Mancat Monday with Megacolon and a Nap

It's Mancat Monday, and Evan is recovering after a rough weekend with his megacolon. We finally got all of that resolved, though, and he's feeling much better now. Though, he is a bit tired.

Behind Evan there is one of our Halloween decorations that's still out, as I haven't yet parted with the spooky season inside my house. But, Mother Nature is ready to move on, as she gave us 2" of snow overnight.

Evan and all of us here send you warm wishes!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

Today's flashback doodle is in honor of something I'm really trying to focus on and accomplish this month. November is known as National Novel Writing Month, and so there are a variety of writing challenges going on. As someone who loves to write and always has writing projects in the works, and who would love to publish some of those some day, I always try to write more than usual in the month of November. It often doesn't go well, but I always try. It might have been last November that I scribbled up this doodle, which shows some of my personal essentials when writing.

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Tip of the Day

From now through Thanksgiving Day here in the US, we're going to give some tips on food safety. After all, Thanksgiving is a time when we humans tend to indulge in all sorts of tasty foods. That being said, though, some of those foods are not ideal or safe for our kitties or pups to eat. We've given many tips like these over time, but this seems like the perfect season to repeat some of them.

Let's start with the obvious foods that most of you likely already know to be dangerous. For example, foods in the Allium species, such as onion and garlic, can be dangerous to cats and dogs. Be careful to keep those out of reach when cooking with them, and of course keep out of your furbaby's reach any foods that contain them. What are some of the other obvious ones? Grapes and raisins, such as if you have a fruit dish set out or if you've made a dessert with raisins, should be kept away from your kitty or pup. And don't forget the toxicity that chocolate and alcohol can pose to cats and dogs. Many tasty foods find their way to the table for Thanksgiving, but some of them are dangerous to our kitties and pups. Always be aware of that, and plan your menu, food placement, and general kitchen safety protocols accordingly.

Friendly Fill-Ins and Eddy's Festive Wait

Hello, friends! We're ready for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, and we'd love for you to join us. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.

1. My November to do list includes _________ and _________.

2. I find the song _________ annoying.

3. Currently, I'm ahead on _________ but behind on _________.

4. I'm unbeatable at _________.


My answers are below in bold.

1. My November to do list includes pumpkin baking and Christmas art.
(I bake lots of pumpkin goodies in November. Who doesn't? I always at the very least make pumpkin pie and pumpkin cookies, usually more than once. I also often scribble up lots of Christmas drawings this month. See more on that in #3 below.)

2. I find the song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" annoying.
(I didn't used to dislike this song, especially some of the covers I used to enjoy. But now it's just, well, everywhere. And there are so many online jokes of it being played early to kick Halloween out of the lineup, and that just makes me sad. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and Christmas music, but I'm more into the true classics that aren't forced on you well before Halloween.)

3. Currently, I'm ahead on Christmas shopping but behind on Christmas drawings.

(I'm over halfway done with Christmas shopping and plan to be done in the next week or two. But, I haven't even started my drawing for our Christmas card, let alone any other festive doodles I want to get ahead on. I really hope to get started on those this weekend.)

4. I'm unbeatable at overthinking.

(I'm probably not actually unbeatable at this, as I know lots of people overthink and dwell. After all, it's a very human thing. But, sometimes my mind makes me feel like I'm overthinking beyond what's normal. I'm probably not, but what's overthinking for if not to make you feel like a weirdo.)

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.

***

We talked about Christmas above, and Eddy's ready for her year-round Christmas tree to finally be lit up with lights again. And for it to have that giant red ribbon on top that she likes to rip off and shred a little more each year. Right now, though, her tree is still bland and boring. See it all naked back behind Eddy in this photo?

We always try to give Thanksgiving its time in our house, but we decorate for Christmas starting on Thanksgiving night and have everything up by the end of Black Friday. So, you only have to wait a bit longer for your tree to be good and festive, Eddy.

