Our Secret Paw

Our mom is the cruelest human on the face of the Earth.
Seriouslies.
Do you know how many days it's been since Chanukah?
And did you know our Secret Paw gift has been sitting in our fambly room for days and days?

Waiting for a "nice, sunny day," she says.

As if that's okay.

Well, we can tell you this: it was worth it!

But since our dad is, like, at death's door (not really, just a flu that the totally worthless flu shot didn't prevent)  we told her we were okay with just teasing you about it today and giving you the scoop in technicolor detail tomorrow.

Basically, she just ran out of time, between snapping photos of our fab selves and making daddy chicken soup.

Here's what happened first:

Maxie was with Mommy when she opened the box.
He tried the whole "possession is 9/10 of the law" trick. But I wouldn't let him.

Guess who our Secret Paw was?  Truffles, Brulee & Mom Paula from Sweet Purrfections!

Maxie & I made a pact: if I didn't tell Allie, he'd split the loot with me. (check out my our totally rad Kong Wubbie!)

There may or may not have been a fight that ensued....

Stay tuned tomorrow for the Tell All!

Faraday, out.

***

Thursday Trivia - a day early

As Chanukah begins tonight - the first time it's landed this early since 1888! - we decided to swap days and offer up a special Chanukah Trivia:

The origin of the tradition of latkes

It might surprise very few to hear that latkes weren't eaten at the first Chanukah celebration. But it may surprise you to hear how youthful the tradition is!

Photo: Lynn Gardner via Creative Commons

We actually have Catherine the Great to thank for these yummy fried treasures. Catherine...and a famine.

Back in 1825, food was so scarce in Russia that she ordered farmers to plant potatoes instead of grains.

This was because potatoes could withstand harsher winters, had greater nutritional value and higher yields.

The farmers initially weren't very happy with this decree, as potatoes didn't have a terribly good reputation at the time.

According to Carol Green Ungar, the first potatoes to be planted in Europe were watery and bitter. But of course, when your ruler tells you to plant potatoes...you plant potatoes!

By 1850, the potato was firmly entrenched in the diets of all Russians - and ubiquitous enough to make their way into a Yiddish children's song: "Monday, potatoes; Tuesday, potatoes; Wednesday, potatoes... Shabbos, potato kugel!"

So it was a natural progression for these golden tubers to find their way into holiday celebrations. By the time the first American Jewish cookbook was published in 1889, they were here to stay.

And now you know: Chanukah: 2,178 years old. The latke: a youthful 163!

Chag Orim Sameach - Happy Festival of Lights!

Sources:

Yiddish Potato Folk Song
"The Little Known Story Behind the Latke," by Carol Green Ungar. Jewish Action, Winter 5774. Page 60.

Gratuitous shot of our latest accomplishment: Chocolate Dreidels - YUM!

Monday Medical: Pet Safety for Chanukah

Welcome to today's stop at the Chanukah Blog Crawl! 

 

Pet Safety for Chanukah

There are a lot of articles and blog posts circulating right now about pet-proofing your home for Christmas. It got me to wondering: for those of us who observe a different holiday, is there any need for concern?

Turns out there are a few things folks can consider when preparing for the Festival of Lights.
Here are our Top Five Tips to Pet-Proof your home for Chanukah:

1.  Consider trading your Hanukkiah for an electric model

photo courtesy CarbonNYC on flickr

At least temporarily.

I love the warm glow of real candles and have a nice collection of hanukkiahs (the 9-branch Chanukah menorah). So for me, swapping out for the electric version is difficult. It feels like it violates the season. And technically, you should be using either oil or wax candles to honor the miracle of Chanukah.

But I now have three very active cats (two of them barely out of kittenhood). One of them in particular (that would be you, Faraday) does a passing impression of Tarzan, and the fire hazard is just too great.

So I'll be screwing in a new electric bulb each of the eight nights instead of lighting up all over the house.

When Ryker was alive, it wasn't such a big deal; he was a laid-back kind of a guy and just so long as I monitored him and the menorah while the candles were lit, all was well. And we'll get there with these guys as they mellow with age. But for the next few years, we'll probably err on the side of caution.

We did live on the wild side Saturday night and light the first candle, but there were 3 humans carefully monitoring the situation while 3 cats opened shredded their Chanukah toys.

2.  Holiday foods can be hazardous to your pet's health.

our latkes (regular, sweet & purple potatoes) before frying

One of the best things about Chanukah is the food. Loads of yummy, fried food.

