As most of you know the RollerDude and I share our house with 5 cats and 2 dogs, lots of love and dust bunnies around here : )  With a large pet family we have to work on keeping the peace, especially among our cats! So, I’ve tried just about everything to keep them happy toys, string things, Feliway (synthetic cat pheromone) and even separating them from one another. The most effective technique in keeping them happy and from terrorizing my shy cats is playing with them vigorously. A big time play session usually helps redirect their attention to the thing they are trying to “kill”, but over time they get bored of the toy and then they’re back to beating up our shy fat cat LuLu. And this makes me sad : (

Fatty Lu

So, recently while I was trolling around the interwebs looking for new and interesting kitty things I found Da Bird from Go Cat. I thought “cool it has feathers, my cats like killing birds so they should like this!” I ordered one and waited for the party to start. In the mean time one of my kitty clients, Mika- a sweet tabby, had one I got to play with during her visits. It was more than just a string toy that had feathers attached to the end. It actually simulated real bird flight which excites kitties even more! AWESOME!! I need a kitty toy that will keep their interest long enough to wear them out! So, a few days went by and then the doorbell rang… Da Bird made it to my doorstep : )

Da Bird

Phoenix and Fin were my first kitties to test out Da Bird and immediately gave it 2 claws up! They stalked it, jumped really high to catch it (higher then they have for any other toy) and huffed like real wild cats do during hunting sessions. AWESOME!! So, I know the newness factor has a lot to do with their interest in Da Bird but it seems to interest them so much more then all the other string toys they’ve played with in the past. So far I really like Da Bird and think it’ll help keep things peaceful around here. You can see a few cute pics of all the action below : )

Phoenix investigates Da Bird

Fin Kitty investigates Da Bird

Phoenix attacks!

Get it Fin!!

And after...

I really wish I would’ve shot some video of all the fun, I was LOLing so much! If your kitties have a favorite toy I’d love to hear about it- we’re always looking for new things to get our paws on around here : )

~Furrr

Austin had a major thunderstorm last night- if you’re in Austin and slept through all the ruckus then I applaud you! This storm was loud and startling and lasted way too long for mine and Puck’s taste. With the amount of thunder South Austin got it was no surprise that my boy Puck and other local dogs were freaked out and scared all night.

Sad Puck : (

Recently, I heard about a product that helps with a dog’s thunderstorm anxiety, or can help with anxiety in general. It’s called Thundershirt!

Thundershirt

This vest type thing helps calm the dog’s central nervous system which makes them not so worried about things like thunderstorms, fireworks, riding in the car, being left home alone or other stressful situations. I have several clients that have negative responses to thunderstorms and get antsy when mom and dad are gone for too long so I did some research on the Thundershirt. I went to their website and also read the reviews I found on Amazon.com. I have to say I’m pretty impressed with this product. I plan to get one for my pup and I’ll send y’all an update once I try it out firsthand  : )

~Furrr

I know what your thinking… “Jen is married to Jeff the RollerDude how can she have a boyfriend?!” Well, don’t worry loyal fans- Jeff and I are deeply in love and happily married and he knows all about my boyfriend- he’s known about this love since the beginning, almost a year ago. Jeff even approves of this love : ) The love I’m talking about is Cannon Love- DOG LOVE!! I’ve known this guy since he was a little 3month old furrr ball and still peeing on floors and eating random things around the house. Now he’s a 1 year old stud and oh so handsome! Meet my love… Cannon!

Cannon yawning

In the last few weeks a new kitty has been hanging out in my South Austin neighborhood. He is kind of shy but does come around for treats or kibble and certainly makes his presence known in the middle of the night- howling like a banshie! After a few nights of restless sleep with my dogs going wild hearing his cries I decided to do a stake out and find out who was making all this rucuss. It turns out this kitty was a gorgeous Orange tabby/ bengelish adult male in heat!! He had the biggest kitty balls I’d ever seen and they needed to be removed asap before he started spreading his seed all over my street!

Pet rescue is a big part of my life and most pets in shelters come from situations of over breeding due to lack of sterilization. Spay and neutering dogs and cats saves lives! The more pets that are spayed or neutered the less animals end up in kill shelters and euthanized. The ASPCA reports that “The cost of spaying or neutering a pet is less than the cost of raising puppies or kittens for a year.”

So, after meeting my new orange friend and noticing his set of kitten makers I went to work looking for his family. He had no one- no one claimed him : ( So my next step was to trap him and get him neutered. I did my research on TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) and found out our own Austin Humane Society has a program designed specifically for kitties like my Orange friend who I now call Perry Feral. I spoke with Leticia at AHS and she gave me some great info and told me I can even borrow a trap from them. She emailed me info on the best way to trap and how the process works. She was great! I actually chose to buy my own trap from Home Depot encase I needed to trap more feral cats in the future or if one of my clients needed to borrow it. You can see a pic of one here —> trap

So, that night I carefully set my trap according to the instructions and all of my furry kids helped with sniff inspections We were ready to catch Perry Feral! I set my trap on the front porch where he had been hanging out and within the hour he was in there and trapped! I was completely surprised that we caught him so fast- and relieved that it worked properly and he wasn’t injured in the process. Perry was not happy with me and didn’t like being caged but I understood and we had a nice chat about the greater good and this was for his best interest. He gave me the finger and spit at me, but I took it like a man ; )

The next morning I drove him to Austin Humane Society and checked him in for his “ball removal”. There was actually a dozen or so kitties that arrived before us and were waiting their turn for the same process. The staff told me he would be ready that afternoon and called me when he was ready for pickup. Great!

