Products

September 4, 2012

Jackson Galaxy, Spirit Essences and Kitten Associates: a winning combination

I was delighted when I heard that Jackson Galaxy chose Kitten Associates as his Shelter of the Month for the month of September. A portion of all sales from Jackson’s Spirit Essences website for the month will support Kitten Associates.

Kitten Associates is a Connecticut based rescue founded by Robin Olson in 2010. You’d be hard-pressed to meet someone who is more dedicated to saving cats’ lives than Robin. The group’s mission is to save the lives of cats (and dogs, too!), support animal rescue organizations with powerful online marketing tools, and champion legislation for spay/neuter programs to end pet overpopulation.

Kitten Associates also happens to be the rescue group I designated as the recipient of the $1000 prize money for the 2012 Petties. Pettie winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony on October 12.Continue Reading

August 30, 2012

Review and giveaway: Imperial Cat Scratch ‘n Shapes Sofa Scratcher Chaise

Giveaways, Products| 114 Comments

My two little product testers have been super busy lately! Our newest product is the Imperial Cat Scratch ‘n Shapes Sofa Scratcher Chaise. The scratcher comes complete with some heavy duty organic catnip, but we didn’t even need to sprinkle that on. As soon as I put it on the floor, they both checked it out.

The cardboard portion of the scratcher is nice and strong, featuring a honeycomb texture that allows cats to really get their claws into it. The bottom is covered with a sturdy piece of paper to prevent catnip and loose cardborad pieces from falling through to the floor.

Allegra loves scratching posts of all types, and immediately went to town on this one. The video I shot of her using it may be turning her into a TV star: a British production company making a special for National Geographic, provisionally called “The Wild Side of Cats,” which looks at the behavior of domestic cats and examines how that compares to big cat behaviour in the wild, may be using this clip in the program!Continue Reading

August 29, 2012

Allegra and Ruby love their Cat Buddies

Products| 13 Comments

Our friends at Spirit Essences surprised Allegra and Ruby with two Cat Buddies last week! They turned out to be a big hit with both girls, and we would expect no less from any toy recommended by Cat Daddy Jackson Galaxy.

Ruby immediately began wrestling with Cat Buddy Lola, pictured above. I keep finding Lola in different places throughout the house, even though I haven’t seen Ruby actually drag Lola around. Each Cat Buddy is handmade exclusively for Jackson Galaxy in Honolulu, Hawaii. The toys are filled with cotton batting and certified organic cat nip leaves and buds for long-lasting potency, and they’re nice and durable.

Allegra fell in love with her Mini Krinkle Cat Buddy, which is so new,Continue Reading

August 16, 2012

Review and giveaway: Kittyblock scratcher provides corrugated cardboard fun for cats

Giveaways, Products| 173 Comments

Allegra hasn’t met a scratcher she doesn’t like, so I expected her to enjoy the Kittyblock. I just wasn’t pepared for how much she loved it! As soon as it came out of the box, she was all over it. It has since become a favorite at our house for both of the girls.

The Kittyblock was designed by Paul Roberts. It is made from corrugated cardboard and a starch-based adhesive. Weighing in at 8 pounds, the blocks are nice and sturdy. They didn’t move when Allegra and Ruby scratched and jumped and played on them.

I love that it’s not just a scratcher, but also a hiding place and a kitty jungle gym. Ruby likes to stalk Allegra from inside it, while Allegra prefers the spot on top.

In this photo collageContinue Reading

July 26, 2012

Giveaway: Brawny Cat Original Comfort Lounge

Giveaways, Products| 217 Comments

When it comes to cat loungers and scratchers, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything better than the Brawny Cat line.

The original BrawnyCat Scratch’n Slumber Comfort Lounge was designed by Andrew Lesko for his 25-pound cat when he found that “she loved to lounge on her cardboard cat scratcher. It was just her natural spot to hang out on. Her own scent, left by her scratching activity, gave her a sense of ownership and comfort. Not that it was comfortable. It was flat and small (for her). She needed something larger that would also give her more comfort.”

He couldn’t find anything in stores that worked for her, so he decided to design his own. “My prerequisites were that it would be oversized and accommodating for cats of all sizes, be super comfortable, and incorporate a heavy duty, long lasting scratching pad that was also reversible and replaceable. It would be earth friendly, elevated, and have a hidden storage space for kitty toys which would also collect cat scratching residue flakes to keep floors clean.”Continue Reading

July 19, 2012

Giveaway: 3 months of joy for your cat from Pawalla

Giveaways, Products| 115 Comments

Allegra, Ruby and I are delighted to feature Pawalla today. Pawalla is a subscription service: once a month, you receive a box filled with all natural canned food, delicious treats, healthy supplements and fun toys. I’d say their tag line “joy for cats and dogs” is appropriate for the service they provide!

