Sunday, October 14, 2012

blanket fort fun!

For the first time in a long long time, we actually had a Fall season and it was delightful! It was like having an extended summer, with four or five extra sunny weekends that allowed me to get lots of outside projects done before the winter rains set in. This was rough on the kitties though as there was much less time available for them. All along I promised them that the first rainy weekend I would give myself fully to them, to play and hang out all weekend together. Well guess what? It rained most of the day today!

So I made good on my promise and we built a fort and played and played!


The kitties love playing fort! And I just happen to love it too!



Inside, Willow and I play.



Until Nahum tries to come inside





Rose watches the fun from a safe distance.


But she can't resist and has to play!


Don't remind her that she's suppose to be scared of the humans!


Theo and Willow enjoy some nip in the fort!


A little while later, Willow turned traitor and tried to storm the fort.








After her initial siege failed, Willow tried another approach... 


she tried to capture my heart with her powerful cutes...


and she succeeded!

Friday, October 12, 2012

A loved Rose

All last winter Nahum was Rose's fluffy snuggle buddy. She would call out to him as he was walking by and he would go over and snuggle with her. Over the summer there wasn't much snuggling going on between them, so Laura wondered aloud if Nahum would still snuggle with Rose once it gets cold again or is she in for a lonely cold winter.

This afternoon I got the answer.


I don't think there's need for concern.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

sads over Cattuwumpus' Lucy's sudden passing

The online cat blog world sure seems like a family, even though I haven't met most of you and may never do so. Today, my heart is filled with sadness, I just read the news that Lucy over at Cattywumpus passed away so suddenly. We were just praying and then rejoicing over Skootch's recovery of a mystery illness when Lucy suddenly went down hill and now died in her human's arms.

courtesy of Cattywumpus
Enjoy the endless treats, boxes and nip nanners over on your side of the Bridge, sweet Lucy. You will be forever missed by your humans and all of us who only knew you through your human's beautiful drawings. Romp free and I look forward to meeting you in person when it's my time to cross the bridge.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Update on Kirkland Flea & Tick Control for Cats

Back on July 20, I posted about the danger of Kirkland Signature Flea and Tick Control for Cats. Back then there were 26 reviews on Amazon.com with 24 of them being negative. Today there are 66 reviews with 61 of them being negative. There are many comments detailing how people's cats were harmed or killed after using this product. Yesterday's comment was heartbreaking, someone's beloved 5 year old cat died a few days after using this product.



It's been almost two and a half months now since I posted that first post here. I was amazed to see how quickly the pageviews for that post grew. People are searching for information on KS Flea and Tick Control and they are finding my blog. In only a matter of weeks, the pageviews became the all time most visited page on my blog. Today, that post has racked up more than three times as many views as the second most viewed post.


The popularity of that post both makes me happy and sad. I hope more than anything that people are researching this product before they use it and thus gain knowledge to make an informed choice about whether or not to risk using Kirkland Signature Flea and Tick Control for Cats.

After seeing how quickly the pageviews were adding up, in late July I started an advocacy website, CostcoFelineVictims.org to further spread the word about the dangers of Kirkland Signature Flea and Tick Control for Cats. The idea of the site was to collect the horror stories from people who have used this product, so when people searched for online reviews they would find this information at the top of their search results. The second purpose was to be a clearinghouse of information for a possible future class action lawsuit against Costco.

Back in early September I called Costco to share my concerns. The customer service person was polite but naive. He insisted that Costco would never sell a product that would be dangerous to customer's cats. I suggested he read the online reviews of the product and he said they were not able to do that. He would not let me talk directly with the Kirkland Signature buyers, so I got the address for them so I could mail them printouts of the Amazon.com reviews. Sadly, other things got in the way before I could get that packet of papers in the mail.

If you recall, I bought this product back in late July, because I trusted the Costco brand and I thought it was a good deal. Thankfully, I read the reviews before subjecting my cats to this dangerous product. This past weekend, I finally got around to returning the KS Flea and Tick Control for Cats product to my local Costco store. I asked the clerk if they were still selling this product and he said they had pulled it several weeks ago. I asked if it was only this store or all the stores that had stopped selling it and he said he wasn't sure but he thought all the stores.

I just called Costco Corporate to find out if they have really stopped selling it company wide. The friendly associate told me he thought they had pulled the product for a time and reformulated it with something less potent because they had heard that some cats were sensitive to the product. He told me there were 480 units of the product available now at my local Costco store. Ugh.

Please keep spreading the word that people should read the reviews before they use this dangerous product. If you are a blogger, please consider doing a post on this topic to continue to spread the word. Innocent cats are dying and suffering by the hands of care givers who are just looking to save some money.

Monday, October 8, 2012

a night on the bed

Sharing the bed with four to five cats makes for an interesting experience. They generally have their spots they always settle into. Sometimes it's difficult to sleep because they're weighing down the covers and sometimes they surround me making it impossible to move!

11:16pm

11:17pm

11:18pm

11:18pm
 Maximum cutes!
11:19pm
And to think I could be sleeping and missing out on this!
11:19pm
  
11:30pm

2:25am

Thursday, October 4, 2012

mid week jumble

Buddy, my blogging buddy!

I'm worried about Skootch from Cattywumpus, he's having some sort of health issues which is causing him great distress and the vet is having trouble figuring out what's going on. Please keep Skootch and his humans in your prayers.

Skootch, courtesy of Cattywumpus

Theo's a popcorn fanatic! He loves anything corn! Whenever Laura has popcorn she always saves him some which he just loves.





This morning as I was walking into town to meet a friend for breakfast I discovered a deceased beautiful ginger cat, in the grass near the sidewalk. It appeared as though he had been hit by a car and someone moved him out of the road. I had to stop and give thanks for his soul while my heart filled with sorrow. I wondered what to do with his body. Just leaving him there didn't seem like a good option but I wasn't sure what to do. Later, I called Animal Control and they said they would come retrieve him.


I had planned to come home from breakfast and get some work done, instead I brought Oliver inside and snuggled him close for a few hours, giving thanks that he was alive and well. Having outside cats causes me much stress as I worry that someday I will find one of them dead in the road. I still fear the worst for Brown Kitty, who hasn't been seen for almost two weeks. Rather than focus on such thoughts, I held Oliver close as I watched him breathe and sleep peacefully in my arms.


Willow, the perfect camera bag accessory!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Monday anew

If Mondays are not optional, then I insist on starting them this way...

Oliver lying on my chest with his purr motor running at full speed
and his head resting against my cheek.

and this option works just fine too.

Thanks to Oliver, another Monday has been saved!