Just call me Maxie Tribbiani

"How YOU doin'?"

***

On Another Note ...

Somekitty got a visit from the Tooth Fairy last week.
But not quite how you think!

Their Aunt Connie (Tails from the Foster Kittens) found this, and (sadly) immediately thought of Maxwell.


It was sent with a note that said she sincerely hopes it will never need to be used.

Though it's a lovely silver box, Maxie and I heartily agree!

(But thank you for thinking of us, Aunt Connie! Now where's the nip? ~ Faraday The Ungrateful)

***

Faraday expresses his opinion of Allie

"Bunny killer!"

***

Take Your Pants for a Walk Day

Technically, it's tomorrow, but we're celebrating today, with the launch of a new series our mom's working on, called ...

Another Holiday We Didn't Invent!

You're welcome.
;-)

***

'Toon Tuesdays: Dinosaur Eyelashes

*** 

_____

Toon Tuesdays feature animal (and sometimes human) humor created by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) - where our mom works, too!

No One Likes a Tattletale.

click image to read full article

***

Girlcat Fangs on Friday

"Allie, what are you holding?" 

"My Yowwwwwwwwl toy. Obviously!"

Well, the toy said to yowl ....

***

Thursday's Purrs: Si

"Here I am, future furever family!

I am here at Wayside just waiting patiently for you to come and pick me up!!"

"I would love to tell you a little about myself. I am a very affectionate buff and white male tabby who came to Wayside from another shelter. Though my time here has been wonderful, and I have fast become a staff and volunteer favorite, everyone is cheering me on as I look for my furever home.
I would love it if that home was with you!

I am a feline who LOVES laps!!! If you're looking for a lap cat, then I am the kitty for you. I am super loving, sweet, and sometimes I get so happy while having a petting session with you that I may drool. *embarrassed look* I just can hardly contain all the love I have to give...."

"I also enjoy playing. My favorite toys are a feather wand, or ping pong or jingle balls. While here at Wayside I have found out that my felineality is secret admirer. Being a secret admirer means that when I first get home I may be a bit on the shy side, until I feel comfortable in my new surroundings.

Give me a little time and patience, and then will quickly see my loving, affectionate, adoring, amazing purring side! I promise I am worth the wait.

I also have some medication that will come home with me. The medication is for inflammatory bowel disease, and I know that may seem scary, but the medication helps me so much with it. My condition does not rule my life at all, and I hope you will keep me in mind when looking for your new furever companion!

I would love the chance to show you my BIG heart in person, so please come on down. I will just work on my lap skills till I see you walk those doors!

Love,
Si"

Si's available today at Allie's Alma Mater, Wayside Waifs.

***

Wordless Wednesday

Somekitty's a bit worn out, dashing from Poké Spot to Poké Spot ....

***

'Toon Tuesdays: No pressure

Faraday: *raises paw* Um, can I be an honorary donkey? The pressure of all these expectations....

*** 

_____

Toon Tuesdays feature animal (and sometimes human) humor created by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) - where our mom works, too!

Faraday makes headlines playing Pokemon

And somekitty's not amused.

***

Maxwell's PeeMail Protest

Oops. Somekitty heard today was "Be a Dork Day."

He doesn't trust me?
I'm wounded.
Deeply wounded. 

Early Friday Funny

In case you wondered, yes. The peeps our mom works with are this weird.

***

Thursday's Purrs: Harold

"Hi, I'm Harold!
I'm a handsome silver tabby cat, weighing about 10 pounds.
I was brought to Wayside Waifs when my last shelter ran out of space for me."

"I know this will be my last stop before I head to my fur-ever home with my new peeps, and can't wait to give all of my love to my purr-fect match. Think that could be you?

I'm a sweet guy who's looking for a family who will be patient and gentle with me while I get used to my new surroundings. I need to feel comfortable before I really feel confident enough to explore and interact."

"I'd love for you to bring the whole family out so I can meet them before heading home. I was given the feline-ality of Private Investigator because I'm an independent guy who knows how to keep to himself.

I'll be behind the scenes exploring and watching over the house for you! Even though I like my alone time, I'll be sure to give you plenty of quality time. I'm not much of a player, I'd rather just snuggle up next to you. I'll be sure to let you know how much I love you with plenty of head butts and purrs.

I'm a loving guy with a lot to offer and I hope you'll come by soon to get to know me!
Love,
Harold"

THIS JUST IN:
Harold challenges Maxwell 
to a Lip Curl Contest! 

You Decide: Who Wins?


BTW ... Harold's available today at Allie's Alma Mater, Wayside Waifs.

***

Embrace Your Geekness Day

Dum-dee-dum-dum-m-m...

  Doot-dee-do -- ah-HAH.

WAIT. Did someone just call me a GEEK?

***

'Toon Tuesdays: Overheard at Hallmark

Especially on hot summer days. 

Just meowin'.

