Archive for the ‘Pets’ Category
Dog Show Pictures 2012 (Plus: what is a dog show like?)
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
I had the enormous pleasure of attending a dog show in 2012 with my BFF. With no idea what to expect, I discovered that if you love dogs then you’ll love a dog show (duh.)
What is a dog show like for someone not competing:
Interactive Cat Toys: One to Watch
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
I like to stick to traditions, but interactive cat toys are just plain better than a simple string. And here’s one you should keep an eye on – the Dart Automatic Pet Laser Toy.
ThinkGeek.com generously sent along this, one of their many interactive cat toys, for us to review with Frida and Posie. (Who are my cats.) This is an automatic laser toy that moves around, without making me have to do any of the moving. I know, you’re going to accuse me of being a lazy cat mom – but not before you judge me for thinking I’m a mom to my cats… But listen, sometimes I can’t engaged with the cats! Like when I’m doing chores, or sleeping, or watching important TV! That’s when it’s nice to have something that can keep the cats busy so they don’t knock over plants out of their vengeful. (And seriously, they do it to be vengeful, I’m certain of it!)
You put some batteries in this sucker, and can set the speed and the amount of time for the unit to be on. There are also 16 different “play combination” which is very important (but so far, still confusing to figure out.) I have the FroliBolt, but the problem is that the cats get bored of the automatic function since the one pattern seems to be pretty ... Read More
Fling Ama String Review (More Addictive than Catnip?)
Monday, May 16th, 2011
As part of our awesome collaboration in reviewing some items from ThinkGeek.com, I got two cat toys for Shop cat and Shop kitty (Frida and Posie.) The first item is the Fling-ama-String. I’ve been intimidated to write this review because I really need to emphasis how much Posie is in love with this thing! Frida is interested, too, don’t get me wrong – but Posie has hardly let Frida have a chance at it.
I should have bought THIS years ago, instead of the 50 other useless cat toys that I brought home.
Even when this toy is turned off, Posie is in love with it, trying to get at it.
Fling Ama String ReviewThe installation is simple, three batteries, and you hang it from a door while attaching a cord to the back of the door. This sentence? Will make more sense when you have the item in front of you. Anyway, you have two speeds – which don’t seem to have too much variation, but maybe the cats sense it more than I do. A string basically gets flung, repeatedly. And cats love strings so much, they’ll watch it and grab for it, over and over and over again. Now, when the cat catches the string, the machine stops moving. But that’s the thrill ... Read More
Fawn Pictures: Cute as a Button (Er, A Large Button)
Monday, May 9th, 2011
Ready for the cutest woodland creature I ever saw? Augh, it’s always time for cute baby animal pictures, AMIRITE?
Now… I am such a procrastinator that I’m not even going to tell you guys when these pictures were actually taken (uh, cough, last year!) just that they are of the cutest baby fawn. It was plopped out of its’ mama only hours earlier. Because these babies can’t walk very well at first, the Mom goes away and then comes back at dusk to feed it. Naturally, I didn’t get too close to it or touch it so there’d be no human smell. (Luckily, my camera has a zoom.) It’s crazy to think this was BORN the day these were took, and it looks so perfect and cute and omgadorableaheatsitup!
I love how it’s nestled into the foliage.
Even though it looked scared, and I kept being worried about if it needed water, I had to let nature take over and not intervene. The baby deer was gone later, so I think it’s Mom took it to another location. The sad part is that so many of these woods are getting torn down, the deers are running out of places to live and of things to eat. That’s why I never ye ... Read More
Why Adopt a Rescue Dog or Cat? One Shining, Solid Reason
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
It can often feel like what you do doesn’t really matter because you’re so small and inconsequential to the greater scheme of things. But you forget how much impact you can make on just one person or pet. So why adopt a rescue dog or cat? Because: “Saving just one dog won’t change the world, but surely the world will change for that one dog (or cat).” (Quote attributed to the back of an animal shelter card.)
What do you think of that? The reason to adopt a pet is because you can change the world of that pet. (And that pet will change your world in turn, they’re sweet like that.) Changing the world is a huge deal. It doesn’t matter how big or small that world is.
Wouldn’t you hope that someone would adopt you and save your life? If you are able to do it, why not? The benefits of living with an animal are enormous and affect both physical health and mental health.
I am a big believer in adopting animals from shelters and supporting the shelters. You don’t have to have a million reasons to adopt a pet, you just have to have one good reason. Buying from breeders and puppy mills (and oftentimes pet stores – unless they are working with a shelter) is doing a disservice to the animal community mos ... Read More
Celebrity Cat: Posie Who is Getting Cozy
Sunday, February 27th, 2011
You guys know I have Shopcat and Shopdog, and recently I added Shopkitty to the fold. And she had two trial names: Minka and Annabelle. But I didn’t like those. (I realized an ideal cat name had many attributes, like being only two syllables and not sounding like prissy Russian girl.)