The problem with these tasty treats is that their recipes often call for ingredients that are not good for cats and dogs.

Latkes are one such food item: they can contain onions and sometimes garlic or garlic powder. To learn more about the dangers of these foods to your pet, you can read our Medical Monday article on onions by clicking here.

And if you're curious about exactly what latkes are and why we eat them at this time of year, you're in luck! Tomorrow's stops on the Chanukah Crawl are for Tasty Tuesday, and you can read all about east coast vs. west coast latke-making at the blogs of @danapixie and Hey...It's Jet Here (see links to their blogs at the end of this post),


3.  Tinsel: it's not just for Christmas any more.

Chanukah is considered to be pretty kid-centric and as such, there are many sites that sell - yes - Chanukah garland.

Those metallic little dreidels and magen davids are just cat-nomming (and choking) size.

If you plan to decorate with tinselly garland, make sure it's out of reach of your four-legged tree-swingers, too.




4.  All that glitters is not gold...but it is nommy!

One of the most iconic traditions of Chanukah is the game Spin the Dreidel. You'll be able to read more about the dreidel itself - and the origins of the game - at Pumpkinpuddy's blog on Wednesday. For now, suffice it to say that the winner takes the gelt (Yiddish for money).

In 1920's America, the tradition of giving gelt took a delicious turn. Now, kids everywhere vie for shiny, foil-wrapped pieces of chocolatey goodness in the shape of coins. 

Unfortunately, chocolate is not good for kitties or puppies. And of course, shiny as they are, they can become pet magnets. The gelt strewn about my home in various candy dishes will probably get a boost - up out of the way of enterprising paws - this year.

5.  Kittens and puppies don't make good Chanukah gifts either.

photo courtesy exfordy on flickr

A fellow blogger posted last year about the sad trend that occurs at this time of year: giving kittens and puppies as Christmas gifts. I would imagine that trend pops up at Chanukah time, too.

Pets should never, ever EVER be an impulse purchase, and the person on the receiving end of such a gift really needs to be involved, as this involves not only the personality of the person receiving the pet but the personality of the animal itself. 

This is so important that the ASPCA recently instituted a program called Meet Your Match, which assesses the personalities of both person and cat and attempts to guide adopters into finding the perfect match for them.


That's it for my Top 5 for Chanukah-proofing your home. No matter what holiday you celebrate, may it be merry...and safe...this year.

Please join us for 8 nights of fun, inspiration and information during the Chanukah Blog Crawl.

 
There's a different host for each day. 

Click the badge above to see who's hosting each day of the Crawl.

If you'd like to follow along, click here to read yesterday's post on menorahs by Gromek the Cat To-ra.
There are two stops for the Crawl tomorrow! Meandering Moodys (@danapixie) and Hey... It's Jet Here.

Happy Chanukah!

We're participating in a Chanukah Blog Crawl! 

 

There's a different host for each day. 

The Crawl stops at our blog on Monday, so be sure to swing by and visit us! 

Click the badge above to see who's hosting each day of the Crawl.

If you'd like to follow along, click here to read today's post at Musings of a Crazy Cat Lady. 

Psst! To get you in a festive mood, we present the Nefesh B'Nefesh Chanukah Flash Mob.



We can't decide what we love more:
"Oy is just Yo backward you know" or "those fluffy latkes, oh those fluffy latkes"...!

***

We're also purrticipating in the Weekend Cat Blogging blog hop...

...and the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop, hosted by Baby Patches, Life with Dogs and Two Little Cavaliers.

"Fun Finds" Friday

This is a random gathering of pet-related things we thought you might find interesting. 

(Okay, and a lot of it is from Mommy's snoop time on Pinterest!)

If you have a fun find, send us a shout-out by clicking on the Contact Us tab above.

***

Oh my cat, are we ever excited about today's Fun Find! Thanks to the folks over at Animal Shelter Volunteer Life, we learned about these Trayfe Mousies, and just had to have one!

They're only $5 and can be bought from several stores online. We're getting ours from Oy Toys cuz we love the store's name!

"Trayfe" (or "traif") is yiddish for "not kosher". Our humans don't eat trayf...but we kittehs LOVE batting it around! Mommy cuts off the string and bell on these kinds of toys, so we won't choke on it.

We told Mommy not to order the Lox - we prefer the Real Deal in that instance! *licks lips*

BREAKING NEWS!

