Tonks Tuesday: Toy Time

It's Tonks Tuesday, and today the calico is showing off one of her favorite toys.

If you can't tell what that is, it's a rather robust silver vine stick that used to be completely wrapped in twine of a sort. As you can see, the twine is the in process of being removed by the calico. That's probably because she loves dragging the toy around by the rope. Well, she also clearly loves huffing, rubbing, and just generally loving all over this beloved toy of hers. The raffia at the ends of the stick is also very much enjoyed by calico Tonks.

I just randomly stumbled upon a pack of those silver stick toys on Amazon last year. Between the cats at my house and my parents' house, they're a huge hit. I'm lucky that none of the kitties nor the pup in our family are chewers of sticks or anything of that sort. That means they get to enjoy toys like this, which Tonks won't complain about one bit.

Happy Tuesday, friends!

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Doodle of the Day

The other day we shared a doodle of Thimble making friends with a ghost. I believe I actually used that doodle to go with last week's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge, but either way, it starred Thimble and a ghostly friend. When I scribbled that doodle up a couple weeks ago, I also happened to scribble up a doodle of Tonks playing with the ghostly friend, and that drawing happens to go well enough with today's playful post. So, here you go.

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Tip of the Day

As we mentioned yesterday, we're in National Disaster Preparedness Month. Our newest 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, 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 an 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.

Mancat Monday: The Feral Edition

Hello, friends! You were supposed to get this post yesterday. My apologies for going MIA again. It was just a bit of a chaotic weekend, and I ended up never opening let alone turning on my laptop to work on the post. But, here we are now!

So, I mentioned on Friday how I ended up seeking help for a neighborhood feral on an urgent basis last week. We've had some feral cats come and go in our neighborhood for years on end. I always put food out for any that want a bite to eat, and so a lot of them know my house is a place to stop by for a meal.

All that said, one of the two current feral tomcats in our neighborhood showed up at my house exactly one week ago looking like this:

If you can't tell, that's part of a gutter downspout extender stuck around his neck. I can almost guarantee he got himself in that predicament and that a human did not do that to him, because even after a couple years of this cat stopping by my house for food on and off, he's still by far the most feral, least approachable cat that has ever lived in the neighborhood. The poor guy must have thought he smelled something delicious in whatever gutter that might have been attached to, because he clearly had his head in there real good. For a second I worried it happened at my house, but my gutters and their extenders are white. A lot of houses in our neighborhood have brown or grey ones like the one stuck on the poor kitty, so it's impossible to know where it happened, not that it mattered at that point.

That picture right there was the first glimpse I got of him, and I could barely tell the gutter extender was even on him. Then he turned sideways and the first photo above was the view I got. I was devastated for the poor boy. I immediately started trying to think of ways I could get that off of him, all while knowing that this cat runs away if he so much as sees me through the windows of my house.

The unfortunate thing is that I have a trap for catching animals like this guy, but it is currently missing. When my grandpa and then my grandma passed away a couple years and we acquired a bunch of their stuff, a lot of things got shuffled around and put in storage, and the trap went missing during that era. So, after discovering him like this, I kept putting more food out, because though this guy will run off if I come into sight, he also knows my appearance means more food likely showed up on the porch, and so he'll usually wait a bit and then come back. With more and more food to coax him to his usual eating spot, I tried lying in wait, tried to hide from this guy, tried to find ways to sneakily grab the gutter downspout extender and get it off of him, tried to find ways to trap this guy without an actual trap, and you get the idea. I failed all of the attempts, because this feral fellow is smart and very much so not a fan of humans. My only consolation is that the gutter extender was plastic and allowed for breathing room, and he was still able to eat and then jump over my gate to leave my yard like he always does.

All that to say, there are some rescue groups in my town who are willing to loan out traps as well as assist with acquiring medical care for feral cats. I got into contact with one of them, also explaining to them that this guy is not only in an unusual predicament, but also still intact, which I'd seen evidence of many times when sneakily watching him from my house. Thanks to the aforementioned rescue groups, within hours I had a trap in hand and there was already a vet willing to see him immediately whenever he was caught.

Trapping him admittedly didn't happen all that quickly. First of all, this guy shows up only every couple or few days. Lately, or at least before all of this, he was showing up every third evening like clockwork. What's more, there are other cats in the neighborhood, at least one being another feral I know of, and even more cats that have families but are simply let outside sometimes. And in addition to all that, because I feed cats, my yard gets a ton of opossum traffic overnight. Cats don't usually show up at my house overnight because of that. Despite my efforts to keep the trap out of service during opossum rush hour, I still managed to trap a baby opossum early one morning, and it was really fun trying to coax him out of the trap so that I could set it up again for the cat before I headed out to work.

