First Snow!

We got our first snow of the winter! I wasn't very much, but it was still pretty fun. Most of the snow happened in the middle of the night, but I watched some of it fall from my bed by the window in the morning.

We went on our morning walk as usual which was super fun! I wanted to sniff everything and run around but my lady didn't want to slip and fall on the ice. Unlike me, she doesn't have claws to help dig in to the snow and ice to keep her steady. Too bad! I did get to run around a bunch when we got to the field, though. I was still on the leash of course, but I found some bunny (and fox?!) tracks so I had to run around sniffing it. It was pretty exciting.

Otherwise, the field was peaceful!

When we got back inside I was still pretty excited, so I played with my pony toy.

I would have liked to take my toy outside and play in the snow more, but staring outside with the toy in my mouth imagining had to do.

Happy New Year!!

I like it when my people and their friends all get together. This weekend I got to go to two parties with our pals!

To ring in the New Year we were invited to Carmen's people's house. The cats stayed in an upstairs bedroom so they wouldn't be stressed out, but Carmen and I had run of the house. There were people and food everywhere so Carmen and I were on the look-out for tasty bits.

Whatcha havin' there?

My favorite part was running around in the backyard with Carmen. It was dark so there are no pictures but rest assured--we ran around like crazy and even dug some holes! The people were all having a good time, and so were we.

It kept getting later and later and later. Carmen was getting really snoozy...

And soon her people carried her upstairs so she could sleep in the bedroom while everyone else stayed downstairs to par-tay.

I stayed up with the people to watch the ball drop, but I was pretty tired too.

We went home a little bit after midnight which was good because I was sleepy and my lady was all partied out.

Busy Christmas

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a great holiday! It was a busy one for me and my family. Here are a bunch of pictures!!

Getting ready for Christmas:

I got Christmas cards, address to me specifically! This one is from my pal Emily.

I also got a BATH so I could be good smelling for my extended family.

I also chewed a little on the Christmas Tree. I didn't eat any needles this year, but this little branch was fair game! My lady didn't let me have it for too long.

I also helped wrap some presents. A little bit of me is in every gift because my fur gets in to everything. Haha!

Toys for the cats!

The first part of Christmas we spent in Maryland with my fella's family. The people went to church but later we went to the house and exchanged gifts.

Here's my reindeer toy! I also got lots of TREATS!

The cat got some toys too. He was a big fan of the catnip ones.

The cat and I got along great! I think it helped that the cat was so pleased by his Christmas presents.

After Christmas in Maryland we drove all the way down to North Carolina. It was a pretty quick ride on Christmas Day because there weren't a lot of cars on the road. It was nice to get to my lady's family's house with some time to spare.

I got to get settled in the house including checking out the crazy things they have hanging on their walls!

whaaaaaat!!

I also got to go on a walk before the people went to have their private Christmas celebrations.

The lake!

Christmas lights!

The next day I got to visit the Early Learning Center that my lady's family owns and operates. There are lots of great things there including some play equipment.

King of the castle!

Can I slide down this?

There are also some chickens and ducks at the Center. My lady was playing with them and her family said I could come over and meet the animals, too.

What's going on over there?

First I met the chickens! They were a lot of them and they were all very chatty. One even crowed at me!

Fox in the coop?

Nah! We're cool, right chickens?

My lady went in the coop and found an egg that the chickens laid. Just one, though! She let me sniff and check it out.

I didn't go in to see the chickens, but I DID go in to check out where the ducks live.

Oh boy! This will be cool!

I sniffed all around and found one of the spots that the ducks use for a nest. There weren't any eggs in it, though.

They also had a little pond area, a place to eat, and something like a dog house to live in. They were a little nervous about me visiting, but I was pretty well behaved.

No big deal, ducks! 

Before we left my lady's family packed a cooler full of meat for us to take home. My people don't eat a lot of meat, but they always take the stuff from my lady's family. Her step father, Mr. Tim, is a hunter so it's all deer from their very own woods.
 

All the meat!

It was a great Christmas visit all around. I hope everyone else had a good holiday, too!

Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men (and Cats!)

This year all of the staff at Alley Cat Allies participated in a food drive for local people, caregivers, and cats in need. The goal was to donate 100lbs of human food and 100lbs of cat food to those who needed it. So, over the course of a couple weeks, we all brought in cans, bags, and boxes of food for our fellow humans and animals.

My lady and I contributed a bag of cat food and a couple of cans of human food. They went in their designated boxes, that lived by the front desk of the office.

Oh my gosh! Look how full these are already!

