When my mancat Evan was still a semi-feral kitten, and for months after I brought him home, he was practically unphotographable. At the mere sight of a camera, and most especially when it would flash, he would often go just a tad bit crazy. Sometimes his teeth and claws would make an appearance, and other times he would just walk the other way.
But, just like how over time Evan replaced his initial semi-feral feistiness with a love for snuggling, he also replaced his camera shyness with a love for modeling.
I can now easily say that my boy Evan is my most easy furbaby to photograph. He loves to pose for the camera, and so I rarely have to beg him to sit still.
Although I'm the farthest thing from a professional photographer with any knowledge on the matter, I would guess that it's Evan's coloring that makes him photograph well in just about any lighting. That, or it's just his rugged good looks. Honestly, I'm leaning toward the latter.
Happy Monday! We hope all of our pals out there have a wonderful start to the week!
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Our Tip of the Day:
March is Poison Prevention Awareness Month, so how about another tip along these lines? Be cautious if you use medicated topical ointments or creams, as many of these can be toxic to cats and dogs. This can include antibiotic ointments and steroid creams. It is important to especially be cautious if your cat or dog tends to lick your skin, as they can in this way ingest the toxic medications and become sick.
Our post for this week's Sunday Selfie blog hop, hosted by our friends over at The Cat on My Head, is brought to you by none other than my alarm clock Thimble. Thimble wanted to show off her it's-time-to-wake-up-mommy pose:
When I am awoken by the paw pats and belly rolls of this bright-eyed and bushy-tailed cutie, it means that my sleepy time is drawing to an inevitable end. However, sometimes there is a sliver of hope. If I play my cards right and offer just the right amount of cuddles and pets, my alarm clock Thimble will enter into the snooze mode, which looks a little something like this:
Have a lovely Sunday, everybuddy!
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Our Tip of the Day:
March is Poison Prevention Awareness Month, so over the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing some common, and some perhaps not so common, items to keep away from your cats and dogs. For today, here's a reminder of just a few types of human foods to avoid feeding to your furbabies: chocolate, alcohol, grapes, raisins, onion, garlic, avocados, macadamia nuts, chewing gum.
You may have already seen my contribution for today's always fun Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the always awesome Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty. That's because I'm sharing (or I guess re-sharing) the piece I've just today applied as our blog's new, springtime banner.
Although it may not yet quite feel like Spring for some of us, it's just around the corner nonetheless. Are you excited for warmer weather? How about those April showers?
Now, I can't think of a better post than Caturday Art to tell you a little more about an April art fair benefiting a wonderful animal rescue group in my local area. I mentioned this art fair in a post earlier this week, and have been waiting to give a little more info on it. As I mentioned in that earlier post, I will be participating in this local art fair, where vendors will be selling their goods, and many proceeds from the event go to a local group called Hospice Hearts.
(Click on the image to learn more about Hospice Hearts by visiting their website.)
Hospice Hearts is fairly new organization based in my happy home of Central Illinois. What's great is that it caters to a group of animals that I've often felt needs more attention. We've all heard the saddening stories of the sweet animals left behind after their owners are placed in nursing homes or hospice, or whose owners have passed away. Well, Hospice Hearts works to specifically provide foster and ultimately forever homes to these animals left behind by tragedy, animals who are often senior and/or special needs. Not just that, but it works to ensure that these animals are properly tended to following their tragic experiences, and that includes addressing the grief and confusion these animals experience. I have been so intrigued and impressed ever since I first learned about this organization not long ago, and not just because I have a special fondness for senior and special needs animals. Needless to say, when I learned that they were organizing a benefit in the form of an art fair, which is so charmingly being called the French Market, I was more than excited and eager to participate.
I hope that more and more people and organizations jump on this bandwagon, turning
attention to those grief-stricken yet still perfectly lovable animals who have lost their owners and homes as a result of sickness or
death. Is anyone else aware of a similar organization in their area? If so, I would love to hear about it!
Happy Caturday, everybuddy!
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Our Tip of the Day:
As Spring finally approaches and all sorts of wild flora starts to bloom, keep in mind that your furbabies can potentially have allergies just like humans can. Especially if you know that your furbaby tends to sneeze and sniffle more when things start to enliven in the Spring, try your best to keep the allergens down around them. Although nice, open windows may not always be the best, as anything and everything can blow inside. Also keep in mind that you can bring allergens, such as grass and all sorts of pollen, in on your shoes and other clothing items. If you've been outside doing yard work or in some way attracting your fair share of airborne allergens, don't forget to wipe off or remove your shoes, and perhaps even change into a different set of clothes before smothering your furbaby with cuddles. Taking such precautions can be good for both you and your furbabies during this season of allergens.
And, since it's Friday, here's a bonus picture of the resident pup Astrid taking a turn snoozing on the kitties' Dr. Seuss catnip mat:
Happy Friday, everybuddy!
