like a deadly oven in the summer months, so do not leave any animals, including trapped ferals, inside hot cars.

TNR is of course a very important practice for the safety and well-being of feral cats. That doesn't mean there aren't risks to the cats, though, and that includes the weather. So, if you are assisting in the significant task of trapping ferals, of course always ensure the cats' safety in all weather.

A Flashback Father's Day

We want to begin this post by wishing a Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Whether your children are the human sort or the furry and four-legged sort, dads help make this world go round.

The furbabies here don't have a human dad, but this here human has a dad. He is a wonderful father to me, my sister, and to all of his 12 kitties. He's also a fantastic Pawpaw to the kitties and pup here at my house.

My dad is a lifelong animal lover, and he's obviously one of the reasons I was blessed enough to grow up with cats, dogs, birds, and all sorts of furry, feather, and finned friends. He's also probably the main reason why there are so many cats at his house as well as my house, as he's responsible for bringing home a large majority of the cats in our lives. That all started with the litter of kittens that not only included my Thimble and our housemate Toby, but also my dad's boys Trapper and Talon.

In honor of Father's Day, the photo we're sharing today is the same fatherly flashback one we shared last year. It's from 7 years ago, to be exact. It stars my dad as well as a couple of tiny kittens named Thimble and Trapper.

I could not be more proud of my dad's kindness to animals, and I could not be more happy that he helped instill in me a love for animals. Thank you, Dad!

Oh, and thanks for being our grill master, Dad!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

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Did you know?

Today, we're going to share the same quick little piece of trivia we shared last Father's Day. It's a sweet little tidbit, and it's that some sources cite that male Siamese cats are the most likely feline fathers to express an interest in, or fondness towards, their kittens. As is the case with many species, most male cats don't display much interest in interacting with their kittens. As previously mentioned, though, some sources indicate that male Siamese cats are the most likely to break this mold, being the most likely to show affection toward their kittens.

Caturday Art

You know how when you're an adult in this 21st century, you're taught and should kind of just know to keep your electronic devices charged? Especially if you're expecting storms that might cause you to lose power? Well, this here grown adult straight up ignored that common sense. When my laptop's battery died yesterday, I didn't charge it. No siree, I did not. Then we lost power during a nasty storm with intense winds, and I've been waiting it out, but I'm still sitting here in the dark with nothing but my phone charged.

All that to say that today you're getting a bit of art you weren't supposed to get today. You're supposed to be seeing one of my new bookish kitty doodles, but said doodle is sitting on my laptop's hard drive. You know, the laptop that is currently dead because I let its battery die and now can't access any files on it because we have no power. I didn't even upload the doodle to my Google Drive let alone put it into a draft of this post, and I didn't transfer it to a flash drive, because that's the level of my adulting skills. So now today I've just decided to share a doodle I can access in my blog archive while using my phone, which I'm admittedly terrible at using to draft posts. This all sounds like a bunch of First World problems, though, doesn't it? Honestly, cry me a river.

Anyway. For today, how about a sort of bookish yet also just sort of weird and random tree house doodle from last summer?

I would love to have a tree house some day. I don't know if that's a weird thing to say or not, but I think a tree house office or getaway would be so quaint yet fun. Am I the only adult who thinks these sorts of things? 

Happy Caturday, friends!

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Tip of the Day

We have discussed in past tips the battle that sometimes rages between our furbabies' food and these little things known as ants. As we've all surely seen at some point, ants often flock to easily accessible sources of food. This means that our furbabies' food, which is often at ground level, can make for an easy target. This can be an especially tricky issue when it comes to feeding strays and ferals outdoors. There are, however, some potential solutions.

As we've mentioned in our past ant tips, you can try using chalk or tape to draw a square or circle around outdoor food bowls. Ants will often see this is as a barrier, and will therefore often be unable to make their way into the bowl. Another option is to use something such as baking soda to create a circle or square around the base of outdoor furbabies' food bowls, again so that ants will see this as a barrier and will leave the food alone. Yet another option is to create a moat that ants cannot cross. You can do this by setting strays' and ferals' food bowls in a low dish of water, so that the ants cannot get to the food through the water. Then again, there are also ant-proof bowls on the market. Some of these offer their own moat-like feature, or other features that help keep ants at bay.

So, if you are combating ants in food bowls that you put out for strays and ferals, perhaps do some research and try various options. The important thing is to ensure that whatever ant-proofing method you use does not deter or frighten the furbabies. It is not impossible to keep ants out of strays' and ferals' food, you simply have to use a method that does the job without affecting the furbabies' ability to eat.

Friendly Fill-Ins

Welcome to the Friday edition of, well, our blog! As always, we'll kick things off with the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. You are more than welcome to join in! My co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.


1. If I could trade places with someone for a day, I would trade with _________.

2. I would like to own a _________ someday.

3. I can't stand _________ this time of the year.

4. _________ is my favorite thing about this time of the year.

My answers are below in bold.

1. If I could trade places with someone for a day, I would trade with no one.

(I honestly did rack my brain for this one, but ultimately all I could think was that I just want to be me. I don't know if that sounds cheesy or not, but I don't spend much time thinking about how others live their own lives. Is that self-centered of me? Maybe it is, but I kind of just don't think about that sort of thing, and I like my life and where it's going, so I'll just stay in my own skin.)

2. I would like to own a log cabin in the woods someday.

(I had a couple of ideas for this one, but I decided to just go with this one. I wouldn't want to live freakishly far away from society, or where WiFi isn't a thing, but a little log cabin just inside the woods would be amazing, at least to me. Woods and forests are my favorite form of nature, and I find log cabins to be wonderfully quaint, so hence my answer.)

3. I can't stand the heat this time of the year.

(Perhaps I'm wrong, but I doubt I'll be the only person putting this as my answer today. Our high for today is 98°F. Send help. Better yet, send us a cold front. A really, really cold one.)

4. Eating s'mores is my favorite thing about this time of the year.
(This is probably one of the most random answers I could have put here, but I'm not a big fan of summer and so I had to dive deep into my brain for an answer. And this answer is completely true. My family always starts up our fire pit for holidays like Memorial Day and July 4th. Over said fire we make hamburgers, brats, and s'mores. Summer nights with the fire pit going is the only time I eat s'mores, and I love s'mores, so I had to put this for my answer.)

Now it's your turn!

To add your link to the Friendly Fill-Ins Linky list, just click HERE!

You can also click on the badge below to add your link.

You are also welcome to complete the fill-ins in the comments below,

or in the comments on Ellen's blog, 15andmeowing.

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Are you ready for your Eddy fix? You better believe we've got it for you.

Sadly, the windows have not been opened for quite a few days. I'm not interested in letting myself or my furbabies melt into a puddle.

Happy Friday, friends!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

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Tip of the Day

We're continuing on with our tips on summer safety for outdoor strays and ferals. Today we're moving on to the topic of food. When feeding furbabies outdoors, you of course have to take into consideration the heat of summer. Food can spoil in extreme heat, as you all surely know. Dry food is often the best one to feed strays and ferals on hot days. After all, moist food will spoil far more quickly, and will also quickly dry out in the sun and heat. You can try adding additional water to moist food to keep it from drying out too quickly, but even this method won't be able to combat the heat for long. No matter what type of food you feed to strays and ferals, do try to keep it in a shaded area or under a shaded shelter. What's more, remove old food and offer fresh food as often as is possible and needed.

It's also worth noting that though dry food is easier and safer to feed to outdoor cats in the heat, you still have to take precautions. Not only can dry food lose its freshness and safe status in the heat, but also think of instances such as rainy days. Dry food that gets wet will swell, become unappetizing, and can easily spoil if not cleaned up. So, when feeding dry or even moist food, of course keep in mind not only the heat, but other environmental factors such as rain. All in all, keep those strays and ferals healthy this summer with fresh food that is in the shade and protected from spoilage and other issues as best as possible.

Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

Happy Thursday! We're here to rhyme, which is easy to do thanks to Angel Sammy's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge.

I failed to finish my poem for last week's prompt, and so this week I tried to make my poem fit both last week's photo prompt as well as this week's photo prompt. Those two prompts are these images here:

Cutting right to the chase, here's the weird little poem I scribbled up to try to meld those two prompts together:

Matilda

Young Matilda had an errand to run.
It was going to be a great deal of fun,
But it was also, to her, a serious one.
It was a task that really just had to be done.

Her intended destination was neither near nor far,
And so Matilda jumped into her pink car.
It did not matter that she was a girl aged only 5,
Or that her car only traveled on the sidewalk at a height knee-high.

Her parents would not let her travel without a chaperone,
And so with her went her babysitter of a cat named Tyrone.
After some number of minutes driving in her plastic car,
Matilda and Tyrone arrived at their destination that was neither near nor far.

She parked in front of the brick building,
The front of it adorned with a sign that read LIBRARY.
"Come on, Tyrone," Matilda said as she walked to the entrance.
"Mom and Dad won't let me go inside with my babysitter present."

