paws

SPARKS FOR ADOPTION

Sparks: Week #8

We received some really terrific news yesterday from our friends Kevin (meowmeowmans) and Tracey. The gorgeous calico kitty we have been sponsoring at PAWS of Connecticut, Charlotte, has been adopted. Woohoo…a home for the holidays.

Here’s the proof. Check out #23.

 

 

This means we can sponsor another kitty. Mom has one selected and when the arrangements have been made, we’ll post about it here.

Charlotte’s adoption prompted our Spark for today, printed atop her portrait.

 

Sparks for adoption.

 

Sparks is a weekly blog hop established and hosted by Annie at McGuffy’s Reader. In establishing the hop, she wrote this, “I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world!”

If you’d like to join the hop, click on the Sparks badge.

 

Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo and Cooper Murphy

SWIZZLICIOUS SUNDAY SELFIE

Sunday Selfies Blog Hop : Week #106

Today we have a guest host, but she isn’t really a guest as she is our honorary sisfur, Swizzle. But as she doesn’t actually live with us, she is sort of a guest.

Whatever you decide to call her, it best include the word beautiful or lovely. Actually not enough superlatives exist to describe her. But we’ll let you decide for yourselves.

 

PAWS cat Swizzle

 

Swizzle lives at PAWS of Connecticut. We first introduced you to her more than two years ago on July 24, 2014 when we began sponsoring her. We have written about her many times since then with the hope of finding her a home. We will sponsor her as long as she remains at PAWS even if that is the remainder of her life. But we pray for her that will not be her fate!

Swizzle and all the other PAWS’ kitties are very lucky as our good blogging friends, Tracey and Kevin (meowmeowmans at Animal Shelter Volunteer Life) are volunteers at PAWS. They always give Swizzle extra loving from us, and Kevin sends us photos of her when he can. We received several new ones a couple of days ago. We selected this one for today due to her head tilt and coquettish expression. We have several others which we will share in the coming weeks.

Swizzle would make a great kitty for a senior citizen looking for a special companion. If any of our readers know of someone looking for a mature kitty, please tell them about our honorary sisfur. To learn more about Swizzle, you can visit the PAWS website. You can also see all the posts we have written about her by searching Swizzle on this blog. The search box is at the bottom of our left sidebar.

Cat4-001It’s now your turn to share your selfie or one of an anipal friend or acquaintance on the blog hop. The link is below as is the code to include the hop on your blog. Purrlease link back to The Cat on My Head and/or display our badge if you do this. And let us know in a comment or e-mail if you have any problems linking up. Mom will make sure you are included. Many thanks to everyone who continues to support and pawticipate in our hop!

Now that you’ve taken care of your selfie, kick back, take it easy and enjoy the last day of the Olympics.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo



PAW ON FIRE!

International Lefthanders Day

Today is International Lefthanders Day, so the petretary had the crazy idea of combining a post about that with our Caturday Art. I must warn you, whenever she tells our dad that she’s been thinking or has an idea, he runs for the hills. They can often be rather cock-eyed.

Since this is a cat blog, she decided to address whether or not we cats favor one paw over the other. The answer is yes but only when we are trying to perform difficult tasks. This is based on tests of 42 domestic cats  performed by psychologists, Deborah Wells and Sarah Millsop, from Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. They also discovered, that of the cats tested, females generally favored the right paw (20-1) and males the left (20-1) over dozens of trials. You can read all about Wells’ and Millsop’s 2009 research as well as that of others at MessyBeast.com. When you arrive at the site, click on the MessyBeast button and then the Behavior and Training link. You also can find out how to determine which paw your cat favors.

In non-demanding tasks, like toy play, most of the cats tested used both paws equally.

An early test (1991) conducted at by researchers at Turkey’s Ataturk University, showed the majority of domestic cats are right pawed (50 percent), 40 percent favor their left paw and the remaininging 10 percent are ambidextrous. You can read all the particulars about this research here.

Caturday Art

Now to our actual art for this week’s Caturday Art Blog Hop. Behold the petretary’s creation.

 Cat Mauricio's paw is virtually set on fire for Caturday Art.

