Tucker as Captain America

Cat people are wonderful! Our friends Scarlett and Melly posted some hilarious photos of a too-small Captain America shirt. They solicited a new home for the shirt, and it began its travels. Ted and Faye took photos and videos of their cats wearing the shirt (see them at the link above). They sent the shirt, along with some goodies to us.

I have to admit, I've so been wanting a copy of that book! It is hilarious. The plaid item on the left is a dark chocolate bar with coffee--two of my favorite things!

Tucker was quietly sitting in the laundry basket, so I put it on him and took some photos. It was a little snug, but he didn't seem to mind.

This is a little blurry, but it shows his attitude. "What are you doing to me and why?"

Friday flashback: Benny loves my lunch bag

Benny has always loved my lunchbag. Every morning he rubs on it and given the opportunity, he will get inside it too. Here's a video from 2010 of him rubbing my lunchbag.

A tale of, um, tails

A post by Waffles and his impressive 15"-long tail made me curious. How long were our cat's tails? I got out the tape measure to find out.

First, I give Glogirly kudos. None of the cats wanted anything to do with this. This is the only photo I could even get.

The results:

Tucker was 11.5"

Sadie was 10" (impressive since she is half the size and weight of Tucker)

Benny's length is not accurate. He got upset when I tried to measure it, so I had to estimate. It was approximately 11"

We want to start a trend! Measure your cat's tail and tell us what length it is. Is Waffles' tail the longest in the Cat Blogosphere?

Unrelated to the tail length: Connie at tails of the foster kittens posted some neat videos today. Check them out!

A cozy little spot

Every now and then, Sadie chooses a little nook to rest. This one was new--wedged between the wall and a cat scratcher.

Hey, open the windows up more!

Hey, this window is only open a crack!

It's hard to get a really good sniff.

See? I've got to smoosh my ears right up to the screen!

Tucker's sore forehead

There must be something in the air that's bothering the cats. Last week, Sadie had a weepy eye (clear) and sneezed a few times. The other day, I noticed Tucker had scratched a sore above his eye. He is such a good boy and let me take some photos.

I gave him a 1/2 of Chlortrimetron* and gently cleaned the area with a Duoxo pad. I wish I knew what was irritating him.

*This is a human allergy medication. We have permission from our vet to use this on the cats as needed.

It's Sadie's 5th gotcha day!

Happy Gotcha Day to our baby girl! I was looking over her baby photos and smiling. She was an adorable babe.

Hanging out with friends.

Trying the cat tree for the first time.

Meeting Benny

I just love this photo. It was early days, yet Benny was so calm with her.

Friday flashback: Sadie's first meal with us

Sadie's first meal with us was chicken baby food. She was about four weeks old at the time. Read more about her adoption story.

I had a dessert plate and put some baby food on it. She was immediately interested.

She couldn't reach all of the food, so she stood on the plate!

Jim put one of his shoes next to her as a size reference. She weighed just 8 ounces!

To this day, she still adores chicken baby food. When she hears the sound of the jar opening, she'll come running.

It's Meow Like a Pirate Day!

Thanks to Ann of Zoolatry for the graphic.

Tucker the Shifty-Eyed here. It's about time our people get on board and post a pirate photo. I'm here with my booty, and I'm not sharin' it with ye land lubbers!

Well, we are sorry Tucker isn't sharing his booty, but I suppose being the oldest cat of the group has its benefits. Have a great day, everyone!

You ate WHAT?! #37

#37 is kale chips.

I spoke too soon when I blogged that the cats didn't seem to like them.

Tucker discovered them one evening as I was (trying to) put away a fresh batch.

More ridiculousness

I had to bring a few things upstairs, including a waste basket, so I put them in a laundry basket. Then. . .

No matter. There's still room for a kitteh.

Signs of Halloween

If you've been visiting us for a while, you know we decorate BIG for Halloween. The first decoration appeared recently. . .well, it's sort of a decoration.. . .