I'm rambling, aren't I? Anyway. My mom came over to my house regularly to check the trap while I was at work last week. When I got home on Thursday, the trap was still empty. I added fresh, extra stinky tuna to the trap because you know how I mentioned above that the kitty had been showing up every third evening? Well, Thursday was the third evening since I'd first seen the kitty with the gutter extender stuck around his neck. I got ready to walk pup Astrid, and before heading out the front door with her, I checked the trap on the back porch one last time.

Brown kitty was inside the trap, but he hadn't set it off yet. He was straddling the plate that would cause it to close. I got a picture of that, which I'll share here. The photo is admittedly terrible, as it was taken through both the main door as well as the screen door, both of which are in need of having their dog nose art cleaned off of them.

While I was looking out the door, distraught upon thinking the kitty knew not to step on the plate in the trap and therefore worried he'd escaped untrapped, pup Astrid came up to watch with me. The feral fellow apparently heard Astrid approach, and then upon seeing her through the door, he panicked enough that he stepped on the plate and was thereby successfully trapped. Thanks, Astrid.

I'm not sure if you can tell all that well in the above photo, but the kitty was indeed still wearing his gutter trash necklace.

Those photos there were taken after he'd had about 15 minutes to slightly settle down. I had contacted the rescue group and a volunteer immediately headed out to come pick him up and take them to their vet. Before that, I had kitty covered in an old towel I'd grabbed and sprayed with Feliway.

Before the above photos were snapped, the poor kitty was freaking all the way out. He even managed to get his arm through the front of the trap and was jostling the door of it a bit, which is why you see the door of the trap pushed up against the house in some of the photos.

The rescue group volunteer took the feral little fellow straight to the vet. It was already after 5 pm at this point, but the vet sedated him, got the gutter downspout extender off of his neck, neutered him, vaccinated him, gave him a pain and antibiotic injection, and even microchipped him so that if he's ever found or trapped elsewhere in the future, I will hopefully be contacted.

This feral little fellow was deemed unable to be handled without sedation, so he spent the night in a large carrier at the vet's office for monitoring. The next morning, the rescue volunteer brought him back to my yard in that carrier. I was unable to be there, because it was mid-morning and I couldn't miss work that day. But, my amazing mom made sure to meet the rescue volunteer at my house and to get photos and video for me.

The volunteer said the poor kitty was very unhappy and was thrashing around in the cage, which is why his litter box was overturned and all that jazz. Just seconds after that photo was snapped, my mom and the rescue volunteer opened the cage door and the kitty dashed away faster than the speed of light.

I haven't actually mentioned this yet throughout this post, but I've been calling this kitty Bishop for some time. So, meet Bishop, friends. If you're curious, I'm a big fan of sci-fi movies and sort of just got in the habit of naming my feral friends after characters in the movie Aliens. There has been Hicks, Hudson, and Newt, and now we have Bishop as well as a little orange guy I've been calling Jonesy.

I admittedly haven't seen Bishop since he was released back into my yard. I've been putting food out in extra locations, including the perimeter of my property in case he's currently too afraid to enter my yard. Today would be around when he'd usually visit according to his old schedule, but we'll see if he's ready to come by yet. I hope he visits me again, but for now I'm at least glad he's free of his gutter trash necklace. I can't tell you how much sleep I lost last week, or how many nightmares I had while sleeping, because I was so worried he was going to get caught on something with that on him, or that it would get crushed or shift and he wouldn't be able to properly breathe or eat. He's free of it now, though, and he's neutered and medicated and all that good stuff, thanks to the amazing rescue groups and veterinary resources in my hometown.

I mentioned the other feral who comes around, whom I call Jonesy. He also needs neutered eventually, but so far he's also only coming around when he feels like it and not always with much consistency. At least he's not in an emergency situation like Bishop was. Though Jonesy has yet to let me approach or touch him, he overall does not act as quite as feral as Bishop, and even gets within a couple feet of me as long as I don't make any sudden movements. I'm wondering if, whenever I'm able to trap him, if he'll be deemed adoptable, or if he'll be trapped, neutered, and released like Bishop. I'm not sure how Jonesy would act once caught. I'm hoping he'll be a candidate for an indoor life.

