Santa Helpers and Cat House

Cameron:  We were honored to be invited over to Zoolatry to be dressed for our very important Christmas jobs this year.

Merci:  We can't believe Sam has the correct hat this time but he's not wearing it.  *sigh* Sam never does what is expected of him. 

Micah:  We're all Santa's helpers this year and we've been working overtime.  *Yawn*   Is it break time yet?

Ann made these lovely graphics.  Stop by Zoolatry and read her story for these pictures.  And drop by her blog daily as she features other bloggers.

 

Funny Farmer Felines:  Calle, Halle, Sukki, Mommy Cat and Daddy Cat are featured in our Mousebreath interview today.  They hail from Jacqualine's Cat House.  We hope you will go by Mousebreath and read their story, The Cat House with Garage Apartment.

We're linking up with Rascal & Rocco's Pet Parade blog hop.  The lovely Sushi is the featured guest. 

We hope we haven't forgotten anything.  Jan is running around like she's lost her marbles and, believe it or not, it is contagious.  She now has us looking for her marbles and we're all frustrated we can't find them. 

The Blues Brothers Speak

These handsome mancats are Bugsy and Knuckles from the old Max the Quilt Cat blog.  We Funny Farmer Felines interviewed them and they kindly gave us an exclusive on the future of their blog.  Today is the unveiling of their new blog name and a new direction for their blog.  Be sure to stop by Mousebreath to read The Blues Brothers, Bugsy and Knuckles.

Graphic by Zoolatry 

If you haven't heard yet about Zoolatry being Scroogled, you can read her post here. The Zoolatry Human has been sending out a weekly email on our interviews for quite a while, plus she sends out graphics and news of illnesses, losses, special events, etc. around the pet blogosphere, so we are a bit upset this has happened to her..  We are grateful she is so helpful to so many, including us.

Livestrong 2012

Livestrong Day 2012

Sam and Percy ...

... have been our past Livestrong poster boys and they both volunteered again this year.  We don't have a fancy post.  We just want to acknowledge all those who are presently battling cancer and remember all those family members and human or furry friends who have fought their battle and gone on to rest..

Poppy Vic, beloved husband of the Zoolatry human Ann, left such a short time ago, on September 18.

Auntie El of Friends Forever is still fighting.

We won't even attempt to list the furries.  There are too many. 

But we do want to mention Dr. Tweety, one of our old friends that no longer blogs. His mom lost the incentive to update when Dr. T was diagnosed.  We think of him often.

Poppy Vic

Poppy Vic - husband, father, grandfather - fought a long, hard fight against cancer and now he's at rest.

We are sad for those left behind - Ann of Zoolatry and their family and their many friends around the world..May they find peace in the midst of their pain.  We send many prayers and {{hugs}}}.

You are welcome to use our graphic, if you'd like.    Or Gracie's.  Ann usually makes the graphics and Gracie wanted to be sure she had one this morning, so she reworked a familiar one. 

This is a special tribute post.  Click here for our regular post for the today.

Weird Winner Dance

Hey, Percy here.  I'd like to announce that Jan has officially lost her mind.  She is doing some weird happy dance. Why?  Because we are the winners of Brian's NVR Miss Litter Box Giveaway.  Yes, seriously, Jan is dancing around the room over a litterbox.  And last we knew, she doesn't even use one. 

She claims I shoot over the top of the litterbox.  Actually, she claims I shoot through the SMALL HOLES in the sides. Can you imagine the nerve of her telling everyone I - Percy, the handsome and fastidious - shoot for the hoop (Is that a basketball term?  If not, it should be.) every time I climb in to pee?

I would never!

Well, I might on occasion.

Okay, I admit it's fun to annoy Jan. 

Jan can't wait for the new litterbox to arrive.  Personally, I can't wait for it either, now that I've had time to consider it.  With that great big hole in the front, I won't even have to aim.

What's that, Jan?  Oh, no!  She says the beauty of this box is I will have to stand in it sideways. 

But what if I want to stand up and put my feet on the back of the box instead of stand sideways?  Hmmm, this will be interesting.  Jan, you're on.  I can't wait to test our new litterbox.