Perry Feral in recovery

Perry came home and I set him up in our guest bathroom which we lovingly call the “kitty cat sick bay” (this is where all my kitties go if they need to be quarantined or they are new to the house and need to ease into an introduction.) He was really drunk looking and seemed so snuggly and tired. He ate and drank and did all of his potty business so I knew he was going to make a full recovery. I told him he would be released soon and all would be right in his world again. : ) So, a few days after surgery he was back to normal kitty-ness and I wrapped him in a towel and placed him in my normal kitty crate- not the trap. Set out a bowl of water and kibble and put the crate back on the porch where he was caught and where he previously called out to my girl kitties for sexy-time. The second I opened the crate door he bolted across the street and looked back for about 10 seconds and told me “F$&@ OFF!” I know Perry is not my biggest fan and that’s ok but I do know TNR was the right thing for him and in the process I’ve saved hundreds of kitties lives : ) I’d love to hear about your rescue stories- please post any you’d lie to share!

~Furrr

I’ve seen a lot of water fountains during my pet sitting visits and most of them seem to be pretty reliable. They filter the water correctly and provide your kitty or pup with fresh water and have a nice size reservoir for back up water, but my biggest complaint with most fountains is that they are just ugly and hard to handle during refilling. During my Christmas visits with a sweet kitty friend of mine named Annie (aka Sugarbear)  I was introduced to a much cooler and sleeker looking water fountain. The Raindrop pet fountain by Pioneer.

Annie on my lap

My Raindrop

In my opinion the design of this fountain is more stylish then most on the market today. It’s stainless steel (comes in ceramic too) and has an open water reservoir for easy refilling. 60oz capacity- a pretty good size for such a sleek design. I really love when pet products are ascetically pleasing. This fountain is perfect for the person that doesn’t want their pet product sticking out! It fits right into any decor especially if your home has a more modern feel. I liked Annie’s fountain so much I decided to buy one for my own kitties. They love it- it took a few days for them to get used to the humming sound and Fin kitty gave it a good stare down before he was convinced to try it. But now all my kitties are on board and drink from it regularly- it’s their favorite watering hole : )

I keep mine on a wooden table in the JPS office, I find that if I put a small towel under my Raindrop the humming doesn’t seem so apparent- I think it’s just the vibration against the wood that makes it seem louder than it really is.

We at JPS officially indorse the Raindrop pet fountain to be your pet’s water fountain in 2012 : )

~Furrr

A great band! Ok Go has this great video with some pretty amazing dogs (all rescues!) Rescues can be just as awesome as a fancy breeds!

~Furrr

This is hilarious!! I wonder if some of these cats know they are cats and aren’t supposed to be swimming?

~Furrr

Most days I feel like I need 4 extra hands to keep hold of all the stuff I gotta carry around whether it’s leashes, poop bags, my clients’ keys, or my bag of personal stuff! But I’ve finally found the best thing to hold my essentials while I walk my sweet dog clients!! : ) Now mind you I’ve tried just about everything during my walks (fanny packs- I’m too cool for these, backpacks, armbands, and pockets) but they all seem to be a pain in the butt. Either they’re hard to get into on the fly or they’re too bulking when I need to walk or run fast or they just don’t fit all the stuff I need to carry around. So… while I was hunting for the perfect running skirt at BettySport a while back I came across these little running belts called SPIbelt (Small Personal Item Belt) which is PERFECT for my needs!! I know I can be a bit spaztic and I get excited about a lot of things like 3 minute rain storms, the peach cobbler from Jack Allen’s Kitchen and cute puppies like my new Westie client Wrigley, but the SPIbelt is the BESTEST BEST thing for walkers or runners!! I’m serious- no BS!!

Modeling my SPIbelt

SPIbelt on chair

This belt is designed in a way so it fits close to your body so when you run or walk fast it doesn’t jiggle around and get in the way of your movement. It comes in a bunch of colors so you can be cute too if you like. They’re really thin too so you can pull your shirt over them if you want to cover them up. In the photo above I kept mine outside of my shirt so you could see it- it’s black. Some come with one pocket and some come with 2. I have one of each : ) The 2 pocket version is my favorite during my daily walks- I carry my cell phone in one pocket and my big roll of dog poop bags in the other pocket, and then I can latch my caribener of client keys to the belt. So now when I’m on a walk with my dog buddies all I need to hold onto are my leashes. AWESOME!!

~Furrr

Author unknown

I love my dogs,
This is their home
from which I hope they’ll never roam.
They’re faithful friends,
I love them best.
This is their home,
you are a guest.
If dogs to you
are just a peve,
then by all means
feel free to leave.

While trying to come up with an interesting blog topic today I was chatting with a good friend and she mentioned a cool book her little girl is reading about a library cat named Dewey. You can find this bestseller here —> Dewey: the small-town library cat who touched the world Dewey was a mere 8wk old kitten who was dropped off in an Iowa library’s night book drop in the dead of winter!! He was found by the library director,  Vicki Myron (also the author of the book mentioned above). Dewey was adopted by the library and became a vibrant member of the library staff- Dewey died at the age of 19 and lived his entire life inside the library welcoming patrons and helping little kids learn to read and such. Hearing about his story gave me goose bumps and I thought I needed to share his great story of survival and love with all you cool cats out there : )

You can watch a little video about Dewey here: Dewey the Library Cat