Mancat Monday

 It's Mancat Monday, and so Evan is of course here to grace you all with his presence.

Have a magnificent Monday!

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Doodle of the Day

It's cat-o'-lantern season!

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Tip of the Day

Today's disaster preparedness tip is a rather specific one, and it is to consider using a pet rescue alert decal or sticker at your house. These decals or stickers are meant to alert rescue response teams as to how many and what kinds of animals are in the home. They can be placed on a screen door, on a window near a door, or somewhere similar where rescuers can easily see it. This type of information on what animals are in the home can help in the case of a house fire or any emergency evacuation, especially in cases when you are in any way unable to inform response teams as to how many and what kinds of animals are in the home and in need of rescuing. There are a variety of these decals or stickers available online, but one easy way to get them is through the ASPCA, as you can visit their website and order free pet emergency alert decals for your home.

Alerting emergency personnel of the animals in your home can help them to more quickly rescue your companion animals in the event of a fire or other emergency. This being said, though, please do ensure that any such decals or stickers are kept up-to-date. Not only is this important for ensuring that all animals in the house are properly accounted for, but is also important for the safety of emergency personnel. For example, if one of your furbabies has passed away but it is still included on an displayed pet emergency alert at your home, then emergency crews might put their lives at risk looking for an animal who is not even present. So, while these pet emergency alert bulletins can indeed benefit your pets' safety, also ensure that you use them properly in order to keep emergency personnel equally safe.

Distracted Sunday Selfie

Thimble had the camera all lined up for a purrfect selfie, but then she got distracted. Can you guess what distracted her?

Lights. Lights distracted Thimble. The sun came in through the window, reflected off of the camera, and shined onto the ceiling. Being a kitty who loves lights, that certainly distracted Thimble. She hopes you still find her adorable, though!

Happy Sunday, friends!

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Doodle of the Day

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Tip of the Day

Today's National Disaster Preparedness Month tip is to, in the event of a disaster such as a hurricane, do your absolute best to consider the care and safety of animals who may not be your typical indoor companions. For example, do you help care for feral cats, even an entire feral colony? If so, please don't forget them in potential disaster preparedness plans.

Obviously, evacuating feral furbabies may not be anywhere nearly as easy as relocating your tame, indoor kitties or pups. However, do still do all that you can to ensure that you include ferals or strays under your care in the event of an emergency. Especially if there is a known threat of a disaster, try to find a way to access traps or other means of capturing and transporting ferals. And, of course, do your research ahead of time regarding safe areas that would be willing to take in ferals or strays in the event of an emergency. There may indeed be organizations willing to help with this feat. Therefore, also do your research in this regard and reach out to various animal rescue organizations to determine if they can offer assistance.

Another consideration to make are animals such as horses and livestock. As best as absolutely possible, try to always think ahead, even before a disaster is on the immediate horizon, and make sure that you have access to trailers and other necessities for relocating large animals. And, again, do your research ahead of time regarding where you might be able to safely relocate animals such as horses or livestock.

Trying to orchestrate the relocation of numerous animals in the event of a disaster can indeed be very daunting. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, time or resources are short. In the end, though, you have to simply do the absolute best you can. The best way to indeed do the absolute best you can is to always think ahead, be prepared, and have a plan. Make sure that you take the time to research safe options for all creatures under your care, and then, accordingly, make plans that could be implemented in the event of a disaster or other emergency.

Pumpkin Cookie Caturday Art

It's time for Athena's Caturday Art Blog Hop, and you better believe we have an autumnal doodle to share with you all.

I have been working on lots of new doodles in my sketchbook, and these days they all revolve around autumn and Halloween. Some of them are inspired by autumnal and Halloween ideas that randomly pop into in my head, some of them are inspired by autumnal images I've seen or spooky stories I've heard, and others are actually inspired by an autumnal book or two that I've been writing. Seeing that I love autumn and Halloween so much, I guess it was inevitable that these concepts infiltrate the stories I've always wanted to write. For the same reason, there are also lots of cats and other furry friends in my stories.