And Squashie of TK & Squashie's blog is not feeling well and has her mom worried.

We continue to remember Ann and Vic in prayer.

Eric and Flynn Interview and Ann

This week we have interviewed those handsome ginger brothers from across the pond.  Click to read The Ginger Gents, Eric & Flynn.

 

As most of you know, Ann of the Zoolatry blog was in the hospital with facial cellulitis last weekend, which she could have picked up visiting Poppy Vic at the hospital or while taking care of him at home.  She is home and doing physically better, but she is still under immense stress trying to take care of Vic and also herself.  Vic has been battling metastasized colon cancer and is not doing well.  

We wrote this post last night and this morning we learned Vic was taken to the hospital about 1 AM after he tried to get up, fell and injured his head. She has an update on Zoolatry. We send {{{hugs}}} and love to Ann and Vic.  We are holding them in our thoughts and prayers.

Prayers for Ann of Zoolatry

Dear Ann of Zoolatry is headed for the hospital for 2 or 3 days. She and Vic are both very sick.  She has arranged for care for Vic and now she needs care herself.  We are very concerned.  She has cellulitis on her face and neck.  As you know, this is very serious

Ann is loved by all who know her, so we know you will be praying for both her and Vic.  Feel free to grab the badge if you'd like to use it on your blog.

Merci Forgets and Remembers

Oh, dear, oh, no!  We're all very upset to find we're getting more and more forgetful.  That's Jan's department!  We've been forgetting quite a bit lately.  If we keep this up, Jan will fire us instead of the other way around.   We can't have that. 

Oh, sorry, I forgot to remind you of who I am.  Or was.  I used to be Merci, but I might have forgotten and borrowed another woofie's name.I'm pretty sure I'm who I think I am, though.  If not, let's just pretend.. 

A couple weeks ago we interviewed ex-Presidential candidate Cheysulli for Mousebreath magazine. Her human trained to use those long acupuncture needles and she gave us some interesting information.  We put it in a new post form so we wouldn't forget to add it to our own post on the interview.  However ... sigh!


To put the information in persepective, the Funny Farmer Felines asked Chey -

Your mom has worked with Acupuncture. Has she ever used it on all of you? For any particular disorder … um, illness? And, Chey, in your case, was this before or after you began to have problems with the law? In other words, what affect does acupuncture have on the feline mind? We’ve heard it can relax one, so we figure this was a sneaky method of curtailing your adventurous side before you ended up in prison for the remainder of your nine lives.

You can read Chey's answer in the interview (link above). Chey's mom (the Woman) added -

Acupuncture can help people with mood disorders like anxiety and depression. It is not, however, a pill like Prozac that just takes it away. If there are issues to be resolved, they will still need to be resolved. If a person is anxious with good reason to be anxious, the acupuncture may make them more able to deal with the anxiety but it does not change the outward situation. A really great program called Acupuncturists Without Borders works with acupuncturists who travel to disaster areas and give treatments. In Haiti, after the earthquake, they were in a tent doing ear needles with people who had lost limbs and were dying. There was a lot of screaming and crying. After the needles were in, the tent was silent. Relatives who were caring for their injured family were saying this was the first time many of them had slept since the quake. It was hugely powerful and profound, and the healing went way beyond the expectations of the practitioners.

It's a small charity that does rely on donations, so if you are so inclined, they can use your support. They've been to tornado areas, they've been to Aurora CO and many major disaster areas. The idea was born of acupuncturists wanting to find a way to help after Katrina. In addition to sending people to disaster areas, they also help acupuncturists under their non profit status set up non profit centers for veterans suffering from PTSD, where they can give away their services or serve for donations only.

So yes, acupuncture affects the mind--but in a good way.

We think any group of humans who will volunteer their time to help others is worth a mention, even on a pet blog.  And thanks Chey's mom for this information.  There might be some humans interested in trying something new for stress or depression.

Prayer request: Katie is having eye surgery for a detached retina today.  We hope the surgery goes well and is successful.

