The Pampered Pet

Just when Alexa and I thought we had seen everything, we’re surfing along the web looking at cat toys and just look what we came across: A Cat DVD for Cats
! I’m not even lying, she raised her eyebrows. I’m pretty sure she’ll be wanting Santa to bring her one this Christmas.

The DVD has this to say for itself:
Over 3 hours of digital video footage to entertain your cats or dogs. Squirrels, goldfish, mice, birds, laser pointers and much more!

What a great idea! When Prissy’s eyes did more than just look beautiful, she’d love to “watch” tv. She’d sit on the couch all evening and watch whatever happened to be on. Her favorite shows were NASCAR races and Disney or NICKELODEON shows. I guess she loved the brightness and the voices of the children.

As for NASCAR, she just liked to cheer on her favorite drivers, Tony Stewart, Michael Waltrip and Ryan Newman. She wasn’t much of a Jeff Gordon fan. She wouldn’t speak for days when he won.

Check out the Cat DVD for Cats by clicking the link. I think it’d make a lot of dogs and cats feel like 14 year olds at a Miley Cyrus concert.

Prissy loves her, too.

My evening on the cold, hard floor a few nights ago made me think a lot about a cat’s comfort. Prissy’s days of lying on the couch and beds, because of her blindness and age, are a thing of the past. Not only does it seem to bring her discomfort to jump - I’m scared to death she’d fall. So I’ve created her a plush, pillowy bed in the kitchen near her food. I’ve actually created a little bedroom for her, with walls, pillows, and a stuffed Bugs Bunny (she loves him muchly - Emily says it’s her boyfriend, the strong silent type).

I think we should all put ourselves in our pet’s place. We should ask ourselves how we’d want to be treated if we were the pet - what sort of bed would we want to sleep in (warm, clean, safe, and soft), what sort of water would we want to drink (always fresh, please!), etc.

You’ll notice that I post a great deal about pet beds on this blog. That’s because I believe every pet should have a wonderful, soft bed - especially older pets, since they spend SO much time there! Plus, their little bodies can be full of aches, so the softer, plusher, and warmer this bed is, the more comfortable they’ll be.

The Heated Cat Bed you see pictured above is an answer to a cat’s prayers. Recommended by veterinarians, this comfortable and therapeutic bed for cats is gently heated to soothe older pets and those with physical conditions such as arthritis.

The bed stays at a constant 102 deg F, which is the bed temperature suitable for most pets. The 4-watt heater has two intelligent thermostats that sense and maintain the bed’s optimal temperature. The soft micro suede cover is removable and washable; lined interior is coral fabric to evenly distribute warmth, with a cushioned orthopedic polyurethane foam base.

Click through the link or picture to learn more about the bed any pampered pet would love.

You and your cat will have hours upon hours of fun playing with the Cat ‘N’ Mouse Cat Powered Cat Toy (9.75″ W X 2.5″ H) from Petco. My cats and I speak from experience! From my vantage point, there’s nothing quite like seeing my babies having so much fun - they look so incredibly cute when they’re plotting to finally get the elusive mouse!

Just a swat of the cat’s paw sends the little mouse racing in circles inside this durable plastic toy.

The sisal pad on top is great for clawing and scratching - two of Alexa’s favorite pastimes. Right up there with eating and bird watching.  I’ve noticed that my cats absolutely love having their own toys.  You can practially “feel” Alexa’s excitement and joy each evening when I get on the floor with her and we gather her favorite toys around.  Sometimes, I’ll intentionally “forget” one and she’ll walk over to it and look back at me - it’s her way of making sure all the toys make it to the party!

It’ll come as no surprise to you when I say that I look forward to our play time as much as she does. 

Prissy, when she was younger, also loved to play. She’d get so excited, she’d go on what we called “rips” - where she’d run through the house, jumping on every piece of furniture she could find - only to return to where you and her toys were.  Then she’d lay down, calmly and look at you like, “What?”

Alexa’s not much of a runner, though.

