Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

We've reached Thursday! Some of you might know what that means. And that is, the Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge, hosted by Angel Sammy and Teddy.

Each week, our hosts give us a photo prompt to guide our poetic endeavors. This week's photo really spurs the imagination. See?

I've mentioned here on our blog how my dad instilled in me a love for the fantasy genre. He read fantasy stories to me when I was a child, which led me to continue that habit as I grew older. But do you know what else he instilled in me? A joy for classic science fiction. That's probably why that image up there immediately brought to my mind many, many science fiction novels I've read.

One of my all-time favorite science fiction novels is The Beast Master by Andre Norton. I probably enjoy this one so much because some of the main characters are animals. I could go on, but I guess I should probably get to the point. Long story short, when I saw the above image, with its science fiction feel and the furry friends it includes, I felt inspired to try and scribble up something like this:

The Cat Lady of Mars

Marnie made the move to Mars,

Her travels taking her through the stars.

Don't ask Marnie how it all was possible,

For all she knew was that science made it plausible.

It came down to the fact that times were changing.

Earth was loyal but no longer sustaining.

After all, humans were a rampant bunch,

And so into space they made the plunge.

But that is all just backstory,

And that is nothing if not boring.

So, now, where were we?

Oh, yes, Marnie had flown into the starry sea.

On her adventure, Marnie was not alone.

She was not about to leave her cats at her Earthen home!

On the spacecraft they rode beside her,

Leaving on the seats their sleek black fur.

They napped and remained politely silent,

Marnie's purring companions, Lyra and Orion.

It took time, Marnie had to admit,

To traverse the colossal galactic abyss.

She ate, slept, and read her books,

On occasion stopping to gaze out the window and have a look.

The stars appeared one in the same,

But she knew that each one had a name. 

The total duration Marnie did not know,

But, finally, out the window she could see Mars below.

The spacecraft made the descent to land,

Making a whirlwind out of the planet's sand.

Marnie, Lyra, and Orion were about to embark

On a fresh, brand spanking new start.

After all, now they were on Mars!

They had just traveled through the stars!

Marnie knew their new home was nowhere near the port.

The next leg would not be short.

That mattered not one bit, though.

The walk would get them acquainted to this land they did not know.

So Marnie, Lyra, and Orion set out,

And the new land they began to scout.

Marnie never imagined Mars could be so beautiful,

But, indeed, the surroundings were more than suitable.

The traveled across the sands of Mars,

Often gazing up at the sky full of stars.

But the land had just as much to boast,

Complete with tiny seas and their sandy coasts.

Their walk was far shorter than the flight through space,

And before they knew it, their new home was staring them in the face.

Their new home was a house quite humble,

But that did not make Marnie nor her cats grumble.

For, just look around!

All about them beauty did abound.

In their very own front yard was a sparkling lake,

Which was surrounded by trees that in the wind did awake.

From their front yard you could even see Earth in the sky,

Just beyond the horizon, if you squinted your eyes.

Not to mention that the stars still dazzled.

Neither Marnie nor Lyra and Orion felt even remotely frazzled.

But that was just the beginning of their tale.

After all, life on Mars was never stale.

Every day, Marnie, Lyra, and Orion would sit by their lake.

Of course, with them a snack they would always take.

For Marnie it was cookies or crackers,

Or even some walnuts, with the help of a nutcracker.

Lyra and Orion oft snacked on tuna or cod.

Did you know that even on Mars those could be caught?

But this is where the story gets better.

After all, there on the lake there appeared a beggar.

This little visitor looked much like Lyra and Orion,

Except, this cat was purple and had a mane like a lion!

Though her two cats were not all that thrilled,

Marnie made sure that for the beggar some tuna was spilled.

After that, day after day, more visitors would appear.

These Martian felines were special right up to their ears.

While some were clearly like any old cat,

Others were really quite intriguing to look at.

There were tabbies of brown, orange, and pink,

And others that were as metallic as a kitchen sink!

Every day, Marnie brought enough tuna to the lake for them all,

Though Lyra and Orion thought all the fish belonged in their maws.

Before long, Marnie had lost count of her new friends.

Marnie's yard was where all Martian cats' time was spent.

Her feline family grew so large,

Marnie had to build a second house bigger than a barge!

In their new home the Martian cats lived happily ever after,

Oft bringing Marnie a great deal of laughter.

And so that is the tale we've told you today,

Of how Marnie and her two cats flew to Mars to stay.