We're featured on the Funny Farmer Felines' column on mousebreath.com today!

 

WOOT! Be sure to check it out!

Our Pawesome Chanukah In Pictures

 We had a pawesome Chanukah! Momma stayed home ALL WEEK and we got in loads of cuddles. And latkes. And candles. We had to stay Very Far Away from those (they were only lit for a second.)

Yukon Gold, Purple & Sweet Potato latkes, ready to fry up

YUMMY! 

Papa lighting the candles

*SQUEE!* ooh and Bling! We-- err, ah, *I* got bling!

Modeling for Daddy *giggle*

*eyeroll* yeah, yeah...bling, whatever. But I gotted me some WAND TOYS!!

Wand Toy Number 1

Wand Toy Number 4012870

AND....I don't care if Daddy sez these are new tires for Mommy's car, it looks like a Cool New BED to me! *score!*

And Gramma & Grampa gave us this really cool condo, too. All three of us can be in it at the same time, swatting each others' tails. HIGHPAW!

Maxwell, holding down the fort, Momma sez

We had a PAWeSOME Chanukah! How was your holiday???

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Mommy sez I'm the Menorah Mensch (uh, izzat a GOOD thing?)

Happy Chanukah!

Do You Need to Pet-Proof Chanukah?

There are a lot of articles and blog posts circulating right now about pet-proofing your home for Christmas. It got me to wondering: for those of us who observe a different holiday, is there any need for concern?

Turns out there are a few things folks can consider when preparing for the Festival of Lights.

1.  Trade in your Hanukkiah for an electric model

photo courtesy CarbonNYC on flickr

I love the warm glow of real candles and have a nice collection of hanukkiahs (the 9-branch Chanukah menorah). So for me, swapping out for the electric version is difficult. It feels somehow...tacky.

But I now have three very active cats (two of them barely out of kittenhood). One of them in particular (that would be you, Faraday) does a passing impression of Tarzan, and the fire hazard is just too great.

So I'll be screwing in a new electric bulb each of the eight nights instead of lighting up all over the house.

When Ryker was alive, it wasn't such a big deal; he was a laid-back kind of a guy and just so long as I blew out the hanukkiahs before leaving the family room each evening, all was well.

But for those of you who know my herd on twitter....nah. Not a chance I'm willing to take!

2.  What is it with cats and cords?

This goes for both the Christmas tree and the Chanukah menorah: some kitties just can't resist gnawing on those cords. If your fur-kids indulge, you might want to invest in a bottle of bitter apple. Cats find its taste to be unpalatable so it works nicely as a deterrent. Though the best solution might be to consider purchasing cords that shut off if damaged.

3.  Tinsel: it's not just for Christmas any more.

Chanukah is considered to be pretty kid-centric and as such, there are many sites that sell - yes - Chanukah garland.

Those metallic little dreidels and magen davids are just cat-nomming (and choking) size.

If you plan to decorate with tinselly garland, make sure it's out of reach of your four-legged tree-swingers, too.




4.  All that glitters is not gold...but it is nommy!

One of the most iconic traditions of Chanukah is the game Spin the Dreidel. The game, which dates back to the 17th century, was used as both tradition and teaching tool for children - especially if there was money involved!

In 1920's America, the tradition of giving gelt (Yiddish for "money") took a delicious turn. Now, kids everywhere vie for shiny, foil-wrapped pieces of chocolatey goodness in the shape of coins. 

Unforunately, chocolate is not good for kitties. And of course, shiny as they are, they can become kitty magnets. The gelt strewn about my home in various candy dishes will probably get a boost - up out of the way of enterprising paws - this year.

5.  Kittens do not make good Chanukah gifts either.

photo courtesy exfordy on flickr

A fellow blogger recently posted about the sad trend that occurs at this time of year: giving kittens and puppies as Christmas gifts. I would imagine that trend pops up at Chanukah time, too.

Pets should never, ever EVER be an impulse purchase, and the person on the receiving end of such a gift really needs to be involved, as this involves not only the personality of the person receiving the pet but the personality of the animal itself. 

This is so important that the ASPCA recently instituted a program called Meet Your Match, which assesses the personalities of both person and cat and attempts to guide adopters into finding the perfect match for them.


That's it for my Top 5 for Chanukah-proofing your home. No matter what holiday you celebrate, may it be merry...and safe...this year.