Now that Svenn has your attention - we want you to know that all of us (me, Alexa, Bo, Prissy, Svenn, and the precious memories of Adam, Carly, and Renee Elise) are all moving our blog party to a bigger, better, flashier, comfier home. The address is even easier to remember. Instead of http://www.cat-pause.com/blog, now you can find us at http://www.cat-pause.com!

We have moved some of the most recent posts to the new blog - and we’ll continue to move some of the others. This blog will, however, stay up always as an archive. It holds a lot of memories of cats we’ve lost, so I’ll never take it down.

If you currently subscribe to the rss for this blog, please ditch it and subscribe, instead, to the new one. Thanks!!!

See you there,
Joi

Svenn could hypnotize with those beautiful eyes - they’re even more piercing in person. (Did I just say person?)

Wow! The Captivating Cat Ring with Diamond Accents is nothing short of gorgeous.

The exotic, mysterious little feline sports a diamond accented collar as well as tail. The booty’s in the booty!

Details: Diamond accents (.01 ct. tw.) provide dazzling detail in a setting of 10K yellow gold

Click the link for a better look.

I love coming across a product who’s company understands what a cat needs - to be pampered and spoiled like there will be no tomorrow. I’ve never met a cat, yet, who didn’t think that was the least we could do for them.

Kitty Kaviar is the perfect way to baby our babies, while giving them something that’s healthy for them.

Kitty Kaviar can be served plain or sprinkled on cat food (or salmon, chicken, tuna…whatever her/his majesty is dining on at the time). It’s an all-natural thin-sliced dried bonito fillet treat - that ought to impress even the hardest to impress cat.

Kitty Kaviar contains 75 percent protein and zero additives, preservatives, or by-products. With a very strong fish smell, cats go crazy wild for this premium cat treat.

Check out this gorgeous Cats Sticky Notes Pad Set. I know exactly what sticky note set I’m getting next!

They’re a Whales & Friends.com exclusive, so you won’t find these beauties anywhere else. I love that web site - I’m what you’d call a very frequent visitor. The animal lover in me embraces anything and everything that devotes itself to these beautiful creatures we share our world with.

On a less flowery note, sticky notes are just the thing to keep your wits about you. When you jot something down and stick it in plain site, you can’t forget it. You might as well let the world know you’re a cat person while doing it, right?!

There are also flamingos, horses and penguins for those who are so inclined. The flamingo set is gorgeous.

I learned something new today - which is always a cool prospect. Did you know that it’s not at all uncommon for white cats to be deaf? My mom had a large (very, very) sweetheart of a cat, Chin Chin, who happened to be deaf.

I read recently that very many white cats are. Especially those who also have blue eyes. Chin Chin’s were green, however.

There is an established link between the white coat color, blue eyes and deafness. Congenial deafness is extremely rare in non-white cats.

A few statistics:

5 percent of the general cat population is white. 15-40 percent of these pure white cats have one or two blue-eyes.

Of those white cats with one or two blue eyes, 60-80 percent are deaf; 20-40 percent have normal hearing; 30-40 percent had one blue eye and were deaf while 60-70 percent had one blue eye and normal hearing.

We had a gorgeous white cat named Whiskers who had perfect hearing. In fact, she was the best hunter I’ve ever witnessed - including myself at a mall sale. She had three kittens who looked a lot like her (Krystal, General, Snoopy, and Scoobie. General was hit by a car when he was fairly young - and had never been particularly sociable. He always seemed pretty scared…and a little ticked off. Looking back, I think he was probably deaf. At the time, we lived in the country with over 12 cats outside - so it’s possible that it would have gone unnoticed at the time.

Sadly, it makes sense now why he got hit on a road that saw very little traffic - and extremely slow, farmers-headed-into-town traffic, at that. I always wondered how the little guy managed to get hit when none of the others did.

I’m pretty sure I know now.

If I had been older and more “in the know”, I’d have checked him out and, then if he were in fact deaf - moved him inside…attitude and all! I can remember so many times trying so hard to baby talk him and win him over - every other cat in three counties would jump in my lap but General! (He must have thought I was a complete fool.)

Bookends Art Print
Buy at AllPosters.com

Isn’t this a beautiful art print? I’m pretty wild about it, myself. The models remind me of my Alexa - she, too, is always near books. She’s lying across a new Nigela Lawson cookbook I got for Christmas right now. She looks a little disappointed….I guess she was expecting mouse on the menu.

The art print is by a water color by Steve Hanks - and it’s absolutely stunning. Click the link to take a closer look at this beauty, as well as to see more of his work.

I just checked the web site again and found another watercolor by Mr. Hanks that also featured the animal we all know and love. Apparently he’s not just a brillaint artist, he’s a cat person too.

I knew I liked him!

Gato Art Print
Hanks, Steve
Buy at AllPosters.com

By the way, I hope you and your furry babies all had an amazing Christmas! Our tree withstood Alexa, so I’m counting it a success. Prissy (in her younger days) used to get up in the tree and sleep - ornaments would clink to the ground and we’d know our girl was either making her way up or down. She’s pretty content these days to sleep in a corner on the couch. She did, I’m happy to say, acknowledge the tree a few times - even working up enough energy to smell it at one point.

I hear her majesty walking across the kitchen floor now (click click click) - apparently seeking an evening snack. You know what that means…I’m out!

I’m about to become one with my kitchen, so the computer and I will be estranged for a few days. I wanted to wish you the merriest of Christmases before heading off to the kitchen, though.

Enjoy every single moment with your family, remember you’re making memories that will last forever…not just for you, but for everyone you love as well. Smile and laugh till it hurts, eat till the cook blushes, and love everyone unconditionally. Treat each present as though it’s exactly what you’d always hoped for and live life like it was meant to be lived.

Most of all, be sure to thank God for the greatest Gift ever given and the sweetest Love ever shown!

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones - and I’ll see you on the 26th!

Joi

Classic Cats 2008 Calendar
Buy at AllPosters.com

This is a great calendar for those of us who love our cats gladly and madly. I love the zany, funny cat calendars as much as anyone - I’m all for anything that makes me smile out loud, but some rooms have an attitude and air that make something cutesy and fun to feel unwelcome.

This classy calendar would be at home in any room. Click through either image to take a closer look.

Classic Cats 2008 Calendar
Buy at AllPosters.com

So precious!

Prissy has her beautiful green eyes on the Spa Cat gift set - she embraces her inner Diva.

Grab your cat and check out the web site together!

If the Night Before Christmas Kitten Ornament
were any cuter, it’d hurt to look at it!

The adorable kitten is reading “The Night Before Christmas” - and why wouldn’t he be?

When you click through the link or image, you’ll see a link to the right that says, “See Other Ornaments.” You’ll find more kitty ornaments than you ever knew existed. I’d like a second Christmas tree to fill entirely with cats. Maybe, just maybe, Alexa would hang out inside it instead of our main tree. My daughter, Brittany, and I were watching Alton Brown last night when we heard something that sounded like the roof coming down. We looked behind us to see little Miss Alexa climbing the tree, knocking everything off on her way up.

When she consented to come down, she went ahead and shredded her way through a few presents and then made off with one of the bows in her mouth.

Not many things can “one up” Alton Brown, but Alexa’s definitely one of them. I have to get my husband or one of my daughters to take some pictures of her in the Christmas spirit. I’d do it myself, but digital cameras and I get along as well as Alexa and Svenn do. Mortal enemies, that’s all.

Be sure to take a closer look at the Night Before Christmas Kitten Ornament
as well as his friends. Most of them are under $8.00.