After their flight through a universe of stars,

Marnie became the Cat Lady of Mars.

***

We scarcely let a Thursday go by without giving you all a dose of Thimble. So, are you ready for some cuteness?

You can blame Thimble's photographer for cutting off her ears and whiskers and for simply being a terrible photographer.

It is also, of course, time for Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Thimble is grateful for warm weather and sun puddles, and for the front door window where she can enjoy said warmth and sun puddles. More importantly, we are so very thankful for all of our family and friends, which of course includes all of you. We appreciate each and every one of you!

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Last but not least, it's time to prepare for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins, which you can find below. Ellen of 15andmeowing crafted up the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. Fireworks _________.

2. My favorite 4th of July picnic food is _________.

3. I begin every day with _________.

4. _________ is the best thing since sliced bread.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Our Tip of the Day:

Yesterday we gave the pet parenting hack of using rubber gloves to remove furbaby hair from sofas, car interiors, and so forth. We failed to mention another option, and so we'll go ahead and do that today. If your clothing, bedding, or similar item is covered in pet hair and you're looking for a quick fix, you can try tossing it in the dryer with a dryer sheet. The anti-static nature of dyer sheets will help keep the hair from sticking to the clothing, bedding, or whatever item is in question. The hair will instead make its way to the lint trap. You could also try just rubbing a dryer sheet on the hairy item, as that sometimes will also help remove hair with the aid of its anti-static nature.

That all being said, though, please do keep those dryer sheets out of your furbaby's reach. This is because dryer sheets often contain potentially toxic components. So, keep those dryer sheets well hidden, and find and toss stray dryer sheets before dispersing the laundry. Of course, if you have any concern for your furbaby's safety, then simply refrain from using this method altogether.

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday

Can you guess what we have for you today? Huh? Can you? Do you think it might be yet another pouty puppy in the window? Guess what? It is!

Astrid, my dear pup, you're going to bore our friends with your repeat pose. Can you perhaps learn some variety? Please?

Well, anyway, we hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

We're still working on our whimsical, magical, weird, and random series of doodles. Obviously, this is another one of that sort.

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Our Tip of the Day:

Do you have furbaby hair on your sofa? What about in your car? Surely not on your clothes? Our pet parenting life hack for today is to keep some rubber gloves on hand. Why? Because, aside from the more commonly used lint roller or piece of tape, rubber gloves can be a reusable tool for removing furbaby hair from surfaces such as sofas and car interiors. You just put on a rubber glove and run it over the hairy sofa or other surface. The rubber glove will help lift the hair from the surface, and the hair will instead stick to the glove. When you're done using the glove to remove furbaby hair from your furniture, one easy way to get said hair off of the glove is by submerging the glove in water. The hair will float off of the glove, and then you can dip the hair out of the water and toss it. So, if you're looking for a quick, easy, reusable tool for removing your furbaby's hair from your furniture, consider giving the rubber glove trick a try.

Tasty Tuesday (#ChewyInfluencer)

Last week, pup Astrid got to share her thoughts on some new food as part of the Chewy.com Blogger Outreach Program. Today, it's the finicky felines' turn. The kittens, Tonks and Winky, even helped with this one. (Let's be honest, the kittens technically weren't invited to this food review for the big kitties, but they just sort of showed up anyway. For further details, read on.)

So, what did the kitties try out this month?

The finicky felines around here tested out PurinaⓇ Pro PlanⓇ True Nature™ adult cat food. This food comes in multiple flavors, but since the kitties around here tend to lean toward chicken, we of course went with the natural chicken and liver recipe. It's made with real chicken and liver, is grain-free, and contains no added artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.

Even better? This food is of the paté variety. This is a must for the kitties around here, as they don't want chunks, morsels, or anything of that sort in their food. (Well, at least the big kitties don't. The kittens, mainly Tonks, don't seem to care. Food is food for the kittens, and they'll inhale it all.)

So, given that this is adult cat food, the big kids tried it out.

Though Evan is not usually the most picky kitty in the household, he walked up, sniffed the food, and then immediately walked away. The reason this is so strange is that he is the only one who did this. Typically the least picky, Evan was the most picky on this particular day.

Toby and Thimble both made a meal of the PurinaⓇ Pro PlanⓇ True Nature™ chicken and liver food. Though the cats' levels of pickiness seem to change day-by-day, Thimble is often the most picky, with Toby as a close second. (Well, to be honest, Eddy is the most picky. She won't touch even a single canned food that exists in this universe, though, so I didn't even know whether to count her vote.)