The above doodle is actually mildly inspired by a concept or two from an autumnal story I've been scribbling up. For the fun of it, I'll try to point out which of the doodles I share are inspired by some of the weird and wacky stories I'm writing. I write what I love, what I enjoy, what I know, and all that jazz, and I'll admit that makes my stories something strange sometimes. Have you read any of the poems I've written for the Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenges? The books and other stories I write are, more or less, a little something like those poems. Sort of.

Well, there I go rambling again. Can you believe that, in person, I'm more often accused of being too quiet and not talkative enough? You'd never know it with how much I blather on here.

Happy Caturday to all!

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Tip of the Day

We're in the midst of a series of tips for National Disaster Preparedness Month. Yesterday, we discussed preparing emergency supplies or a travel kit, so that you and your furbaby will be ready to handle a disaster, evacuation, and so forth, should the need arise. Today, we're here to remind you to go yet another step further and to have a plan. In other words, in the event of a disaster or other emergency, how and what will you do in order to ensure the safety of both your furbaby and yourself? For example, if you live in an area where disasters might make evacuation a possibility, have a safe destination secured, not only for yourself but for your furbaby as well. Do you know of a motel or hotel, or another similar shelter, where animals are allowed? Or, do you have friends or family where your kitty or pup will be allowed to stay? If necessary, research veterinary offices, boarding facilities, or other similar facilities out of harm's way, where your furbaby could be taken in the case of an emergency.

Emergency plans don't just relate to possible evacuations, though. For example, if you live in an area where tornadoes are a possibility, have a plan for what part of the house both you and your furbabies can safely hunker down. Pick a safe room in the center of the house, for example, and have a plan for getting your kitty or pup there in a hurry. If needed, have leashes, carriers, or other necessary tools ready. Depending on where you live and what your situation is, always think ahead to how you will keep both your furbaby and yourself safe in an emergency situation.

One last comment we'll make on this topic is to, as needed and possible, practice your emergency plans. Make sure that everyone in your home knows the plan, and that everyone will know their part in the action. Doing a trial run or two can never hurt, to ensure that everyone is on the same page, and that everything will run as smoothly as possible in an actual emergency.

Friendly Fill-Ins

We're beginning this post by taking a moment to remember all those who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. May we never forget.

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Friday is the day of the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. If you'd like to join in but missed the fill-in statements yesterday, I'll share them again below. Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.


1. I wish I had been alive during _________.

2. My favorite way to have apples is _________.

3. I was sad to find out that _________.

4. _________ isn't rocket science.

My answers are below in bold.

1. I wish I had been alive during the Victorian era.

(I have always been fascinated by the Victorian era. I have enjoyed a great many books, movies, and TV shows set in this historical period. I love the imagery of it, the simplicity of it, and the seeming innocence of it. I have always thought it might be nice to live in an era when times were simpler, when there wasn't technology and other such things to complicate life. Of course, I know people in the Victorian era certainly had their own trials in life, but I've always still been thoroughly intrigued by this time in history.)

2. My favorite way to have apples is with caramel.

(A close second is eating apples with peanut butter, and of course eating apple pie. For me, though, nothing beats apples dipped in caramel, or a classic caramel apple on a stick.)

3. I was sad to find out that so many furry angels have gained their wings.

(As many of you certainly know, a number of the kitties in our blogging world have gained their angel wings recently. I'm always sad to find out that one of our furry friends has flown to the Rainbow Bridge. Purrs and prayers to all the furry angels and to the families they left behind on earth.)

4. Common sense isn't rocket science.

(Some days, it seems like people treat common sense as if it's as complex to grasp as rocket science. But it's not rocket science. It's just common sense.)

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? We decided to go for flashbacks today. These are in honor of the fact that we're starting up our Halloween photo shoots this weekend. At our house, photo shoots involve this here human sneaking up on or chasing furbabies until even one half decent photo is snapped. For special occasions, props are brought out, which is exactly what happened during this Halloween photo shoot from 2018.

Eddy sure gave that ghost a good ol' sniff. I wonder if he passed that sniff test. How do ghosts smell, anyway?