Svenn and Bo are more about giving and getting affection than they are playing.  However, after they feel like their head rubbing, nose kissing, and back stroking quota has been met, they love a good game of swatting and/or chasing toys.  Svenn isn’t too terribly quick - if he possesses any speed, he’s conserving it, but Bo and Alexa’s reactions are amazingly fast.

I just happened to glance over at Alexa, who is sleeping nearby.  She’s totally out of it, resting up, no doubt for our evening play.  When I go to the grocery store in a few minutes, I’m going to buy her a new toy (one with catnip oughta make her delirious), then I’ll spring it on her when the toys are being gathered up. 

I love the way her eyes get wider when something new shows up!

Click the following link to learn more about what’ll fast become one of your cat’s favorite toys: Cat ‘N’ Mouse Cat Powered Cat Toy

If your cat’s a fashionista, he/she is going to be wild about these beautiful cat collars from Miss Moustache, they’re absolutely beautiful!

The first thing I looked for on the website was for the safety feature - if it hadn’t been there, this post wouldn’t be here.  Each of the collars on Miss Mustache feature a breakaway buckle to keep your stylish little friend perfectly safe.

The beautiful collars you see to the left are from the Dots Collection.  These collars are fully adjustable and are available for adult cats with a neck size of 7″ to 11,” and kittens if needed.

Other gorgeous cat collars are shown below.  Visit  Miss Moustache to see more selections and information.  These collars are gorgeous AND very reasonably priced - meaning your cat gets to strut its considerable stuff and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to give it that pleasure!

     

If you think you’ve seen everything, I’ve got something for you. Check out the Smart Chime - Wireless Pet Doorbell. Too, too clever and too, too cute.

From the Web Site:

You don’t need to stand around and wait while your pet goes outside. The Smart Chime is a wireless doorbell that your pet can easily be taught to use to let you know when he’s ready to come back inside. You can also place the doorbell trigger inside for your pet to tell you when he needs to go out. The kit even comes with a standard door chime that your visitors can use, as well. The interior door chime is powered by three AA batteries; the pet switch requires a 9-volt battery, and the door switch is powered by a 12-volt 23A battery. Batteries are all sold separately.

Select Dog or Cat to hear barking or meowing when the chime is triggered. The Smart Chime has a 100-foot range, so you’ll be able to place the interior door chime in a convenient location.

All mounting hardware is included in the kit. Pets can be trained to use their paws or noses to activate the wireless doorbell. Some pets may require more training than others, but using treats as rewards, you should be able to teach your pet to use the Smart Chime system in a week or two.

Amazing!

And just why should birds have all the fun?!  According to my crew, they shouldn’t.

This brilliantly adorable and functional Nest Pet Bed isn’t just an ordinary cat bed.  It’s a special cat retreat that’d impress even the most pampered of pampered pets.

This floor-level sanctuary is perfect for curling up for a nap, storing favorite toys, or falling asleep mid-purr.  As any cat lover worth their weight knows, cats love nothing more than having a place all their own - a special spot to “retreat” to when they’re in need of a little shut eye or when they need to unwind from all the stresses of keeping up with their humans.

Nest Cat Bed Features:

• Soft-touch construction of molded foam with fabric laminated on both sides
• Sherpa fleece-lined interior for maximum coziness
• Protection from all sides
• Chrome-plated hardware
• Removable top rim can be removed and used as a support base to accommodate jumpers and non-jumpers alike
• For cats and small dogs.  Holds up to about 50 pounds.  (Michael, no comments about Alexa…)

Click the following link to read more about this very special pet bed - for very special pets. Nest Pet Bed

 

Oh, this is clever. Right up there with opening a Starbucks in my grocery store.

You Pet has created a MySpace type of community for pets and their owners, of course.  Pets need supervision - do you know how much trouble one could get into left to their own devices in an online community.

Svenn would be arrested inside of a week and Bo wouldn’t make it that long.  Truth be told, our male cats are unappologetically nefarious. As for the females, Prissy’s too old to raise much hell (it has to come to her these days) and Alexa…. well, since her operation, she’s not much of a player.  For either team.

From the website: 

Hey, we love our pets and we like meeting new people that own pets. We thought, “Let’s share our love and interest that our adorable animals bring to us.”

