Going to the Doctor, another pet photo contest, and more!!

Since I've been long overdue for a health check-up, and my mistress came across this coupon today, she figured she'd put it to use and take me in to see a vet.  Of course, I won't start panicking until we get to the car.  The coupon is good for a FREE office visit & physical exam (for new patients), and is at Banfield pet hospitals, which happen to be located at  Petsmart locations throughout the US.

My mistress also figured while we're there, we might as well try out some Halloween costumes, although she already picked one outfit out.  (To remain a secret until the 31st!!)  I've never been in a pet store before, so between the vet visit and pet shopping, I'm sure I'll be anxious to get home and de-stress with some catnip!  I can only hope there aren't large barking dogs running around!  We'll be sure to post my "adventure" in the near future!

In the meantime, here's another facebook pet photo contest sponsored by none other than Petsmart!  There are daily and weekly winners in addition to the grand prize of being featured in an actual commercial!!  I'm excited, and hope all you kitties out there (doggies and other pets too!) will don your scariest costume and enter!  May the best pet win!! 

Cat Cams!

My mistress was surfing the net recently and came across this. 


Now I'll admit, the lil pups are adorable and so playful!!  But what about kitties?  Alas, my mistress and I searched all over the internet and found many websites with cat cams, but unfortunately none that were streaming live with cats. We did, however, stumble across this cute clip:
 
Watch live video from Mark Sr. on Justin.tv

Now, of course, my humans are toying with the idea of putting a webcam on me!  I don't know how interesting that would be - seeing as how I love nothing more than to curl up and take a long catnap, or stare out the window watching the world passing by and daydreaming about that tomcat nextdoor.  Then again it might capture some of my zany antics, especially after indulging in some catnip!  I've been known to get pretty crazy off of that stuff!
Or maybe they'll put a "collar webcam" around me like this:  

 

I wonder what's next?  Kitteh vlogging, perhaps?!?!  :)

Let's Go Mouse Hunting!

I've yet to experience the opportunity to get up close and personal with these cute little vermin, but in recent weeks my human discovered one eye-balling her when she went to open a cabinet door.  We had all already heard the little "squeak squeak" and patter of little feet now and then, but up until that moment, the mouse had all but been a ghost.  No, she didn't scream, and in the blink of an eye he was gone.  And darn it, I think I missed my chance because we haven't heard a peep since.  Or....maybe my gentleman caller across the hall got to him!  Yes, I admit, I'm still meowing at my door, and he's calling to me from his....sigh, maybe one of these days our owners will set us up with a "play date".  Wouldn't that be the cats meow!!  Until then, however, I guess I'm left to daydream, sigh....same with the mouse.  I used to have a toy mouse, and I think I loved it just as much as this kitty does:



But wait!  Lest all you humans out there who are under the impression that we felines make fearless hunters when it comes to mice, think again:

 

Hmmm, come to think of it, I think I might fall into that category! And there are some of us out there who even think "Tom and Jerry":



Happy Mouse Hunting!!

 

Cats and Kids

Now, I don't have any firsthand experience when it comes to the "kid" subject matter, but I'm pretty sure I speak for the rest of us felines out there when I wish we could tell pint-sized humans that:
a) we're not too crazy about "playing dress up"
b) we're not too crazy about "playing dolls"
c) we're not too crazy about being toted around...and watch out for this!



I don't know how this particular scenerio ended, but one thing I'm fairly sure of - my fellow kitteh won't be using the wagon as a napping spot anymore!!  :D

Cat Contests!!

Just in time for Halloween, Kodak has announced their "Possessed Pets Photo Contest".  And for this contest, my fellow felines, you don't even have to be photogenic!  Just find or take a photo of yourself looking a little "possessed", and upload it on facebook where you can add a spooky frame!  I think I'm going to go through my "gallery" and find the perfect one to enter!  Hope you kitties out there will too! 
I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on other cool contests coming up - and if YOU hear of any, be sure and let me know too, so I can help spread the word! 
Meanwhile, check out the winner(s) from last year's Arm & Hammer "Litter of Laughs" video contest:



Good luck to all my fellow competitors out there!!

Lovesick and Lovestarved.....

