Friday, April 30, 2021

A Birthday Bash on a Busy Day

We have a lot to get to today. We have the Friendly Fill-Ins, we have the Pet Photo Fails, and we have the final day of the A to Z Challenge. First and foremost, though...

Happy Birthday, Eddy!


Today, my active, nocturnal, momma's girl, blooper queen Eddy is turning 6 years old! To celebrate, she did a blooper of a jig.




After doing her birthday dance, blooper queen Eddy was lip-smackingly ready for some birthday goodies.


Eddy hopes you all enjoyed her birthday bloopers for the Pet Photo Fails Blog Hop, hosted by none other than Melissa and Mudpie of Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries, & Meows.

Now, feel free to grab some fishy treats. They're Eddy's favorites, and she's happy to share with you all on this special day.


***

Now, of course, we're ready for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. Please feel free to join us! My co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.


1. I wouldn't mind if _________.

2. I want to _________ my _________.

3. Others come to me when they need _________.

4. _________ is a memory that I regularly think about.


My answers are below in bold. Today, they're all about the kitties.

1. I wouldn't mind if Eddy let me sleep through an entire night.
(I love my girl Eddy so much. I love that she's happy and active. But I also like sleep. You know, during the nighttime hours. Nocturnal Eddy and I greatly differ on this opinion. Sometimes we argue about it, and I always lose the argument. Always.)

2. I want to convince my parents' cat Kipper that my cuddles are not, in fact, going to kill him.
(Kipper is a very social orange tabby boy. He's talkative, and he'll follow you everywhere. But what Kipper won't do is let you hold him, or even hug him. He won't even let my parents hug or hold him, and he lives with them and constantly acts as their shadow. For some reason, he's simply that kind of cat who wants to be near you, but don't you dare even think about touching him. Human touch is poison, you know.)

3. Others come to me when they need their kitty's nails trimmed.
(This probably seems like a weird answer, but I've become the designated cat nail trimmer in my family. I don't mind, though. I trim my kitties' nails, my sister's kitties' nails, and my parents' kitties' nails. My parents have 12 cats, so that's always quite an event. Some extended family members have also asked me to help trim their cats' nails, and I'll help trim the nails of any cats who let me.)

4. Going on a road trip with Rosie is a memory that I regularly think about.
(I've mentioned this story before, and it's one that I love to remember. When my calico angel Rosie was 20 or so, my family was going to make the long drive to visit my uncle and his family for a couple of days. Rosie had kidney disease, but it was wonderfully stable at the time and she was doing great. One reason she was doing so well was because of the medications and treatments she was on. That said, Rosie hated everyone but us and would not take her medications for anyone else. So, after doing a couple of test runs, we decided to take Rosie with us on the trip so that she would continue getting her medications. And you know what? Rosie did absolutely amazing on the trip. She actually seemed to enjoy it. I was amazed, especially since she was a 20-year-old calico who was very set in her ways. I love those memories with Rosie.)


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.



***

And now we move on to the final installment of the April A to Z Challenge.

Due to certain circumstances that I mentioned in yesterday's post, today we actually have for you not only the letter Z, but also the letter Y. Though most of you probably know by now, our theme for this alphabetic challenge has been halfway to Halloween, or Halfoween, because that's what April is for this Halloween aficionado. We've therefore been sharing spooky springtime doodles all month, and today is no different.

So, let's start with the letter Y. For our purposes, Y stands for yummy. Because what's Halfoween without candy and spooky cupcakes on a fine spring day?


As for the letter Z, we went with zombie. I didn't want to make you guys look at a gnarly sort of zombie today, though, so I took inspiration from Tim Burton's movie Frankenweenie. This movie is very Frankensteinian, but given that it's about a boy who brings back to life his sadly deceased dog, I decided that was zombie enough to inspire today's doodle. So, Rosie is hanging out with zombie dog Frankenweenie.

Our blog has been a bit of a mess this month, with a plethora of hiccups and technical difficulties. But, we hope you enjoyed our weird and wacky A to Z Challenge of 2021!


