Farewell

I have decided that my time writing in this blog is about over. I have been struggling to maintain it due to the changes in my family and lifestyle. There is so much that can be said about animals and pets, but I don't have the time to research and write well. Perhaps at another future time in my life...!

Thanks to all my readers (all 3 of you!) for following me these past 2 1/2 years. May God be with you!

Sedatives for the kitties

When we went to Orlando for Thanksgiving, Ebony drove me nuts in the car. In the past, she has been fine in the car, but I think everything is different now that the baby is here. We got her a hard-sided carrier and that helped, but I wanted to try sedatives as well.

The vet gave us a prescription for a sedative just to take the edge off. On the way down to Orlando, we gave to both cats. We decided that on the way back, we would only give it to Ebony. You see, the sedative made them very relaxed... And that also made them kinda, uh, stinky, as if they were colon and body cleansers. Every so often the person who was holding Lewis had to open the window and air out the car for a few minutes.

Overall, the sedatives helped Ebony so we'll probably continue to give them to her in the future. Since she's in the crate in the backseat, the smell isn't so bad. :-)

Feeding stations

I'm sure anyone with cats - or anyone with pets, for that matter - can understand how messy the feeding stations can be. I feel like I'm sweeping up little bits of kibble after every meal. And what doesn't get swept up gets stepped on and crushed.

I didn't notice it as much when we had carpet, but now the kibble gets knocked everywhere and winds up on the other side of the room and underneath our contemporary sofas. Also, our hardwood floors are from 1960 and not sealed which means they can't get wet.

When we traveled last month, I was reading SkyMall magazine in the plane. (Don't you love that magazine?) They had a product that I thought was pretty cool idea - called the Neater Feeder. It's a food and water bowl contained in such a way as to prevent food and water from falling to the floor. It sounds exactly what I'm looking for!

However, it's $35... and we'd need two. So I'll have to think about it some more. And maybe look around to see if another place has something that does the same thing for cheaper. Has anyone else had the same problem and found a good solution?

How to Put the Spark Back Into Your Relationship with Your Cat

How To Put The Spark Back Into Your Relationship With Your Cat

Freekibblekat

I am just finding this out right now, so I apologize for the late notice! But play Freekibblekat today and they will donate five times the amount of kibble to shelter cats! Hooray!

From the website:

• Play Meow trivia on Feb. 5, and we'll donate 5 times the kibble (5 x 10 pieces) = 50 (for each answer, right or wrong... it's easy, fun and free!)
• Freekibblekat receives 100's of emails from shelters and rescue groups across the country needing food for their hungry cats. The Freekibblekat HI-5 event is a way to donate more kibble to those groups working so hard to feed their homeless cats a nutritious meal.
• Halo, Purely for Pets, is generously sponsoring this event with no limit on the kibble, so tell your friends... blog it... tweet it... post it on facebook... text it... email it... yell it out... let's feed some cats!

Go here to donate some kibble! You can always find the link on the sidebar here at Two Kitties and a Puppy, so make sure you come back to play every day! So next time you're looking for online life insurance or goofing around on Facebook, be sure to pop over and feed some homeless kitties some kibble. Oh and this works for dogs too - go to Freekibble.com.

Commercial

This commercial cracks me up. I could totally see myself doing this, since I can hardly see any details when I'm not wearing my contacts or glasses.

Stopover in Savannah

Before we headed down to my parents' house in Orlando for Christmas, my mom warned me that one of the roads along the route had some emergency construction needed and was closed down to one lane. Since it was two days before Christmas, I anticipated a lot of traffic, and the thought of only having one lane was not very pleasant! I looked at alternate routes, and realized that if we went a different highway along the coast, we would go through Savannah, GA, which is one of our favorite cities. Because this detour would make the trip a bit longer, we decided to leave after my husband finished work, drive to Savannah, stay the night, and then finish our trip the next day.

Since we had the cats with us, I needed to find a hotel that allowed pets. I found this site, BringFido, incredibly helpful. They had a nice map with hotels, plus the costs and reviews. I used the map to find a hotel that was close to the highway since we were just staying overnight and not really spending much time in Savannah. We ended up staying in La Quinta Inn. The price was great, and there was no pet fee! I was skeptical – seemed too good to be true – but the accommodations were pleasant. The sink area was even big enough to put the catbox without it getting in the way, and keeping it on the tile flooring. (Big thumbs up!) I would recommend this hotel to other pet owners traveling in Savannah.

The kitties did great in their first time in a hotel room. One thing I loved – the beds came all the way to the ground, so they couldn't hide under them. Very useful. :-) I'm sure they appreciated the break from being in the car, and settled quite well. (By the way, this hotel review is completely unsolicited.)

If you're traveling with your pet, I highly recommend BringFido for any information you might need.

* This post is a completely unsolicited opinion about my experience with BringFido and La Quinta Inn.