Now, can you guess who else showed up to the party and tasted the food?

Perhaps you can't tell in that blur, but up there you're seeing Tonks literally inhaling the PurinaⓇ Pro PlanⓇ True Nature™ food. Honestly, do you see her mouth? It's wide open and the food is practically flying into her gullet.

And she kept at it until the bowl was empty. It's like she hadn't just eaten an entire bowl of canned kitten food.

Though I didn't get photographic evidence, Tonks's sister Winky also had a taste. She enjoyed it, too, but nowhere near as much as Tonks did. I think Tonks may be my first evet non-picky kitty. Perhaps she'll prove me wrong when she ages more, but at present, she has shown no signs of being prejudiced towards any foods.

So, especially in a house of typically finicky felines, the PurinaⓇ Pro PlanⓇ True Nature™ food didn't do too badly for itself.


(Disclaimer: As members of the Chewy.com Blogger Outreach Program, we received PurinaⓇ Pro PlanⓇ True Nature™ adult cat food in chicken and liver in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own. We only review products that we believe will be of interest to our readers, and we never recommend a product that we do not believe in.)


Wishing you all a tasty Tuesday!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

As we mentioned yesterday, around here we're the type who like us some fantasy. That's why it would seem that little bits of magic will be making its way into our doodles over the next few days. We hope you don't mind.

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Our Tip of the Day:

We've decided to do a series of tips on life hacks for pet parents, especially cat parents. These hacks may be all sorts of random, and some of them may even be repeats of tips from the past. But, we hope these might offer some pet parenting tips for saving money, saving space, saving time, and, of course, keeping your furbaby happy and healthy.

Today's hack is about those windows, which may or may not be open during the warm summer months. We're here today to ask if you know that there is window screen tape on the market. Did you know that? If you are in need of a quick or temporary fix for a torn window screen, especially if there is any chance that the window might be opened and a furbaby potentially escape, then perhaps look into having window screen tape on hand. This tape can be applied to a tear in a window screen, and is meant not only to hold it together, but is also made to look like part of the screen. Of course, this is likely not mean to be a permanent fix, and may not be able to hold up to a determined furbaby. It is of course still wise to only open windows when they are safe and when the furbaby is supervised, but it might not hurt to have window screen tape on hand in case an emergency quick fix is needed.

Magical Monday Motivation

Since Evan got to show off his handsome self yesterday, on none other than Cat World Domination Day, he agreed to give up his Mancat Monday post so that another kitty could have a turn here on our blog. And what other kitty will you be seeing today?

Tonks! Just look at those sleepy eyes. This is actually a very rare moment of Tonks caught sitting still. What's more, it's not really a very good shot at all. I barely got this photo snapped before Tonks woke up and was up and running amok again.

I think Eddy may have lost her role as the most difficult kitty to photograph in this house. Kitten Tonks and her kitten sister Winky seem to be allergic to sitting still, especially for the camera. If it came down to a competition between Eddy and the kittens over who could take the blurriest photo, I'm starting to think the kittens would now win. I never would have thought any kitty could take that title from Eddy, but I have been proven wrong.

That all being said, we're now going a bit magical on you. In the post in which we introduced Tonks, her sister Winky (who owns my sister), and her brother Flitwick (who owns my parents), we mentioned how they were all named after characters from Harry Potter. The fantasy genre is well-loved in my family, so furbabies named after random fantasy characters has happened on far more than one occasion. Did you know that my angel Rosie and her brother Sammy were named after characters in The Lord of the Rings?

That being said, for the next few days, in honor of the kittens' magical names, our doodles are going to be a bit, well, magical. We know that certainly not all of our friends are fans of the fantasy genre like we are. It is, after all, sort of like an acquired taste. I acquired it from my dad, in fact, who read fantasy stories to me on the regular as a child. But, we do hope that, even if you aren't a fan of fantasy, you might still find some enjoyment in these doodles.

That's not all. This doodle and overall topic of magic inspired the motivational thought we wanted to share with you all today. Though Annie of McGuffy's Reader is taking a well-deserved blogging break, and her Sparks blog hop is therefore on hiatus, we still feel compelled to share a positive thought. So, today's magical words of wisdom are:

"Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen."

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We hope all of you friends of ours have a magnificent, magical, motivational Monday!

