Month: March 2017

Review: As Dark As My Fur

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as-dark-as-my-fur

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Even though the saying goes “you can’t always judge a book by its cover,” this actually doesn’t always apply with book covers. However, in the case of As Dark As My Fur, the second book in Clea Simon’s Blackie and Care Cat Mystery series, the cover accurately reflects the book’s feel and tone.

Written in the voice of Blackie, a black cat with a mysterious past, set in an unnamed city with a post-apocalyptic feel, this series combines elements of fantasy and mystery. In As Dark As My Fur, Simon continues the adventures of Blackie and  teenager Care, an apprentice private detective. Continue Reading

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A Cat of a Different Color: When a Cat Writer Goes Dark

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cat-dark

Written by Clea Simon

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Sometimes a writer needs to go dark. Not as in silent, but as in dangerous. After close to 20 cozies, I realized that’s what I had to do. The cover of my new mystery, As Dark As My Fur, says it all: a black cat stares out, his green-eyed gaze intense. In the background, a tunnel seems to lead the way underground, further from the light. Indeed, this book – the second Blackie and Care mystery – follows a path laid out in the first of this series, The Ninth Life. And while I understand that not all of my readers will want to follow me here, I do hope you’ll listen as I explain why I’m taking it now, in this series.Continue Reading

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Is Pet Insurance Worth It? Absolutely!

Feline Health| 16 Comments

pet-insurance

I could have ended the headline for this post at the question mark, but since I’m not a fan of click bait headlines, and since I’m a firm believer that every cat guardian should at least look into getting pet insurance, I decided to give you my bottom line right from the start.

Could you afford an unexpected $1000 or $2000 for a medical emergency, or even more for a chronic serious illness?

If your answer to this question is no, you owe it to yourself and your cats to look into pet insurance.Continue Reading

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Mews and Nips: Blue Collar Cats Help Washington DC with Pest Control

Mews and Nips| 2 Comments

blue-collar-cats

Blue Collar Cats, an innovative program by Washington DC’s Humane Rescue Alliance, pairs rescued feral cats with local businesses to help with pest control. Since DC was recently named the third most rat-infested city in the nation, this program should fare well and save unadoptable cats. “That’s always the first goal: we want to place animals in adoptive homes,” Lauren Lipsey, the Alliance’s vice president for community programs, told Washingtonian Magazine. “But cats that don’t exhibit a lot of social behavior towards humans don’t have a lot of options, particularly if they don’t have a safe community or colony to go back to.” Learn more about the program on the Humane Rescue Alliance’s website. And even though I realize that the headline of this post practically begs for political commentary, please remember that the Conscious Cat is a politics-free zone and comments referencing politics will be deleted.

If you missed any of the stories featured on the Conscious Cat this week, here’s a recap:Continue Reading

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Review: The Lost Cats and Lonely Hearts Club

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the-lost-cats-and-lonely-hearts-club

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Reading contemporary romance novels is one of my guilty pleasures, and when the book features a cat, so much the better! The Lost Cats and Lonely Hearts Club by Nic Tatano is one of the most delightful books in the genre that I’ve come across in quite some time, and what’s even better, it’s part of a series. And it features a tortoiseshell kitten – how much better can a book get!Continue Reading

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Cat Writing Pens Make Note Taking or Journaling Fun

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cat-pens

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Over the years, I’ve accumulated quite a collection of cat pens, and I’m always looking for new ones. The three pen designs shown above rank high on my cuteness scale. I use them to journal, and they even make writing my daily to-do list more fun.Continue Reading

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How Would Your Cat’s Carrier Fare in a Car Crash? Facts & Safety Tips

Feline Health| 17 Comments

Sleepypod-air

For most cat parents, putting a cat into the carrier is stressful. We may try to train our cats to accept the carrier, we may try to manage our own energy so that our cats don’t pick up on our stress, we may use calming remedies such as Stress Stopper and Feliway, but the reality is that, while all of these help, it’s still going to be a challenging experience for most of us. But have you ever given any thought to whether your cat’s carrier is safe, should you get into an accident? Do you know which carriers are safe and which aren’t? Do you know what the safest place in the car for your carrier is?Continue Reading

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Study Confirms that Dry Food Increases Risk of Diabetes for Cats

Feline Nutrition| 30 Comments

dry-cat-food-in-plastic-container

There are many reasons why cats should never eat dry food. Dry food is the equivalent of junk food for cats, it is the leading cause of most urinary tract problems, and it is responsible for the obesity problem among cats. Dry food has also been implicated as one of the contributing factors to diabetes, which is reaching epidemic proportions. 1 in 50 cats may be affected, with overweight cats being at increased risk.Continue Reading

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Cat Journals and Notebooks: Review & Recommendations

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Business woman writing to do list in a cafe

Do you keep a journal? Do you still take notes by hand? I do both. As much as I love my computer and tablet, I feel that when it comes to journaling, there’s something about writing by hand that enhances the benefits of the practice. As for note taking, I find that I retain more when I take notes by hand, and there are actually some studies that support this.

And of course, note taking and journaling is way more fun when you do it in cat-themed journals or notebooks! I’ve rounded up a few favorites for you.Continue Reading

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Cat Camp NYC: Celebrating All Things Cat

Feline Lifestyle| 13 Comments

Cat-Camp-NYC

The inaugural Cat Camp NYC, a weekend that was all about celebrating cats and the many ways they enrich our lives, was a huge success. From educational lectures to informal roundtable discussions covering topics ranging from how to save orphaned kittens, help feral cats, design a home to provide an enriched environment for cats that is also pleasing to the human eye, to a keynote address by none other than Jackson Galaxy, the event drew thousands of cat lovers. In addition to the educational offerings, there were lots of vendors offering their cat-themed products. Continue Reading

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Darwin’s Offers Raw Prescription Diet for Cats

Feline Nutrition| 4 Comments

Veterinarian giving advice on pet food to cat owner

We are big fans of Darwin’s raw food. it’s currently one of Allegra and Ruby’s favorite foods. You can read our review of Darwin’s here. Today, I’d like to introduce you to a unique offering in the raw food market: Darwin’s Intelligent Design™, a prescription diet for cats with kidney disease.Continue Reading

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