And don't forget the Furriends of the CB auction for Zoolatry is still on.  Khyra and her mom donated a transport to be dedicated to the winning bidder.  Jewelry, clothing, cat items, Peggy's blankies, 40 Paws' ham-micks. Lots of good items to check out. 

Okay, I think that's all I need to post today.  If I forgot anything, don't blame me, blame Jan.  I just know somehow it has to be her fault!  We Funny Farmers all had a good memory till we met her.

Sponsor a Leg Lap

Hey, it's me, Cameron.  I'm stealing ... um, borrowing the computer for a few minutes to do a quick post.  I have some news. 

Most of you know Khyra's mom has been doing dog transport for years.  She drives a leg (lap?  well, some human body part) to help rescued dogs travel to a new life in a Northern state.  A while back Khyra came up with the idea to donate a leg / lap to help others.  She has offered a one-time sponsorship to various woofie auctions and there have been bidding wars to be the lucky winner.  The woofie in need gets the entire donation and the winner has a lap / leg and the corresponding blog post dedicated to him / her. 

Well, Khyra the Siberian Husky / honorary cat blogger has generously put a sponsorship up for auction on Furriends of the CB auction (item #30) to help Zoolatry's Ann and Poppy Vic with overwhelming medical expenses. 

Be sure to stop by and check out the other items in the auction too.  Peggy has donated a couple of her wonderfully soft hairy blankies.  Forty Paws has donated a couple of their popular ham-micks.  There are books and jewelry and who knows what else will show up, as the list is growing daily. Ann has made so many free graphics for cat and dog (and other) bloggers over the years that every furry wants to give something back now that she has a need. 

Now we know the auction is for a kitty blogger, but woofies are welcome to bid.

So pass along the news to your friends. You just might be the sponsor of a woofie-saving leg / lap transport.  (Try and say that 3 times real fast.) 

Have a sunny Sunday. 

Hannah and Lucy Plus Zoolatry

Our special guests today are the lovely Hannah & Lucy from the United Kingdom. We asked Jan to make this special graphic before we sat down to interview them for Mousebreath.  So stop by to read Dainty and Darling Hannah & Lucy.  and meet the ladycats if you haven't already, or get to know them a little better.

We were a little late posting the interview today.  It's been a crazy week.  We haven't even had a chance to read all our email from Thursday yet.

For example, yesterday Jan didn't turn on the computer until late afternoon.  Yes, we could have pushed the buttons to turn it on ourselves, but now that we're older, we're not fond of being in the doghouse.  Well, Rusty is, but he thinks he's a dog, so we overlook this peculiarity.

Why were we computerless for umpity (or is that umpteem) hours?  Well, to start with, Jan learned a few days ago she had to be in court early as a witness.  So she got up an hour earlier, walked and fed the dogs, but didn't have the time to feed us kitties.  If we didn't have a bowl of crunchies handy, we would have all STARVED TO DEATH while she was gone.

She did get home in time to feed us a late breakfast because after sitting on a narrow, hard bench in the hallway for 62 minutes (yes, she timed it), she finally got to go in and sit down on a chair.  Less than five minutes later, everyone was excused because the defendant requested counsel.  So she'll have to repeat this too-early morning wake-up on another date when there will be attorneys present in court.  She better get up TWO hours earlier then so we cats don't DIE OF STARVATION while she's off having fun.

But even though she got home in time yesterday, did she feed us kitties a late breakfast?  No, she cleaned and "organized" the desks, then went off to lunch with friends and STUFFED HER FACE while WE STARVED! 

And when she came home, she spent the rest of the day working on graphics for Zoolatry's auction.  As you know, Poppy Vic has been very sick and went back in the hospital again Wednesday.  Ann has had to do a lot of distance traveling to and from hospitals and is deluged with extra expenses and medical bills.  So the CB is putting together an auction to try to help.  If you have anything you'd like to donate, contact ML or Marg.  Their contact info is in the Furriends of the CB auction sidebar right under this graphic -

The auction might start tomorrow. .  It will be announced on the CB.  If you'd like to help Ann and Vic now, you can use Zoolatry's Starving Artist Fund button in their sidebar.  