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Our Tip of the Day:
Life can be hectic these days, and that can affect our furbabies. This is why it's important to know how to recognize signs that your furbaby is feeling stressed, so that you can properly tend to them. If your furbaby is going to be subjected to a new or potentially stressful situation, such as loud noises or strange objects or people coming into the home, be sure to watch for signs that your furbaby is feeling uneasy. Such signs of stress include trembling and shaking, excessive vocalization, pacing or restlessness, and displacement behaviors. Displacement behaviors include yawning when not tired, panting when no physical exertion has been had, and out of place or excessive lip smacking or licking. If you see any of these signs, try to calmly reassure or soothe your furbaby, or, if necessary, remove your furbaby from the stressful situation.
Thimble is probably my best snoozer. Except for when she mills about in search of snuggles and food bowl replenishments, and of course except for her wild shenanigans between 9 and 11 o'clock each and every night, Thimble is a professional napper. She loves to curl up in one of her favorite cozy couch spots, always near a window, and just snooze away.
She even seems to enjoy it when she starts sinking down in between pillows, and is often oblivious of when her head starts to loll back into what I would think to be very uncomfortable positions.
Often, when Thimble is awoken, she'll let out the most adorable chortle, and then she'll stretch backwards as far as she can. So far, often, that she'll fall off the couch if you don't catch her. Needless to say, I have no photographic evidence of this, as I'm usually too busy nose-diving to catch her before she hits the ground. Don't worry, though, Thimble has never injured herself, and in fact seems to think my frantic scrambling to come to her aid is quite amusing.
Of course, Thimble isn't always napping. Guess what woke her up yesterday? When I started opening our Dr. Seuss giveaway package from the amazing Ellen and her kitties over at 15andmeowing. Yep, we received our goodies on Dr. Seuss Day itself! We wasted no time in opening it. I was able to snap one picture of the whole lot of goodies...
...before Thimble invaded the scene and helped herself:
Ellen must have some spectacular nip at her disposal, because Thimble and all the kitties went mad over these goodies. Above is Thimble having her way with the catnip mat and, although you can't see it, a crocheted red fish toy. At this point, Evan and Toby had run off with a green fish toy and the famous red and white hat, and Eddy was having fun with none other than the envelope all of these goodies arrived in. And, moments after this picture was snapped, Astrid ran off with the dog toy Ellen sent just for her!
Thank you, Ellen and kitties! Needless to say, we all love these goodies very much! I'll leave you with one last piece of evidence of this:
Happy Thursday, everybuddy!
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Our Tip of the Day:
Another cleaning tip? If your cat or dog urinates out of the litter box or in the house, such as on a piece of furniture, consider using an enzyme spray when cleaning the area. Even if you've cleaned up the urine and you can no longer smell it, often your cat or dog can still smell it, and that can tempt them to urinate in that same spot again. This is when enzyme sprays come in handy, as they use enzymes to break up and neutralize that odor and therefore help to eliminate inappropriate urination.
Happy Dr. Seuss Day to all of our friends and furiends!
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Our Tip of the Day:
I'll try not to bore you in this tip for today. After all, fun must be had since it's Dr. Seuss Day, they say. So why not be inspired by the rhyming man himself? If you're in need of a name for your pup, cat, or elf, don't forget Lorax or Max, not to mention the Zax. And then there's Thidwick and Mack, and of course a king named Looie. Oh, and don't forget Kooie, Chooie, Hooie, Booie, Prooie, and Zooie. You could always go with Yooks or Zooks, but then there's also Marco and Mayzie, and does anyone remember Little Cat Z? Thing One or Thing Two just might do, but one must also never forget little Cindy Lou Who. You could always go with the Grinch, but perhaps only if you're in a pinch. And of course this list would never be complete without Horton the who-hearing elephant, who is, after all, very important. Oh, and if we're going to be playing this naming game, please do consider Fizza-ma-Wizza-ma-Dill, if you will.
These little guys may not work, but that doesn't keep Evan from proudly posing them.
A rare shot of Thimble acting coy for the camera. At least her toesies didn't shy away!
Of course, Eddy wasn't in the mood for sitting still. So, I instead did a quick doodle to share in her honor:
Actually, I'll likely be sharing more art on a regular basis over the next few weeks (I hope you all aren't getting too tired of it), because I'll be preparing lots of pieces for an April art fair that will benefit a really wonderful animal rescue group in my local area. Stay tuned, because within the next couple of days I'll be sharing more information on this amazing group.
Have a lovely Tuesday, furiends!
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Our Tip of the Day:
When trimming your furbabies' nails, be careful of what's called the quick. If your furbaby has translucent claws rather than black, you'll be able to see the quick - it's the pinkish bundle at the center of the claw, nearer to the toe itself. The quick contains blood vessels and nerves, which is why, if cut, it will bleed and your furbaby might yelp in pain. That being said, I have to be honest - sometimes accidents happen, and if you cut your furbaby's quick and it starts to bleed, it will be okay. The best thing to do in that situation is to get some cornstarch (flour or baking soda would work, too), maybe even mix it with a little bit of water, and then apply that to the bleeding claw so that the blood can coagulate and stop. Although none of us wants to hurt our furbabies, if you cut the quick, stay calm and don't panic so that your furbaby doesn't have to sense anything negative. You want nail trimming to always be the most positive experience possible, so if an accident happens, calmly apply some cornstarch, initiate rewarding cuddles and treats, and all will be okay.
