Ipad for Kitty

When I was in Oregon, I inherited my mom's iPad.  It's actually quite cool, and though I would never have bought it for myself, I find myself using it a lot.  Especially for reading.

Not my cat, but a cute picture.

The other night, though, I got more entertainment out of it than I ever thought I would.  I was sitting there reading and Alfred (the cat) was demanding attention.  Well, I knew there was an app for everything, so I looked up cat toy in the app store.


Sure enough, there was a free one, which I downloaded and put up on the screen.  It's just a little cartoon mouse, running around a room.  


Alfred was fascinated.  For 20 minutes he was transfixed by this little thing, and occasionally he'd put his paw on it which made the mouse run faster.  


Finally he tried to lick it, which didn't taste quite the way he was expecting it to, so he ran off.  But it was fun while it lasted.

Cats and Dogs

My dogs get along with my cat, one a bit more begrudgingly than the other, but any other cats will send them into a tailspin.  Their existence bothers them and they turn from sweet angels to something you'd see on the Dog Whisperer.


There are a few neighborhood cats that are not afraid.  Usually we go on our walks peacefully (well, as peacefully as you can get with one dog that still has a bit of puppy in him), but sometimes the cats are out for a bit of entertainment.  They are smart enough to figure out that the dogs can't get to them if they're on a leash.  The dogs, however, have not figured out this key bit of information.


The dogs go crazy, and the cats cock their heads and just look at them.  Instead of running away, I try to calm the dogs down and get them to sit there, hoping that this will show them that there's nothing to get excited about.  If I see the cat when or before they do, I can usually do it, however if they see it first, I'm not quick enough before their emotions go up to 11.


It's even worse when it's not a cat... my "brilliant" dogs sometimes see plastic or paper bags in the street that resemble a cat in some way shape or form.  It usually takes me a little bit to see what has gotten them so riled up.  After calming them down, I take them over to the offensive litter, so maybe they'll see what idiots they were... *sigh*


Oh well, off for a walk now... cats and garbage, beware!

My Cat wants me Dead

I think my cat is trying to kill me.  But he's being sneaky about it.  He knows he'll be blamed if he kills me in my sleep, so he's trying to make it look like an accident.


He'll run down the stairs, then stop on a dime mid-way, hoping that I'll trip over him.  When I don't, he looks at me with his cute yellow innocent eyes, and cocks his head like he's saying, "oops".


Then he'll run in and out between my legs hoping to mess up my walking across the room, and when that doesn't work, he'll hold on to my ankle while I'm on the move and lets himself be dragged.  On the plus side, walking with the ankle grab is a great way to clean the floor.


Maybe it's because I don't let him jump on the counter, or because I get mad when he steals my drinking straws.  It could also be that after a 15 minute session of petting, my arm gets tired and he wants more.  Or, I give him as many treats as it says to on the bag, and not as many as he wants.


...in any case, I think he has it in for me.

Lake Wisconsin

You might have noticed that things have been silent for the past week on the AllThingsTangled Blog, well, the boyfriend, the fur monsters and I took a road trip to Wisconsin.  Bess (the chihuahua) has been a few times and is an old hat at the long drives, while this was Gibb's (the puggle, chug, or whatever he is) first time.  He did surprisingly well and didn't freak out at all.

Gibbs went swimming for the first time in his new life jacket and seemed to enjoy himself.  Bess doesn't really like the water, but will tolerate it since she knows it makes us happy.  We also had a boat ride which they both enjoyed. Bess loves having the wind in her face and letting her giant ears blow back.

We all got in last night and are all exhausted.  The boyfriend had to go into work today, but the monsters and I have the day off to catch up on everything we missed this week.

Alfred, the cat, was unable to join us on the vacation.  Since he is still so young, we were afraid to leave him in the house alone, so we took him to a friend's place to stay.  He adapted quite well, and really enjoyed chasing her Russian wolfhound around the house.

Even though the vet said that Alfred should be full grown around 7 or 8 months, when I picked him up last night, I swear he had doubled in size.  He's bigger than Bess now and is quickly catching up on Gibbs.

The picture above shows Bess, Gibbs, and the boyfriend on the boat.  It's my favorite picture that I took this trip.

Kitty Toilet Training: I give up

For those of you that don't know, I was trying to train my cat, Alfred, how to use a human toilet. For more of the back story, Click Here.

Well, I've finally given poor Alfred his litter box back. I feel like a failure, but I think he's happier now, which is what is important. He was doing really well, until I had to start lessening the amount of litter in the bowl. This did not please him. He found that the laundry basket was much more to his liking, especially if there were clothes inside.

I tried watching him and working with him, but he likes his litter full. Now he's back to being a regular (albeit psycho) kitten. Maybe I'll try again when he is older, but for now, I'm gonna be scooping litter for the foreseeable future.

