Did Someone Say Black Cats? #sponsored

This post is sponsored by petMD and ARM & HAMMER™, and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about The petMDCat Care Center, but A Tonk's Tail only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Arm & Hammer and petMD are not responsible for the content of this article.

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Over the past few months, I've shared with you some of the many reasons I like petMD's Cat Care Center. Another reason I like them? They asked me if I would like to write a fun, crafty DIY post, all about black cats. Geez, twist my arm, why don't you...

Given that last Monday was Black Cat Appreciation Day, and the fact that black cats are known to be less adoptable, I was pretty excited to do this. Besides, black cats are über fashionable during the fall season, especially during Halloween time.

So today I'm tossing two ideas your way:
a fun way to decorate, and a yummy way to celebrate Le Chat Noir.

Ready?

Crafty Cat #1: Black Cat Oreos

Here's what you'll need:

• Oreo cookies (duh)
• Sprinkles (round, heart-shaped or if you're making for Halloween, pumpkins)
• Chocolate chips
• Edible Food Marker

I chose the mint Oreos, mainly because I'd never tried them before!

The chocolate chips are ears, m&ms are eyes, and the sprinkles will be the nose.
I chose the heart shaped ones (too early in the season for pumpkin!).

The food writer marker is a great way to turn the back of an m&m into a cat's eye. You can buy them on Amazon at this link here. (It's an affiliate link, which means I do get a small amount if you choose to buy these).

Step 1:
Scrape out the insides of one of your Oreos.
(No need to waste perfectly good chocolate, so go ahead and eat the wafers. Just sayin'.)
This makes great food glue! HINT: add a spritz of water to make the filling a bit "stickier".

Step 2:

Use the black food marker to draw a slitted pupil on the back side of a blue or green m&m. The front is where the logo is stamped so be sure to turn it over.

Step 3:
Use a dab of icing from that sacrificed Oreo to glue on the eyes, then glue two chocolate chips on for the ears.

A tiny dab of icing will adhere the sprinkle on as a nose.
Hearts are adorable, but if you want to hold off until the pumpkins have arrived in your store, they look very cat-like when turned upside-down. And hey - Halloween!

Step 4:
Well, I would say "eat and enjoy" but I haven't been able to bring myself to eat one - they're just too cute!

Note: While cats aren't always as curious about people food as dogs are, it's worth a quick warning that chocolate and kitties don't mix. To learn more about chocolate toxicity in cats, check out what PetMD has to say about it.


Want to see exactly how it's done? (please excuse the inky fingers - turns out food markers don't come off any easier than Sharpies do!)

Tah dahhhhhh!

Blue eyes for my two boys, and a green eyed girl with a pink heart nose. Purrfection! 


Crafty Cat #2: Black Cat Pillow

Admittedly, this might be stepping it up a notch, but hey - why not give it a try?

For this, you'll need:

• a plain black throw pillow
• fabric paints (Here is the set I bought on Amazon - again, it's an affiliate link)
• a template that you can download here (if it looks like Faraday, yes - he was the model ;-)
• a soft cotton rag to use as your "paintbrush" (I used a scrap of t-shirt material)
• a glove if you don't want paint on your fingers (I did not to use one. I discovered I had a bit finer control of the lines without it)

Step 1:
Set a junk towel or rag on top of your work surface to catch any paint drips
Find a scrap piece of material to test your fabric paint so you'll know how fast it comes out of the tube, and how thick the line will be.

Step 2:
Examine your pillow and determine where and how large you want your cat to be.
You can outline your cat with chalk or a sharpie if you'd like. Just be sure you cover the line with the fabric paint once you get started.

Step 3:
Apply your paint sparingly, little dollops at a time, then work the paint in with your cotton rag.

Want to see how I did it?

So what do you think? Ready to give it a go?