Happy Friday, friends!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

This time of year always feels so jumbled with holidays. I love Halloween and always celebrate it into early November, but then soon after I'm in the mood for Christmas, but you can't forget about Thanksgiving here in the USA, so then I end up scribbling up confused doodles like this:

Happy Hallowthanksmas!

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Tip of the Day

We're not finished with our Pet Cancer Awareness Month tips just yet. Today we want to remind you all that, just like us humans, it is possible for our furbabies to be affected by cigarette smoke, and cancer could potentially develop as a result. For this reason, if you smoke, avoid doing this in the home or around your kitty or pup. In addition, when out in public, do your best to keep your furbabies away from areas where smoking is common. Smoking affects more than just the smoker, so for the sake of both yourself and your furbaby, do try to avoid it.

Thankful Thimble Thursday: Midnight Snuggles

It's Thursday, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Thimble is here and ready for Angel Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Today, Thimble is grateful for how cute she is, including when she wakes her human of a mom up in the middle of the night for cuddles.

Even at midnight, or 2 or 3 am, that adorable face earns Thimble all the cuddles she wants. I may or may not try to coax her to also sleep while we cuddle, but she rarely heeds that suggestion. And that's okay. Because, honestly, look at this face.

Thimble hopes you all have a wonderful day! Or a wonderful night, if that's when you kitties prefer to get all the attention!

***

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

1. My November to do list includes _________ and _________.

2. I find the song _________ annoying.

3. Currently, I'm ahead on _________ but behind on _________.

4. I'm unbeatable at _________.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Flashback Doodle of the Day

Today's flashback doodle is one I technically shared as part of last year's Halloween drawings, but it's also just largely autumnal. It does star a plague doctor kitty, but that's the spookiest it gets. And I stumbled upon it and kind of just wanted to share it again. So, here you go.

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Tip of the Day

Today's pet cancer prevention tip is to steer clear of products with potentially dangerous chemicals, such as certain lawn treatments and detergents. These types of products can be dangerous for a number of reasons, just one being that some of the chemicals in them have been found to be potentially carcinogenic. This goes for both our furbabies and our human selves. For this reason, always do your research, check ingredients, and when in doubt, simply do not use it.

The Halloween Wrap-up with Angel Astrid

This will be our last all-out Halloween post, and it stars my sweet angel Astrid. Last week I shared a photo of sweet pup Astrid posing with some pumpkins soon after her surgery for her torn CCL (ACL). She had that surgery in October 2022, and so it was quite the way to celebrate Halloween. During that season, I stumbled upon a piece of a decor that is a dog dressed as Frankenstein's monster. I found it at none other than the home improvement and building supplies store that is Menards. Given Astrid's stitched up leg at the time, the monster dog seemed like a fitting piece to buy. So I did.

Some days I actually manage to get along with my camera, and on this day it agreed to let me swap the focus to Astrid for a second photo.

That monster dog has always stayed out year round on my desk. It will continue to stay out year round, in honor of my perfect pup Astrid.

Now, we have the last few photos to share from the jack-o'-lantern event my mom and I went to at a local pumpkin farm. I always look for pumpkins carved like animals, and on Monday we shared all the kitties I found. Today we have a couple of dogs to share, starting with good ol' Scooby Doo.

There's often at least one wolf howling at the moon, and I did indeed find that this year.

I was also happy to see that a number of people went for simple but sweet paw prints.

Though I didn't get a great photo of it, I did see a Frankenstein's monster pumpkin, which I of course snapped a photo of since I had on my mind the Frankenstein's monster dog decor I shared above.

Every year, there are also people who carve pumpkins that show their eagerness for another upcoming season.

There's a chance that one was supposed to be the John Deere logo, but it's a reindeer either way. The next couple are for sure all shades of winter, though.

Thank you for spending spooky season with us, friends!