Kitty Toilet Training 7

I'm currently training my cat to use a human toilet. For more of the back story about this, Click Here.

Alfred has been doing great....mostly. When using a bowl in the toilet, I found it has to be cleaned a lot more than a regular litter box, and failure to do so as quickly as Alfred would like results in alfred having a pee in some other place. This has been trial and error on both of our parts.

For the past week though, all fluids and pieces have gone in the correct place, but because of the mishaps, I'm afraid to take the final step and remove the bowl. I don't keep very much litter in there now, and I know he's a bright cat, but I think I'm gonna give it at least another week before taking the plunge.... and lets hope he doesn't plunge as well.

I really can't wait until this is all done, however the boyfriend and I are going on a trip soon, and Alfred will be staying with a friend. We might have to go back a couple of steps when he gets back... poor kitty might be too confused.

Kitty Toilet Training 6

For those of you that don't know, I'm training my cat to use a human toilet. For the back story, Click here

Yesterday, we had our first accident. I started removing the litter too quickly from the bowl in the toilet, and I guess Alfred wasn't ready for it. I cleaned it up and added some more litter to the bowl, and I think everything is ok now.

He's been so smart and quick with everything so far, that I guess I over estimated him. He still likes to have something to dig before he goes, so this stage might have to go on for some time.

This is really the hardest part of the training for me, as every time I need to use the toilet, I have to lift the seat, remove the bowl, put the seat down, do my business, and then afterward reverse the process. I'm pretty sure the boyfriend is over it, but I'm sure after it's all over, being in a litter free house will be well worth it.

Kitty Toilet Training 5

For those of you who don't know, I'm training my cat, Alfred, to use a human toilet. For more back story, Click Here.

We've finally gotten to the point where we've put a bowl of litter into the toilet. Alfred was puzzled at first, as it is a bowl and hard to dig a hole into. Much of the litter got into the actual toilet the first couple of tries, but now he's a pro.

Unfortunately, now when I remove the bowl to go to the bathroom myself, he looks at me as if to say, "What are you doing? That's mine!"

Now I have to wait until I have a day off so I can catch him in the act and make sure his feet are on the toilet seat. Everything has been so easy as of yet, I have a feeling that this stage is going to be the hardest. When he gets the idea, then I can start reducing the litter, and adding a bit of water to the mix.

On a side note, while playing in the upstairs bathroom (not his bathroom), he fell into the toilet again. That makes 3 dunks in the toilet and he keeps coming back for more. I've never had a cat before that was so ambiguous to water.

Kitty Toilet Training 4

For those of you that don't know, I'm training my cat to use a human toilet. To read about it from the beginning, click on the "cat" label on the left of the screen.

Yesterday, I did the final lifting of the litter box. It's just about level with the toilet now, and Alfred (the cat), still has no problem and has not balked once. When he goes into the bathroom, I check and make sure he's using the litter box, and not just some corner of the room, and so far, so good.

Probably around mid week, next week, I'll try the bowl of litter in the toilet. That will be a big step for him, but I'm pretty sure he'll be alright with it. I really can't wait to get the litter box out of there!

In Treasury News:

Yesterday's Friday's Favorite's Treasury High Quality, Low Sales II so far has 156 views, 39 comments, 47 clicks and 15 admirers! If you haven't already seen it, please take a look.

Kitty Toilet Training 3

Today is the day that the litter box is getting raised again. Much harder than training kitty to jump on the litter box is finding something sturdy to put the litter box on. I think that having the litter box fall on the cat will probably be a big deterrent for further training, so I want to make sure that it doesn't happen.

So far there have been no accidents since the litter box has been moved and raised next to the toilet. Alfred (the kitty) is the most fearless cat I have ever met, so I'm expecting this next step to go without a hitch.

...now to find something to set the litter box on....

For those of you that don't know, I'm training my cat to use a human toilet. For more about it, click on the cat tab on the left of the screen.

Kitty Toilet Training 2

For those that don't know, I'm training my kitty cat to use a human toilet. You can follow along by checking out the tag "cat" on the left column of the screen.

So far I've moved the litter box into the bathroom and raised it about the height of a phone book...well, exactly the height of a phone book. I used extra newspapers to fill in the gaps so the box wouldn't wobble. Alfred (the cat) is totally cool with this, and I think I'm going to raise it again on Monday.

I could move things along a little faster, as Alfred is very smart and catches on quickly, but I don't want to move things too fast as it might piss him off (pun intended) and he might find other places in the house to go that are more to his liking.


In other news:

I designed and created a new sweater! I call it a Faux Wrap Sweater, as the top half is like your favorite comfy sweater, but the bottom half is a wrap to accent the smallness of your waist. You can have that slimming look, and stay comfortable too!

Kitty Toilet Training

So, for the longest time I've wanted to have a cat that was toilet trained... I mean trained to use a human toilet.

