Caturday in the Classroom

The Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by lovely Athena, is back on this week!

This week, our doodle is brought to you by the back-to-school frenzy. Kids are heading back to the classroom, and teachers are gearing up for their arrival. So, for today, we scribbled up a simple little teaching lesson.

As you can tell, this here human is still enjoying perusing Pinterest's endless selection of quotes. Words sure can be so very inspirational sometimes.

To go with our doodle, we decided to share some kind words. We want to tell each and every one of you that we appreciate you so very much! We enjoy it so much when you visit us, and we just as much enjoy visiting all of you. You are all friends to us, and great ones at that.

Happy Caturday to all!

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Thimble Update

If you visited us on Thursday, you might remember that when Thimble went in for her annual exam earlier this week, her right ear was discovered to be impacted with ear wax. We were sent home with an ear cleanser with which to flush her ear for a week, in hopes it would break up the wax. Instead, Thimble seems to be some semblance of allergic to the cleanser. After just two days of use, the poor girl's entire right ear, as well as behind it and in front of it, became extremely pink, irritated, and warm to the touch. The poor girl is rubbing her ear and head on anything and everything she can find to help soothe the itchy irritation. 

After consulting with the veterinarian, we are obviously no longer flushing Thimble's ear with the solution. If a few days off of it results in her ear going back to normal, we are going to try a new ear cleaning solution, one that will hopefully not stir up any reactions in this sensitive little lady cat. If all else fails and the wax ball remains, Thimble will have to be sedated for safe removal of the impacted wax. 

If you can spare them, Thimble and her momma here would appreciate a few purr and prayers! Thank you, everybuddy!

Fun Friday

We're ready for the weekend over here in our corner of the world. Even more so, we're ready for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by the wonderful 15andmeowing and McGuffy's Reader.

This week's fill-ins are as clever as ever.

1. If someone were visiting my area, I would recommend a visit to _________.
2. My favorite room in my home is _________.
3. Back-to-school time makes me think of _________.
4. My favorite year of school was _________, because _________.

I put my thinking cap on, which resulted in these:

1. If someone were visiting my area, I would recommend a visit to the university campus.
(I live in a college town, with both a community college and a university. I attended the university and always quite enjoyed walking around campus. The heart of campus has a great many old buildings that are mesmerizing to explore. There's also an old yet functioning bell tower, right next to the locally famous Alma Mater statue.)

2. My favorite room in my home is the library.
(I love reading and hanging out in this part of my house, and my kitties always keep me company in there as well. It's a popular room. My little library room is very simple right now, but I have future plans to liven it up a bit and make it a charming little place to read and relax. I think I've mentioned on here before how I ultimately intend to fashion it to resemble the village library in the original Beauty and the Beast, with a wooden ladder and all.)

3. Back-to-school time makes me think of my childhood.
(This is probably a pretty obvious answer, but it is so true. When I see kids picking out their new school supplies at the store, and when I see kids filing into the local schools on that first day, it really takes me back. I remember those days, when you were sort of excited, yet also a bit disappointed that summer was over. I even remember how my grade school and high school smelled on those first days back, after being vacant for months and then prepared for our wild return.)

4. My favorite year of school was freshman year of college, because that's when I really felt like I was on my way to my future.
(I never really disliked any years of school. Sure, homework was kind of a drag, and studying for test after test could really make your brain hurt, but I've always enjoyed learning. When I got to my first year of college, though, that's when I really got to focus on taking courses that I chose and that really, truly interested me.)


Now, who's ready for Eddy? Lately, this girl has been giving you all some lovely, non-blurry shots of her. Today, though, she didn't want any of you to forget that she is still a fun-loving lady.

So, there's a bit of a blurry shot for you.

Eddy sure does love to roll about on top of the new fish aquarium. That's pretty much her favorite thing to do these days.

Eddy and all of us here wish you a happy Friday!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

We've been looking forward to today, as we are having lots of fun with the Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge, which is hosted by the handsome Angel Sammy and Teddy.

We are continuing with our usual occupational furbaby poems, but the star of our poem this week is just a tad bit different than the usual. If you're into spoilers, you can scroll right on down to our illustration and see why. Otherwise, you can read our poem and then see for yourself.

Joe the Jester

They say laughter is the best medicine,

And that’s why Joe the Jester is such a fine specimen.

He’s the best of the best,

And that is not a jest.

All the way down from his toes,

Up to that squeaky red nose,

And of course with jingling hat,

Joe will make your day just like that.

Joe the Jester’s jokes will leave you in stitches,

And his acrobatics are better than any old riches.

Joe’s jests will make you smile,

And for more than just a while.

His tricks will make you giggle,

And more than just a little.

So, are you in need of the best kind of medicine?

If so, Joe the Jester knows just the regimen.

He’ll make that perfect jest

To make you feel your best.