Jan is praying for Poppy Vic and Ann.  We're sending lots of purrs and pawhugs!

Chey with Gemini and Ichiro

It's time for another Friday with the Funny Farmer Felines. Our guests today are the inscrutable Chey and her housemates (she doesn't call them siblings), lovely Gemini and mischievous Ichiro.

We tried but could not crack the Chey mystique. We did, however, have a good time trying and we think you'll enjoy reading about the ex-Preseidential candidate and her roommates.  We hope you'll pop over to Mousebreath Magazine to read Meezer Star Chey, with Gemini & Ichiro.  And we're sure Chey would love to hear from new and old readers so you can click the link on Mousebreath to visit their .... um, Chey's MySiamese.com blog. 

We are so glad to read happier news on Poppy Vic today! He gave everyone quite a scare.

{{{Hugs}}} and prayers, purrs and pawhugs, Ann & Poppy Vic.

We are having a bit of a giggle picturing Maggy and Zoey being schooled on how to act when Poppy Vic comes home later today.  We'd love to be a fly on the wall in that schoolroom.  Um, on second thought .... maybe we could just hide a bug (listening device) in the room.

World Cat Day 2012

Oh, dear, World Cat Day has sneaked up on us and we're stumbling around today in a humidity / heat daze, but we'll do a quick post. 

Uh, we're blank.  Four cats and we're blank.  Ah, saved by the World Cat Day graphic.

Oh, World Cat Day is simply a day to celebrate all things cat.  We can do that.  The best way to celebrate?  Sleep on it, have a snack, sleep on it some more, annoy Jan, eat her snack, sleep it off, clear Jan's desk items to the floor, trip Jan .... You get the idea.  It should be a fun day even though the weather is enough to even make the dogs sluggish.

Mom Paula of Twinkletoe Tails lost her mother yesterday.  Paula has written such loving posts the past few days, including My Mom is at Peace..  She and her mother must have had a wonderful relationship  What a blessing to be able to be a comfort for someone you love and to say the things in your heart..

It was an expected and peaceful passing, but losing one's mother is still painful.

And we're still praying for Zoolatry's Poppy Vic. 

Tuesday Ramblings

Hey, it's me, Cyndi.  You do remember me, don't you?  I'm the beautiful kitty, the only female feline now that Cotton is gone. I have a few minutes so will try to type fast to finish this before Jan sits on me so she can use the computer.  (She is absent-minded, you know.)

 We were very surprised to stop by Alasandra, the cats & a dog blog (Scylla, Socks, Artemisia & Fenris) and find we'd received the Thinking of You award from them. 

We're supposed to tell you 7 things we love and think about daily.   Hmmmmm.  In no particular order -

1.  Food.  We love to eat.  Is it time for dinner yet?

2.  Treats.  We seldom get any but we think about them anyway.

3.  Blogging.  We love blogging but Jan doesn't let us do enough of it any more.  Is there an award for being a computer hog?  If there is, Jan should receive it.

4.  Our friends - especially those that are sick and the families of those that leave for the bridge.

5. We woofies love to walk Jan.  Maybe we should get her lost and sneak off so we can use the computer while she's finding her way home. (Yes, we really do think of this and love the idea!)

6. I (Rusty) love to go outside and be king of my doghouse ... um, cathouse.  Please, Jan, open the door!

7. We all love to nap.  In fact, it's time for another one.


We're supposed to give it to 7 bloggers.

Gracie - Percy & Rusty say she should get this for starting the Tabby Cat Club, which they belong to.
Amber deWeenie - She always makes us laugh.
Puddles - She just about makes us laugh puddles.  Not a good thing, since Jan would have to clean up.
Frankie Furter - Mayor of Blogville and personal teacher for his brother Ernie.
Quill - He is young but he caught on to blogging quickly.
Katie Isabella - She stole her mom's broken heart.
Hunny Bunny -Quiet, pretty, understated.

 

Mom Paula of Twinkletoe Tails has become caretaker of her mother, with help from hospice.  Her mother has AML, or Acute Myeloid (or Myelogenous) Leukemia.  Please pray for Mom Paula and her family, as they gather to spend time comforting her mother - and each other.  