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Spooky Doodle of the Day

Our last new Halloween doodle from this year stars our housemates, those being my sister's kitties, Toby and Winky. Toby is my Thimble's littermate, and Winky is my Tonks's littermate. All four of those kitties share a cat mom, though, courtesy of a feral cat in my grandma's neighborhood that it took years to catch and spay.

Anyway, rambling aside, Toby and Winky got to dress in Harry Potter costumes. They did so in the form of a certain drink from that wizarding world. After all, Winky is named after a Harry Potter house elf who is often a bit drunk on the stuff.

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Tip of the Day

In case you missed it, we're doing a series of pet cancer prevention tips during this Pet Cancer Awareness Month. Today's tip is one we've mentioned one more occasion than one, and is one that many of you have probably heard. This tip is to always keep in mind that it is indeed possible for cats and dogs to get skin cancer, especially on vulnerable parts of the body such as the ears and nose. For this reason, monitor the amount of time they spend outdoors in the sun, but also the amount of time they spend sunbathing in windows or doors. If your furbaby does spend a lot of time in the sun, perhaps look into pet-friendly sunscreen, and discuss safe options with your veterinarian as needed. There are also windows or window films that block out UV light, which is another option for keeping our furbabies and their skin safe during their sunbathing sessions. The sun can indeed be fun, but also dangerous, so do keep a close eye on those furry sunbathers.

Tonks Tuesday with Yet More Pumpkins

We have just a couple more days of Halloween wrap-up we'd like to share. For Tonks Tuesday, I really wanted to share some of my favorite Halloween photos I took last year. They're quite basic and don't even look that festive, but they show off my adorable and playful calico with her cat-o'-lantern toy, and I love that. 

As we mentioned yesterday, we also have a couple more jack-o'-lantern photos to share from the event my mom and I went to at a local pumpkin farm. Yesterday we shared a number of pumpkins that were carved like kitties, and today I'm sharing some slightly more random ones that stuck out to me.

For the record, I am not a fan of clowns. That said, the pumpkin below was aptly creepy for the spooky holiday, and so I had to snap a photo of it.

We hope you all continue to have terrifyingly terrific days, friends!

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Spooky Doodles of the Day

Today we're finishing up sharing the doodles I scribbled up of my parents' kitties in their Halloween costumes. Today we have the last of the girls, first up with Gilly. Her glamorous fur earned her the role of The Ring's Samara, a girl who crawled out of a well with her long hair hanging good and creepy over her face. Gilly looks far less scary, though.

The next one stars three kitties, those being Fizzgig (aka Fizzy), Iris, and Josie. It was my dad's idea for these three to be a group of witches, and since they notoriously don't get along, I made sure they all looked good and angry at each other.

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Tip of the Day

It's Pet Cancer Awareness Month, so we have another cancer prevention tip for you today. We're here to talk a bit about vaccines. While vaccines can be important for the prevention of various diseases, especially for those furbabies who go outdoors or are in another way more susceptible to disease, it is still crucial that you be knowledgeable about the potential side effects of some vaccines. In some cases, vaccines can lead to injection-site tumors, commonly cancerous fibrosarcomas. To help prevent these, you can keep furbabies, such as cats, indoors. This could render some vaccines far less necessary, since your furbaby would likely not be exposed to the diseases certain vaccines cover. In other cases, such as if your furbaby does go outdoors or might be exposed to certain diseases, simply do your research. Ask your veterinary office what types of vaccines they use, as some vaccines do not contain the components typically believed to cause injection-site tumors. Vaccines are often a highly debated subject in any case, so always be knowledgeable about them, about what kind your veterinary office uses, and which vaccines your kitty or pup might need.

More Spooky Fun on Mancat Monday

Hello, friends! I truly meant to post some of our continued Halloween fun over the weekend, since those days were All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Time got away from me, though, and so now here we are on Monday, November 3rd. We're still going to continue Halloween here on our blog for a couple of days, though, because we do have a bit more frightfully festive fun to share.

