And the Winner Is

Hey, it's me, Sam.  I drew the short bone so I get to make the announcement.

*Yes, Buddy, drawing the short bone does too make me the winner!  If you want to argue about it, I'm the biggest and heaviest, so I'll be happy to sit on you until I'm finished posting. You already had a recent turn anyway.*

As I was trying to say, last Monday we all posted on Seasonal Allergies and a Giveaway.  Readers had until midnight Friday to leave a comment to be eligible for a FURminator giveaway.

I  - well, we are pleased to announce we numbered all of the eligible (US & Canada) responses in the order in which they were posted and let Random.com choose the winning number.  Random.org picked #1.

Since our first eligible commenter was Quinn and Angel Brandi from Catitude, I hereby declare Quinn the official winner.

*Um, Percy  ... do I have to crown her or just make the announcement?  Okay, I got it covered then.  No crown.  Just a FURminator.*

Quinn, please ask your mom to send us your snail mail information so your FURminator can be shipped to you.

Many thanks to all of you who entered.  We wish you could all win.

And thanks to Novartis' Atopica for providing the winning FURminator.  We did receive a FURminator for helping to raise awareness about seasonal allergies among pet owners, which we were glad to do since Buddy claims to be allergic to Jan, but we were neither paid nor told what to say.

Amadeus the Shark

Hey, Percy here with today's Sunday Smile.

I know some of you would consider yourself a pool shark but I doubt you could beat Amadeus.  Amadeus is a chihuahua who can clear the table every time without another player getting a turn.  Don't believe me?  Well, watch him go to it.  And for those of you who once thought you were a great pool player, we have  lots of tissues handy.


If the video doesn't play, click here.

Mousebreath Auditions A Success

Hey, Cameron here.  I'd like to do an update on our recent  Mousebreath casting call. But first, I'd like to remind you, if you haven't read yesterday's interview of the lovely Purrime Ministerettes Shiva & Jaya yet, please go meet them now.  Don't worry, I'll wait.

Okay, now that you're back, I'll give you the update.

When we posted the Casting Call for Mousebreath interviews, we were pleasantly surprised at the response.  We were afraid you'd all be too shy to volunteer or suggest another blogger. But we now have a list that will carry us through the next however many (we didn't count) weeks. A good variety of blog personalities - from old friends right down to a brand new mama blogger with babies. We hope you will all bear with us.  We will interview all of these.

Since it will take us some time to get through the list, we thought we'd introduce you to the newer bloggers, new to us anyway.  If you haven't already met them, we hope you will stop by and introduce yourselves. 

Nermal, a farm kitty with babies is brand new to the blogging world.

Complete with Cats and Dogs is written about the pets by the human, but the pets write their own funny blog on Tumbler called Dogs and Cats Texting.

Sam's Scratching Post opened this month.

Cheshire Loves Karma is new to us, but some of you might be familiar with it.

Swiss Cat Blog is written in French with an English translation below it.

Yes, our Mousebreath auditions were a success and we can't wait to get to know more about all those who came so we can share their stories with you.  Thanks.

Shiva and Jaya Purrime Ministerettes

Have you met Purrime Ministerettes of Planet Purrth from Shiva and Jaya's blog?  They'll make you smile.  You can read our exclusive interview with Purrime Ministerettes Shiva and Jaya at Mousebreath, the ezine for cats by cats.

Seasonal Allergies and Giveaway

Hey, Buddy here with a PSA and a giveaway.  Don't let the post title fool you.  I'm not giving away seasonal allergies. But one lucky reader will win something invaluable for this time of year when we furries are shedding heavily and cats are prone to hurling furballs more than usual- a FURminator.

You might remember this photo of me protesting Jan making me wear a lampshade / bullhorn on my head.  

Or this more recent one.

Yes, I suffer from allergies and when they flare, I am prone to licking and chewing myself raw.  Jan swears I am allergic to myself but how could anyone be allergic to this handsome .... well, I am handsome when I'm not dressed like a party pooper.  More likely, I'm allergic to Jan

Seriously, this has been a bad year for humans and pets with allergies and we've been asked to help raise awareness of seasonal allergies in pets, so I was elected spokesdog because I know firsthand how an allergic reaction can affect the skin of a cat or dog (allergic dermatitis).  We furries can be allergic to just about anything: pollen, dust mites, fleas, household chemicals, mold, animal or human dander, tobacco smoke ....    Jam was quite surprised to find cotton and wool fabrics on the list.  She was aware of wool but  ... cotton?  She hopes I'm not allergic to it.  (Not as much as I do since Jan likes cotton!)  Check out the interesting facts on the pet allergy infograph.

Is your pet scratching, licking, chewing on his paws more than you consider normal, perhaps he has red skin, recurrent skin infections, or is losing hair, and you suspect he has an allergy?  Cat and dog symptoms vary.  You can take this simple vet-created 1 minute quiz at itchfreepet.com (one quiz for cats and one for dogs) to determine whether your pet might be at risk for atopical dermatitis and needs to visit the vet for testing.

The rules for our FURminator giveaway are simple.  To enter, just leave a comment stating you'd like to enter and whether or not your pet has seasonal allergies.

We know that some of you have a pet that has been diagnosed with and is being treated for allergies. And just as many of you, Jan prefers to avoid steroids and drugs for all of us as much as  possible. So feel free to include in your comment what works for your pet.

You can enter this giveaway till midnight EDT Friday. We will use random.com to choose a winner and post the name on Monday, May 20.  We're sorry, but the giveaway is limited to residents of the US and Canada. 

We are not being paid for this post but Novartis' Atopica has provided the quiz and is sponsoring the FURminator giveaway for the primary reason to raise awareness of the issue that pets can have allergies just like people, and many owners don't know the signs. 

Mother's Day 2013

We made you this card with our own little paws.  And a few extra large ones (Sam, Buddy, Rusty).

Okay, truth be told, Jan made this card but we asked her to.  That's the same as making it ourselves, isn't it!  If we hadn't asked, she wouldn't have thought of it till after Memorial Day.  So it's our card to all mothers - birth mothers, adopters, hu-moms of furries - from all of us.

Happy Mother's Day!

Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty, Sam & Micah
and Jan too