The Zoolatry Human, Ann, who has made so many purrs and prayers graphics for others can use yours now.  His Y90 cancer treatment was Monday and he has not done well since. Vic was admitted to ICU yesterday.   We can imagine Ann is stressed and worried.

Our thoughts and hearts are with Ann and Paula.

Mr. Emerson has not posted in months.  We had hoped he would resume blogging, but he has passed away.  We are very sad for his family.  We send them purrs and pawhugs.

FFF Interviews Mags and Toofy

We love this little badge Zoolatry made for us Funny Farm Felines and will display it proudly in our sidebar.  Thank you, Zoolatry girls.

By now you probably know this badge is for us kitties because we write an interview column for Mousebreath.  No woofies allowed, unfortunately.  We have to get the woofies a job and a name of their own,. Any suggestions?  We've thought of the Funny Farmer Hounds but Buddy is actually the only hound here.Any suggestions?

Today is Friday and we have another interview already posted.  Our special guests today are .... broad hint with the above badge .... yes, the Zoolatry furries, Maggy and Zoey.  If you haven't already, stop by Mousebreath to read Zoolatry's Mary Maggy and Toofy Zoey. 

And just so you don't forget what we look like, here are Buddy and Percy sharing a nap on the same dog bed.  Hmmm, we're going to have to do something about Jan's photographs.  She's been taking them of the wrong end lately. 

KC 6, Jan 106, RIP Mondo

We got this lovely card from Zoolatry today.  Well, we didn't, Jan did, but anything she has automatically belongs to us too, so we did get this lovely card too.   The Florida Furkids said they hope we're doing something special for Jan today.  We are.  We're letting her go to the shelter to take pictures of other dogs and cats.  Since she won't be available to wait on us (as if!) we figure such a sacrifice on our part qualifies as a gift. 

And this lovely card from Gracie. She calls Jan her technical support. Little does she know Jan knows less than we do about Blogger. 

And we were very surprised to find a couple of graphics on the Cat Blogosphere today.

 Ann of Zoolatry has turned our header into a birthday card and she's added a heart to Cotton's picture.

KC and Mom ML added a background and hearts to turn our graphic into "Remembering Cotton."  How sweet. 

Thank you, Ann and ML - and any of you who left a comment or posted on your blog or on FB. Jan will be around to thank you in a day or two since shelter picture day is long and super tiring.  Your thoughtfulness is appreciated, even if you did make Jan teary.  (How is she going to see to feed us if she's springing leaks?)

KC turns 6 today so be sure to stop by the Giggleman Gang's blog to help her celebrate.  Mom ML is leaving or has already left on an emergency trip to see her Aunt Dorothy who fell and broke her arm, so please keep her in your prayers for a safe journey. 

There is a note of sadness today.   Mondo of River the Beagle's blog suddenly became so ill he had to be helped to the Rainbow Bridge yesterday..  We send hugs, purrs and pawhugs to Steph and Mondo's family.

Jan was trying to sneak through today without any fuss, so we got caught without even a card for her.  But we do wish her a Happy Birthday, especially if there is food involved.  Maybe we can fix her a tuna and nip cake or two while she's at the shelter.  But it's past our breakfast time and we dogs still haven't walked her yet, so we'll wish you all a good day.

Friday at Funny Farm with Brian

The Funny Farm Felines' interview with Brian of Brian's Home and Forever Home Wanted blogs is now on Mousebreath.  We called it Bubbling with Brian because we think you'll find it exciting to read.  Be sure to stop by.  You might just learn a thing or three you didn't know (or had forgotten) about Brian and his family.

Today Zoolatry is celebrating 5 years of blogging.  Stop by and wish the Zoolatry girls a Happy Blogoversary.  They have certainly done a lot to spice up the blogosphere with their lovely graphics.

There is probably more we should be posting but if so, we hope it isn't important because we've forgotten it.  Things are still crazy here and we're sad.  Tomorrow would have been Cotton's 13th birthday.  She is the tortie in the Funny Farm Feline graphic at the top of this post.  Have a good weekend.