Allegra and Ruby are always excited to receive boxes addressed to them, and even though everything was well-sealed, I think they somehow knew that this box contained yummy food and treats. The food and treats are selected by a veterinary nutritionist, based on the information you provide about your pets during the sign up process.

I only recommend one of the brands that was in our box (Weruva), the other two don’t live up to my, admittedly stringent, requirements. Much to Allegra and Ruby’s relief, the treatsContinue Reading

July 12, 2012

Review and giveaway: Drinkwell Lotus Pet Fountain

Giveaways, Products| 194 Comments

Fountains are a great way to encourage cats to drink more water. Water is critical to keeping your cat healthy. While cats get moisture from a raw or canned diet, they should still have plenty of fresh water available at all times. Cats as a species don’t have a high thirst drive, and this can lead to chronic low-level dehydration if a cat is fed mostly dry food, which in turn, can lead to urinary tract and kidney problems.

We received the Drinkwell® Lotus Pet Fountain for review last week. The girls watched as I took it out of the big box addressed to “Allegra and Ruby King.” I think they were probably expecting to hear some colorful language from me when I saw the words “the fountain is not fully assembled” on the instructions. Thankfully, what little assembly it required was something even I could handle, and a few minutes later, it was filled with water, plugged in, and ready.

The Drinkwell® Lotus Pet Fountain features an elevated drinking dish with multiple streams of water. Continue Reading

July 11, 2012

Allegra and Ruby love their Scratch Tower from Moderncat

Products| 6 Comments

One of the paws down best parts of this year’s BlogPaws conference in Salt Lake City, UT was the Catification Lounge, brought to us by Miss Moderncat Kate Benjamin and Cat Daddy Jackson Galaxy.

Picture an entire hotel ballroom full of cat furniture, cat toys, and other cat paraphernalia – the definition of paradise for cat lovers. Kate has some great photos of the lounge on Moderncat. Everything on display was given away to some very happy winners. I won a Moderncat Scratch Tower, which I had shipped since it was most definitely too big to fit into my suitcase.

Allegra and Ruby got very excited when I told them that the bix box that had just arrived was for them. As soon as I opened it, they both went to investigate. I had barely taken out the Scratch Tower when Allegra immediately put it to the test Continue Reading

June 28, 2012

Review and giveaway: Enter to win a KatKabin cat house

Giveaways, Products| 164 Comments

Whenever a box arrives addressed to Allegra and Ruby King, my two product testers know that it’s time for them to get to work! They’re always very helpful with opening the boxes, and they can’t wait to see what fun new product they get to check out.

Their eyes got bigger as it became obvious that something really big was going to come out of this particular box. Once I got the KatKabin® it out of the box, it didn’t take Allegra long to claim it as hers, as you can see in the photo above.

KatKabins® are unique and innovative cat houses. The outdoor version stands above the ground and provides a warm, cosy outdoor shelter for napping, stretching and relaxing in all weather conditions. It comes with a removable KatFlap and a washable KatKushion.Continue Reading

June 15, 2012

Review and giveaway: Moderncat Stacks toys

Giveaways, Products| 77 Comments

Allegra and Ruby got to be two of the first kitties to review the lastest creation from Miss Moderncat, Kate Benjamin: Stacks are colorful felt toys with unevenly stacked pieces, which give the toys great bounceability!

While the girls just love playing with their Stacks toy, I love that they’re made from 100% Merino wool, using leftover pieces from Moderncat’s popular Atomic Flyers. Nothing goes to waste at Moderncat Studio. The toys are sturdy and soft. We’ve only had ours for a few days, but it’s been kicked and chewed quite a bit, and I don’t even see any marks on it.

Stacks come in six fun color combos:Continue Reading

May 8, 2012

Review and giveaway: Catpods cat furniture for the eco-friendly feline

Giveaways, Products| 306 Comments

When the big box addressed to “Allegra and Ruby King” arrived last week, the girls were very excited. The box had paw prints and cats on it! They couldn’t wait for me to open it. When I took the Catpods Original Catpod™ out of the box, they immediately went to investigate.

What is a Catpod? It’s a scratcher, playhouse, catbed, and big cat toy, all in one. Even though at first glance, the cat pod looks like your average cardboard scratcher, it is most definitely not average. Continue Reading