Well, maybe not "lovestarved", after all, I get plenty of love and attention from my humans.  But the other day they kept wondering why I was sitting by the door and meowing.  Finally, it dawned on them!  It must be another cat.  Surely they heard the other cat meowing the previous night!  I heard it!  And I wanted to, no, correction, I needed to know where it was coming from!  Did one of the neighbors get a new kitty?  Or was it a stray, like the two tabbies that were hanging around on the back stairwell for a spell last fall? Hmmm...
It's been so long since I've heard the familiar "call of the wild" - I recall when I first moved into this apartment building last summer, my neighbor downstairs had an "outdoor" cat that he adopted...a calico that got a whiff of me and would literally come upstairs to court me.  My humans would allow us to sniff each other, and boy did he drool over me!
Back home in Florida, my neighbor across the street had several outdoorzy types, and I remember one time, my mistress tried to play matchmaker with "Conan",  a burly Siamese who was the "alpha cat" of my street.  Well, not being educated in feline social graces, after a few moments of being placed a few feet in front of him, I guess I got a little overzealous and decided to charge Conan!  Needless to say, I unfortunately scared him away, and sadly I never got the opportunity to get up close and personal with him again.  Sigh, I need advice for the lovelorn....

Driving May Have Gone To The Dogs....

But us cats are better at it, as this video from Subaru proves!



Of course, everyone in the feline world already knows we're better drivers!  Mind you, I've never taken any driving lessons yet, although I have been behind the wheel...sort of:

 

But I'm more of a "backseat driver", and prefer the passenger's seat instead:

There now, that's more like it!  Anyhows, hope you enjoyed the video of the week, and be sure to check out more of the Subaru 'driving dogs' on Youtube.  Geez, I wonder when they'll get with the program and start hiring us cats?!?!

I Want My Mummy!

Well, not exactly - you see, my humans went to the Philbrook Museum of Art here in Tulsa, because they wanted to catch the Egyptian exhibit.  Apparently they weren't the only ones because they were talking about how crowded it was.  Ahh - people!!  Sometimes I feel like Gossamer, you know, the red monster animated cartoon character, who screams and runs away when Bugs Bunny mentions "people" are watching?!

Yup, that about sums up my reaction! I'm a big scaredy cat when it comes to crowds of people, plus, I don't think there would have been anything of interest for me at the museum.  And let's not forget, cats aren't allowed anyway.  But I digress....
I did overhear my mistress talking most excitedly about the mummies they had on exhibit, including mummies of dogs!!!  Which led my mistress to do a bit of research on the matter of mummified cats.  Here's what she came up with:

• In recent years, scientists have learned cats have been around as pets even before Ancient Eygyptian times!  Me-wow! Here's some more info.
• As far as Egyptians were concerned, the role cats played was not only to help eradicate mice and other vermin, they were said to ward off evil spirits and had a  deity "cat goddess" called Bast, that represented protection, fertility and motherhood!
• Out of reverence, many cats in Egyptian society received the same mummification as humans after death.
•  Bowls of milk, mice and rats were placed in the cats' tombs to ensure comfort in the journey into afterlife.

Now, I'm liking the milk part.  And I'm liking the worship part.  But this whole mummy thing kinda sends shivers down my spine!

 

Cat Therapy?

Dear Readers,

Today I'd like to talk to you about something my mistress came upon while surfing the internet for events around the Tulsa area.  It's called, "PAWS for Reading".  It's a program that places registered therapy/support dogs (and cats!) in a classroom or library setting, acting as an incentive for school-age children to read and promote social skills.  Animal-assisted therapy programs are in place all over the country, where pets such as dogs, cats, even birds are trained and used to visit patients in care facilities, elderly in nursing homes, even helping autistic children. 
Everyone who's a pet owner knows not only are we your best friend and a member of the family, but animals, and especially cats, have a very calming effect with people, mainly because we like to sit in your lap and be petted! 
Now it does take a special cat or dog to be a therapy pet.  Pre-requisites include having a calm, tolerant disposition, along with being affectionate, and in good health.  Most of all, they should enjoy meeting and being around people.  If you or your owner feel like you are a good candidate, I'd encourage you to Google pet therapy programs in your area.  Here are a few links to get you started:
 DogPlay: Therapy Dogs and Visiting Pets
 National Animal Assisted Therapy Programs
 Assisted-Animal Therapy Listings by state

Although my shyness would probably prevent me from qualifying, I think this is a great volunteer opportunity for pets and their owners, as well as a way to get involved with the community!  My local PAWS for Reading program even offers area children a free book while sitting down and reading to a therapy pooch!
As a recent article states: "We, as pet owners, know how much love and trust our pets give us. But when we can share that love, and when we see people benefit from that love, it's an amazing gift".  Amen.