Want to see Jonesy? Here's a little glimpse I got of him, since he's less likely than Bishop to run if he sees me taking a photo of him through the door. He also doesn't seem to mind seeing the other kitties through the door, though he's absolutely not a fan of pup Astrid.

Don't worry, Jonesy got more food after those photos were snapped. He's by far the smallest tomcat who's ever shown up at my house, but he also eats more than any others have. He can down multiple cans of food in one sitting. Though sometimes he visits me every day for a span of time, Jonesy lately only visits me every so often, and so I feed him as much as he wants when he shows up. When I first started seeing Jonesy I started to wonder if he was a female, and he hardly ever lifts his tail high enough for me to verify. But, recently he did, and he is absolutely an intact male. So, at some point this boy will have to lose those jewels.

Happy Monday, friends!

***

For anyone curious, or if you'd like to donate to their cause, the rescue group that helped trap and transport Bishop is CATsNAP. That's also the rescue group from which I adopted my girl Eddy. Another rescue group helped orchestrate and fund Bishop's medical care, and that group is Hospice Hearts. I am beyond grateful for the care and kindness both groups offer to all animals in our area.

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Doodle of the Day

Today's doodle sums up last week when I was pulling my hair out trying to help feral kitty Bishop. It also probably depicts how Bishop felt about the situation, especially after the obnoxious humans got him trapped.

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Tip of the Day

September is National Disaster Preparedness Month. This is timely, as many in our nation are currently affected by hurricane season. Given this month dedicated to disaster preparedness, we'll be doing a series of tips on this topic. 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.

Friendly Fill-Ins and Aquamarine Eyes

Hello, friends! I'm sorry for the late post. I'd actually been doing pretty good getting posts completed and scheduled early, until yesterday and today. I promise I have good reason, though. It involves a feral tomcat in my neighborhood that I discovered needed help on Monday. The past couple days have been chaos as we tried to trap him, and we finally succeeded yesterday evening. He got the help he needed, and since he's truly feral and admittedly unfriendly, he was released into my yard this morning so that he could stay in his usual territory. I'll be having a whole post starring him on Sunday, but I just thought I'd attempt to excuse my tardiness by explaining how that situation is in large part why we fell off the train of timely posts the past couple of days.

All that said, we're finally here for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, and we'd love for you to join us! My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.


1. _________ is something I accomplished this year.

2. _________ is something I have yet to accomplish.

3. I would _________ if I found _________.

4. Recently, _________ really piqued my interest.

My answers are below in bold.

1. Getting one of the feral tomcats in the neighborhood trapped and neutered is something I accomplished this year.

(This just goes along with what I mentioned at the beginning of this post. TNR efforts are something I've been meaning to do with the most current feral tomcats in my neighborhood. One tomcat neuter down, thanks to the help of a local rescue group.)

2. Getting the other feral tomcat in the area trapped and neutered is something I have yet to accomplish.

(Now that I'm in close contact with the rescue group who helped me take care of the first feral tomcat, I'll be trying to trap the other feral fellow in the next week or so. This little guy is newer to the area, and he's actually a tad bit less feral than the first. He doesn't necessarily want to be my best friend, but I'm hoping his slightly less aggressive demeanor will make him a bit easier to trap. We shall see.)

3. I would do my absolute best to help if I found a kitty in need.

(I have a feeling this is a sentiment all of us cat lovers share. I can't tell you how much sleep I've lost this week while worrying about the kitty I was trying to trap. I'll share the full story on Sunday, but the short story is that I'm so relieved he's been taken care of. He might be mad at me, given all the hissing and spitting he was aiming at me after I trapped him yesterday, but now that he's back in his domain I'll continue putting food out for him and can just hope he'll forgive me.)

4. Recently, spooky art I found online really piqued my interest.

(Given the time of year, I've been seeing lots of Halloween imagery online. I started saving a number of the images, because some of them have given me ideas of my own for new drawings I'd really like to create. I'll be starting full Halloween doodles very soon, some of them indeed inspired by the spooky, kooky imagery I've been seeing online. Of course, my doodles will include plenty of kitties.)

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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Hello, friends! Eddy realized that last week she didn't give you a good view of her adorable face. So, she tried this week to give you a bit more.

I'd like to say that I happen to think Eddy has some of the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. This photo does not do them justice, but they're a beautiful aquamarine. They're stunning. And I'm not biased at all.

Happy Friday!