That’s why we decided to develop YouPet.com, so pet owners could have a safe and informative place to meet other pet lovers and have fun exchanging pictures, videos, blogs, and having discussions on our forums, or chat live in our chat rooms.

YouPet.com is an online social network devoted to Pets and their Owners who regard their pets as family. Pets are an important part of our lives, and we want you to share the joy and love your pet brings to you with all of us.

Have fun and don’t forget check out our online store where you can shop for cool YouPet.com products.

You can create a free profile and be on your way to meeting other pet lovers.  You can also find out how you can Win a $100 Petco Gift Card on YouPet.com! That last part has me reconsidering letting Bo and Svenn join. If I give in, be sure you keep an eye on your girl cats. And dogs.  And boy cats.  And dogs.  I’m just saying…

 

Alexa has already put her request in for one of these.  The Omega Paw Ripple™ Board Scratch’n Massage Bed™ (16″ L X 5.5″ W X 17″ L; Green) features organic catnip flakes and catnip oil, both of which rev her little engine.

From the website:
The fabulous ripples massage your cat paws leaving him in a dream state. In addition, we’ve made our scratcher eco-friendly by using 98% post consumer and diverted materials.

Massage…dream state…cat-nip….eco-friendly…  Is it any wonder Alexa wants one?   Okay, so she doesn’t give a rat’s patootie about the eco-friendly part - that’s all me.  But the cat-nip and the massage - oh yeah!  My girl’s all there.  She’s even willing to overlook the “…leaving him in a dream state” comment. 

Right now Miss Alexa has a little thin scratching pad and, after a nice session of scratching, she likes to lie down on top of it.  Problem is the ratio of Alexa’s size to that of the scratching pad……  Uh, yeah, you get the picture. 

Spillover doesn’t lead to good napping.  Not a problem with the Omega Paw Ripple™ Board Scratch’n Massage Bed™ (16″ L X 5.5″ W X 17″ L; Green) - there’s room for even the chubbiest of cats to nestle in and get all comfy cozy.

Click the link or the image to take a closer look.  Your cat will love you for it.

Prissy has lost just about all of her vision. We often thank God for the fact that she has long whiskers, they’ve saved her from walking smack into furniture, walls, people, Alexa (which wouldn’t go over that well)….

While it’s heartbreaking to see our little girl like this, I’m thankful for each day we have with her. She’s quite an antique and has lived a very fun, happy life. She’s been a lot of places and seen a lot of things. You name the cat toy, she’s had two. Name a new cat treat, she’s given it a taste test. She has watched ballgames with my husband, cooking shows with me, cartoons with our girls and American Idol, Survivor, and LOST with all of us.

She still is every inch a very happy cat. She purrs as much as ever, possibly even more - probably because someone is always holding her, talking to her, telling her what a good girl she is. I’d purr, too.

She wanders every now and then, especially in the morning, but, aside from that, she hasn’t changed that much. She wants to be where the action is now, more than ever, and she’s never happier than when someone’s in the living room on her couch with her reading the paper or watching tv…complete with lots of head rubs, chin scratchings, and sweet talk. She never tires of the sweet talk.

When I’m working at the computer during the day, I’ve found a way to keep her close so we can enjoy each other’s company. I put a bean bag on the floor beside my desk. I cover it with one of my old fuzzy robes and put my girl on top of it. She sinks down into a warm little nest and she sleeps as I work.

She used to lie on top of my desk - right in front of me, but I don’t let her off the ground too much anymore. So, Prissy has agreed to give that spot to Alexa. Besides, she likes her special little day bed. A special bed for a very, very, very, very special cat.

This gorgeous Hansel & Gretel House for Cats measures 21 x 17 x 25 and looks like something my cats and I have to have - It flew right past “want” and made a smooth landing onto “need.”It’s so adorable! The little house would give my babies someplace to hide away and perch while looking totally cute in the process. The Hansel & Gretel Housefeatures two entries and a soft, thick plush fabric to keep kitty warm while she delights in being a purr-fectly pampered pet.