Tonks Tuesday with the Talon Look-Alike and the Letter W

Thank you all for the kind words after the loss of my parents' sweet kitty Talon. We love and miss him so much.

I'm a couple days behind on the last letters of the April A to Z Challenge. The past few days have left me with little to no desire to do any form of art. I'm starting to come out of at least that part of the funk, though, and today I do have the letter W to share.

Again, my preface for these alphabetical doodles is that some of my favorite things in life are cats, drawing, writing, and the fantasy genre. And so, my A to Z posts this year are illustrations for a weird and wacky fantasy story I'm currently writing. This story co-stars a hind limb paralyzed orange tabby cat named Hobo, and this month you'll get to go along on some of his adventures.

Today, the letter W stands for walks. After all, in between all of his wild and wacky adventures, Hobo enjoys himself a plain and simple walk in the park.

I'm admittedly not happy with the progress I've made on the doodles for the last three letters of the April A to Z Challenge. I've worked on all of them, but some of some of the progress occurred when I was visiting my parents and their kitties on Talon's last day. Now I honestly just don't really want to look at those drawings. I wasn't happy with how the drawings were going anyway.

All that to say, I think I've decided a way to combine all three of the last letters of the April A to Z Challenge into one doodle that I'm actually excited to work on. Tomorrow is Eddy's birthday, though, and I'm still working on her celebratory doodle, so you might not see my April A to Z Challenge finale until later this week.

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It is indeed Tuesday, which means Tonks Tuesday. I've mentioned this on our blog before, but nearly 11-year-old Thimble and her in-the-family littermates Toby, Trapper, and sweet angel Talon actually had the same mama kitty as Tonks and her also in-the-family littermates Winky and Flitwick. The mama kitty in question was a feral in my grandma's neighborhood. My grandma and her husband were able to catch her and get her spayed when Tonks and her littermates were a couple months old.

All that said, Tonks is the kitty from the same mama who looks and acts the most like her now angelic older brother Talon. So, today I'm sharing a few photos in which she really reminds me of him.

Before Tonks came to live with me as a kitten, she stayed at my parents' house for a few days. Talon was the kitty at my parents' house who excitedly welcomed and mentored all the kittens who came after him, Tonks included. Tonks not only looks like a calico version of Talon, but she also sounds like him when she lets out her cackling meow and just all around acts like him in so many other ways. I'm glad Tonks still helps give us little glimpses of Talon every day.

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Tip of the Day

 

As spring really gets underway, don't forget that our furbabies can have allergies just like we can. Just as with us, pollen, grass, and other airborne allergies can lead to itching, scratching, sneezing, and a number of other similar symptoms in our kitties and pups. If you notice any such symptoms in your furbaby, discuss this with your veterinarian. There are antihistamines and other treatments that can potentially help alleviate allergies for our furbabies.

In addition to veterinary and medicinal care, there are other considerations to make when it comes to helping a kitty or pup cope with seasonal allergies. For example, though we all love window whiffies, keep in mind that open windows can potentially exacerbate allergies, as the allergens then have easy access into the home. So, closed windows are often best for keeping the allergens down within the home. For furbabies who go outdoors, when they come inside, you can wipe off their paws and even wipe down their body to help remove allergens. Regularly cleaning floors, curtains, bedding, clothing, and so forth, can help keep a handle on allergens that might find their way into the home. Regularly changing the filter in your heating and cooling system is another important factor. An air purifier can also help.

As always, we of course want what's best for our furbabies. Allergies can lead to discomfort, so helping your furbaby cope with them is crucial. If you think or know that your furbaby has seasonal allergies, or any allergies at all, discuss this with your veterinarian and do all that you can to minimize their effects.