And so Matilda and Tyrone made their way inside,
The library offering the sight of books upon books to their eyes.
The little girl could not help but smile.
Who wouldn't be happy when presented with books spanning miles?

An old man of a librarian with a smile of his own appeared,
Saying, "Well, hello there! How can I help you, dear?"
Not one to waste time, Matilda cut right to the chase.
She said, "I need a book with a good story and a quick pace."

After a few more questions here and there from the old man,
Matilda further explained, "I'm here because I have a plan.
I have a little sister who is 1-year-old and named Jan.
The problem is that she never wants to sit and read.
But if she doesn't read, how will she succeed?"

"Ah, I see," the nice old librarian said.
He turned to face a certain bookshelf, nodding his head.
He added, "So you need a book that your baby sister will enjoy?
A book that will enthrall her more than even the most exciting toy?"

Matilda was glad the old man understood what she needed,
That he seemed keen on making sure she and her sister succeeded.
That is, until he brought out his choices,
Which caused Matilda to let out some startled noises.

"The Lorax?" she shrieked when he handed it over.
She added, "This book is about all sorts of sad horrors.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of good ol' Seuss,
But this will make my sister cry and feel quite blue."

And so the librarian handed her another option,
Which Matilda also approached with caution.
Frowning, she said, "The one where the poor little pig loses all of his friends?
Does the sadness and trauma have no end?"

As the librarian tried yet again to pick a book from his shelves,
Tyrone the babysitting cat trotted to his side, as if to help.
The librarian brought over another book, and it was bad.
Matilda said, "I want books to make my sister feel happy, not sad."
That was when Tyrone pawed a book off a shelf and slapped it across the floor,
Almost hard enough for it to fly right out the door

Picking up Tyrone's book choice with a smile,
Matilda thanked the old man, who she learned was named Giles.
She said, "For your time I want to thank you,
But now I must bid you farewell and say too-da-loo!"
Holding up the book in her hand, she said, "This one will do.
And so goodbye, for I'm off to read my sister Everyone Poops."

I'm not the only one who read the book Everyone Poops as a child, am I?

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Let's get right on with Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop now, shall we?

Today, Thimble is yet again grateful for the summer sunshine!

We sure do appreciate the sun, but we wouldn't mind if it didn't bring with it 90°F temperatures. We're melting over here.

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Now, how about the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge? My co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. If I could trade places with someone for a day, I would trade with _________.

2. I would like to own a _________ someday.

3. I can't stand _________ this time of the year.

4. _________ is my favorite thing about this time of the year.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

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Tip of the Day

The past couple tips in our summer safety tips for strays and ferals have been all about water. Guess what? Today's tip is about water as well. Since water is such a crucial aspect of survival, especially in the heat of summer, we thought we'd give it one last hoorah. Today, we're specifically talking about water bowls.

Water bowl preference can of course play a part in any cat's life. We've talked before about whisker fatigue, for example, and how this often causes cats to prefer wider bowls, as these won't cause them to bump their whiskers while getting a drink. That being said, though, when it comes to offering water outdoors in the heat, keep in mind how the shape and size of the water bowl can play a part. For example, did you know that evaporation happens more rapidly when water has a large surface area? This is why water in wide, shallow bowls will evaporate relatively quickly in the heat. To combat this, try to offer water in bowls that are narrower and deeper. Of course, do try to ensure that the bowl is not so narrow that it makes drinking impossible or difficult, but also try to ensure that a bowl has a decent chance of combating evaporation.

In addition, consider the material out of which the bowl is made. This one can be a bit tough when it comes to offering water to strays and ferals to hot and sunny days. We've talked before about how stainless steel bowls are often a good choice over plastic bowls, since plastic bowls can get scratched and thereby more easily harbor microbes. But, as you all surely know, metallic surfaces can get pretty darn hot in the summer heat. Especially if a bowl is in the sun or on a hot surface, a metallic bowl might not only cause the water to become uncomfortably warm, but the bowl itself might also become painfully hot to the touch. This is best prevented if the bowl is placed in a cool, shaded area. You can also, if possible and safe, try using sturdy glassware as outdoor bowls. This is of course only reasonable if breakage is unlikely to occur, though, as broken glass is indeed a danger.

In short, take anything and everything possible into consideration when trying to help strays and ferals remain safe in the summer heat. This does indeed include their water bowls. Aim for bowls that will prevent rapid evaporation, but that will also be easy and safe out of which to drink.