Happy Friday, friends!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

We mentioned how, as of yesterday, we're back to our old doodle schedule. This means new doodles every day except Tuesday and Friday, as on those days we share flashback doodles. So, given that it's Friday, here's today's flashback doodle. It is indeed a Halloween one, it's from 2018, and it's in honor of Eddy's ghostly flashback photos you saw above.

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Tip of the Day

As we mentioned yesterday, we're in National Disaster Preparedness Month. Our current series of tips, therefore, relates to this. Today, we're here to discuss having emergency supplies and travel kits prepared, should you and your furbaby need to evacuate suddenly. After all, destructive hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and other such disasters can, sadly, put people and their pets in the line of danger, as well as without a place to live. Therefore, especially if you are in an area where disasters might lead to evacuation, but also of course simply to be prepared for any emergency, do consider having an emergency kit prepared for your kitty or pup.

When preparing an emergency travel kit, think of the things your pup or kitty might use or need on a daily basis, or even weekly basis. Anything that they need on a regular basis can, of course, be included in an emergency kit. For example, an emergency kit for your furbaby would do well to include a week or so worth of their food, water bottles, bowls, and any medications they require. That is often not all that can or should be included in a cat or dog's emergency travel kit, though. If you rack your brain for anything that might be useful in your furbaby's emergency kit, you might consider a blanket or two, a spare leash, a carrier, a transportable litter box, litter, toys, your cat or dog's medical records, pictures of your cat or dog, and even cleaning supplies, such as paper towels and dish soap. All in all, consider anything and everything your furbaby uses or needs on a regular basis, and then create a travel kit based on that. In the case of an emergency, having such supplies already prepared can allow for you and your furbaby to evacuate and get to safety in a timely manner.

Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

I had been doing so good lately with remembering to schedule my posts. But, alas, I forgot to schedule this one. So, I apologize that it's being posted this late in the morning. I'll try to not be so terrible at this whole blogging thing.

Well, hello and happy Thursday! We're ready to rhyme for Angel Sammy's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday.

As always, our host shared a photo prompt to help us get poetic. This week's prompt was this beautiful image here:

I love this sort of imagery. That being said, these days, my mindset is very autumnal and eager for Halloween. So, I wanted to put that sort of twist on this prompt. I kind of did, but I also kind of ended up with a poem that is way longer than I meant for it to be. If you're up for a long rhyme, feel free to read on.

Maple Lane Manor

Clarissa had moved to a brand new town,
And of course she wished to have a look around.
She thought a small adventure would help her get to know the place,
And so she prepared for an afternoon stroll, a leisurely one rather than a race.

Though Clarissa took pride in her travels and sense of direction,
She had to admit that in a new town she could use an unbiased perception.
From a box with an old collection of maps Clarissa pulled an aged and ancient one,
Certain that it would help her explore the new town until the setting of the sun.

Little did Clarissa know, though,
That she was not as prepared as she believed so.
Stepping outside on that fine autumn day,
Clarissa opened her map and went on her way.

Conferring with the old parchment map in her hands,
Clarissa ventured through a prairie, woods, and other new and exciting lands.
There were trees and some roads that hadn't made it onto the map,
But as Clarissa enjoyed the sights, she didn't think much of that.

She did think something of it, though, when she prepared to return home,
As that was when she realized the map lacked plenty of streets, including her own.
Clarissa had walked a great many miles from her new house in town.
Looking around, she realized she was lost and could not help but frown.

Clarissa turned the map this way in her hands and then that way again.
No matter which way she looked at it, though, the map led her to nothing but dead ends.
All around Clarissa was wide open land in a place she did not know,
And soon enough the sun would go to sleep and the moon would be aglow.

After taking more than a few deep breaths,
Clarissa tried to take at least a few sure-footed steps.
That's when, just up ahead, something caught her eye.
She hadn't seen it before, as amongst the fall foliage it did hide.

There in the distance stood a big and lonely house.
It was the only structure visible in a prairie inhabited by every local mouse.
Clarissa was hesitant, but she was also nothing if not lost and tired,
So she approached the house surrounded by maple trees and bushes that autumn had set on fire.

A line of bushes practically buried the home's white picket fence of a gate,
Which was closed and locked and denied Clarissa access to this place.
Looking around, she saw a sign that labeled the place as Maple Lane Manor.
She thought that a fitting name, though that certainly did not currently assist her.