*** 

_____

Toon Tuesdays feature animal (and sometimes human) humor created by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) - where our mom works, too!

What Happens When Faraday's Bored, Episode 1

Click image for full article

***

A (very LATE) Friday Fangs

Somekitty's up to something. 

And it has PeeMail written ALL over it.

(We predict Maxie's not gonna like it one bit....)

To see what Friday's cliffhanger is all about, check back on Monday!
(uh, yeah, that was kind of evil. Blame Mommy, she's been busy at work ...)

***

Thursday's Purrs: Suzette

"Hi, I'm Suzette! I'm a beautiful, Domestic Medium Hair cat, weighing about 8 pounds and I was brought to Wayside Waifs when I was found, lost and alone as a stray.

I know this will be my last stop before I head to my fur-ever home with my new peeps! I can't wait to give all of my love to my purr-fect match. Think that could be you?"

Suzette's selfie courtesy  & © Maura L, Wayside volunteer. Used with permission.

"I'm a sweet gal who's looking for a family who will be patient and gentle with me while I get used to my new surroundings. I'd love for you to bring the whole family out so I can meet them before heading home.

I was given the feline-ality of Private Investigator because I'm an independent kind of girl who knows how to keep to herself. I'll be behind the scenes exploring and watching over the house for you!"

Suzette's sunroom nap courtesy  & © Maura L, Wayside volunteer. Used with permission.

"Even though I like my alone time, I'll be sure to give you plenty of quality time. I love to play with the mouse toy they gave me here at Wayside!

I'll be sure to let you know how much I love you with plenty of head butts and purrs. I'm a loving girl with a lot to offer and I hope you'll come by soon to get to know me!

Love, Suzette"

Suzette's available today at Allie's Alma Mater, Wayside Waifs.

***

Souvenirs & Kitty Love

Last week, we were at the 2016 BlogPaws Conference & CWA Annual Conference, held at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort in Phoenix.

Aside from the fact that somemommy callously abandoned us, we have to admit it was an amazing experience.

###

On Monday, we shared a little about the event, plus the big award for Best Video at Friday evening's CWA awards. Today, we'll share the rest!

For three days, attendees had access to sessions held by both conferences. Topics ranged from SEO and analytics to photography tips, and a workshop by indie ebook distributor Smashwords.

Yet as many learning opportunities as the conference held, being surrounded by like-minded pet lovers is truly the best experience of all.

An Amazing Community

Pet bloggers and microbloggers are some of the most caring and compassionate people there are. Spending time with those who share the same passions is the best of times, and deep and lasting friendships are formed here.

And then there's the SWAG. Loads and loads of cool stuff that kitties love. And much of it is in the form of gift bags from friends and fellow bloggers!

Product samples from vendors, a stuffed cat from "The Secret Life of Pets" & a cool ChristyPaws card!

We love that it's not all fun and games. Some pet brands are there for your pet's health, like Bluestem oral care and the Heartworm Society of America. (yes, cats can get heartworm too, and it can be deadly.)

And we also kind of really loved that the folks from the upcoming movie The Secret Life of Pets were there supporting pet bloggers - and handing out cool stuffed plush versions of the movie's star characters!

Maxwell: Look, Momma! Christy has bling just like Allie does!

More gifts from our cat friends: Naked & Hungry, Lola the Rescued Cat and Sammy, Orion & Emmy's human

Kate Benjamin, owner of the online cat shop, Hauspanther, (and guest star on Jackson Galaxy's My Cat from Hell) hosted the Cat Style Lounge. In it, you could see the latest in pet furniture, toys and grooming.

And on the last day, Kate held a drawing for all the floor models on display. We won this amazing hand-made fountain by Thirsty Cat Fountains. It's truly a piece of art!

The Thirsty Cat Fountain we won at Hauspanther's Cat Style Lounge

And the gift bags from friends and fellow bloggers just kept coming. Including a ...wait for it ... pink tambourine from Glogirly to use at the Saturday evening BlogPaws Nose to Nose Awards event!

Coco the Couture Cat was handing out toys & treats, as was Glogirly. The CWA swag bag was great, too!

 Speaking of ...
Our mom was knocked speechless when they called her name for an award she had no idea was coming. (Seriouslies, she was dumbfounded!)

To her surprise, BlogPaws awarded us an award for Outstanding Blog About Page!
We want to thank the Academy ....

In all honesty, we are extremely honored and we thank BlogPaws for this recognition!

This award was a huge surprise to us: BlogPaws awarded us for "Outstanding Blog About Page"

 But wait! There's ... more?

Oh yeah, and Faraday especially wants to thank Dawn, the author of Lola the Rescued Cat, for the plastic bag her gifts came in.

He, umm,  thought it was kind of a-a-a-awesome!

Somekitty liked Lola's BAG more than her toys!

***

'Toon Tuesdays: Whatever.

We hope you partied responsibly this 4th of July.

