Thimble Thursday: Fun in the Sun

Although yesterday we had ourselves the thunderstorm of all thunderstorms, it wasn't that long ago that we saw the sun. What's more, there's a certain lady cat in this house who especially loves her some sun puddles, and that lady cat is none other than Thimble.

Whew. All that belly rolling sure can be tiring.

We hope all of our furiends out there have some sun puddles to snooze in!

And, I realized that it's been a few days since I last shared any of the pieces that I'll be selling at the upcoming art fair benefiting my local area's animal rescue group called Hospice Hearts. So, here's another magnet I made from recycled goods:

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Our Tip of the Day:

Today is the last day of Poison Prevention Awareness Month. There are a number of potential signs that could indicate poisoning in your furbaby, including vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, lethargy, tremors or seizures, excessive salivation, pawing at the mouth or face, bleeding, swelling(s), fever, rapid breathing, and elevated heart rate. If you observe any of these or any other concerning behaviors in your cat or dog, or if you have any concern that your furbaby has ingested or been in contact with a potentially toxic substance, consult a veterinarian immediately.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Window Gazing

Eddy sat still!

Thimble snuck her way into this one at the last second. Feline photobombers abound at this house.

Evan enjoying an open window AND finally getting a turn with the Dr. Seuss catnip mat that we won from Ellen and her kitties over at 15andmeowing!

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Our Tip of the Day:

Be careful when using non-stick pots and pans, as these contain a chemical that can be dangerous when overheated. This is primarily a concern for birds, as they have commonly been known to be lethally affected by the fumes emitted from non-stick cooking surfaces. It wouldn't hurt, though, to be cautious when using non-stick pots and pans around any animals, even non-avian species.

Toesies Tuesday

I caught pup Astrid chilling out on the couch:

I asked her if she'd like to have herself a bit of a photo shoot. The bad news? She said no and promptly looked the other way.

The good news? She left her little footsie behind to be photographed!

I'll call this one a win.

Happy Tuesday, everybuddy!

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Our Tip of the Day:

As I'm sure most of you know, antifreeze can be fatal to dogs and cats if ingested. It, as well as various motor oils and similar products, contains toxic ethylene glycol, which has a sweet taste. This is why dogs, who are known to have a sweet tooth, are especially at risk of ingesting and thereby being poisoned by products such as antifreeze. Ingestion of it can lead to kidney failure, so please be sure to keep all antifreeze and other similar products far out of reach of your furbabies.

Mancat Monday: Mighty Hunter

My mancat Evan is quite the hunter, you could say. He's always on the lookout for pesky intruders.

He'll look high:

And he'll look low:

He'll even check behind his mommy's bed, to make sure none of those intruders are hiding back there:

Now, what kind of intruders is Evan most often hunting? These kinds:

 

Yep. Lights, reflections, shadows. Anything and everything that moves on the ceiling, wall, or floor, even incorporeal, my Evan will hunt. That's my brave boy!

Happy Monday!

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Our Tip of the Day:

We're in the last few days of Poison Prevention Awareness Month. Today's tip is a reminder that there are many common, simple household items that can be dangerous and toxic to animals. For example, keep glue out of reach of furbabies. Some glues are more dangerous than others. Gorilla Glue, for example, can significantly expand in a furbabies stomach after ingested, and therefore can have serious and even potentially lethal effects. To be on the safe side, keep all glues in a safe and hidden place.

Easter Sunday Selfies

Easter is finally here!

It's young Eddy's first Easter, and she would like to wish all of our furiends out there as much excitement as she's feeling today!

And Thimble is wishing everybuddy a bright and beautiful Easter, full of contentment and cheer.

Similarly, Astrid wishes all of our pals an Easter filled with much joy and many, many smiles.

And Evan hopes that all of our friends can also fit in a bit of rest and relaxation this Easter.

And so...

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This Easter post is also our post for the Sunday Selfie blog hop, hosted by our good furiends over at The Cat on My Head!

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Our Tip of the Day:

How about a reminder tip today? As I'm sure all of you know, chocolate is indeed toxic to dogs and cats. All you humans out there are free to feast on chocolate bunnies and all the Easter candy your stomach can hold. However, no sharing those chocolate goodies with your furbabies!

Caturday Art: Easter!