***

Tip of the Day

In honor of Eddy's birthday, we're here to remind you of an alternative to giving your kitty typical toys and the like for their birthday. It's of course perfectly fine and festive to give your kitty fun new items and tasty treats to celebrate their big day. That said, many of our kitties are plenty spoiled. For this reason, you can also think beyond gifts given directly to your kitty on their birthday. To help spread the love your cat gets from you on a daily basis, for their birthday, consider making a donation to an animal shelter or rescue in your cat's name and honor. If your kitty was adopted from a certain shelter or rescue, perhaps choose that one. You could donate money, resources such as food or litter, or even your time. This can allow you to celebrate your cat's birthday by offering a helping hand to furbabies who, unlike your kitty, are still awaiting their own forever homes.

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Thankful Thimble Thursday

Today is Thursday, so let's give some thanks, shall we?

As always, tabby girl Thimble has some gratitude to share.


Thimble is grateful for this here human's bed. She's especially thankful that she's often able to steal the blankets before I can even make the bed. Thimble loves napping on messy, strewn about blankets, and she often denies me the ability to make my bed. I have no say in the matter.



***

It's the penultimate day of the A to Z Challenge, but I have to admit that I'm just going to share both of the final two alphabetic doodles tomorrow. Today's doodle for the letter Y just needs a couple final touches added and then scanned, but I just didn't get that done last night. When I came home from work yesterday, my hot water heater broke while I was washing dishes. After past issues with it, I have over time learned some troubleshooting that can be done to get it working again. I spent the evening trying all of those things, but to no avail. After all that, I had zero energy to get out my sketchbook and finish or scan today's doodle, and so today I'll just share a flashback doodle. Tomorrow, the last day of the A to Z Challenge, will instead just be a little extra fun with two doodles.

The flashback doodle I'm sharing today is yet again from the 2019 A to Z Challenge, and it goes well enough with Thimble's aforementioned love of stealing her this here human's bed.



***

Last but not least, let's share the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, shall we? My co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.


1. I wouldn't mind if _________.

2. I want to _________ my _________.

3. Others come to me when they need _________.

4. _________ is a memory that I regularly think about.



We'll see you tomorrow, friends!


***

Did you know?

Did you know that allowing your kitty or pup to sleep in your bed with you can improve your sleep as well as your overall health? Sure, in some cases an animal in the bed could potentially lead to interrupted sleep or issues for those with allergies to animals. That said, though, there is quite a bit of research that backs the fact that your cat or dog sleeping in your bed with you really can improve your sleep and your health. For example, studies have confirmed that the presence of a person's cat or dog in bed can lead to reduced anxiety, increased sense of security, and increased sleep efficiency. Being with your pet can also cause a release of oxytocin, which promotes what are called theta brainwaves, which are important for REM sleep. A number of studies have also revealed how being near your pet can lead to lowered blood pressure, increased heart health, and even lowered cholesterol, meaning that having your furbaby close to you when you sleep could potentially benefit your health in these ways. So, as long as it's safe for both you and your pet, let those kitties and pups on the bed with you.

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Woof Woof Wednesday and the Letter X

Pup Astrid's plan for today was to remind you all what a good watch dog she is. But then she fell asleep on the job.


Happy Wednesday, friends!



***

We are nearing the final day and letter of the A to Z Challenge.


The letter in question today is X, never an easy one. Even for our weird and wacky theme of halfway to Halloween, or Halfoween, we took the easy way out and decided that X indeed stands for x-ray. Poor Rosie, therefore, had to deal with this.



***

Trivia of the Day

As is probably obvious, most cats have a similar skull type. The heads of domestic cats are small, and their snouts are short, with some of course being shorter than others. When it comes to dogs, though, there are three basic skull types. The dolichocephalic skull type is long, including an especially long snout. Dogs with this skull type include greyhounds and whippets. Brachycepahlic skulls are those of dogs with an especially short snout, such as bulldogs and boxers. The mesocephalic, or mesaticephalic, skull type falls in the middle, meaning that dogs with this skull type simply have more medium-sized heads. This would include Labrador retrievers and beagles.