;-)

*** 

_____

Toon Tuesdays feature animal (and sometimes human) humor created by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) - where our mom works, too!

Winners, All.

Last week, the gorgeous Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort hosted the 2016 BlogPaws Conference & the CWA Annual Conference.

(aside from the fact that somemommy callously abandoned us ...) we have to admit it was an amazing experience. Many pet bloggers and social media advocates brought their pets along. There were dogs, cats, ferrets, even a rat!

Attendees could select from a number of sessions led by BlogPaws staff, national pet brands, CWA authors and editors.

Along with the opportunity to polish social media skills, attendees were treated to product samples from pet sponsors, and news & information from rescues and advocacy groups.

And ... there were goodie bags from friends and fellow pet bloggers, too (#score!). 

Our video was a finalist! We also were given some cool stuff from The Island Cats & Sweet Purrfections!

We sent our mom to represent us in several categories at Friday night's CWA banquet.

The CWA awards Certificates of Excellence for many categories, and we were honored to receive 8 awards:
 - 3 for health and science articles written for Catster Magazine.
 - 3 for Photography
 - 1 for Entertainment Blog
 - 1 for Video, DVD or TV Production


You WIN!

Friday night's award banquet: two Muse Medallions, one for Best Video & one for Best Entertainment Blog

You read that right: YOU won.

The video, Our Wish, was a compilation of the hopes and dreams for companion animals everywhere -- as voiced by so many of you: our readers, fellow bloggers, animal lovers and shelter workers.

And you won the Muse Medallion for Best Video. I was merely the conduit.
If you haven't seen it - grab a tissue, and click below:

In order of appearance, the winners are:

Jenny Lewis - Pixel Blue Eyes

Debbie Glovatsky - Glogirly

Kevin Hattori - Animal Shelter Volunteer Life

Sam Ratcliffe - Vegas Rock Dogs

Connie S. - Tails from the Foster Kittens

Jeanne Kudich - Random Felines

Melissa Clinton - Barking from the Bayou

Stephanie Minck - Snotface Ferret

Sue Doute - The Island Cats

Susan Willett - Life with Dogs and Cats

Amy Shojai - Pet Author

Paula Gregg - Sweet Purrfections

Amy Palmer - Sebastian the Sensitive Soul

Linda Rodgers - Savannah's Paw Tracks

Julie McAlee - Cats Herd You

Marjorie Dawson - Dash Kitten

Ann Staub - Pawsitively Pets

Thank you for your passion - and the love that so clearly shone through. It was an honor to represent you all.

We were also honored to receive this year's Muse Medallion for Best Entertainment Blog.
(that's two years in a row! *squeee!*)

...WE?  What's this WE you speak of, Mommy?

"Don't be thinking YOU won anything, Maxie. It's clear the judges were captivated by my Impecccable Taste."

Uh, we think that's our cue to sign off for now ....

 Stay Tuned!

On Wednesday, we'll share more about the conference -- and a surprise award we never saw coming!

***

More Fourth of July Pet Safety Tips

Today's special guest is Pita the Pocket Dog from the new series, Cocktails & Creativity, that airs every Thursday on the Hallmark & Community channel.

Consorting with a Chichuahua? We forgive you, Mommy.

***

Caturday Cat Napping

Power napping and preparing for the holiday. Who's with me?

 ***

Fourth of July and Pet Safety

This weekend, folks in the U.S. are gearing up to celebrate Independence Day.  And along with a nice three-day weekend, we get treated to the sights and sounds of tons of fireworks.

But what's fun for humans can often be traumatic - sometimes tragic - for our pets.

Did you know more pets go missing on the Fourth of July than any other holiday?

Fourth of July 
Pet Safety Tips

DON'T:
Never take a pet to a fireworks display. Even the most even tempered animals can spook - and bolt! - at unfamiliar, loud noises.
And it's not as if we can explain to them what they're about to experience - all they would understand is that sudden, frightening loud noises are assaulting their tender ears!

DON'T:
And it's not okay to leave your pet in the car while attending a fireworks display, either. While the temperature outside is a comfortable 80 degrees, the temperature inside your car could reach as high as 120 - and this can prove fatal to your pet.

DO:

Provide a secure, comfortable, quiet place for your pet to rest while you're out.

You can encourage rest by participating in a fun, vigorous playtime before the fireworks begin. That way pup or kitty will have run off any nervous energy!

DO:
Consider turning on the TV, radio or even a fan for your pet. This creates "white noise" that may help minimize the sound of the fireworks.

DO:

Play with your pet. Toys make great distractions, so engaging in a bit of fun will direct their attention away from scary noises.

DO:
And make sure your pet is identified, either by collar or microchip (or both!) so if they accidentally get away from you, their chances of recovery are greatly increased.

Fewer that 10% (on average) of companion animals find their way back home once lost.

***

Mr. Fraidy Cat isn't fond of this holiday, so these tips sure help him!

      Wishing you all a fun and festive 4th of July!