Friday, February 22, 2019

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:




***
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!

12 comments:

Cathy Kennedy said...

Lorraine,

I agree everything happens for a reason. I try to find the good in the bad because I know it's there, I just have to look harder for it. I've gotten rid of a lot of kitchen gadgets over the years that I no longer use because we don't have cabinet or container space for it. I don't miss those things, either. Dreams are dreams but life is for the living. It's hard to pull one's thoughts out of the clouds to enjoy what's right in front of us sometimes but we must so won't have regrets later. Perhaps in living life, we will achieve those dreams. I can't wake up before dawn without the help of an alarm clock usually. lol Through the week I don't have much trouble getting out of bed but when the weekend rolls around then I just want to sleep as long as I can. :)

Your doodle is cute! What is Eddy reading today? Have a good weekend!

Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty said...

Love your photo fails!

Wise words regarding dreams. I know I spent most of my younger life chasing dreams and forgetting to live in the present. That's probably why my life is quite the mess it is today. But I'm trying to focus on living for the moment now.

Purrs xx
Athena and Marie

Yvonne said...

Those are perfect fill in answers. I agree with them all. Hope you have a great weekend!

messymimi said...

Life isn't going to happen to us someday when X arrives, it's now, i agree. Take time to enjoy it.

Our problem with feeding is more one of keeping the dogs out of the cat food than anything else -- that German shepherd is tall and determined!

Sandee said...

Love your fill-ins and especially #3. Many focus just on the what they want and forget to live in the moment.

Even the fails are precious.

Thank you for co-hosting Friendly Fill-ins.

Have a fabulous day and weekend. ♥

Eastside Cats said...

A human must stand watch over Manny and Chili Bruce, 'cause CB gobbles his food, then pushes his brofur away, if not gently purrsuaded not to!

pilch92 said...

Great fill-in answers. I believe everything happens for a reason too. I think you should show us photos of those kitchen gadgets, I bet someone can tell you what they are so you can decide if you want to keep them. I love that quote from Harry Potter, so true. You are so lucky you can get up early. If I have to get out of bed before 8 AM, I am off all day.
I knew Eddy would be more than happy to help you with the photo fails, such a cutie. And the drawing is cute too.
Excellent tips. It is hard to feed different foods. Cats are like kids in a lunchroom trading lunches. :) Have a nice weekend! XO

Elizabeth said...



I always get up early too.

Great answers...have a great weekend, and thanks for hosting.

Cathy Keisha said...

TW avoids using zoom cos you lose clarity and the pics are grainy. Our kitchen is a nightmare too. TW buys new pots, serving utensils, etc but doesn't throw away the old ones. TW try having my food out for a set amount of time and then taking it away and it didn't work. I'm a slow eater and need to nosh through the day.

Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat said...

Eddy never fails to amuse. My kitchen is a disaster. I have like five sets of old utensils I got when my grandma and various other relatives died. Most of those are rusty, but I don't have the heart to throw them away - so my drawers and cabinets are so chock full, I don't think I could find any room for anything bigger than a quarter. Oh. And the breadmaker I got as a wedding present ... that I never used or even took out of the box.

Lone Star Cats said...

You're a blur Eddy, MOL!

Pam and Teddy said...

Oh what great fill-ins this week......I'm with you on every single one of them. Things DO happen for a reason - good or bad - it's all part of the life we were meant to live. I am also an early riser - I love being up super early with Teddy before David gets up. Ted and I have our special time together and it's ever so quiet in the neighborhood. Starting a day SLOWLY is my favorite thing!

Hugs, Pam