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Tonks Tuesday and the Letter W

Today, Tonks wanted to show off a couple of her favorite toys.


Camouflaged in the rug is a fuzzy kicker toy roughly the same size as tiny Tonks. We we got that for Christmas from our wonderful Secret Santa Paws, that being the crew over at Tomcat Commentary by Tim. Tonks absolutely loves this thing, and she has some pretty active and epic wrestling matches with it. You'll also see a cloth pink ribbon next to her, which she loves to chase if I run around the room with it. That's quite a spectacle, I'm sure. And in the upper right is a fun little coil. It's bent because I stepped on it, but Tonks now seems to prefer that one over the non-maimed ones. The coils are currently Tonks' favorite toy with which to play fetch. For hours. And hours. On end.

Tonks hopes you all have lots of fun today!



***

Shall we move on to one of the final days and letters of the A to Z Challenge?


Today's letter is W. Since our weird and wacky theme is halfway to Halloween, or Halfoween, W of course stands for witch.




***
Trivia of the Day

Have you ever heard of the Celtic folklore surrounding the idea of the cat-sìth? The common concept is that the cat-sìth is a fairy creature that looks like a big black cat with a white spot on its chest, and it is said to haunt the Scottish Highlands. Some versions of this folklore vary a bit, though. For example, one version indicates that instead of being a fairy, the cat-sìth is actually a witch who can transform into a cat nine times. On the ninth time, the witch remains a cat forever. And that is one of the potential origins of the common saying that cats have nine lives.

Monday, April 26, 2021

Mancat Monday and the Letter V

Evan is a tad bit concerned.


He was just told there's a skeleton sitting at the desk behind him. Do you see that? What kind of nonsense is going on at our house? Evan would sure like to know.



***

Now, of course, we have another installment of the A to Z Challenge.


Our theme is still, strange as it is, halfway to Halloween, or Halfoween. Today's letter is V, and V of course stands for vampire.


Poor Rosie. Someone turned her into a vampire. How rude.



***
Did you know?

Did you know that cats cannot chew their food in the way humans can? For example, cats cannot grind their food with their teeth. Their teeth more so cut or slice their food. This makes sense when you compare human molars to cat molars. Human molars are flat, which allows us to crush our food. A cat's molars, though, are sharp and pointed, and therefore they cut up their food in their mouth. Cats also cannot chew in the same way humans can because cats' jaws can only move up and down, whereas humans can move their jaws up and down as well as side to side. Since cats cannot move their jaws side to side, they have to tilt their head to move the food around, which is just another way cats cannot chew food the same way humans can.

Sunday, April 25, 2021

All Sorts of Sunday Shenanigans

Our WiFi is up and going again, we're trying to get our life together, and so today we have a busy post. Let's start with the Sunday Selfie Blog Hop, shall we?


Our selfie star for today is Toby, and he's got a couple cute yet confusing selfies to share.



That there is Toby wondering why that white stuff called snow is falling on our flowers. I don't know, Toby. I was wondering the exact same thing.



***

Next up, now that we've got WiFi and other general issues sorted out, we finally have our backlogged A to Z Challenge doodles to share. We have three of them to share today, because that's how far behind we fell thanks to this and that. We have the letters S, T, and U to share, so let's get right to that continuation of the A to Z Challenge.


For anyone who hasn't heard me repeat this roughly a gazillion times, our A to Z theme is halfway to Halloween, or Halfoween. After all, that's exactly what the month of April is. That means this month has been filled with spooky springtime doodles.

So, let's get right to the three new spooky springtime doodles, shall we? Thursday was supposed to be the letter S. What does S stand for? It stands for skeleton, obviously.


And Friday was the letter T. In our weird and wacky sort of way, T stands for trick-or-treat.


