This is the first weekend in ages that will not be devoted to packing or unpacking. What on Earth am I going to do with all this extra time?
I was thinking about making Lola a Halloween costume, but then I saw THIS. Maybe I should try to make her a house. After all, now I have a yard. And, well, she deserves it. Just look at that face!
Happy weekend š
That’s right folks.
Warning: This post is 90% gratuitous cat photos and 10% craft tutorial for people who enjoy gratuitous cat photos. If you are a dog person, feel free to click away and see what Perez is doing today. Try back again tomorrow.
So here is the thing about cat toys: not that many cats like them.
Cats are active creatures but it appears that squeeze toys and jingle bell balls donāt cut it. Catās are fickle. They like texture. They like smells. They like sounds reminiscent of rodent-like death rattles.
Lola hates toys. I just canāt tell you how much money I have wasted on jangly bits, only to take them home to dangle before Her Highness and be shot down with a look, as if to say, Seriously? WTF am I supposed to do with a raccoon tail on a stick? Pathetic. Donāt you have a bathmat I can pee on? Seriously? A racoon tail….HA! That’s a good one.
So a couple months ago, when I saw her take an interest in a pile of vintage ric rac I was giving away, it was a momentous occasion. Initially I thought she was drawn to the smell, but no, itās the texture she likes. The skinny ric rak is a particular favorite. It runs through her paws and she thinks it’s alive or something. I just dangle a string and she goes at it like a prize fighter. Tape it to a stick and it gets even better.
Materials
Do yāall really need instructions? Just get your kitty dancing and go to town.
We could do this all day.
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| Go shorty. It’s your birthday. |
Three years ago today, Lola came home with me after years living at the Tree House Humane Society, a wonderful place for which I am eternally grateful. It breaks my heart to think of all the time she spent in a shelter, waiting for me to come and take her home. It makes her arrival that much sweeter and worthy of celebration!
Because her arrival date falls in close proximity to Cinco de Mayo, and to honor her spicy Latina heritage, Lola’s birthday is traditionally celebrated by wearing sombreros and eating Mexican food. I officially invite you to join in the festivities today and raise a burrito in her honor š
String = pipe cleaners.Beads = foam shapesSpacers = plastic straws
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| Lola’s shedding is helping birds build their nests. I know. She’s so thoughtful š |
Lola, my beautiful longhaired child-with-fur-and-attitude, has an undercoat that explodes every Spring.
Yes, explodes I said.
Donāt get me wrong, she sheds all year long but this time of year is especially riddled with fur.
Resourceful type that I am (read: potential hoarding issues), I googled around to see what can be done with it. Lo, apparently, birds love using animal fur for building nests! Since Lola loves stalking watching birds it seems only fair that her fur should help them build some nests.
So we gathered up some hair, some chopped up jute twine, and hung it an onion bag with lots of slits and holes. We refill it regularly as the birds come and pull it away bit by bit, sort of like cotton candy. But hairy.
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| If you’re not an ‘animal person’ this will probably gross you out. The rest of y’all can,keep reading! |
Tangent for pet people*
If you have a fur baby at home and do not know what that purple thing is up on the left, listen up, because Iām about to rock your world.That purple thing is called The Furminator. Stupid name for a great product. Itās like a horse brush with āroid rage. It will rid any hairy animal of excess fur in a matter of minutes. You see that pile of fluff on the right? That is from 2 minutes of brushing Lola one morning (and she gets brushed a LOT). If I was to take this thing to your golden retriever for 10 minutes Iād come up with enough hair to fill a Volkswagen. And the best thing is that the fur babies love it! It comes in various sizes for different types of hair and animals. As someone who has lived with animals of all sizes and shedding issues, I cannot recommend it enough. Go get one!
* For the record, I have not been asked or paid to promote this product. I just adore the crap out of it and have even been known to give it as a gift. I love it and I hope you will too š
It’s Wednesday! Everyone deserves to give themselves a mid-week treat.
Lola treated herself a crispy potato chip.
Actually, it was my treat until she swat it out of my hand and licked it into a pile of gelatinous mush.
Thank goodness she doesn’t like girl scout cookies.
This morning I went to grab my favorite heart-shaped beads, because, you know, I’m festive like that…but Lola wouldn’t give up the loot.
Apparently, Lola is festive too.
After a brief battle, I gave up the war. I let Lola keep the necklaces and she let me keep my fingers.
I’m not that festive.
Just when I thought she couldnāt get any cuter, Lola went and stuck her head out the tippee.
And there goes my day.
The tippee was a Christmas present, and although she immediately loved rubbing on the cardboard, she never spent much time inside until last weekend when I sparkled up the cardboard skull and made a heated rice bag pillow for the floor.
Evidently, Lola takes after meāshe likes things hot and glittered.
A few weeks ago, Michele shared the most amazing cardboard playhouse. It’s like a non-girly dollhouse, but more whimsical and funner.
Tangent: Is “funner” a real word? Hmmm….I sort of doubt it.
Back to the cardboard! Since I don’t have much need for a playhouse at my place (actually, that’s highly debatable)… it got me thinking about making something similar for Lola. She needs a new cat bed, and with Holidays upon us, I thought I would cruise around the internet and see if there were any good-n-fancy cardboard cat beds that I could make myself at home.
Whoa. Nelly.
Check out the Canadian Cabin for Fluffy Little Critters from Loyal Luxe. This sort of cabin could really appeal to Lola’s inate appreciation for rustic charm. I can just imagine her chewing a hole in the side.
Or, for adventurous cats, what about these options?
I mean honestly, doesnāt your cat need a tank?
Obviously.
Or, skip the bed and get your child-with-fur a furless-childās toy, like these awesome toy houses. Suppose you could get them for your munchkin too, but I sort of like the idea of kitty peeping her little head out of the castle courtyard, or chewing on the corner of this tree house! This might be the winner. I might just have to order it online directly, it’s is just Too Dang Cute. Plus, in her former life, Lola spent many years living at the Treehouse Animal Shelter. So this is pretty much a sign from above that I need to have this Lola deserves this.
So many choices….Geez-O-Pete! When did cardboard get so cool?!