I thought about lots of flower names – like Lily and Poppy. But those weren’t right. So I decided to go with Posy / Posie. I don’t know which way I will spell it, and it can go either way. (I ended up with Posie!) Now, this worked out very well becuase my favorite word is bouquet, and a posy is kind of like a bouquet! It’s also called a “nosegay” and it means a bunch of flowers. This all works well in my theme, since I’d named her Annabelle after the Tasha Tudor book “A is for Annabelle.” Well, in the book, they also mention a nosegay, I believe! So now Posie is my own little bouquet of cuteness.
Also, one of the very first blogs I ever read was Posie Gets Cozy, and I still love it to this day. So it’s a nice reminder of someone I admire and of a beautiful life of beautiful things.
Her nickname is either going to be Rosy Posie, Cozy Posie or Posie Cozy. Which makes the most sense?
... Read More
Gift Baskets for Cats? One I loved for my Two Kitty’s
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
If you guys recall, I won funniest post in the Gourmet Gift Baskets competition, and won free gift baskets for a year. Pretty frickin’ fun stuff, you know? Well, my January gift basket pick was the Pets one for cats. I have two cats now Shopcat (Frida – I did not name her, sigh) and Shopkitty (Posie. I changed her name from Minka to Annabelle to Posy to Posie.)
Included in this basket was: Four toys, a laser pointer, large bag of organic catnip, and three kinds of cat treats. The laser and the catnip/treats have been the biggest hit. This isn’t an official review, I just wanted to share some pictures!
As you might expect with cats, they both loved the large cardboard box the ... Read More
Funny Cat Poses: Share Yours! Here’s “Jellyfish” from Shopcat
Thursday, November 11th, 2010
Shopcat has been doing this funny cat pose (with several variations) a lot. I call it “The Jellyfish” because she tilts her head forward with a point at her nose, and then tucks her paws under while her back legs and paws stick out. It makes her look like, duh, a jellyfish! She can also be menacing like a jellyfish – raw! Well, I don’t know how menacing jellyfish are, but I feel like they probably are not super friendly… (Most of my knowledge on jellyfish comes from an episode of Friends where Monica gets peed on, and the movie Finding Nemo.)
So, feel free to share your funny cat pose pictures, or what you at least call different cat poses! Cats that look like different things are always funny. They are mysterious and shifty.
... Read MoreLitter Robot Review (The Eco-Friendly Unit – Yay!)
Thursday, November 4th, 2010
Wondering what present might make a cat liver go giddy? Have you considered an automatic cat litter box? They’re a big help. I received the Litter Robot to review with Shopcat.
When the BIG cardboard box arrived (which Shopcat then loved playing within!), I was nervous. Getting it out of the box wasn’t that hard though, it’s in two pieces and they’re surprisingly light. I got the gray, eco-friendly litter robot. I stressed that I wouldn’t be able to put it together, but it turns out there was very little set-up other than plugging something in, putting in some litter, and putting the top part on the bottom part. Yup, it was that easy.
The more difficult part involves getting your cat to use the Litter Robot. If you have a cat that already doesn’t mind going into small areas (like little cat beds with tops on them) then you’ll have no problem. For more skittish cats like Shopcat, it can be a bit more of a challenge. Luckily, the Litter Box manuel includes lots of helpful tips, as do Litter Robot reviews online. If you can, get the additional bubble window in the back, we had that and that helps make the space seem larger.
... Read More
Dog Anxiety Treatment Review: Canine Calm Dog Aromatherapy
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
When it comes to dog anxiety treatment, some people go right to the dog anxiety medication. Well, Shopdog is afraid of loud noises – especially thunderstorms. She also tends to be be hyper and nervous (barking, amped up) when she sees new people. But even with all of this, I’ve always been hesitant about meds for her. In the past few years, as she’s gotten older, I’ve used benadryl on the Fourth of July to keep her from being too stressed out. Still, I’m not a fan of medicating her except when I have to. That’s why I was glad to try the Canine Calm spray by Earth Heart.
CANINE CALMTM 2 fl.oz. / 60 ml $11.98
Calming aromatherapy for dog can work just like aromatherapy for humans. If you’ve been a fan of ShesSmart.com for a while, you may have read that I am indeed a firm believer in the sense of smell and think that lavender aromatherapy is very helpful to ease tension and stress. Likewise, I use citrus aromatherapy in the day to be motivated.
Canine Calm comes in in a small blue spray bottle. The smell is pleasant, and actually one that smells like a Bedtime aromatherapy scent my friend use ... Read More