Although I'm sure nobuddy needs reminded, tomorrow is Easter! So, for today's Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by our furiend Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty, I created a piece of Easter art, starring my angel Rosie.

Is everybuddy excited for Easter?

On another note, back on Wednesday I shared the following photo showcasing all five furbabies at my house:

I wondered if anyone could tell which furbaby is which in the photo. Well, the answer is: 1. Eddy, 2. Thimble, 3. Evan, 4. Astrid, and 5. Toby. What's more, our furiends over at Lucy's Lounge as well as Animal Shelter Volunteer Life got it right! Today I will be emailing each of you an individualized little prize for correctly naming the furbabies! (I hope I have the correct email addresses, so if you don't receive anything from me by the end of today please do let me know!)

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Our Tip of the Day:

Keep in mind that it's not advisable to feed your dogs and cats raw eggs. When raw, eggs contain not only bacteria, but also an enzyme called avidin, which can decrease vitamin B absorption. So, no raw eggs for the furbabies!

All About Eddy

Eddy says that she's the only furbaby who hasn't been the star in a post yet this week. That just doesn't sound fair, now does it? I'm sure we can fix that.

Honestly, it's not like Eddy doesn't sit perfectly still for the camera.

I mean, she takes such impeccable action shots.

See?

Impeccable.

Here, we'll leave you with this winning shot:

There you go, Eddy. This post is all for you, little lady.

Happy Good Friday to all of our furiends! Tomorrow, for our contribution to the pawesome Caturday Art blog hop, we'll be sharing some Easter art. We can't wait to see what everybuddy else is sharing!

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Our Tip of the Day:

If you find yourself with old, moldy bread or other moldy foods, don't feed them to your dog or cat. Moldy foods contain toxins that can be dangerous to your furbabies. So, don't pass moldy foods on to your dog or cat. Trash moldy food, but only out of reach of your furbabies, of course!

Thimble Thursday: Wild Animal

Hmmm. I spot something in the distance.

What could it be? Let's get a closer look.

Oh, I see it now. That's what we call the Wild Thimble. It's probably best if you keep your distance, as this creature can be quite dangerous. You see that poor rug all out of sorts there, and that hapless napkin just lying there? Well, it seems as if they've fallen victim to this vicious beast.

The Wild Thimble is known for playing coy and acting uninterested...

...but don't be fooled. When you're least expecting it, the Wild Thimble will attack!

That poor rug never even saw it coming.

Happy Thursday!

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Our Tip of the Day:

Hand sanitizer may be beneficial in keeping human hands free of bacteria and other unsanitary agents, but keep in mind that it can be poisonous to cats and dogs. Hand sanitizer contains ethanol, which is an alcohol. As mentioned in a previous tip, alcohol is poisonous to our furbabies, and that therefore includes hand sanitizer. Although it could be considered largely unpalatable, hand sanitizer can nonetheless have dangerous effects if ingested in large amounts by a cat or dog. So, be careful when using or storing hand sanitizer around your cats and dogs!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: The Lineup

Sometimes serendipity (with a little assistance from open window weather) brings together all the furbabies in the house:

Far from a professional photographer, I lost the battle of lighting in this photo. So, in case it's hard to tell, there are indeed five furbabies present in this picture:

Can anybuddy tell which furbaby is which?

And, this seems like an apt enough post to share these window view drawings I created for the upcoming French Market art fair benefiting the local Hospice Hearts animal rescue group:

Happy Wednesday to all of our furiends!

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Our Tip of the Day:

Aloe vera is a common plant that many humans grow and use, such as for its healing and soothing properties. However, it can be toxic to cats and dogs if ingested, often causing vomiting and diarrhea, among other symptoms. If you keep an aloe vera plant around, such as for those kitchen burns or even just decoratively, be sure to keep it out of reach of your furbabies.

Festivities and Photobombs

Although the holiday has already passed, Astrid never got to show off her St. Patrick's Day attire. That's in large part my fault, so you can blame me, Astrid!

As I believe I've shared in the past, one way in which Astrid partakes in holiday and other fun festivities is by wearing pretty bows on her collar. She doesn't seem to mind or even notice them, so we've been putting decorative bows on her collar since soon after we rescued her. Way back in one of our winter posts, we showed you a Christmas bow Astrid's beloved gammy (my mom) made for her to wear. This time around, Astrid's gammy made her one for St. Patty's Day. Astrid's been wearing it with pride.