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Doodle of the Day

For a variety of reasons, I've scribbled up multiple drawings in the past starring what I call RoboKitty. That said, here's this year's new rendition.

If RoboKitty looks a bit like Thimble, that's because she was my inspiration. Espcially as a kitten, and a bit now, adorable little Thimble has a robotic little meow. And so, RoboKitty was created.

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Tip of the Day

Today's autumn pet safety tip is about candles. As the weather cools and holidays begin to approach, many folk feel compelled to light some cozy, deliciously-scented candles. That being said, always be careful with candles, and any open flames, around your furbabies. If you do light candles, keep them only in areas where your furbaby cannot reach. For some furbabies, putting lit candles up on a high shelf might suffice. Many cats, for example, though, might still be able to reach candles on shelves and other similar surfaces. If you do have such a furbaby capable of this, yet you also wish to light a candle, then consider measures such as keeping your kitty or pup out of the room where the candle is lit. The long and short of it is to never leave lit candles anywhere that a furbaby can reach, and certainly not unattended. Otherwise, a kitty or pup might find themselves burnt, or might knock a candle over and increase the risk of fire. If you cannot ensure the safety of your furbaby and home, then simply refrain from lighting candles.

It's also worthwhile to note that certain items associated with candles should also be considered dangerous and off-limits to furbabies. This would include matches and lighters, for example. These items should be kept tucked safely away, just as lit candles should.

Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

 Hello, friends! Today we're again participating in Angel Sammy's Poetic Thursday Blog Hop.

Today's photo prompt is this majestic and slightly terrifying one here:

Like last week, I took major liberties with this one. As I believe I mentioned last week, not only do I like to include my own illustration with my poems, but I also have a backlog of doodles to share. So, I went through those and found one that only just barely relates to the above photo prompt. Barely, if even at all. I'm talking about this probably not so spooky doodle here:

So, I wrote a short poem, trying to make it work for both the photo prompt and my illustration. You can read it below, if you'd like.

Boo!

My apologies, I didn't mean to give you a scare.
Really, truly, I didn't, I swear.
Or, actually, do I dare?
Anyway, is there any space here you can spare?
I'm getting quite bored of my own little lair.
I'll just live right here, if you don't care.
I'll try my best to stay out of your hair.
Oh, and by the way, my name is Pierre.



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And now it's time for Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Last week, Thimble showed you all how she's cute even when she rolls her eyes at and side-eyes her silly human mom. Today, she wanted to make sure you all know she also has equally adorable expressions that are really quite sweet. See?

As always, both Thimble and I are so very grateful grateful for that downright adorable tabby face.

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Now, last but not least, we have for you the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. _________ is something I accomplished this year.

2. _________ is something I have yet to accomplish.

3. I would _________ if I found _________.

4. Recently, _________ really piqued my interest.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

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Tip of the Day

Today's autumnal tip relates to grooming. As the weather starts to cool in the autumn, your furbaby might begin to grow their winter coat. Especially in double-coated furbabies, such as Persian cats and Husky dogs, you might notice the fur filling out and growing thicker as the weather cools. For this reason, do be sure to help you furbaby groom, such as by brushing them on a regular basis. If you are unable to groom your cat or dog, and especially if they are prone to mats or hairball issues, then you can consider taking them to a groomer. Some veterinary offices even offer grooming services, so, as needed, you can discuss this with your veterinarian. Regardless of if you do it at home or take your furbaby to a groomer, regularly grooming your kitty or pup can help prevent mats, and can help prevent the ingestion of hairballs, especially in cats. Mats can be uncomfortable and painful, so it's of course ideal to prevent these. It is of course also important to help prevent your furbaby's ingestion of too much hair, not only because this prevents the vomiting of hairballs, but also because, in worst case scenarios, ingestion of too much hair could cause a blockage in the intestinal tract. So, don't forgot about those grooming sessions.

Sunny Adventures with Astrid

Today, Astrid wanted to give you all a glimpse of one of her morning walks.

Lately our mornings are very cool and crisp. It's really starting to feel a bit like autumn out there, and I love it. Astrid loves it as well. Just like she loves eating grass.

Astrid would have taken you on even more of her walk, but she honestly got a bit annoyed of this human stopping and taking photos of her. See the look on her face here?

That's the face that always tells me that Astrid is beyond done with waiting for me. So, after that shot on Astrid's beloved bridge across her beloved park, we went on the rest of our walk.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

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Doodle of the Day

Unlike most of the other new doodles we've been sharing, today's actually wasn't scribbled up months ago. It was scribbled up recently, in honor of the fact that I've already started watching Halloween movies. The furbabies around here question my choices, I'm sure, but they still often keep me company during our movie nights, so that's a plus for me.