Thanks to much to petMD, the petMD Cat Care Center and ARM & HAMMER™ for sponsoring such a fun post!
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We also thank the folks at ARM & HAMMER™ Clump & Seal™  LightWeight Cat Litter for sponsoring the great information found at petMD that is so helpful for our four-legged family members!

Click here for a $2 off coupon!

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Through the Looking Glass #sponsored

This post is sponsored by petMD and ARM & HAMMER™, and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about The petMDCat Care Center, but A Tonk's Tail only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Arm & Hammer and petMD are not responsible for the content of this article. 
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Maybe it’s because it’s been miserably hot lately. And humid, did I mention humid?

Our lovely yet depressingly humid garden (hey, this was taken a month ago - everything's, like, 3 times this size now!)

It was so icky the other day that my glasses steamed up the minute I walked out to the garden to pick basil for fresh pesto. Allie went with me.

"Whew!  It's a hot one, Mother!"

 Normally, having her along to supervise the garden chores is something Marty & I enjoy. Oh, and Allie too. She loves hanging out in the garden with us (supervised at all times, of course). But on this day, having Allie outside with me was not a good idea. Just in the brief time we were out, Allie ended up panting like a dog.

So maybe it’s because it was so hot and humid it reminded me of my Texas childhood. And maybe it was that reminder that caused me to do the Alice in Wonderland thing last night in my dreams. Sadly, there was no Cheshire Cat waiting for me.

Instead, I dreamt that there were two cats trapped under our deck. By a rattlesnake.

But wait, there’s more.

In my dream, Faraday was there too, and he was about to go all Mighty Mouse on that rattler’s butt (wait, do rattlers have butts?) complete with the signature “heeeere I come to save the daaaayyyyy” yowl. In the dream, Faraday lunged for the snake, who obligingly lunged back. Snakebite!!

My dream kindly allowed me moments of lucidity (I swear, guys, no spicy food the night before – I have no idea where this whole Rabbit Hole came from!). I remember panicking and thinking, “wait, I’m in Kansas. Rattlesnakes aren’t as common up here, so your average vet won’t have antivenin – rattler antivenom drugs – in stock! What am I going to do?!?” And then I woke up.

"Seriouslies, Mommy. I can take him. I know I can!"

So why am I taking you along with me on this weird and trippy Looking Glass dream? Because it is summer, and in many parts of the world, venomous snakebites are a real concern. And because I know, from personal childhood experience, that a cat can survive a rattler’s bite and live to tell about it.

But where do you turn for advice on how to handle such a situation – a real one, not one out of my fanciful dreams? I checked in with petMD, and sure enough, there was an article about it. There was also an article about some of the most common heat-related dangers cats can face during summertime by well-known veterinarian Patrick Mahaney who recently spoke at the BlogPaws convention in May. I really like having this kind of knowledge at my fingertips, in case you were wondering. And I think I’ll have a nice, sedate salad for dinner tonight….

We’re all about the indoor fun right now in the 97 degree heat/80 percent humidity days we’re experiencing in Kansas. I’ve started adding ice cubes to the cats’ water fountain, just for that extra touch of cool. And I’ve noticed the wand toy play is still enthusiastic, but a bit more short-lived.

Maybe that's why Maxie's been asking for the wand toy to be delivered to him instead of chasing it around?
Nah, he's just lazy that way.

Oddly enough, the cats have decided that hanging out on the closet shelf upstairs the The Thing To Do right now. Wow, dudes, did you know heat rises? That’s easily the hottest spot in the house right now!

Do your cats seek out the heat – and I’m talking about more than just those delish sunpuddles – at your home, too? My mom has a pinched nerve right now and swears she has to do battle with her cat over possession of the heating pad. She’s winning – but not by much!








Our thanks to the folks at ARM & HAMMER™ CLUMP & SEAL™  LightWeight litter for sponsoring such a wealth of information for our four-legged family members.

Click here for a $2 off coupon!

