A Few Of My Favorite Things

Hi, my name is Fo. I am a cat and I love feathers! Feathers are one of my favorite things to play with. To me, feathers are mystical. They feel so silky and they float and I'm told that feathers are very pretty to look at. I say “I'm told” because I am blind. I was born blind so not seeing isn't a big deal for me. Without my sight, I hear better than most other cats and although cats have a great sense of smell, mine is even better. My whiskers help me “see” where I'm going, so being blind hasn't slowed me down at all.

Catnip is another of my favorite things. Catnip is a plant in the mint family and there are about 250 different kinds of catnip. The one thing they all have in common is something called nepetalactone. Nepetalactone is what makes it so special to cats. Because it's the smell of catnip that cats react to, I really enjoy playing with catnip.

Not all cats respond to catnip but for those of us who do (about 50%), catnip is a fun, fun experience. When I smell catnip I love to roll on the floor, rub on the carpet and run around the house. I go, go, go and then, boom, time to crash. But, it's okay. Catnip is not harmful to cats and we know when we have had enough. Sometimes, after I rest, I like to go back and play some more with catnip and sometimes, I don't.

Catnip is best when it is fresh. I like it when my human girl brings me a new catnip toy. Lots of pet stores sell catnip inside toys or in little bags and just a teeny, tiny bit is enough. Catnip is easy to grow so if your human likes plants they can keep a pot growing in the window and you can sniff it anytime you want. If your humans grow catnip they can dry it and sprinkle it on the floor for you or your human can pinch off the leaves, put them in an airtight container and freeze them for later.

One other really good thing about growing catnip is that mosquitoes don't like it! When I told Zeva about catnip keeping mosquitoes away, she said she was going to get her Mom to plant some all around their pen to keep the bugs away.

It's good to know that dogs and people can benefit from catnip even if they don't have the same fun, fun we cats do.

I will be writing for Zeva's blog regularly so if you share your house with a cat or have friends that are cats, please let them know. I would love to meet them and hear all about them. I'd be interested in where they live and how they love to spend their days.

Love,

Your furry feline friend,

Fo

P.S.  If you haven't checked out the cat gift baskets at PawPalsBoutique.com you really should.  They put catnip toys in lots of the gift baskets!

Here We Grow!

We're a small, family owned company. I had been doing lots and lots of different things in the company so when DixieLee came to live with us a couple of years ago she was able (after I trained her) to help me with product testing and help Dad with shipping and receiving.

When we decided to give the Pet Division its own website, we contacted my friends Bumo and Miu and asked them to help. Bumo and Miu are dogs who live with their graphic artist Mom. They helped me design our new website and are really helpful with market research. I love the logo they designed, don't you?

I think we make a good team but there was still something missing. Cats. Many of our clients are cats and we have lots of gift baskets designed specifically for cats but, if we are going to grow and give our clients what they want, we needed input from cats.

We were so lucky! Bumo and Miu have a cousin who is a cat and they told me about her. Her name is Fo and she is super special. You see, Fo was born blind.

I'm getting ahead of myself here. Fo was born in a litter of four kittens. A human girl named the kittens Fee, Fi, Fo and Fum, like in the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Anyway, when the human girl found that Fo was special, she asked her parents if she could keep her.

Fo loves her human girl so much. She spends all the time she can with her. She sits with her while she does her school work and listens really well when her human girl read stories. Fo started thinking about stories and how wonderful they are. Stories take you to places you physically can't go, especially if you are a blind cat.

Not long after Fo started thinking about telling stories, the human girl brought another cat home. A little kitten she named Alpha. Like most youngsters today, Alpha is very tech savvy. Even with paws, Alpha became really good at typing on the computer. So, while the human girl is at school, Alpha and Fo spend their time surfing the web.

Fo and Alpha have agreed to help us by being guest contributors to our blog. They are very excited and look forward to your comments. I hope you find their blogs interesting and informative and if you have any questions about cats, please, let them know.

As always,

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant Self-promotion.  Check out our new website and tell us what you think.  PawPalsBoutique.comhttp://pawpalsboutique.com/

Dogs At Play

Playing is so much fun I didn't realize it is actually very good for dogs.  You've heard the expression "a tired dog is a good dog", well, it's true.  I can see it with my sister DixieLee.  I'm a pretty laid back dog but DixieLee is hyper.  If we don't do a lot of play she manages to find some way to get into trouble.

Neither one of us is a puppy any more be we still love to wrestle and fight like puppies do.  Some people think we are vicious because we play rough but we know the rules and never hurt one another.  When we go to day care we have  to remember that not all dogs like to play as hard as we do.  If I am playing too hard the other dog will let me know.  He will nip me or just not want to pay any more.  If this happens I know I need to say I am sorry and then most of the time they will want to play some more.

Chasing around the pen is another of our favorite games.  DixieLee can run really, really fast.  We love to chase each other around the house too but Mom gets all grumpy we we race down the hall to see who can jump on the bed first then race back down the hall to see who can get the best seat on the couch.

We like to play with our humans too.  It's great fun to steal socks and have them pay tug of war with us.   Mom doesn't like that game so much but she will play if we use one of our tug toys instead.  Games that make me think are lots of fun. Dad does good hide and go seek and I love when I have to figure out how to get the kibble out from inside the Kong.

Play is good exercise too.  We like to take Mom and Dad on hikes because they are getting old and exercise helps to keep them young.  Walking also keeps everyone's weight down.  Being a lab, I love to eat and if I don't get enough exercise, I get a buffalo butt.  Going on hikes is fun and going on hikes at Dog Park is the BEST.  It's so much fun I never want to leave so sometimes I don't get in the car when I am supposed.  Not getting the care makes it so everyone has to stay longer.

Some dogs like to chase balls or Frisbees but DixieLee and I would rather chase squirrels.  We never catch them cuz they can climb trees but one of these days...

I hear that we re going to go to day care tomorrow.  The weather has been cold and rainy and I hate to get wet so we have been staying inside.  The day care people have a big covered outside area where we can play and we can run all we want in the big inside room.  It's lots of fun to run inside and not have anyone tell you to stop!  The bestest part is that there are so many other dogs to play with.  I can't wait. Maybe I'll see you there.

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  We now have our very own website with the BESTEST dog gift baskets in the whole Universe.  Check it out at pawpalsboutique.com