Hello, Friday!

We've almost made it to the weekend, friends! We just have this fun Friday to get through first, but that's fine with us. We always look forward to Friday, in large part because we always enjoy the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by the wonderful Ellen of 15andmeowing and Annie of McGuffy's Reader.

One of our favorite surprises of the week is finding out what we'll get to fill in for Friday. Here's what our clever hosts came up with this week:

1. My Chinese zodiac animal is _________.
2. My zodiac sign is _________.
3. Income tax season _________.
4. In hindsight, _________.

And, here is how I filled these in:

1. My Chinese zodiac animal is the snake.
(I've secretly always wished mine was the tiger, dog, or dragon. To be honest, I'm mildly terrified of snakes, so really anything but that would probably be my preference.)

2. My zodiac sign is Aries.
(I read an article that indicated Aries folk dislike inactivity. I think it actually went as far as to say that Aries dislike staying home and vegging out. If that's the case, then I need another sign, because this isn't going to work out.)

3. Income tax season is when I have to get my mom's help doing my taxes.
(I feel like such an adult.)

4. In hindsight, I should not have gotten Thimble hooked on baby food.
(Back when my Angel Rosie was with me, her favorite treat was baby food. At 21 years of age and suffering from kidney disease, I let Rosie have baby food constantly to help keep her weight up. At that point, I had little baby Thimble as well. Thimble would find me in the kitchen preparing Rosie's baby food, and I would give her a taste. That got her hooked, though, and now the girl is addicted and needs to lose some of that baby food weight. So, we're working on that.)

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It's that time of the week now. What time of the week? The time of the week when you get your Eddy fix! Not wanting to be left out, Eddy followed Evan and Thimble's examples from this week and opted for some whisker shots.

We hope you all enjoyed our display of whiskers throughout this week!

Happy Friday, friends!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

 

We decided to go ahead and do fun little doodles in honor of the current Olympics. Around here, we enjoy watching figure skating events, so that led us to this:

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Our Tip of the Day:

We have a couple more tips related to this National Cat Health Care Month. These last ones are some random bits and pieces to help keep your kitty as happy and healthy as possible. We were going to give a tip on caring for your kitty's teeth at home, but then we remembered that we already did that during our Pet Dental Health Month series of tips. So, instead, today it's all about those ears. Just as with humans, our kitties' ears can get a bit dirty. Wax can accumulate in a cat's ears, and can even become impacted. Your vet will check your cat's ears during their regular exams, but in between those times, if needed, you can help keep your kitty's ears clean at home. The safest thing to do is to ask your veterinarian not only if and how often your kitty needs those ears washed, but also what ear cleanser to use. Many veterinary offices will have pet-friendly ear cleaning solutions available. Some of these simply require that you drip some in the cat's ear and then rub the base of the ear. It can often be as simple and easy as that, if that is something your veterinarian thinks is of benefit to your kitty.

Also related to ear health is allergies. Airborne allergies can lead to itchy ears, just as can food allergies. Ear infections can result from such allergies, or from other potential causes. No matter the reason, always be sure to keep an eye on those ears. Does your kitty hold one or both ears down? Does he or she scratch at them? Are there scabs or hair loss around the ears? Are the ears warm to the touch? Do they have a strange odor to them? Ear infections, or other issues of the ear, can of course manifest in a variety of ways. So, if you have any concerns, do discuss the topic with a veterinarian. If there is an infection, antibiotics for the affected ear or ears will be necessary to treat the infection. Infections in the ear can lead to permanent damage if left untreated, so though it may seem like a small concern, that's not necessarily the case.

The ears are just one of the many parts of your kitty that can affect their overall health and happiness. So, keep an eye on those ears!