The only problem is that, when trying to show off her pretty bow for a recent photo shoot, Astrid just kept getting photobombed:

No matter what, that feline photobomber just kept popping up:

Are you jealous, Toby? Would you like a pretty bow to wear around your neck?

We hope all of our furiends are having a great week so far!

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Our Tip of the Day:

Did you know that shamrocks can have toxic effects on cats and dogs? This supposedly lucky plant can be dangerous if ingested by your furbabies. Although its naturally bitter taste often deters animals from consuming it, still be sure to keep an eye on your furbabies if around shamrocks.

Mancat Monday: Tunnel Vision

One of my mancat Evan's prized possessions is his rainbow tunnel.

Evan loves to sit in his tunnel, and he is very proud of it.

Very, very proud of it...

Happy Monday, everybuddy!

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Our Tip of the Day:
If you or someone you know is a smoker, be sure to keep all cigarettes away from your furbabies, as nicotine can be toxic to cats and dogs. For this reason, also keep nicotine patches away from your furbabies, as well as e-cigarettes, e-liquid, and all other tobacco products.

Sunday Selfies

To help them get past this chilly, cloudy weekend, for today's Sunday Selfie blog hop, hosted by our wonderful furiends over at The Cat on My Head, my furbabies decided to share with you some of their selfies from this past week, when the lovely sun was being far from shy. And so, we're here today to share these:

We hope all of our furiends out there are having a wonderful weekend!

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Our Tip of the Day:

With Spring upon us and Easter just around the corner, it's perhaps a perfect time to keep in mind that lilies can be highly toxic to cats. There are a number of lily types out there, some primarily benign and some toxic to cats. Just a couple of the highly toxic types are Easter lilies, day lilies, and tiger lilies. Those, even if only minimally ingested, can lead to devastating results, such as acute kidney failure. So, even though they may be pretty, try to keep lilies out of the house and out of reach of your furbabies.

Caturday Art

My drawing for today's Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by our fun furiend Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty, is sort of a continuation of my post from yesterday. In that post you saw my adorable lady cat Thimble posing in my little library with some of my favorite books. That, in addition to a saying on a shirt I recently saw advertised online, inspired this piece:

The original shirt I saw with this saying had those exact words, except in that case they were accompanied by images of a cat and a cup of coffee. However, I'm not, to many people's disbelief, a fan of coffee. But, I am a fan of books, hence this drawing. Of course, this piece could also work for me if it portrayed a dog and/or anything pertaining to chocolate and peanut butter.

Now, I'm curious and would like to ask, what sort of things would most accurately illustrate this saying for you? What are your simple needs?

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Our Tip of the Day:

Be cautious that your dogs and cats do not have access to unbaked bread dough. If ingested, bread dough can expand in the stomach of your furbaby, leading to bloat and possibly twisted stomach. Bloat can also result if yeast found in bread dough ferments to produce carbon dioxide within a dog or cat's stomach. Additionally, yeast fermentation can lead to the production of alcohol in a dog or cat's stomach, which can quickly lead to alcohol poisoning. So, long story short, no bread dough for your furbabies!

My Little Mascot

I love to read. That being said, at my house, I have a little area that I like to consider my library (more like my library-in-progress, that is). This little area happens to be one of Thimble's favorite places to hang out, most especially up on her mommy's desk, right next to the bookshelf:

Once upon a time, the lamp seen in this picture was found in pieces on the floor. Strange, that.

I guess this makes Thimble my library mascot. That seems perfectly apt, as she does love books, especially lying on them, while I'm reading them.

Perhaps this would be as good a post as any, then, to share a picture of this bookmark I made for the upcoming art fair benefiting the local animal rescue group Hospice Hearts:

Happy Friday, everybuddy! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

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Our Tip of the Day:

Always remember your furbabies when considering the dangerous effects of certain insects and creepy crawlies. Whether you're at home or on vacation with your furbaby, if see a brown recluse spider, a black widow spider, a rattlesnake, or other potentially dangerous creatures, keep an eye on your furbaby to ensure their safety. Bites and venom can be just as poisonous to your furbabies as to you.