I was searching around the web and I found this wonderful blog (http://www.karawynn.net/mishacat/toilet.html) and thought that I would give it a go.

Today is day one.

Luckily, I already have a cat that is not afraid of the toilet, even though he's already fallen in once (by playing, not with the training process. He's almost 6 months old, so I'm excited to get started.

If this works, I will never have to change the kitty litter again.

My goal is to have him using the toilet by mid August... Let the training begin!

Take it Off Tuesday: Striped Doggie Sweater

It's been a while since I've done a "Take it off Tuesday Sale", so I figure I'm a bit overdue.

Today, you can get this Striped Dog Sweater for 35% off! Coupon Code: TUESDAY

As always there is FREE SHIPPING on all my items to anywhere in the US and Canada!

Just because the weather is getting warmer, doesn't mean your fur babies don't need some extra warmth when the nighttime chill hits.

In Kitten News:

I was so excited, I finally bought some catnip and was waiting anxiously for the boyfriend to come home so we could see how Alfred would react to it.

He could have cared less... Maybe he's too young to enjoy it (going on 11 weeks or so now), or maybe he's just one of those cats that doesn't like it.

Oh well, he's still rolly poley and playful and cute, so who needs it?

Two and a Half Dogs

Alfred, the new kitten, is beginning to settle in just fine. Gibbs, the puggle, has kind of taken on the daddy role and protects him from Bess, the chihuahua. Alfred and Gibbs now play all the time. Gibbs is good about being gentle and Alfred is good about not using his claws.

Alfred is beginning to think of himself as one of the dogs. He comes when he's called, and he gets kind of upset that he can't come out for a walk with the others.

Bess is a bit slower to adjust, and can still be kind of snappy, but everyday there's a small improvement. And then when they're all tired, they'll all sleep together quite nicely.

In Treasury News:

If you haven't already taken a look at the Black and White Make Grey't Treasury, please take a look. We are currently at 82 views and 19 comments!

New Kitten? Maybe?

There's the possibility that we are getting a new kitten. One of the guys that works with the boyfriend had a stray that gave birth in his backyard. He's taken them inside, and getting them used to people right now.

When they can be weaned from mom, we'll find out if we can have one. There were 4, a calico, an orange one, and two black ones. If we do get one, I want a boy, as they are a little more chill than the girl kitties and I think it will make it easier to get him used to the dogs.

Since my cat died 2 years ago, we still have all the kitty stuff, so all we'll have to get is food (I think the stuff goes stale after 2 years...lol).

It's still unknown whether or not we'll get him. If we do, great! If not, the doggies are plenty enough to handle and I'll know that the kitties are still going to good homes.

Cat or Dog

I really thought that when I went to the pound that I adopted a dog. I mean, I got him in the dog section, he looks like he has pug in him, and for the most part he acted like a dog.

...and I thought cats were the ones who liked to play with yarn. You always see those super cute pictures of cats tangled up in yarn, and videos and cartoons of them chasing after balls of yarn.

Well...I think I adopted a cat that looks like a dog. I woke up this morning to find all the yarn on my bottom shelf strewn all over the bedroom floor. Some of it, I had to follow all the way down the stairs. Some started in the bedroom and went all the way into the bathroom. When I called my shop All Things Tangled, I didn't mean my things.

Luckily it was mostly scrap yarn from old projects...but still... there's going to be a lot of untangling today.

Sunday Funday Video ... what cats say...

Sometimes I wonder what cats are saying to each other, especially when they're doing cute things. I don't know if this is what is actually going through their heads, but I sure would like to think so.

Happy Halloween!!!!

For Halloween I thought it would be fun to post some cute pet costumes. I found some on Martha Stewarts Halloween Contest. Enjoy!











BOO!

Sunday Funday Video!

I don't know why I enjoy watching dominoes fall down. It's peaceful and cool all at the same time. I would never have the patience to build something up like that only to destroy it with one push....but I love to watch it.

In this video, I don't know what I like more...the dominoes falling or the random cat...I think it's probably the cat, since it looks very similar to my late Betty.

Anyway....enjoy!

Friday's Favorites!

Before we get to the favorites...yesterday, the boyfriend and I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned all the carpets in the house. We also cleaned the kitty condo too! This is all in preparation for the arrival of a new kitty. I haven't picked one out yet, but I'm hoping that we'll take a look next week on one of our days off. I of course will always miss Betty, but the house just isn't the same without a cat in it.

Now onto the favorites!

This week's theme was back to school and I tried to put a little bit of everything in this collection. There's everything from magnets and dry erase boards for the locker, to bags either for books or for ipods to of course some outerwear to keep the little ones warm when the temperature drops.

Give these amazing sellers a look-see and maybe you'll find something for your school child...or who knows, something for yourself!