Just as Clarissa was about to turn and leave,
Something brushed against her legs just below her knees.
Jumping back while letting out a choked gasp,
She found that at her feet stood a friendly black cat.

"Oh, hello there," Clarissa told the feline.
"I don't suppose you can help me get home by dinnertime?"
In response, the cat approached the picket fence nestled in the bushes.
The gate swung open without the cat giving it any number of pushes.

Clarissa could have sworn the gate had not budged a bit for her.
At that moment, though, the gate no longer mattered.
As the cat began walking the distance toward the big house,
It looked over its shoulder and gave her a loud, "Meow!"

"Am I supposed to follow you?" Clarissa asked.
Another deafening meow was the reply she got from the cat
Though she wasn't sure exactly what the cat was saying,
She decided to follow it without any sort of delaying.

The house called Maple Lane Manor was even bigger up close,
And at the front step Clarissa suddenly froze.
She didn't know who lived here.
What if they were someone to fear?

The black cat approached the front door and, like the gate, it swung open.
The feline pranced inside while Clarissa continued to stand there, frozen.
"Meow!" the cat seemed to shout at her, perhaps impatient.
Stepping inside, Clarissa hoped she didn't end up kidnapped and locked in the basement.

If she weren't lost and in need of help,
Clarissa would never enter this strange house by herself.
She did have the cat to accompany her,
But what if it was leading her right to its murderous owner?

The cat ran up a flight of twisting stairs, meowing the whole way.
This time, it didn't seem to be inviting her to follow, so by the door she stayed.
Looking around, Clarissa could hardly take in all the sights.
She whispered, "Goodness me. Where am I? Oh my."

By the door leaned an old and ancient broom,
And tables and shelves lined the parlor and nearest room.
The shelves were lined with books that might have been centuries old.
Clarissa wondered if the ancient things were covered in dust or mold.

Then Clarissa caught sight of even stranger things.
All over the place sat glass bottles filled with liquids of green, purple, and pink.
One nearby bottle had a label that simply read, CAUTION!
And what was that over there? Was that a cauldron?

"Can I help you?" Clarissa heard someone say.
A woman in a black gown came down the stairs, the black cat leading the way.
Clearing her throat and holding up the map in hand,
Clarissa said, "I'm new to town and apparently my map doesn't know this land."

The woman took the map and looked it up and down.
Then she laughed and at the same time frowned.
"My goodness," the woman said, "this map must be ancient.
This land hasn't looked like this in ages."

"Can you point me in the right direction?" Clarissa asked.
"I just moved to town, but now I don't know how to get back."
The woman answered, "It's far too difficult to explain."
Holding up the map, she said, "Let me just fix this old thing."

The woman waved her hand over the map,
Which she then handed back to Clarissa just like that.
Looking at it, Clarissa felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop.
The map now looked brand new and had all the right places and stops.

"Who are you? What are you?" Clarissa asked, scratching her head.
"If I told you I was a witch, would you believe me?" the woman said.
Clarissa nearly choked on her tongue as she took a step or two back.
As she did so, she nearly tripped over the woman's purring black cat.

The witch laughed and said, "Don't worry, I won't eat you.
Actually, I have some things I need to do.
Your map is fixed and will help you find your way.
So, off you go. Have a nice day!"

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Now, of course, it's time for Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

As always, Thimble is here to express her gratitude. What is Thimble grateful for today?

Sunshine! Thimble is thankful for sunshine, whenever we manage to have any. We didn't have rain for something like an entire month back in August. Nowadays, we're lucky to go a day without rain and clouds. But, when Thimble sees the sun, she's so very thankful for it.

All of us here are also grateful for all of you out there! Thank you for being our friends!

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Last but not least, how about the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge? Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. I wish I had been alive during _________.