There is a story behind this. I LOVE KitKat bars, but since I've lost weight I haven't had one. They are quite addictive, and I've joked that they contain crack so you eat more. Jim bought a Halloween bar and taped it to the cabinet where I store snacks.

I am relieved that the bar has just 200 calories (and there's only one), so I will indeed eat it at some point. . .

Stained glass update

Last week, I shared a post about two kitty stained glass pieces I found. They both have found places of honor.

This one hangs in our bedroom. The red cat is particularly striking in the sunlight. I am not sure why it looks so crooked in this photo--it really isn't.

The other cat is now in my craft room. I like that it smiles at me while I craft.

Curled tail in the windowsill

Squeee! Sadie's tail formed a perfect letter J in the window!

Vintage Garfield thermometer

A co-worker recently gave me a surprise--a vintage Garfield thermometer. He told me he had ordered it as a Christmas as a gift for me, but it sadly had gotten broken in shipping. (Thankfully, he got refunded.) He gave it to me anyway--it has a crack across one side. The thermometer still works, so I hung it in our garage. At the height I hung it, the crack isn't that noticable. I like it!

My newest kitchen gadget

A few months ago, a friend of mine bought a food dehydrator at a thrift store. After that, I couldn't stop thinking about getting one for myself. . .and the next time we got together to thrift, I found one for $6.99! Score!

The first thing I made was some nacho cheese kale chips. They took about an hour and are oh-so-good.

Here is the recipe I used:

one bunch curly kale (I bought organic)

1/4 red pepper, diced

1/4 c. cashews

1/4 c. nutritional yeast *

dash of cayenne pepper (or more if you like the heat)

1-2 T. water

Wash and pat dry the kale. Tear the leaves into pieces and put in a bowl.

Put all the other ingredients--except the water--in a food processor and pulse until it's ground. Add a tiny bit of water and pulse until it holds together. Use your hands to mix with the kale leaves. Mix until each leaf is well coated with the mixture. Put in dehydrator. Time may vary--mine took one hour.

*Nutritional yeast is carried in most larger grocery stores and health-food stores. I found mine in the natural food section.

Yummy--and bonus, the cats don't seem to like them! Ha!

Product review: Catnip from The Natural Pet Company

We were recently contacted by The Natural Pet Company and asked to review one of their products. We admit we hadn't heard of them, but a Google search turned them up quickly.  They are also on Facebook. Their products were highly rated on Amazon, so we agreed to write up a review.*

They sent us a bag of their Catnip for review. It arrived quickly. This is one large bag of 'nip--4 ounces! It smells fresh and potent. I could not detect many stems in the mixture, mostly the more-potent leaves. This is a high-quality catnip.

 According to their website, this catnip is grown in Canada. I appreciate the company's honesty in sourcing the product. I also appreciate the non-plastic bag the catnip is in.

Sadie was the first cat interested as soon as I opened the bag.

She went nuts! In fact, she loved playing with the paper strip that was torn off of the bag. Kitties, don't throw that away; it's a great toy! 

Sadie gives this 'nip two paws up. She played enthusiastically for about a half hour after I'd given her some.

Benny was moderately interested. I could only get him to pose for one photo. I am not sure why he wasn't interested. Out of our three cats, he is the least catnip motivated, however.

Now, Tucker, as many of you know, is our nip-loving boy. This brand was no exception. He immediately started rubbing on the bag.

In fact, he knocked the bag over and spilled a bunch onto the carpet. He was in heaven, rolling around in it.

Fully nipped out and loving it!

Even his belly was covered in nip.

Tucker gives this 'nip two big paws up!

I noticed something different about this catnip that I wanted to share. It is more like a powder in consistency. I put it next to some other catnip so you could see the difference:

All in all, we like this catnip and will enjoy using it! A little goes a long way so this bag will last a long time. Kitties, if you like strong nip, order yourself a bag.

*Disclosure: we were sent one free bag of catnip and asked to write an honest review. We were not compensated financially.