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Our  Tip of the Day:

Today's summer safety tip for strays and ferals relates to the trap-neuter-release (TNR) practice. TNR is crucial for keeping the feral cat population under control, as well as keeping individual ferals as safe and healthy as possible. This being said, always keep the weather and environment in mind when embarking on a TNR effort.

The summer heat can of course pose an extreme danger to cats being trapped. Potentially fatal overheating or heat stroke can occur if a cat is trapped and left sitting in the trap in the sun. In addition to this, traps are often made of metal, which means that if these traps are sitting on a hot surface, such as asphalt, the trap as well as the cat inside can overheat in this way as well. To combat such issues, try to trap and thereafter keep ferals in the shade. After they are trapped, do not leave the cats sitting out in the sun and heat, but instead transfer them somewhere cool as soon as possible. Also keep in mind the cats' safety when transporting them. For example, as you all surely know, the interior of a car can quickly become like a deadly oven in the summer months, so do not leave any animals, including trapped ferals, inside hot cars.

TNR is of course a very important practice for the safety and well-being of feral cats. That doesn't mean there aren't risks to the cats, though, and that includes the weather. So, if you are assisting in the significant task of trapping ferals, of course always ensure the cats' safety in all weather.

Snapping Selfies and Ruling the World

Well, today sure is an exciting day. First, it is of course the day of selfies. As in, it's time for the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Kitties Blue over at The Cat on My Head. Second, it's none other than Cat World Domination Day! This fun day of feline domination was established by Sparkle, and is now continued by Summer.

This here human and a certain mancat around here are perhaps a bit biased, but we're thinking that orange tabbies would make pretty darn good rulers of the world. That's why Evan has this post all under control today. This magnificent mancat of course snapped a stunning selfie to share with the world.

Is that not the face of the cutest world dominator ever? I mean, I guess I might be a tad bit biased. But, that's beside the point.

Happy Cat World Domination Day to all of our feline friends!

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Our Tip of the Day:

We have discussed in two past tips the battle that sometimes rages between our furbabies' food and these little things known as ants. As we've all surely seen at some point, ants often flock to easily accessible sources of food. This means that our furbabies' food, which is often at ground level, can make for an easy target. This can be an especially tricky issue when it comes to feeding strays and ferals outdoors. There are, however, some potential solutions.

As we've mentioned in our past ant tips, you can try using chalk or tape to draw a square or circle around outdoor food bowls. Ants will often see this is as a barrier, and will therefore often be unable to make their way into the bowl. Another option is to use something such as baking soda to create a circle or square around the base of outdoor furbabies' food bowls, again so that ants will see this as a barrier and will leave the food alone. Yet another option is to create a moat that ants cannot cross. You can do this by setting strays' and ferals' food bowls in a low dish of water, so that the ants cannot get to the food through the water. Then again, there are also ant-proof bowls on the market. Some of these offer their own moat-like feature, or other features that help keep ants at bay.

So, if you are combating ants in food bowls that you put out for strays and ferals, perhaps do some research and try various options. The important thing is to ensure that whatever ant-proofing method you use does not deter or frighten the furbabies. It is not impossible to keep ants out of strays' and ferals' food, you simply have to use a method that does the job without affecting the furbabies' ability to eat.

Saturday in the Sand

We've been sharing some summertime doodles over the past few days. After all, just because it's been nearly 100°F all week doesn't mean summer can't at least look fun, right?

This here human is not much of a beachgoer. In other words, I haven't truly been to a beach in something like two decades. If I did visit a beach one of these days, though, I would probably spend my time there doing a bit of beach reading. Hence the doodle above!

Really, though, am I the only person who doesn't like sand? The stuff kind of drives me nuts. It's like an invasive species, always ending up anywhere and everywhere. I'm not about that sort of infringement. That's just me, though. We know some of you friends of ours quite like the beach, and that's why we of course couldn't exclude it from our summer doodles.

Of course, our doodle up there is our entry into Athena's Caturday Art blog hop.

Be sure to visit Athena to see all of the masterpieces our friends have created!

Wishing you all a bright and sunny day!

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Our Tip of the Day:

We're continuing on with our tips on summer safety for outdoor strays and ferals. Today we're moving on to the topic of food. When feeding furbabies outdoors, you of course have to take into consideration the heat of summer. Food can spoil in extreme heat, as you all surely know. Dry food is often the best one to feed strays and ferals on hot days. After all, moist food will spoil far more quickly, and will also quickly dry out in the sun and heat. You can try adding additional water to moist food to keep it from drying out too quickly, but even this method won't be able to combat the heat for long. No matter what type of food you feed to strays and ferals, do try to keep it in a shaded area or under a shaded shelter. What's more, remove old food and offer fresh food as often as is possible and needed.