 

I’m fairly certain you recognize a cat’s paw in the photo. That’s my paw (Mauricio)! But why in the world does it look like it is on fire? That reference is totally obscure, so let me explain. The H-O-T-S have returned to southwest Virginia. With temps in the 90s F and high humidity, our mom usually doesn’t leave the house. Yesterday, however, she had an errand and then Fiona’s vet appointment. She commented that she was so hot she felt like she was going to spontaneously burst into flames! So now you have the reason for her confounded concoction. She wanted this to look as if my paw started this conflagration. You can decide for yourselves if you agree or not. I refuse to weigh-in with my opinion!

The crazy art was created using piZap and then posterized in Picasa. I’m not certain why the “artist” (Mom) is having me tell you this. It is not as if any of you would want to recreate her attempt at art.

This is our submission to Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty‘s Caturday Art Blog Hop. To enter some art of your own and/or view the other submissions, click on the link.

Cat4-001We will return tomorrow to begin the third year of our Sunday Selfies Blog Hop. Last week was a great hop to end year two. Our host for tomorrow, Fiona, will tell you all about it. She’ll also fill you in on her appointment with Dr. Neel and her CKD.

Until then…purrs and paw-pats, Mauricio

 

 

PLEASE HELP OUR FRIENDS AT PAWS

If you are a regular reader of our blog, you know we support PAWS of Connecticut. We have been sponsoring one of the residents, Swizzle, since July 2014. (You can see Swizzle on our sidebar beneath the Adoptable Cats heading.) We are supporting them now as they participate in Fairfield County’s Day of Giving. 

 

 
Today, March 10, PAWS IS PARTICPATING IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY’S GIVING DAY.
 
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Please visit our donation page today and donate at least $10.00
Hosted by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation,
Giving Day is a 24 hour online event to “Give Where
You Live” and celebrate our work, and the work of all
local nonprofits.
We invite you to be a part of this fun and exciting event!
Last year, over 13,000 people participated! Not only will
your gift help us reach our goal, but it may qualify us to win
additional grant prizes. Gifts of any size can make a HUGE difference.
(The minimum gift allowed is $10)
Follow us!
Like us on Facebook     Follow us on Twitter
 
to stay in the loop on Giving Day!
With your help we can continue to make a difference
in the lives of homeless pets in our community.
Don’t forget to follow all of the action with
#FairfieldCountyGives
PAWS was founded in 1962 and over the past 50 years we have rescued
and rehomed over 16,000 pets and helped thousands more with low cost
spay/neuter services, medical care, food donations for owners struggling
to keep their pets and more.
With your support we can help create a bright future for pets in need!

www.pawsct.org

 

 

If you can help with a donation of at least $10, that donation gives PAWS a chance to win cash prizes up to $25,000! Sure hope you can help out.

Meow Giveaway

meowThis 160-page book is filled with gorgeous kitty photos. Each is accompanied by a quote about cats. This really is a must have for anyone who loves cats and beautiful photography. We are giving away two copies. You can read my review and leave a comment here prior to 5 p.m. E.T. today for aa chance to win. Winners will be selected using Random.org and announced tomorrow.

Instagram

We are now on Instagram. Our user name is Kitties.Blue. We have added an Instagram button to our sidebar and you can reach us by clicking on it. I’d like to thank Carol Bryant (Fidose of Reality), BlogPaws Marketing & Social Media Manager, for her telephone tutorial on setting up and using Instagram. I won this session with her on the #BlogPawsChat on March 1. BlogPaws Chats take place on Tuesday evenings from 8 to 10 p.m. E.T. on Twitter. They cover a range of topics, and prizes are always given away. If you aren’t participating, you are missing out on an great opportunity.

dw-pmlexialwaysforeverheart3-9-16R.I.P. Lexi

It is with a heavy heart that we say farewell to Lexi from the blog Deziz World. Seventeen-year-old, tabby Lexi (with her gorgeous green eyes) was a service cat for Mom Audra. Deziz will be handling service duties on her own for the time being. If you haven’t already, please stop by and leave your condolences.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A FOREVER HOME

Sunday Selfies: Week #69

 

Swizzle wants a forever home for Christmas.