Now, it is indeed Mancat Monday. Evan is still being stalked by our pumpkin decor, even when he's trying to enjoy his beloved back door time.

Don't mind the dirty window there. I haven't yet had the heart to wash away my sweet angel Astrid's nose art from it.

As for more pumpkins, though, Evan decided to pose with my jack-o'-lanterns after I carved them up a few days before Halloween. He's always my perfect little helper, though he's also a bit difficult to see with the lighting of this photo.

Now, the next pumpkins are not ones that I carved. As my mom and I do every year, we visited a local pumpkin farm that displays hundreds of pumpkins carved by the community during the nights leading up to Halloween. I took a great many photos on the night we went, and today we'll share the various cat-o'-lanterns we got to see.

Tomorrow and Wednesday we'll share a few more of the amazing jack-o'-lanterns we saw at this pumpkin farm. There really were so many great ones, and I couldn't stop snapping photos of them all.

We hope you all had a horrifyingly happy Halloween on Friday! And we hope you enjoy just a couple more days of Halloween fun with us.

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Spooky Doodles of the Day

Now, leading up to Halloween we were sharing some doodles of my parents' kitties in various Halloween costumes. My parents have 11 cats, and so we still have quite a few of those drawings to share. Today we have three for you all. Since it's Mancat Monday, we'll share the rest of the boys in their Halloween attire. So, let's start with Kipper, who is Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

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There isn't necessarily a particular reason why Kipper got that costume, but my dad and I wanted someone to be Leatherface and Kipper was a perfectly good option. Similarly, his littermate Homer is below as Hannibal Lecter, also for somewhat vague reasons.

Lastly is Flitwick, and he got his costume for a very specific reason. My dad requested Flitwick be a shark, like in Jaws or just any shark in general, because this tabby fellow is an adorable yet naughty boy who is known to stalk and bite his siblings.

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Tip of the Day

November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month. We have before shared tips on the prevention of cancer in our kitties and pups, and we're going to repeat that series of tips over the next few days in honor of this month's importance. We'll start with none other than spaying and neutering. Spaying and neutering your furbabies is not only important for population control, but also because, like humans, they can develop cancers of the reproductive tract and related systems. This can include uterine cancer, mammary cancer, and prostate cancer.

What's more, timing of spaying and neutering can also be crucial. It is important to ensure that a kitty or pup is of course old enough and big enough for neutering, but also not too old. This is because, for example, there is an increased risk of mammary cancer in female cats and dogs who are allowed to go through one or more cycles prior to being spayed. We could go on and on about this topic, but let's suffice it to say that, as most of you certainly know, it's incredibly important to spay and neuter your cats and dogs for more reasons than one. We'll even say it again. Please spay and neuter your kitties and pups, and do so before they can be affected by an increased risk of cancer.

Happy Halloween!

As the title says...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Now, let's kick off this spooky day with a very Halloween Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.

1. I like pumpkin _________.

2. My favorite movie to watch around Halloween is _________.

3. If I could meet any Halloween creature, I'd choose _________.

4. I'd like a Halloween treat basket filled with _________.


My answers are below in bold.

1. I like pumpkin cookies.

(When I think about what pumpkin treat I like the most, I think it's cookies. A few years ago none other than Ellen shared with me a pumpkin cookie recipe, deliciously complete with chocolate chips, and I love the end result. I do like pumpkin pie and that sort of thing, but I like pumpkin cookies even more.)

2. My favorite movie to watch around Halloween is Halloween.

(This is far, far from being a movie of high quality in any regard. That said, it's a nostalgic classic that I've always watched around my tied-for-first-place holiday. I admittedly watch Halloween multiple times throughout the spooky season, and the first watch of it always puts me in the Halloween mood. I also always watch it on Halloween night itself, because of course.)