He’ll pinwheel and he’ll cartwheel,

Until it’s nothing but joy that you feel.

So don’t be afraid to hahaha.

Go on, let out that great guffaw.

After all, Joe the Jester thrives on laughter,

And you’ll surely be his fan from here on after.

There's a certain Joe that we know who inspired this poem. To visit him, just click on his name there! Oh, and of course here's Joe the Jester's little doodle.

Now, what's no jest is what happened to poor Thimble earlier this week. This poor girl had her turn for her annual exam at the, well, you know...V-E-T. Though she doesn't enjoy it per se, Thimble is always a little angel for her date with the doctor.

This time at the V-E-T, an impacted ball of wax was found in Thimble's ear. The fantastic doctor tried to flush it out, but it wouldn't budge. So, this here momma has to flush out Thimble's ear at home every day for a week. Then, poor little Thimble will have to go back to the V-E-T for a recheck (on none other than National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day!). If the ball of ear wax hasn't budged, Thimble will have to be sedated to have it safely removed. Needless to say, Thimble and I are both rooting for those pesky ear flushes to do the trick.


Just because we had to visit the V-E-T, have to continue with those nasty ear flushes, and then go back to the V-E-T next week, doesn't mean we're not thankful. So, of course, we're partaking in Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

Though it may be a scary place, we are nevertheless very grateful for our wonderful doctors at the V-E-T, as they take such good care of the kitties and pup here. Of course, we are also thankful for a great many other things, including all of you furiends of ours!

P.S. Speaking of furiends, pup Astrid is excited to say that adorable Dougie over at Zoolatry is sharing a post co-starring her over on his blog today. Dougie's human Ann used her magnificent talent to create some goodies using photos of both Dougie and Astrid. If you want to see for yourself, do give Dougie a visit! And of course we want to thank Ann and Dougie for doing this! We are so grateful to have such wonderful pals!

P.P.S. This here human and Ann each created some art for each other in the not too distant past. Starting next week, we'll be sharing those with you here on our blog!

Woofie Wordless Wednesday

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Our Doodle of the Day:

Toofie Tuesday

Guess who decided they wanted to star in today's post? Eddy! This active girl has been more amenable to photos shoots these days. Well, sometimes.

Anyway, this little lady wanted to show off how, as many of you know, her facial nerve paralysis gives her a stunning little smirk that shows off her lovely tooth. See?

You even get double the toofie, thanks to the reflection in Eddy's beloved fish aquarium! She is also quite proud of her whiskers in this shot as well.

Eddy tried to snap another shot that showed off her toofie and whiskers, but she had an itch to scratch and sort of missed the shot.

Eddy and all of us here hope that you have a beautiful day!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

(Any pastel tabbies out there?)

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Our Tuesday Tip of the Week:

For cats as well as dogs, the most susceptible teeth for breaks or other similar damage are often the canines (aka, the fangs). This is because, as I'm sure you already know, these are the most prominent teeth that stick out the farthest. Teeth can be damaged by rough play with other animals in the home or toys, by the animal running into something, or other similar events. Other teeth besides the canines can also become broken or damaged, of course, even sometimes simply by the furbaby chewing on a hard treat or toy. For example, especially if a dog is older or has compromised teeth, a dog might crack a tooth while chewing on a hard chew bone. For reasons such as these, not only ensure that your furbabies have toys safe for their dentition and overall health, but also, if possible, try to do regular checks of your cat or dog's teeth to stay on top of any possible issues. Try to keep an eye out for any obvious breaks or missing parts of teeth, and also of course for issues such as tartar. Oftentimes, dental issues such as breaks will also involve other symptoms, such as a decrease in appetite, an aversion to chewing, or yelping or other signs of pain when the mouth or nearby areas are touched. If you notice any such issues, contact your veterinarian, as dental issues as well as resulting inappetance can lead to further problems.

Mancat Monday: Manning the Door

Evan decided to spend his Mancat Monday at none other than his beloved front door. He's been a bit upset with me lately, as when the temperatures reach unbearably hot levels, we have to shut the front door or we else we all get cooked. The other day, though, it was cooler (almost like autumn!) and so Evan got to bask in his beloved front door sun puddles.

(My goodness, you could form a whole new cat with all the fur on that rug.)

(Ah, what a view.)

So, furiends, how's the weather in your corners of the world? Are you still having a sweltering summer? Or is autumn trying to make an early appearance for you?

Happy Monday to all!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

Easy Sunday Selfies

It's always a mystery which furbaby around here will star in our selfie for the Kitties' Blue Sunday Selfies blog hop each week.

This time around, none other than resident model Thimble volunteered to snap some shots of herself. She decided to make this both Easy and Selfie Sunday, and so snapped these:

We hope all of our furiends out there are having an Easy Sunday as well!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

(Thimble's PSA to all you cool cats out there!)