2. My favorite way to have apples is _________.

3. I was sad to find out that _________.

4. _________ isn't rocket science.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

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Tip of the Day

September is National Disaster Preparedness Month. In 2018, we shared a series of tips relating to this, and we're going to share those tips again this year. Given that some regions are in the midst of hurricane season and that some areas are, sadly, experiencing wild fires, disaster preparedness is a timely discussion to have. Our first tip in this series is a simple precursor to the more detailed tips that will begin tomorrow. And this tip today is to please realize and understand that if a situation is not safe for you, then it's not safe for your animals. For this reason, please do absolutely everything in your ability to never leave your cats or dogs behind in the event of a disaster. If the only safe option for you is to evacuate, then that is also very likely the only safe option for your furbaby. For this reason, never wait until last minute to consider preparations and plans, as then it might be too late. Always have preparations and plans thought through or ready. We'll start discussing such preparations and plans in more detail tomorrow. For now, though, when it comes to potential disasters, please indeed keep in mind your furbaby's safety in addition to your own.

Woof Woof Wednesday

It's September, and our house is decorated for Halloween. Truth be told, our house has been decorated for Halloween since the first day of August, because that's the kind of 2020 we're having. That being said, I have not yet done any Halloween photo shoots with my furbabies. So, I decided to look back to see if I had any Halloween photos starring pup Astrid from the past couple of years. I found a photo from 2018 as well as one from 2019, and they look nearly identical. 

It would seem Astrid prefers to turn a cold shoulder to this happy little ghost friend. What did he do to deserve such treatment?

Have a haunted happy Wednesday!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

Here's yet another autumnal flashback doodle. Tomorrow I'll finally start sharing all of the new autumnal and Halloween doodles I've been working on, but for today here's this one I scribbled up last year. It stars pup Astrid and angels Rosie and Sammy.

I created this doodle in early September of last year in honor of Rosie and Sammy's birthday. Astrid did get to meet Rosie before she gained her angel wings, but since Sammy flew to the Rainbow Bridge nearly 15 years before Astrid was even born, she never got to meet him.

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Did you know?

Did you know that, unlike humans, cats and dogs can see ultraviolet (UV) light? It was believed for quite some time that cats and dogs could not see UV light, but more recent studies have led to the conclusion that their eyes indeed can. Some researchers use this fact as a potential explanation for why cats and even dogs sometimes seem to stare at things humans cannot see. Because, well, they can see things that humans cannot see. Have you ever found yourself wondering why your cat or dog is staring up into the air or at a wall even though you see nothing there? Such behavior has led some people to believe that cats and dogs can see ghosts or other paranormal activity, but scientists think it is at least in part because cats and dogs can see ultraviolet light.

Return to Sender?

On more than one occasion, I've received an erroneous package from Amazon. For example, I once ordered one of my art markers from them, but instead of the marker I received a piece of lingerie that I most certainly did not order. But what do you guys make of this package I received? Should I return it to the sender?

In all honesty, Tonks loves crawling into boxes and packing envelopes, no matter how small they are. She's not a big cat, yet she still surprises me with her ease of squeezing into tiny spaces. I wish I was that flexible.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

We'll finally be getting back to our usual doodle schedule on Thursday, starting on that day with our autumnal illustration to go along with our weekly poem as part of the Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge. I happily spent this past weekend working on over a dozen upcoming doodles for autumn and Halloween, and I'm eager to start sharing those as well as to start working on even more new ones. After all, this is the most wonderful time of the year, is it not?

Anyway, for today we do have another flashback doodle. It's of course another autumnal one, and this time it's one that I scribbled up back in 2018.

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Did you know?

Did you know that the average cat can fit through any gap or hole through which they can fit their head? And do you know how this is possible? First, cats' spines are very flexible. That's not the only reason, though. Whereas a human's collarbone is attached to other bones, a cat's collarbone is only attached to muscle. This largely contributes to why most cats can more or less squash themselves and thereby slip through any gap or hole that fits their head. Depending on the size of the cat, it is possible for a feline to fit through a gap only a couple of inches wide or tall. In fact, there are even instances, some of them caught on video or in photos and shared online, of cats fitting through small gaps such as the one between the bottom of a door and the floor. And then there are those photos and videos of cats fitting into relatively small jars, very thin boxes, and so on and so forth. As already noted, this of course depends on the size of the cat. A fat cat, for example, probably won't be able to squeeze their large body through a gap that fits their head. For the average cat, though, this is indeed possible.