A Birthday Bash and Friendly Fill-Ins on a Fruity Friday

First is an apology for our incredibly late post today. Technological issues abound at our house lately, but we're here now.

That said, we're going to start by wishing a happy birthday to a certain trio of kitties. My own sweet calico Tonks and her siblings, Winky (who owns my sister) and Flitwick (who owns my parents), all turn 5 today.

Want to see these cuties as kittens?

And how about a flash forward to now?

Happy Birthday, Tonks, Winky, and Flitwick! Your entire family loves you so much!

Feel free to grab a piece of cake and a dose of catnip or two, friends. The party goes on all day.

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Now, shall we move on to to the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge? 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 hope the Easter bunny brings me _________.

2. I don't want the Easter bunny to bring me any _________.

3. I can't believe I didn't think to _________ until recently.

4. Mother Nature really needs to _________.

My answers are below in bold. I actually tried to keep my ramblings brief today.

1. I hope the Easter bunny brings me a healthy report card for Evan.

(My orange boy goes to the vet on Monday for a recheck urinalysis. We're hoping we'll find out that his UTI is gone. Evan would especially love to stop having antibiotics forced down his throat.)

2. I don't want the Easter bunny to bring me any heat and humidity.

(We had a day over 80°F recently, and it was wildly muggy as well. I know I have to get used to that in the summer, but it's only early April, so could we just not, Easter Bunny? Please and thank you.)

3. I can't believe I didn't think to make homemade French fries until recently.

(Let's be honest, there is nothing French about the fries I'm making. But, I recently tried my hand at making my own fries with some potatoes I got from the store, and they honestly turned out pretty good. Now I'm obsessed and will probably be made of mostly potato soon enough.)

4. Mother Nature really needs to make up her mind.

(Is it winter? Is it spring? Is it summer? Mother Nature certainly doesn't know.)

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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Are you ready for your Eddy fix? This little tabby girl would say hello to you all, but she's a little busy enjoying her window whiffies on this true spring day. 

Eddy is wishing lots of window whiffies to all of her friends out there!

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What's next on this buys day? How about todays' doodle for the April A to Z Challenge.

My theme is still of course "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things", and we've reached the letter F. This one isn't terribly exciting, because I decided to make F stand for fruit, since I honestly love fruit and eat it with nearly every single meal. That said, I'm actually not the biggest fan of drawing fruit, so this year I decided that I would use a collection of flashback fruit doodles rather than draw it new. I honestly just wasn't in the mood to draw fruit, so here are some kitties and fruit from the past.

Is that everything for today? Yes? Maybe? Well, have a fantastic Friday, friends!

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Tip of the Day

After yesterday's discussion on tapeworms, we thought we'd briefly discuss a couple of other similar intestinal parasites, these being roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms. We won't go into all of the science for each of these worms, but we will touch on the basics of such infestations. So, if you're interested in these wormy parasites, read on.

Depending on the worm, cats and dogs can potentially become infected with the aforementioned worms as kittens or puppies, such as in utero or from their mother's milk. Worms can also find their way to a cat or dog's intestines by the ingestion of a rodent or other carrier of the parasite, or by ingesting the parasite in certain stages of its life cycle elsewhere in the environment. Symptoms of such an infestation can include diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, a potbellied appearance, and sometimes even sight of the worms in your furbaby's feces.

If you think your kitty or pup might have intestinal worms, such as if they are a young puppy or kitty with a potbelly, if you see worms in their feces, or if you see any other potential signs, of course take your furbaby and a stool sample to be examined by a veterinarian. Parasiticides can be used to eradicate these intestinal parasites. Just as with tapeworms, though, it is important to use preventative measures to keep your kitty or pup clear of them from then on. Keep their environment clean in order to prevent growth of the worms in the environment. In addition, if your furbaby goes outdoors, monitor them and try to ensure that they are not ingesting prey that are potential carriers of intestinal parasites, such as rodents. If needed, such as if your cat or dog is largely outdoors, discuss with your veterinarian the potential for keeping your furbaby on regular preventatives that cover intestinal parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms.