This is really super cute. Cartoonize My Pets is a fun spot for cat lovers.. any pet lovers for that matter. But, given the fact that this is a cat blog, we’ll stick with cats. You create your own cat by choosing the features, colors, and expressions. I’ve only tried two of my four cats so far. Alexa proved far too difficult. She has so many different colors going on in her beautiful hair that I just gave up. Hannah was much easier (above!), since her beautiful little hairdo involves just two colors.
Visit Cartoonize My Cat and see how much fun it is for yourself. You can use the image(s) you create on a full range of customizable products. The possibilities for unique, highly personal Christmas gifts or birthday surprises boggles the mind.
* By the way, I wrote Hannah’s name on the image, myself. As far as I know, you’d be unable to write the cat’s name on the image on the Cartoonizer.
Like most cat lovers, I love cats of all sizes. The gorgeous cats in the video above are, admittedly, very big babies – but just as lovable as the smaller variety we come into contact with daily. This video is outstanding!
Three of our four cats are outside babies (reformed feral cats are almost impossible to turn into house cats!), so our yard is beautifully decorated with the real thing. However, I would LOVE to have this beautiful garden statue in my flower garden. It’s just adorable. In fact, I’d also like one on the front porch… and one out back on the deck.
Cat lovers could, of course, enjoy this beauty inside as well as outside. It’d be beautiful sitting by the fireplace or on the hearth.
Click through the link or the image to take a closer look.
It’s always fascinating to watch how similar big cats’ behaviors are to our family cats. These beautiful lions obviously delight in the attention and play just as their much, much smaller versions.
The “good” thing about this mousepad is that it’s absolutely adorable. It lets anyone and everyone know how much you love animals – especailly your own pet(s). The “great” think about the Just A Buck, Change Their Luck(tm) Mouse Pad is that you’re taking the opportunity to give money to PetSmart Charities that support and care for precious animals.
The “remarkable” this is, you’ll get this mousepad when you make your donation of just $5.00. I honestly don’t remember the last time I saw a mousepad for that price. I’d donate $5.00 to animal causes any day, with or without the mousepad. It’s just icing on the cake!
Click through to jump all over this opportunity.
Notice how accurately the pets are drawn in the picture above! The dog’s all eager to play and interact with his humans and the cat’s trying to act nonchalant and laid back… all the while you can tell that she loves being near her humans. The body language on these pets is just perfect!
Happy Father’s Day from Cat Pause to all Fathers – to those who’s kids have skin, those who’s kids have fur, those who’s kids have feathers, or even gills. If your babies have either of the last two, keep it on the low – otherwise Alexa will want to visit you…. wearing a bib. Resulting in the worst Father’s Day ever for you and an even chubbier cat for me.
It’s the perfect time to say that any man who loves animals and is loving and kind toward them is BEYOND special in my book. You can judge a lot about a person by the way they treat animals.
Can you imagine a day spent doing absolutely nothing? No television, no internet, no trips to the store, no reading… zip, nada. What if a couple of these days were strung together? Not only would we be bored out of our minds, our minds would, literally, begin to degenerate; followed closely by our bodies. We’d probably ask ourselves, “Is life really even worth living?!”
When you think about it in these jolting terms, you realize JUST how important it is to provide your cat(s) with plenty of entertainment, amusement, and activity (mental and physical).
Outside Cats
Outside cats get a pretty regular stream of different activities. They don’t always peruse them, of course, but they ARE there! My Hannah is a little bit older, and extremely laid back, so she watches the activities go on around her. Jelly Bean and Queen Fatima (when you’ve had as many cats as we’ve had over the years, you get pretty creative with the names!) explore most noises and activities, unless it’s a really lazy day – then they memo the activity to go ahead without them.
However, make no mistake about it, outside cats still enjoy playtime with their “parents.” Hannah LOVES playing something we call “Sliding Stick” – okay, I call it that, she just calls it “Mew.” I slide it horizontally back and forth in front of her, while she picks the perfect time to pounce. When playing with cats, they love it when you vary the speed of a game like this – fast at times, slow at times. You’ll be able to tell by your cat’s reaction which he/she prefers. When Prissy was younger, she loved for toys to move as fast as they possibly could (the way Alexa prefers them now), but when she got older (like Hannah), I had to make sure the toys knew we were dealing with a “special” baby.
I still buy cat toys for my outside cats, as I do for my inside cat (Alexa) and as I did for my inside girl, Prissy. However, I’ve found that their tastes in toys differ from inside cats. They prefer the natural-looking toys. A favorite (in addition to sticks!) is anything with feathers on it, for obvious reasons, I guess. They appreciate toys that squeak and chirp, but bells seem to leave them puzzled. I guess they never heard an animal that chimed!
Scratching posts don’t really fascinate my outside cats either, but they do LOVE the inexpensive cardboard scratching pads that are treated with catnip. Like Alexa, they think it’s party time when I bring home a new one. Their reaction reminds me of myself when I have something chocolate…. anything chocolate.
If you have outside cats, be sure to spend plenty of time in playtime with them. Yes, the world is their playground, but they’d rather enjoy it with you than by themselves.
Inside Cats
While outside cats need the extra stimulation and entertainment, I have to admit, when I think of how critical playtime is for cats, I tend to think primarily of the inside cat. Especially for cats that spend a lot of time alone during the day – without the ever entertaining human to watch. I work from home full time and my daughters (and one of their boyfriends) are normally home, offering Miss Alexa endless amusement. However, if I know we’re all going to be out of the house for a while, I often leave the television on for her. I put it on a channel that’s frequently on (like the Food Network, ESPN, or The Cooking Channel), so she can watch her favorite shows!
A few days ago, she was in the kitchen when my youngest daughter and I stepped out, leaving Alexa home alone for a few hours. This wouldn’t be a huge deal for most cats, but like I said, Alexa’s used to at least one or two people being here pretty much 24/7. So I turned on the tv in the home office for her, since it’s the room she’s in the most often anyway (workaholic cat). I put it on the Food Network and when I came home later, she was on the love seat in front of the television watching Rachael Ray, a personal favorite.
Apparently a favorite of Alexa’s as well.
Inside cats love a wide variety of toys – you pretty much just have to test some out to find your cat’s favorite type of toy. Never overlook what’s right in front of you, though. A paper sack and the plastic lid to a milk jug provide hours and hours of enjoyment!
A word of caution when using playthings with your cat, always make sure its safe. Think through any and all possible outcomes before giving your cat a particular object or toy. Most commercial cat toys have been tested and tested some more, so they’re usually safe. However, always make sure there’s nothing that could come off and choke your cat. Also, beware of these potential hazards:
Ribbons on gifts, shoestrings, and yarn: If they’re very long, they could become wrapped around your cat’s neck (just as dangerous as cords on mini blinds). Also, some cats have gotten choked on ribbons they’ve gotten into their throats. Never leave them lying around where your cat could “play” with one without your supervision.
Gift bags with handles: Again, the handles can be a choking hazard. Cats can get their heads/necks stuck and panic. Alexa loves the feel of gift bags, so we get FULL use out of using gift bags. Long after the gift has been given, she loves to sit on and “rough up” the bag. However, I always remove the handles. As accident-prone as she is, she’d find a way to hurt herself.
Be very, very cautious of ironing boards or anything else that isn’t perfectly steady. Make sure cat towers, scratching posts, etc are steady and won’t tip over on your cat. Alexa broke her little leg in two separate places when she ran, jumped on an ironing board, and pulled it down on top of her. It broke my heart so completely, I’m not sure it’ll ever heal completely! Her leg did, but my heart’s another matter. I learned then that you can never be too careful – you can’t predict what a cat’s going to do, so never take any chances.
The video at the top of this article is a good example of cat parents entertaining their adorable cat WITHOUT FRUSTRATING her/him. I despise cat videos where it appears that the cat is being scared or frustrated. When the video is just pure clean fun, and the cat is obviously having the time of his/her life, it’s a beautiful and wonderful thing. This video’s a perfect example of cat lovers taking delight in their beautiful cat and sharing it with other cat lovers. THAT’S what funny cat videos are supposed to be. It’s also a perfect example of amusing and entertaining a curious cat.
That’s the beauty of cats, they’re so curious and inquisitive, it doesn’t take much to fascinate them. JUST LIKE CHILDREN.
Just be sure you never frustrate, aggravate, or annoy your cat. If they’re agitated, they may look cute but they aren’t enjoying it any more than a human would if someone pinched their ear or tapped their nose. Be sure to always amuse, not annoy.
A few personal tips for playing with your cat:
Pick your moments. Be sure that playtime is a time when your cat will enjoy it most. Never wake her up to play and don’t think for a moment that she’ll be interested in play if eating is on her mind. Also, don’t play right after she eats… can you say upset stomach?
When playing with your cat, give her your full attention. Don’t “go through the motions” while distracted by a ballgame, book, or television show. Cats are extremely perceptive and they’ll get more enjoyment from it if their human is having at least as much fun.