3. If I could meet any Halloween creature, I'd choose a witch's feline familiar.
(First and foremost, I'd want to make sure the kitty familiars are being treated properly. Secondly, I'd love to know more about their magic.)

4. I'd like a Halloween treat basket filled with Unreal candy.
(Unreal is a brand of candy that is mostly dairy free and gluten free. Since I'm both lactose intolerant and gluten intolerant, I was very happy to find this brand a couple years ago. What's more, they make candies that I find way better than the more popular brands. They often use dark chocolate, which I love, and they have one of the most delicious dark chocolate peanut butter cups I've ever tasted.)

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.

***

We're of course not done with Halloween yet, though. To celebrate, all of the kitties took some photos with a certain jack-o'-lantern in our house. Thimble introduced him yesterday, when we explained that this particular pumpkin sits in a heavy feline traffic area at our house, and so he's often a victim of cat puke, spilled food, and all sorts of abuse.

So, Evan will kick off this frightfully festive jack-o'-lantern fun today. He didn't feel like truly posing with the pumpkin, so the jack got quite the view.

That is indeed my hind limb paralyzed boy's shaved back end.

Thimble wanted a bit more of a spooky vibe to her Halloween, and the jack-o'-lantern was happy to oblige.

You can barely see the tabby girl there, so here's one where you can see her cute little face far better.

As always, my girl Eddy wasn't keen on cooperating, but that doesn't mean the jack-o'-lantern wasn't able to deliver a spooky shot or two with her.

As for calico Tonks, she decided to get up close and personal with the jack-o'-lantern.

Can you even see Tonks in these? She's there, being all cute and kooky.

Our housemates Toby and Winky, who own my sister, also wanted to participate. Toby decided to do so from his beloved space station toy. The jack-o'-lantern happily creeped on him.

Winky just went for a classic pose, but it's still frightfully festive, so that's fine with me.

I of course didn't want to leave my sweet angel pup Astrid out of our Halloween post, so I went back and found a photo of her posing with that very jack-o'-lantern above.

Fun fact: Astrid was actually tied to the coffee table in that there photo. This was just a week or so after her surgery to repair a torn CCL (the dog equivalent of the ACL), and she wasn't allowed to jump or run or do much of anything. She didn't like being in her cage or otherwise majorly confined while we were home, but we learned that if we tied her leash to the coffee table, she was happy to sit on the floor and behave herself. And, she was indeed about to eat a cookie in the shape of a witch hat, with Evan as a spectator.

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Last year I shared this here Halloween image, which contains all of the doodles I scribbled up of my furry babies in Halloween costumes.

This year, my kitties reprised those roles, but in a far more cozy Halloween night setting.

Our housemates Toby and Winky are not in that drawing, but they still got a new doodle for this Halloween. We'll be sharing it very soon, in addition to a number of other similar new doodles, as we will be continuing the spooky holiday for a few more days.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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Tip of the Day

Our final Halloween tip is to use this spooky holiday as a chance to spend some quality time with your furbaby. Whether you're already staying tucked inside on Halloween night, or whether you wait until after handing out candy, do consider getting cozy and festive with your kitty or pup. For example, you can cozy up with your kitty or pup on the couch and read a spooky story, if that's your kind of thing. Another option is to of course watch a spooky movie or TV show, if that strikes your fancy. Of course, as we mentioned yesterday, do keep in mind your furbaby's sense of hearing and comfort when selecting a scary movie and volume level. For something more calm yet spookily festive, consider sitting down with your furbaby to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, or a certain famous orange tabby in Garfield's Halloween Adventure. Halloween night is of course also the perfect time to not only enjoy yourself some treats (of course without sharing anything toxic with your furbaby), but to also give your kitty or pup any festive toys or treats that you got for them.

Halloween may sometimes be considered a night filled with tricks and terrors, but you and your furbaby can instead use it to spend some quality time together in a festive yet safe manner. So, cuddle up on the couch and spend some cozy and festive time with that furbaby. Happy Halloween!