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5 Tips for New Cat Parents - with help from petMD #sponsored

This post is sponsored by petMD and ARM & HAMMER™, and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about The petMD Cat Care Center, but A Tonk's Tail only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. ARM & HAMMER™ and petMD are not responsible for the content of this article.

We can't let Adopt a Shelter Cat Month pass by without mentioning it!

And our connection with the petMD Cat Care Center gives us a perfect excuse to discuss loads of things that'll help new cat parents be good cat parents.

Here are five things to help ensure a smooth transition for your new family member: 

1. Provide Safety
In petMD's article on introducing a new kitten to your home, they mention "kitten proofing" it. it's very similar to the way you'd "baby proof" your house when you bring that new child home from the hospital: make sure that anything that can do them harm, such as electric cords, rubber bands or thread is safely stowed.

Anything they might topple that could harm them - whether it's because it contains a harmful chemical, is made of breakable glass or simply because it's a heavy or sharp object - also needs to go.

Potential hazards here: heavy falling objects, shattered glass, and poison!

And don't think you can ignore this if you happen to be adopting an adult cat. (oh, and by the way: Go, you! for looking past the kittens and adopting a deserving adult!)

Seriously, adult cats have been known to chow down on thread, costing a certain pet parent hundreds of dollars in emergency surgery fees.

2. Provide the Necessities
Water. Food. Litter. A place to scratch. A place to sleep.

Water is an absolute necessity, and because some cats are more finicky than others, we recommend getting a water fountain. Running water tends to encourage cats to drink more and the aeration provided by a pump and filter keeps it fresher longer, too.

We talk plenty about food over here! Good nutrition can pay off big as your cat reaches his golden years, and since cats are obligate carnivores, that means meat, meat, meat!

Let's talk litter for a minute. Cats are creatures of habit (see #4 below). So start off by using the same litter they were using before you adopted them.

Faraday made it quite clear to me that he disapproved of his new litter the day we brought him home. That boy had attitude from Day 1: he hopped into his new litter box, squeaked at me (yeah, he squeaked back then!), waited until he had my full attention, then deliberately stepped out of the litter box and squatted next to it.

*smug look* Yeah, I totally won that one!

Message received, dude!

3. Provide Entertainment & Enrichment
Faraday and Maxwell both heartily approve this talking point.
And they want to leave you with two words.
WAND Toys.

There are lots of simple ways you can keep a cat entertained, and they don't have to be terribly expensive or complex, either. Just take a look at this simple idea - all you need are a few dixie cups and some treats.

4. Go Slowly
Doctor Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at Colorado State University, and one of the highest-functioning autistic persons in the world, tells us that animal cognition and autistic cognition are very similar.

One of the things this translates to is a high resistance to change. (Hah. Just ask Maxwell about that. He refuses to stop eating dry food. Grrrrr.)

Uh...sorry, Momma...

This also means that introducing a cat into a new home should be done very slowly. It could take weeks to properly integrate a cat. And in some cases, as with Ryker and Allie, it can take 6 months or longer.

5. Recognize Special Needs

There are so many senior cats in shelters, and they're not so easy to place in homes.This is why I liked seeing petMD's article on how to bond with a senior cat. It mentions things such as a litter box with lower sides that an arthritic kitty can more easily get in and out of, and ensuring that food and water are at ground level.

Some cats lose sight or hearing as they age. We understand all about hearing-impaired kitties, and can tell you that adopting an older cat with one of these conditions is no big deal. (oh, and did we mention? Go, you! for adopting a differently-abled cat!)

But as the petMD article on senior cats mentions, you can help them out by sticking with a stable routine. Familiarity (and in the case of fading eyesight) furniture that doesn't move!) can be a huge help.

Are you planning to add a feline family member to your home sometime soon? Tell us in comments!

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Our thanks to the folks at ARM & HAMMER™ Clump & Seal™  LightWeight litter (50% lighter and with 7 day odor control, guaranteed!) for sponsoring such a wealth of information for our four-legged family members.

Click here for a $2 off coupon!