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Tip of the Day

Today's autumn pet safety tip is a short and simple one, and that is to keep up with those preventatives. We've mentioned this time and time again, and here we are mentioning it yet again. Even as the weather cools in the autumn, and even winter, it is possible for there to be days and conditions that allow for fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and other parasites to survive. Bites or infestations of certain parasites can potentially lead to a variety of diseases or other medical concerns, some of them life-threatening. In order to better ensure that your kitty or pup remains healthy and happy, therefore, do consider administering their preventatives year-round.

Tonks Tuesday: The Distracted Calico

On this Tonks Tuesday, the resident calico is, well, exactly what the title suggests. She's a tad bit distracted.

Tonks promises she's not just trying to ignore you all. She's really just a very busy girl.

Tonks would apologize for not letting you bask in the total adorableness of her face, but there are birds and bugs and neighbors to watch outside the window. She can't simply be expected to look at a camera when there's that much to snoopervise. That said, Tonks promises to try to let you see her full face next week. After all, she knows it's pretty darn cute.

Happy Tuesday, friends!

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Doodle of the Day

Today's doodle is another new one from the vault. It was scribbled up a couple months ago, when summer gardens were in full bloom. If this one looks familiar, it's because it was my way of recreating one of my favorite old doodles that I scribbled up a few years ago. That old doodle starred a similar garden, but that one had a kitty hanging out in none other than a pair of boots. I wanted to make this one a bit more bookish, though, which will be obvious when I stop rambling and you can actually see it for yourself. So, here you go.

The original doodle also involved some potion bottles. I liked the look of that, so I included them in this new version as well. Because why not.

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Tip of the Day

Today's autumn pet safety tip is all about those cool fall temperatures. When the weather starts to cool, take into consideration what steps you might have to take to ensure that your furbaby stays warm. Don't forget that cooler weather can be felt both outdoors and indoors.

If it's growing cold outside, monitor your pup or kitty when outdoors, and don't leave them outdoors for long periods of time. In addition, if you care for strays, ferals, or other outdoor kitties of pups, do your best to ensure they have some form of shelter in which to stay out of the wind and to stay as warm as possible. Even a storage container or a Styrofoam cooler turned upside, with a hole cut in the side as an entrance, can allow for some warmth on cool days. You can add blankets or straw to help strays, ferals, and other outdoor cats or dogs huddle up and stay warm in such a shelter. Do keep in mind, though, that blankets can become damp and cold if rained on, which is why straw might be an ideal option for helping outdoor furbabies stay warm in a shelter.

Of course, don't forget that even our indoor furbabies can feel the drop in temperature this time of year. Floors can go from being cool respites on hot summer days to being drafty and chilly in the autumn. For this reason, try to ensure that your cat or dog has somewhere off of the floor to sleep, especially in these cooler seasons. You can put out extra blankets or pet beds for them to warmly nap on. Especially as we get further into autumn, safe and pet-friendly heating blankets or heated pet beds could also be put out for your furbaby. Then again, you can also help your kitty or pup stay warm with some extra lap time.

May we never forget.

Today marks 22 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States of America. Today, we honor all those who lost their lives or loved ones as a result of fateful September 11, 2001. May we never forget.

I'm not one of those who has an especially significant story relating to 9/11, but the memories are still rather clear in my head nonetheless. I was 12 years old when 9/11 occurred. When the Twin Towers were hit, my 7th grade English class was just about to begin. I remember the principal coming into the classroom with a look on her face that I can only think to describe as terrified, and terrifying. She handed a note to our teacher, who then proceeded to barely maintain composure as she told us what was going on in our nation. I'm Catholic and attended a Catholic school in my Illinois hometown, and the main thing I remember about that day is every student being ushered to the church where we could sit and pray, because we didn't know what else to do.

Today we pray and hope for peace.

***

Did you know?

Did you know that an estimated 300 trained search-and-rescue dogs were present at Ground Zero following the September 11 attacks? Did you know that the last person found alive at Ground Zero, roughly 27 hours after the towers collapsed, was found by a search-and-rescue dog? There were also therapy dogs present, offering comfort to anyone who might need it at Ground Zero. Sadly, both human and companion animal lives were lost as a result of the September 11 attacks, but they shall all be remembered.