Lastly, yesterday's letter was U. Even more weirdly than the above two, U stands for undead. You know, the undead, like zombies? The undead might be seen rising from their graves, maybe, so here you go.


There you go! Those all make perfect sense, right?



***

This post isn't done yet. During this month of April, we've also been sharing our Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge poems on Sundays. So, shall we rhyme now?


Each week, our host Angel Sammy shares a photo prompt to help guide our poetic endeavors. The prompt for today's poem was this wonderful one here:


What's more, for this month, I'm also using flashback doodles as illustrations for my poems. That means I'm trying to at least somewhat match past drawings with the photo prompt to altogether create some sort of semi-coherent rhyme. The flashback doodle for today's poem is yet another one from our 2019 A to Z Challenge, that being this one here:


And so, using both the photo prompt and the flashback doodle as some form of inspiration, I ended up with this short little rhyme:


The Farmer's Market

Rosie's cupboards were empty,
And her refrigerator no longer contained any fruits or veggies.
To remedy this incredibly sad fact,
Rosie headed to the grocery store just like that.

She walked up and down the aisles and considered her options,
But, in truth, everything she saw made her proceed with caution.
Why was that bag of chips so expensive yet empty?
Why couldn't she pronounce the ingredients of that spaghetti?
And how old were those fruits and veggies?
The mold growing on them looked quite deadly.

Shaking her head, Rosie could take no more,
And so she ducked tail and ran for the door.
Rosie quickly decided the next destination she would target,
And soon enough she sighed in relief as she arrived at the farmer's market.



***
Did you know?

One of our incredibly weird doodles today involves a skeleton, which got us thinking on some related trivia. Did you know that, while a human skeleton contains 206 bones, the average cat skeleton has 244 bones? What's more, a cat's spine is unusually flexible, and their collar bones are not attached to any other bone in their body. Their collarbones are instead attached largely to muscles. These facts are just a couple of the reasons why cats can make impressive jumps and twists as well as compress their bodies to fit into surprisingly small spaces.

Saturday, April 24, 2021

A Mess of a Post

Our blog is an absolute mess lately, and we have yet another change of plans today. My WiFi completely wigged out yet again yesterday, and since I was procrastinating on preparing today's post, I didn't get the three promised new doodles uploaded before it wigged out. I was hoping my inimical internet would sort itself out like it sometimes does, or that simply unplugging the modem would work, but that's a big no. I haven't been able to upload my new doodles, or anything else, and I'm having to use my phone and its data just to do this, and I'm admittedly terrible at trying to do anything this complex on my phone. 

Long story short, I'm contacting whoever I need to contact to get this WiFi mess sorted out, hopefully for good, so that our blog isn't such a nightmare. I was going to head to my parents' house to use their WiFi so as to upload the new doodles, but since it's already so late in the morning, I decided to just share a flashback doodle that I'm able to access in our blog archive and stay focused on getting the WiFi at my house fixed. Our three backlogged A to Z Challenge doodles will be shared tomorrow, I will make sure of that. For today, though it's completely unlike our intended doodles, here's a 2019 doodle of Rosie brushing her teeth. Because, at this point, why not.


I figured this was an apt enough doodle to share, since I need to wash out of my own mouth after all the choice words I'm been having with my internet.

Thank you all for sticking with us even when our blog is such an absolute mess. I promise I will get this blog and myself sorted out, something which I really intend to do today, and we'll be back to regular programming in a jiffy. For today, though, we hope you enjoyed this absolute travesty of a post.


***

Tip of the Day

Given today's unintended flashback doodle involving Rosie brushing her teeth, we're here to share a tip that we've touched upon before. This tip is to consider that household items you might not think of as dangerous might nonetheless indeed contain potentially toxic components. For example, some toothpastes contains xylitol as an ingredient. Xylitol is an artificial sweetener that is incredibly toxic to our furbabies, especially dogs. It is not as dangerous for cats, but it's still something to be cautious about. So, when it comes to keeping your kitty or pup safe, don't forget to really consider the danger of various items, especially items that you might just assume are safe to keep lying around. If you have an extra curious furbaby, or a furbaby who chews on or tries to eat things they shouldn't, keep anything even potentially questionable out of their reach, including toothpaste.

Friday, April 23, 2021

Friendly Fill-Ins

Hello and happy Friday, friends! Let's get right to the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, shall we? If you'd like to join us, please do so! My co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.


1. _________ is a non-cat related blog I follow.

2. My favorite place to shop online for _________ is _________.

3. _________ has been keeping me busy lately.

4. If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self _________.


My answers are below in bold.

1. My favorite authors' blogs are non-cat related blogs I follow.
(I can't list just one, but I follow a lot of blogs run by authors, especially those whose works I read. I've always liked knowing what authors have to say even off the pages of their books.)

2. My favorite place to shop online for pet supplies is Chewy.
(I've always overall been very pleased with Chewy and the goods and services they provide. Their customer service is often second to none.)

3. Life in general has been keeping me busy lately.
(A lot of random aspects of life have been keeping me busy as of late, from my full-time job to my furbabies to my personal hobbies. I couldn't decide which one to actually put, so I'll just say life in general is a bit busy these days. I know I'm not the only person going through this sort of thing.)

4. If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self to do what you love.
(This could relate to many aspects in my life, but most especially when it came to my college years. I have always loved writing and heavily considered studying it in college, and I often regret not doing so. I told myself back then, though, that a degree in some form of writing would likely not lead to many opportunities. I instead received my degree in animal sciences, which I did enjoy and for which I am incredibly grateful  That said, knowing how much I love writing to this day, and how much I considered studying that in college, I wish I could go back, listen to my dreams, and redo college and my career path with something like a double major or at least a minor in writing.)


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.



***

For your Eddy fix today, this tabby girl thought you might enjoy a closeup from the same photo shoot as last week. She wants to make sure everyone remembers just how pretty she is.


Eddy wishes you all lots of naps today!



***

As we mentioned yesterday, after a few setbacks this week, for tomorrow's Caturday Art Blog Hop I'll be sharing the letters S, T, and U for the A to Z Challenge. Until then, here's a flashback of calico angel Rosie doing some yoga.


Happy Friday, friends!



***
Did you know?

Did you know that cats can stretch up to three times their body length? They can do this when attempting a simple stretch, but also when extending their body to run in full stride. Talk about impressive.

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Thankful Thimble Thursday

Our daily posting schedule has been an absolute mess lately. Our WiFi is still touch-and-go, but this week I also ended up with a stomach bug, or maybe it was food poisoning. I don't know, but it was a thing. Either way, that certainly put me even more off schedule. I'm feeling much better now, but I definitely haven't gotten much in the way of art done this week because of that. So that I can properly finish up the drawings, our A to Z Challenge doodles for today and tomorrow will be posted on Saturday, along with that day's Caturday Art Blog Hop doodle. That means three brand new weird and wacky doodles on Caturday. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Let's get back on track and get to Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop, shall we?


As always, Thimble is here to share her gratitude. What is she thankful for today?


Thimble is grateful for her boyfriend our neighbor cat. He regularly comes over to visit us. I like to think it's because he enjoys our company, but it may or may not have a little to do with the fact that we've got treats, and we dole them out freely to outdoor kitties.



***

As we mentioned above, after some setbacks this week, we'll be sharing today and tomorrow's A to Z Challenge doodles on Saturday, along with that Caturday Art doodle. Since our theme this year is halfway to Halloween, or Halfoween, that means you'll be bombarded with three weird and wacky doodles on Saturday. Lucky you.

We'll of course still share a doodle today, but in the form of a flashback. With regard to this flashback, during this month of April we're sharing our Thoroughly Poetic Thursday poems on Sundays. I have been trying to make this month's poems not only fit with our poetic host's photo prompt, but also with a doodle I scribbled up in the past. For whatever reason, the flashback doodles that I've been using the most for this month's poems have mainly come from our 2019 A to Z Challenge. So, how about another one of those doodles?