Mix things up. Your cat… and you!… will understandably have a favorite game you return to often (like Hannah’s “Sliding Stick”) but try to mix things up to keep it interesting. Think of it as “nurturing” different aspects of your cat’s skills. One game may keep her sharp and fast, while another feeds her instinct to “stalk.” A favorite game of Alexa’s is to chase my hand as it moves underneath covers. She’ll slink around the bed, keeping low, until she thinks she has the perfect angle – then she’ll pounce on my poor hand! Even underneath comforters and quilts, the “prey” sometimes feels it.
Never confuse your cat. Add this one to the MUSTN’T ANNOY THE CAT OR FRUSTRATE THE CAT rule. If you’re playing with your cat and he/she gets all worked up to the point of hissing or you accidentally get scratched, realize that YOU took it too far. Don’t get onto or yell at the cat. She’ll only be confused and certain that you’re a poor sport.
Keep it Fresh! Every now and then I share information that gives away JUST how pampered my cats are, and this is one of those times. I keep a little “toy box” of toys for Alexa and pull out different ones weekly. This keeps them fresh for her and it sometimes seems like she thinks she just got a whole new batch of toys. Saturday is her designated day for the switcheroo. However, she does have one favorite toy that stays out all the time. It’s a little bird that makes a bird sound when tapped. Sometimes she pounces on it and other times I’ll watch as she just walks by and pops it with a paw to make it tweet.
Get a little exercise while you’re at it! If you “go all out,” you can actually get some exercise while playing with your cats! When I get on the floor for yoga, Alexa automatically thinks it’s playtime, so we usually combine the two. Sometimes she just likes to watch, probably wondering if I’ve completely lost my mind. I catch her expression sometimes and it’s like she’s thinking, “Why, mom, why?”
“Millions of people who otherwise would be completely lost in their minds and in endless past and future concerns are taken back by their dog or cat into the present moment, again and again, and reminded of the joy of Being.” – Page 60
Guardians of Being is a book that I know every pet lover in the world will fall in love with. If you love cats, you’ll absolutely delight in this adorable book.
The author, Eckhart Tolle, is probably best known for his wonderful book The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. As for the illustrator Patrick McDonnell? Oh, he’s only the creator of the comic strip that Peanut creator Charles Shultz called “One of the best comic strips of all time.” – MUTTS. And he’s an amazingly talented individual! What I love most about Patrick McDonnell’s work is how amazingly obvious it is that he doesn’t just love animals, he GETS them. The smallest of details in his illustrations show what the dog or cat is thinking and the rest of us who love our pets to distraction identify with his drawings.
We also can identify 100 percent with the beautiful way Eckhart Tolle uses animals to teach lessons. Animals are used throughout the book in illustrations that you won’t be able to take your eyes off and words that’ll lodge in your heart forever. Eckhart Tolle uses pets to teach us powerful lessons because as he says, “Everything natural, every flower or tree, and every animal have important lessons to teach us…”
True!
“The vital function that pets fulfill in this world hasn’t been fully recognized. They keep millions of people sane.” - From Guardians of Being
Not only will all cat lovers (and dog lovers!) want to buy a copy of Guardians of Being right away, I’m sure you’ll want to buy a copy or two for loved ones. This is a very, very special book.
I love funny animal videos, especially funny cat videos – only, of course, the cat isn’t being tormented, annoyed, or harmed in any way. If the cat’s happy, I’m happy.
The video below is one of the cutest I’ve seen in a while. The cat and owl are best buddies apparently and have a great time playing with one another. It’s a great song playing in the video too, even if I have no unearthly idea what they’re saying!
Be sure to watch the whole thing, it’s really outstanding.
Without a doubt, this is one of the most beautiful art prints I’ve seen in a long time. Granted, I love cats like crazy and I’m something of a tea addict, but I’d love this even if I had a cat phobia and never met a tea I liked.
This one’s just stunning. Click through the image to take a closer look. Sigh. I think I want one in each room of my house. Extreme, right?
is a book that I know every pet lover in the world will fall in love with. If you love cats, you’ll absolutely delight in this adorable book.
. As for the illustrator Patrick McDonnell? Oh, he’s only the creator of the comic strip that Peanut creator Charles Shultz called “One of the best comic strips of all time.” – MUTTS. And he’s an amazingly talented individual! What I love most about Patrick McDonnell’s work is how amazingly obvious it is that he doesn’t just love animals, he GETS them. The smallest of details in his illustrations show what the dog or cat is thinking and the rest of us who love our pets to distraction identify with his drawings.
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