We had so many people contributing food that the boxes had to be emptied every so often to make room for more food. We had all kinds of things coming in--but for the humans it was all vegetarian.

Not for cats, tho! I think I smell some fish!

The humans did their part by bringing the food in, and we office animals did our part by inspecting what they brought it. Office Cat Jared was the best and most thorough at this job. He was so dedicated, that he jumped into the food boxes several times.

"Hm.. we could use more quinoa!"

When it was time to take the final tally, we were all glad to hear that we reached and exceeded our goal. The final count was 116lbs of food for humans, and 108lbs of food for cats. Way to go, everyone!

Santa, I've been a very good dog this year

Today I got my own stocking! I usually get Christmas presents, but this year is the first time I've got my own stocking hanging by the tree. I can tell there are already things in it--so I come by to visit it and sniff it and try to guess what's inside.

But even though I've been a very good dog this year, I still can't open any of my presents yet. Fortunately I still have a lot of stuff from last year to keep me company.

Plus, some pretty silly reindeer antlers.

Hurry up, Christmas!

Building a Feral Cat Shelter

We built a feral cat shelter this weekend!

It all started when my lady spotted some black bowls around our apartment complex. She was pretty sure they weren't litter, and one evening she saw a black cat eating from one of the bowls! She wrote a note on her business card and taped it to the inside of the empty bowl.

The next day she got a very nice email from the person who was feeding the cat. We asked if we could help and she said yes! She had no idea that other people cared for outdoor cats, just like her. My lady told her all about Alley Cat Allies, and our new friend was so relieved to know she wasn't alone.

We told her we could help improve the life of this outdoor cat by getting him neutered. The lady was also worried about the cold winter coming, so we offered to build a shelter. That was our project this weekend!

Fortunately Alley Cat Allies has lots of shelter ideas and guidelines on their website. We picked one of the shelter options that looked like it would fit out needs best and got to work.

First we needed two bins, a big bin for the outside shell and a little bin just big enough for a cat to curl up and be cozy in.

 Big bin, meet little bin!

We cut a 7" hole on one of the short sides of the big bin a few inches from the bottom. That would be the entrance for the cat. That size hole should be big enough for our tom cat, but should still keep out other critters like possums and raccoons. Next step was to cut a piece of insulating foam for the bottom of the big bin. That way any cold from the ground won't get in to make our cat chilly. Then we put the little bin inside the big bin.

Next step was to make a tunnel from the hole in the big bin through to the little bin. The instructions we read said to use some corrugated tubing, but we couldn't find one that was a big enough diameter, so we cut the bottom off a plastic pot. It worked great! When we put the pot through the hole in the big bin, we could measure how big we needed to make the hole in the little bin. When we cut everything, all the parts fit together perfectly and snugly.

 You guys look GREAT together.

The next part was the messiest and MY favorite. My lady bought a big bale of straw and started shoving a bunch of it in all the open spaces. My fella also suggested we put some left over foam bits on the side. Straw was everywhere on our little apartment balcony!

Straw also went inside the little bin. That's where our cat will go to stay dry and warm. We put the lid on the little bin, and then put more straw on top and all over it before finally putting the top to the big bin on.

 Looks cozy...

You can see the complete instructions for making a shelter like this on Spay and Stay's website. It wasn't too hard to make, and cost under $30. Pretty nifty, right?

After our shelter was built, we had to put it some place the cat could use it. The exact location is TOP SECRET so no one messes with it, but it's somewhere in the woods so it won't bother property management.

 The field and woods by our apartment, lookin' down right wintery.

Ready for a cat to move in!

It may take our cat a little while to decide that the shelter we made is safe, and/or a better place to stay dry and warm than where he usually goes. We'll just have to keep an eye on it and see!

Gross Treat / Delicious Treat

Any pooch will tell you, the best treats are the GROSSEST treats. Today one of my pals gave me a duck foot and it was exactly like it sounds. Most of the humans I know are vegetarian, so they'd never eat treats like that, but they do give them to me when they're from a store that specializes in humane, sustainable stuff. My lady didn't take a picture of the duck feet, but she DID take a picture of another treat we got from The Big Bad Woof:

Buffalo shank fillet - small.

I don't even KNOW what part of a buffalo this is, but it was a really different experience than the other treats that I've had. Some bits were chewy, some were soft, and some were kind of crunchy. It was like three treats in one!

And it wasn't too messy, which my lady appreciated. Treats don't last long around me--even ones for strong chewers!--and this treat was no exception. Definitely recommend it!