Today's letter for the A to Z Challenge is supposed to be S, and since I won't be sharing our spooky springtime S today, we thought we'd share 2019's S, which stood for suppertime. Can I have a taste of that cheeseburger, Rosie?



***

Last but not least, let's share the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. My co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.


1. _________ is a non-cat related blog I follow.

2. My favorite place to shop online for _________ is _________.

3. _________ has been keeping me busy lately.

4. If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self _________.



We'll see you tomorrow, friends!


***
Tip of the Day

We talked a lot about food in our post today, so today's tip is to do your best to remain knowledgeable about pet food recalls, especially those that could directly affect your furbaby. There are various sites online that offer up-to-date information on pet food news, including recalls. One such site is Truthaboutpetfood.com (we're not sponsored or associated in any way, we simply use this site as a personal source on pet food news). There are also other online resources with lists of pet food recalls, including the AVMA website, the FDA website, and sometimes specific pet food company websites or some veterinary clinic websites. For the health and safety of your furbaby, regularly check news of recalls on pet foods, treats, and so forth.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Woof Woof Wednesday and the Letter R

It's Woof Woof Wednesday, which of course means we have for you an obligatory shot of pup Astrid pouting in the window.


We also have for you another installment of the A to Z Challenge.


Our alphabetical theme is still, weirdly enough, halfway to Halloween, or Halfoween. What's more, today's letter is R, and that of course stands for R.I.P. (Rest in Peace, as you all surely don't need me to tell you).


Happy Wednesday, friends!


***

Tip of the Day

Though this is not a topic that any of us wants to think about, we're here to give a simple and short tip on pet burial. When a beloved cat, dog, or other companion animal passes away, we have to decide on what to do with their body. Some of us want our furry family member cremated, for example, while others want them buried. That said, if you wish to bury your cat, dog, or other pet after they pass, be sure you know your local area's laws on this practice. Some regions do indeed allow you to bury deceased pets in your yard, though with some stipulations, such as how deep in the ground they must be buried. Other areas don't legally allow for pet burial, or at least not anywhere except for dedicated pet cemeteries. This could all depend on what country you live in, specifically what state or other region you live in, or could even be dependent on your living community, such as if you live within a Homeowners Association (HOA). So, as much as we don't want to think about this topic, do have some idea as to how you will want your beloved furry family member taken care of after their passing, and be aware of any rules and regulations should you wish to bury them.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Tonks Tuesday and the Letter Q

Today, Tonks wanted to share some flashback photos that sort of relates to our A to Z doodle for today. Does anyone remember this fun photo shoot Tonks participated in a couple years ago?




Now, how do these photos relate to the A to Z Challenge?

Well, you see, today's letter is Q. In the photos above, Tonks is playing with a vibrantly feathered toy. Speaking of feathers, to go with our A to Z theme of halfway to Halloween, we decided that the tricky letter of Q stands for quill. Not just any quill, though. Perhaps this quill belongs to some witch or wizard. What's more, it's some sort of cursed quill, and it's up to no good.


Poor, poor Rosie. She cannot wait until these alphabetic days are over.

Happy Tuesday, friends!


***

Tip of the Day

Our photos and doodle today involve feathers, and that leads us to a tip about feathers. This simple tip is to keep in mind that feathers can cause a variety of issues if ingested by a kitty or pup. Feathers are not able to be digested, and so they can potentially cause bowel obstruction if ingested, much like severe hairballs can. Another potential issue is perforation of the bowel, which can especially occur if stiff and pointy feathers are consumed by a cat or dog. This is something to keep in mind if your kitty or pup goes outdoors and therefore has potential access to birds or any rogue feathers. What's more, if your kitty or pup has a tendency to chew on or ingest items that they shouldn't, then be cautious giving them toys that include feathers or other added pieces. As always, simply keep an eye on your furbaby and make sure they don't ingest any potentially dangerous items, such as feathers, whether that be inside or outside of the home.