It's also worth noting that though dry food is easier and safer to feed to outdoor cats in the heat, you still have to take precautions. Not only can dry food lose its freshness and safe status in the heat, but also think of instances such as rainy days. Dry food that gets wet will swell, become unappetizing, and can easily spoil if not cleaned up. So, when feeding dry or even moist food, of course keep in mind not only the heat, but other environmental factors such as rain. All in all, keep those strays and ferals healthy this summer with fresh food that is in the shade and protected from spoilage and other issues as best as possible.

Friendly Fill-Ins

Are you ready for some friendly filling in? After all, it is the day of the Friendly Fill-Ins! In case you missed them yesterday, below are the fill-ins for this week. Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. My favorite scent is _________.

2. I hope to _________ this weekend.

3. _________ is music to my ears.

4. Home is where _________.


I took my turn to fill these in, and here's how I did:

1. My favorite scent is caramel.
(I had a tough time picking just one scent. I love anything that smells like some sort of baked or yummy goodness. I don't own many candles, but the ones I do have are all pretty much food-scented, my very favorite one being vanilla caramel. I like the scent of vanilla by itself, too, but when you add caramel to it, yum!)

2. I hope to catch up on housework this weekend.
(This seems to be a generally failed plan every weekend.)

3. A cat's purr is music to my ears.
(Duh! My angel Rosie used to sleep on my bed and purr almost every night as I fell asleep. Talk about a purrfect lullaby. Now, Evan, Thimble, and Eddy often take turns, though Evan is my most common lullaby kitty.)

4. Home is where your heart is set in stone.
(I cannot take credit for this one. "Home is where your heart is set in stone" is a lyric from the song "Home" by Gabrielle Aplin, and I have adored that line ever since the first time I heard the song. I feel like it speaks volumes, and expresses how, no matter how far you go, there will always be some place where your heart really belongs. Of course, I almost put the obvious answer of, "Home is where the furbabies are." While that statement is 1000% true, I thought I'd be a little less predictable with this one. Besides, my furbabies are my rock, so I think they easily apply to this lyric anyway.)

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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For the past few weeks, Eddy had been allowing herself to be photographed when sitting still and in focus (gasp!). Don't worry, though. The old Eddy is still alive and well.

Yep, that's more like true Eddy.

Happy Friday, friends!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

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Our Tip of the Day:

The past couple tips in our summer safety tips for strays and ferals have been all about water. Guess what? Today's tip is about water as well. Since water is such a crucial aspect of survival, especially in the heat of summer, we thought we'd give it one last hoorah. Today, we're specifically talking about water bowls.

Water bowl preference can of course play a part in any cat's life. We've talked before about whisker fatigue, for example, and how this often causes cats to prefer wider bowls, as these won't cause them to bump their whiskers while getting a drink. That being said, though, when it comes to offering water outdoors in the heat, keep in mind how the shape and size of the water bowl can play a part. For example, did you know that evaporation happens more rapidly when water has a large surface area? This is why water in wide, shallow bowls will evaporate relatively quickly in the heat. To combat this, try to offer water in bowls that are narrower and deeper. Of course, do try to ensure that the bowl is not so narrow that it makes drinking impossible or difficult, but also try to ensure that a bowl has a decent chance of combating evaporation.

In addition, consider the material out of which the bowl is made. This one can be a bit tough when it comes to offering water to strays and ferals to hot and sunny days. We've talked before about how stainless steel bowls are often a good choice over plastic bowls, since plastic bowls can get scratched and thereby more easily harbor microbes. But, as you all surely know, metallic surfaces can get pretty darn hot in the summer heat. Especially if a bowl is in the sun or on a hot surface, a metallic bowl might not only cause the water to become uncomfortably warm, but the bowl itself might also become painfully hot to the touch. This is best prevented if the bowl is placed in a cool, shaded area. You can also, if possible and safe, try using sturdy glassware as outdoor bowls. This is of course only reasonable if breakage is unlikely to occur, though, as broken glass is indeed a danger.

In short, take anything and everything possible into consideration when trying to help strays and ferals remain safe in the summer heat. This does indeed include their water bowls. Aim for bowls that will prevent rapid evaporation, but that will also be easy and safe out of which to drink.