Friendly Fill-Ins and Photo Fails

Are you excited that it's Friday? We sure are! We'll kick off this magnificent day with the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. In case you missed the fill-in statements yesterday, I'll share them again here. Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. I believe _________.

2. I need to go Marie Kondo* on my _________.

3. It does no good to _________.

4. I find _________ to be a walk in the park.

(*If you are unfamiliar with Marie Kondo, she is essentially a professional at decluttering.)


If you're curious how I would answer these, here you go!

1. I believe that everything happens for a reason.
(We may not always know or understand the reason for something, but I believe that reason is always there. One of my teachers in school had more than one discussion with us on this topic, and she had some very poignant comments on it that really stuck with me.) 

2. I need to go Marie Kondo on my kitchen.
(I love to cook and bake, but I have somehow accumulated an insane amount of kitchen gadgets that I don't even use, and my kitchen cabinets are an actual nightmare as a result. Part of the problem is that the previous owner of my house, who was actually a family friend, left the kitchen completely furnished when he left, and that included the cabinets. He left behind some pretty handy gadgets, but also some that I can't even identify. For some reason, even though I cleaned all the cabinets and their contents upon moving into my house, I put all of the ones he left behind right back where I found them, even the ones that are alien to me.)

3. It does no good to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
(This is actually almost an exact quote from the Harry Potter books, and it never left my brain after I read it for the first time many years ago. I myself indeed have a great many hopes, dreams, and aspirations, all of which I am working on achieving. At the same time, though, I often have to remind myself that I still need to live in and enjoy the present, before it becomes the past.)

4. I find waking up before dawn to be a walk in the park.
(This never used to be the case. At all. As a kid, especially during the summer months when I was out of school, I would be up well into the wee hours of the morning, and then I'd sleep in. When I hit adulthood, though, something in me did a full reversal.  I became that person who falls asleep right after dinner, and then wakes up to see the sunrise. I never thought I'd be this person, but I actually love being up and about before the rest of the world.)

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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Can you guess what we have for you next?

That's right, we have some bloopers for the Pet Photo Fails! Blog Hop, hosted by Mudpie and Melissa of Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries, & Meows. Of course, our bloopers are brought to you by our blooper queen, Eddy.

That shot there was a closeup, during which Eddy decided to turn her head away at the last second. That's not much of a blooper, though, since her whiskers are actually pretty darn in focus and on full display. But don't you worry, because Eddy has some real bloopers for you. How? Because let me tell you, when you have your camera on zoom, and your kitty moves, said kitty turns into some sort of elusive phantom cat whose true form is just a thing of myths and legends

That's more like it. That's my Eddy, in all of her blurry glory.

Happy Friday, friends!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

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Our Tip of the Day:

We're making these National Cat Health Care Month tips stretch until the end of February. So, today's (incredibly long) tip is another one related to feeding those kitties of yours. In some cases, you might have multiple cats with differing dietary needs. For example, you may have one cat who needs a low-protein kidney diet in a household that also contains other cats in need of higher levels of protein. Or, you might have one cat on a diet for weight loss in a household also with other cats who should not be on a restrictive diet. Or, perhaps you simply have one kitty who steals the other kitty's food. If any of these are the case in your house, there are some possible ways to succeed in feeding your kitties their separate diets.

First, if your cats are of different sizes or have different physical abilities, there is a chance you can take advantage of these traits to separate their feeding stations. For example, if you have a large cat and a kitten needing separate foods, you could cut a hole in an upside box in which the kitten can fit, but not the larger cat. This way, the kitten could be fed its kitten food in the box without the larger cat feasting on the food. You can also try feeding one cat its food on various elevated surfaces, if its housemate cat on a different diet is unable to reach those elevated feeding spots.

Of course, there are many cases in which the above options simply will not work. If this is the case, the primary option is to stick to scheduled feedings of some sort, and to physically separate the cats during these feeding times. First, determine times of the day when you are home and can oversee feeding time, such as morning, lunch, and evening. Then, at feeding time, each cat can be given their specific diet separately under your observation. This can be done in a number of ways. You can simply separate the cats in the same room, if you are able to closely observe them so that no kitty's food is stolen by another. You can also separate the kitty's in the same room while using something such as baby gates to ensure they remain separated while they eat. Another option is, of course, shutting cats in different rooms to each eat their meal on their own.

That all being said, if your cats are used to being free-fed all day and you find yourself needing to transition to scheduled feedings due to differing dietary needs, then do be patient and give this transition some time. A cat will have to get used to going from having access to food 24/7, to eating on a schedule. If need be, such as if your cats are not yet used to eating their meals at a scheduled time, then start this transition by feeding your cats more often, so that they will have more chances to eat their food throughout the day. Of course, if you have any questions or concerns with regard to feeding your kitties, do speak to your veterinarian!