 

This is our most beautiful, PAWS (Pet Animal Welfare Society) of Connecticut, honorary Kitty Blue, Swizzle. We have featured her here often, and she is this week’s guest host for Sunday Selfies.

We have been sponsoring Swizzle for more than a year and a half, and she’d really like to have a loving and forever home in time to celebrate Christmas. Can’t you just see her lying under your tree waiting for Santa Paws to visit? What a wonderful Christmas that would make.

You may have seen Swizzle on the Animal Shelter Volunteer Life blog as well. Kevin (meowmeowmans) and Tracey are volunteers at PAWS and have shared her on their blog. The photos above were taken by Kevin. Kitties Blue and I are grateful that Kevin and Tracey visit Swizzle often and, along with other volunteers, give her lots of love. But we believe in our hearts that it is her turn to have the life she deserves in a loving home.

Swizzle was originally adopted from PAWS with her sister, who unfortunately has crossed the Bridge. She was returned to PAWS when her owner had to move to a “no-pets allowed” home. You can read my original post here. You can also visit her on the PAWS website.

Swizzle’s original information stated she was six years old. In reality she is about 11 1/2 years old, which Kevin confirmed in an e-mail to me this evening. I know this lessens her chances of finding a home, but if you have been thinking about adopting a senior kitty, please consider Swizzle. If you cannot provide her with a home, please share wherever you can and tell your friends about her.

Now it’s time for you to add your selfie to the blog hop. We know everyone is very busy with holiday preparations, but it only takes a minute or two to snap your photo. We are truly grateful to all of you who join us each week and always enjoy seeing what you have to offer. Last week besides the usual kitties and woofies and our Canadian donkey guest host, we were joined by a kangaroo, ponies and some ibex.

You can add your link below as well as get the code to post the hop on your blog. If you’d like to do this, I only ask that you display our Sunday Selfies badge and/or link to The Cat on My Head.

Cat4-001

 



REMEMBER ME THURSDAY

Uniting the World for Orphan Pets

We are joining Remember Me Thursday® and have lit a candle at RememberMeTursday.org for our sweet Swizzle. Swizzle is the kitty we continue to sponsors at PAWS of Connecticut. She’s been waiting for more than a year for her new forever home.

Candles lit on this day (the fourth Thursday of September annually) across the world honor the pets who lose their lives without the opportunity to know the comforts of a loving home. These candles shine brightly on the millions of healthy pets who are still awaiting adoption—just like beautiful Swizzle.

 

remember me

 

The Remember Me Thursday® global awareness campaign encourages individuals to light a candle this day (literally or virtually) and to opt to adopt, reducing the millions of orphan pets euthanized each year.

 

remember me

 

Our four rescued cats, Astrid, Lily Olivia, Lisbeth and Calista Jo invite you to join us, other pet-lovers and advocates and animal welfare organizations around the world in lighting your own candle. Visit the link listed in the first paragraph to light your candle and learn more about Remember Me Thursday®. Or light your own candle at home. Just make certain it is either battery operated or in an area your pets cannot access.

 

 

 

SHOW YOUR PAW ON FRIDAY THE 13TH

showpawday We are pawticipating in Show Your Paw Day. This is being sponsored by Sammy at onespoiledcat and Archie, Oscar and Henry from My Three Moggies.

If you are superstitious, you may think Friday the 13th can bring bad luck. Conversely, you probably believe that a rabbit’s foot brings good luck. If that is the case, then cat toes/paws must bring superior good luck! And besides that, they are so kissable.

To make this a really lucky day for one of our pawsome readers, we are having a little contest. Whoever is the first to identify all eight sets of our paws correctly will win a prize. We have no idea, as yet, what that will be, but we promise it will be pawsomely special.

Some should be really easy to figure out, but if you need help, you might want to check out one of our previous posts: Wordless Wednesday: 20 Paws. Then check out the photos below and leave your guesses in Comments.

paws 1

 

paws 2

 

 Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo