Meezer in a box, on a chilly winter's day.

It looks good on you, girlie.

Momma's spending more tippy-tappy time on the computer, trying to make deadline on book #4, due from her on Jan 8 and publishing on Jan 31.

So I'm helping her. Aren't I the most useful and supportive mancat, like, EVER?


A few weeks earlier, she went to a book signing. I offered up my pawprint, to go alongside the cover artist's pawprint. Don't you think those editions would be sooper valuable, with FOUR signatures?
Author, editor, artist and...and... KITTY MUSE.


Google photos decided my musing was important enough to turn the photos she took of me into a looped video.
Not quite sure why the mama was so impressed by this, something about morphing stills into a pretty credible animation...or something...

But here I am, whacking my tail at her to get her to hurry up with the words, so she can feed me....

Allie: So the Brat thinks he knows how to play coy, does he?



Well, little rattan ball, let's just show those stinky ol' boys how a Professional does it.
First, you show a little back paw....


Then you pause and give the camera a flirtatious look....


And then you stare wistfully as the toy flies from your delicate pink paws.



We're not going to challenge that one, girlie. Nope, not at all.

The Mom: Hey kiddo, want to play with one of the toys your Aunt Connie made for you?


Faraday: Seriouslies, Mommy. I'm offended that you felt like you actually had to ask....


*cur flirtatious and coy expression*

Hey, check it out!  Google Assistant's now taking some of our photos and merging them into a pretty decent animated video. The mom is impressed by the morphing technology they're using. She says it's pretty sweet!




And in case you don't know our Aunt Connie, and want to check out some pretty adorable foster kittehs, swing by her blog, Tales from the Foster Kittens and say hello!

The metal arm is holding a thread of monofilament that is attached to the little penguin's flipper.
If you look closely, you'll see he's holding a tiny snowball.
The monofilament thread is what we use to simulate his snowball toss.

Enjoy!



But wait! It wouldn't be a cat blog without a photo of a cat...
(and you thought we were dropping the ball today)

Speaking of balls...

Faraday: Seriouslies, Mommy? That's your segue?



Maxwell: Well, don't just sit there, boy. Play with it.


Faraday: *tap*sniff*
It says it doesn't want to right now.


Maxwell: *scoffing noise* And you're just going to let that ride?
Faraday: Yup, I was napping anyways, Maxie.


Maxwell: Boy, you need a mancat to show you how it's done. Here, watch this:


Maxwell: *COWABUNGA!*

The music for this was written and sung by a friend of our mom's who writes those funny Shoebox cards:  Bill Gray's a pretty talented guy!

 Faraday: Hey Maxie!  It's snowing !


 Maxwell: Whu-- whaaa---?

  
Maxwell: Why so it is, boy. So it is.

Sometimes a post is too good not to share all over again.
This one is one of those.

The story told here is of a journey several in the animal blogging and pet lover community took together.

A journey to deliver a critically important message to the world:

Our hopes and dreams for a better future for homeless animals.

It began in the fall of 2015, when I stumbled upon the results of a study on the type of content people enjoyed and trusted the most when online.

 Turns out we all love funny videos. But ranked #2 are cause videos: those videos that tug at your heart, that rally like-minded people. That reach out to those who believe in—well, a cause.

I'd been working on a ton of video projects for work back in 2015 when this project first came together.
And they were looking for more ideas. More ways to get the word out, to build awareness about Hallmark and our products.

I'd already been jokingly labeled as "the one who will put a cat in any video she can."
Uhm, gee, I wonder why... Hey, I managed to place cats in at least 6 of them. See?


So I asked The Question.

"We're partnering with Best Friends Animal Society to help find loving homes for shelter pets. One that is connected to our plush dog named Jingle, a homeless dog who found his boy.

"What if we reached out to people and asked them to share with us what their hopes and dreams are for the future of companion animals?

"What if that became a video?"

I love it when my vocation and my avocation - my passion for helping homeless animals - align.

Two and a half months, and dozens of Facebook chats and emails later, I had a script. It came straight from the letters, video and audio files sent in from pet bloggers, animal lovers, foster moms and shelter volunteers - from as far away as New Zealand.

A few screenshots from my POV as we edit the video

It took some time to piece it all together. Hunting for just the right music alone was a monumental task. And everyone involved, including me, wondered when it would ever, ever see the light of day.

Do you recognize any of these stars? From left: Glogirly's Waffles, Island Cats' Ernie and Amy Shojai with her Karma.

And then, finally, it premiered.

This video was truly a labor of love.  These are messages from the heart, and I was honored to be able to represent the ones speaking.


Many thanks to:

Connie from Tails from the Foster Kittens
Linda from Savannah's Paw Tracks
Debbie from Glogirly
Jeanne from Random Felines
Julie from Cats Herd You
Marjorie from Dash Kitten
Sam from Vegas Rock Dog
Susan from Life with Dogs and Cats
Stephanie from Snotface Ferret
Dawn from Pet Product Review
Kevin from Animal Shelter Volunteer Life
Sue from The Island Cats
Melissa from Barking from the Bayou
Jenny from Pixel Blue Eyes
Paula from Sweet Purrfections
Jenny from As the World Purrs
Ann of My Pawsitively Pets
Pet behavior consultant Amy Shojai of shojai.com

Special thanks to the non bloggers who also participated, such as Amy's husband Lee, Wayside Waifs' extraordinary cat whisperer, Jen... and Fred & Bison's mom Vanessa.

I hope I did you proud.

Since last night marked the first night of Chanukah, we were feeling a wee bit festive around the house.
It's honestly been a bit festive this entire week, starting with the Big Blizzard that arrived during the Thanksgiving holiday!

(cue requisite shot of snow from crappy camera phone...and back of kitty's head.
Can you tell how horrified Maxie is about all that white?)



Since it's the holidays, and so many of our friends are talking about the cool holiday cat houses they've found in certain large retailers (whose names begin with T and have a big red circle in their logo)....
In case they were all sold out by the time you made it to the store...
and in case you're feeling a wee bit crafty...
ANNNND on the off chance that YOU TOO ARE STUCK INSIDE IN BLIZZARD CONDITIONS (ZOMG!) ...
we thought we'd resurrect a fun DIY project we did a few years back.

(drum roll PLEEZ!)

We present: Your very own DIY Gingerbread House.

Maxwell: "Don't mind if I do." Faraday: Are you vandalizing the bushes in front of my house, Maxie? Where's the Homeowner's Association Police when you need them?

All you need is a nice, big cardboard box, a box knife, and some sturdy tape.
For decor, we have some candies, snow trim and gingerbread men you can download and print (links at the end of this post).
Just adhere them to your house with a bit of white glue and you're ready to enjoy!

Check it out and let us know what you think:

SOME kitties like turkey, too, Mommy.
And SOME kitties like pumpkin pie.

Maxwell: DOOOOOOOD.
That laptop looks familiar.

Faraday: Hey Maxie, that's Waffles! What's he doing on Mommy's computer??!?!?

Waffles:

Maxwell: *sigh-h-h* No turkey leftovers. Just cat food.
The same old thing, day in and day out....


Wait....


What do you mean "but it's turkey, too"?
It looks nothing like what was on your plate yesterday.