Month: May 2015

Review: Five Years in Heaven by John Schlimm

Books| 3 Comments

Five-years-in-heaven

Each step, whether in happiness or in sadness, is a gift. What we do with
those gifts is what makes all the difference. – Sister Augustine

Even though Sundays are usually devoted to purrs of wisdom from our feline friends via our Conscious Cat Sunday column, Five Years in Heaven: The Unlikely Friendship That Answered Life’s Greatest Questions is the kind of book that fits right in with our Sunday theme. This memoir by Harvard-trained educator, artist and award winning writer John Schlimm chronicles the five year friendship between the author and 87-year-old Sister Augustine, a Benedictine nun at St. Joseph’s Monastery in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania. And while this is not a cat book, Sister’s relationship with her beloved cat Blitzen does play an important role in the book.Continue Reading

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Keep These Poisonous Plants Away from Your Cats

Feline Health| 8 Comments

poisonous-plants-cats

Cats like to chew on plants. If you’re going to have live plants in your home, you must be aware of which plants are poisonous to cats. When in doubt, it’s always best to get rid of a plant. Just keeping plants of kitty’s reach may not be enough. Cats like to climb, which is why it is safer to remove toxic plants from your home altogether.

In some cases, only parts of a plant may be poisonous, but it’s safer to assume that if a plant is toxic, the entire plant should be removed.Continue Reading

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Organic Cat Toys from PurrfectPlay: 2023 Review (With Pictures)

Products| 7 Comments

organic-catnip-toys

Cat toys don’t get much better than the ones from PurrfectPlay. Made in the USA from 100% natural and organic materials, these durable and safe toys are not only fun for pets, they’re made by a company that prides itself on earth-friendly business practices. Their motto is “if Mother Nature didn’t make it, we don’t use it!”

PurrfectPlay does not use any synthetics or plastic. The toys are dye and toxin free, they are sustainable and fair trade, and they donate 5% of each sale to dedicated rescue organizations.

The organic catnip used in these toys must be pretty potent, because Allegra and Ruby were both interested in the box from PurrfectPlay before I even opened it. They couldn’t wait to get their paws on these toys!

We received a box of Teabag Tumbler Cat Toys and a bag of Organic Wool Dust Bunnies. The Teabag Tumblers are adorable, and, as you can see in the video below, Allegra approves of the potent catnip they are filled with!

Ruby goes nuts for the Organic Wool Dust Bunnies and chases them all over the house. When I toss them for her, she goes flying after them, and you can just hear her going “wee!!!”

I loved everything I heard about these toys: they make the girls happy, they’re safe, and they’re made by a company whose business practices I admire.

PurrfectPlay.com
PurrfectPlay.com

Get 20% off all toys with code Purrfectplay20

For more information about PurrfectPlay, and to purchase, please visit PurrfectPlay.com.

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Review: Puzzling Cats Art and Activity Book

Books| 2 Comments

Puzzling-Cats

The Metropolitan Museum of Art introduces Puzzling Cats, a fun puzzle book for cat lovers. Aimed at children ages 3-6, the pictures in this book feature works from the museum from various styles, time periods and cultures. Each piece is accompanied by a brief text explaining the painting, and each piece is also a a puzzle on board stock.Continue Reading

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Why You Should Weigh Your Cat Regularly & How to Do It

Feline Health| 16 Comments

white cat laying on the animal scale while the vet measure weight

Your cat’s weight can be a good indicator of her health – but only if you keep track of it. Gradual weight loss or gain can be difficult to recognize in cats. Consider that the average cat weighs 10 pounds. Weight loss of only 6% of a cat’s body weight is considered a clinical sign – that’s less than ten ounces. Depending on the size of your cat, visible changes to her weight may be too subtle to notice without actually weighing her.

Dr. Andrea Tasi, a homeopathic vet and owner of Just Cats Naturally, considers weight the 4th vital sign.Continue Reading

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Letters from Cats by Stacey Ritz (2023 Book Review)

Books, Giveaways| 56 Comments

Letters-from-Cats

I know we all wonder from time to time what our cats are thinking. No matter how well-versed we are in feline body language and no matter how talkative they may be, there always seems to be a part of them that they keep to themselves. In Letters from Cats: Hilarious and Heartfelt Notes, Stacey Ritz imagines what cats might tell us if they were to write us letters.Continue Reading

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Review: Merrick Purrfect Bistro

Feline Nutrition, Products| 14 Comments

merrick-cat-food-review

At Global Pet Expo earlier this year, I had one of the most fascinating conversations I’ve ever had about pet food with a representative from Merrick Pet Care. I have long considered Merrick one of the better offerings in the pet food arena, and after my conversation with Mark, I like the brand even more, for a variety of reasons:Continue Reading

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Review: Purr Prints of the Heart: A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond

Books| 9 Comments

purr-prints-of-the-heart

Anyone who has been blessed with the love of a special cat has either experienced the devastating pain that comes with losing him or her, or will, inevitably, be going through the experience eventually. These beautiful beings just never live long enough, no matter how old they get. Grief is both a universal and an individual experience. Each relationship between a cat and his or her human is unique, and every human brings all of his or her  past background with loss to the journey through bereavement. One thing that can help make the process a little less painful is to know that others have been there, too.Continue Reading

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