Dog Gives Dancing Lessons!

Menow, I've seen everything!  At this moment, I'm thanking my lucky stars that I'm a cat.  I'm also thankful that my mistress doesn't dress me up like a doll, or that she has no inclination to train me for "Dancing With The Stars"!  Let's face it, us cats aren't as gifted as canines are in some aspects, the ability to dance being one of them.  But check out this talented pooch doing the merengue!



Yeah, I'm impressed too!  But, as much as I would love my 15 minutes in the spotlight, I don't think I'll ever be as good a dancer as this doggie.  Nor would I enjoy even trying!  Can you humans out there picture your kitteh doing the mambo?  Mine can't either!  So, as much as I love watching this video, I'm gonna have to be a spectator, not competitor, in the dance field.  Let's all give Carrie paws up in her DWTS audition!!

My Labor Day Weekend

Apparently in the human world, there's a holiday that falls on the first Monday of September every year.  They call it "Labor Day".  I wouldn't know anything about it, nor did I get to 'celebrate' as my master and mistress did by going on a "float/camping trip".  But that's ok, although as usual, I missed my humans like crazy while they were gone.  I knew they were going on an overnight trip when I saw them packing stuff, and they gave me extra food and water.  I watched through the windows (that they left open for me) as they piled their gear in the truck and pulled away.
My humans don't go on overnight trips very often, and this time, like all the rest, was spent doing a lot of sleeping.  I mean, what else is there to do?  Occasionally, I'd swat one of my toys around, and look out the window for birds or to check on the off chance my owners might be coming home.  But then I'd go back to curling up and catnapping.  Aside from the periodic noises coming from neighbors going up and down the stairs, my weekend was uneventful.
Then on Sunday night, I was sound asleep when suddenly I heard my name! I jumped up immediately and scampered toward the window and looked out.  Hmmm...nothing.  I didn't hear them anymore or see them.  Where were they?  Was I dreaming??  Well, dream or no dream I continued to scour the street looking for any sign of them.  Unbeknownst to me, they had passed by en route to grab a bite to eat before coming home, and my mistress had shouted to me out the car window.  And I'd heard her!
A short time later, I was still anxiously waiting for them....and then I saw their truck pull up!  meow...MEOW...MMEEEOOOWWWW!!!!!  I was happily proclaiming my joy at the sight of seeing them!  They were home!  Yippee!!!  I kept meowing as they got out of the truck and came up the stairs!  I'm sure you could hear my voiciferous greeting all the way down the street!  They were as happy to see me as I was to see them!
Aside from the excitement at their being home, there were all kinds of curious smells marking their travels.  I definitely could make out traces of the river, and the faint scent of....wait, what?  Another animal??  Maybe dog?  Oh, it must have been the dog they were talking about - that they found paddling in the water following other floaters!  I guess it was a stray, and one of the humans in their party almost took it home but it ended up running off.  I'm not sure how I would feel if they had ended up bringing it home to me!  I'm a one cat household, after all!
So my mistress and master were home safe and sound finally, after being gone for what seemed like eons!  And no, thank you very much, I think I would have passed on floating down a river all day and camping overnight!  I'll leave that for the dogs!

River doggie

 

 

 

Ahhh, they're home  :)

The Flava Flav of Cats!

I don't know about this kitty's rapping talents, but it looks like he's got the bling part down!

At first glance, you might think this was an owner's twisted attempt at vanity, but, as it turns out, this Persian belongs to a dentist, who noticed that the kitten's teeth weren't growing in correctly.  So he decided to put the crowns on to strengthen the teeth so they wouldn't break off.   As for the gold?  Well, as long as you're at it, why not go for the gold?! 

World's Bravest Kitty!

And now, your "warm fuzzy" for the week....an elderly woman's cat saves her from attacking pit bulls!  "Two paws up" for this courageous feline!!