Do You Have a Great Catsby? Check Today's Fanglish Cat Slang!

It's time for another Fanglish Friday lesson and we have two brand new terms for you. What are you waiting for? An invitation? Start taking notes!

The Great Catsby
A cat who thinks himself a fancy dandy.

Mittens enjoyed lounging only on The Lady's silk jammies because he was The Great Catsby. 

Good Clean Fight
A cat play-fight with frequent bathing breaks.

Snowball and Maurice enjoyed a good clean fight before dinner each night.

Click for Past Fanglish lessons


See you next week for another visit into the back alley world of Fanglish!

Cat Truth #200: Cats Love Weird Stuff

Phoebe would rather sit and watch the printer spit out paper than play with a brand new catnip toy. No lie.

Wordless Wednesday: Of Course Cats Hear Us -- They Just Don't Care

My Cat's a Gangsta and the Other Wears "Panties"

My cats rarely sleep closer than a few feet from one another. Yesterday I removed Cosmo from my seat (heaven forbid) and plopped him next to Saffy. And he stayed. He must have been confused and in a sleepy state because otherwise he'd surely have jumped right off the chair.

Here are three of things I love about this photo:

• He's mid-stretch. Look at his legs and how his toes are spread apart. I love it when they spread their toes like that. I wish they'd just walk around with spread toes. 

• Saffy is trying to ignore him. She's all like, "I had this whole chair and now he's all up in my grill." She's old, slug-like and has few teeth, but she's totally gangsta.

• You can see one of Cosmo's tiny man-nipples and the little fluff of "down below" fur that I like to call his "panties." I love both of these things equally -- I could never choose which is more awesome.

Oh, and neither is looking at the camera. Of course.

My Cat Shuns Me From Every Angle

Saffy pretty much ignores me unless I hold the promise of food. And she shuns me from every angle.

If Joan Rivers Licked Her Own Butt, She'd Almost Be Just Like My Cat

Phoebe is a talker -- always has been. And when I have a "conversation" with that mouthy cat, she has to have the last word. She kind of never stops talking. She's sassy, too. If Joan Rivers licked her own butt, she'd be almost exactly like Phoebe.

And she's bossy. When she wants something, she totally whines and shouts at us until she gets it. She definitely wears the furry little pants in the family. Sorry for the Joan Rivers visual.

Look at this Vine video.

Pet FBI of Ohio is Doing Great Work! And We're Giving Away Some of Their Famous Catnip Pillows!

Image from the Pet FBI site.

Cats are funny, but there's nothing funny about a lost cat.

My friend Char of Sit4Pet/Char's Cat Sitting recently told me about this really cool organization called Pet FBI, an all-volunteer, nonprofit agency whose website is an information center for missing or found cats, dogs or other pets in the state of Ohio.

Pet FBI was founded in 1998 by Maresa Fanelli, who envisioned a "gigantic electronic bulletin board where worried owners and good Samaritans could readily connect." It was one of the first sites of its kind and still houses more information than some national sites with a similar mission. Fanelli reports that about 1/3 of the pets listed on the site are reunited with their owners, but she suspects there are more connections that aren't being reported.

Char uses the Pet FBI catnip pillows to break the ice with cat-sitting clients.
Photo of Manny and Moe by Char Riedinger

In addition to their efforts in reuniting lost pets with their owners, they have a thriving spay/neuter/TNR OUTREACH team. Thanks to grant support from PetSmart Charities and the Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust, in 2012, Pet FBI made sure 728 free-roaming cats in Delaware county were altered.

My Phoebe puts her seal of approval on the pillow!

As you can see, Pet FBI is a little organization making a big difference in the lives of pets. One of the ways they create funding is by selling products and one of their most popular items is the little homemade catnip pillows they sell in their eBay store. Char and Pet FBI made sure I got a couple for my cats to try and they went nuts!

Cosmo was entranced by the magical nip.

And ... surprise! I have a set of three catnip pillows to give away to three lucky readers! Here's how to enter:

• If you live in the Ohio or surrounding area, please click here to like their Facebook page and share the link. Otherwise, share the link so your Ohio friends may like it. 
• You must comment WITH YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS and indicate interest in qualifying for the giveaway and that you've either liked the page or shared it ... or both! If you don't Facebook, let us know that, too.
• The giveaway opens at 10:00 a.m. CDT today (5/25/13) and closes at 11:59pm CDT on Friday, 5/31/12.
• The giveaway is open to readers in the 48 states.
• Once contacted, you will have 48 hours to respond or another name will be drawn.
• Winners will be chosen via randomizer.org.

Good luck and thanks for helping spread the word!

Friday Fanglish Cat Lingo Tells Us the Real Meaning of Scoopable Litter

It's time for a Fanglish cat slang Friday! Grab your pencil and paper and get ready for two poppin' fresh terms!

Scoopable Litter
An adorable litter of kittens that simply must be scooped up in one's arms.

Mittens rolled his eyes as The Lady looked at scoopable litters on her Facebook newsfeed. 

Photo of kittens by eaghra

Home Run
A cat's disappearance from a window and run to the entryway when a human approaches the front door.

Snowball's home run speed was legendary when The Lady arrived home past dinner time.

Click for Past Fanglish lessons


See you next week for another visit into the back alley world of Fanglish!

How You Can Help Animals Impacted By The Oklahoma Tornado

Sometimes it's hard to smile when we know there are sad things happening around us; however, we can reach out and make an impact. As part of the Blogger Disaster Response Network, I'm here to share some information with you.

We've all been touched by the heartbreaking images of the Oklahoma tornado aftermath. Right now the biggest way we can help the animal impacted by the devastation is with cash donations.

World Vets provides international veterinary care and disaster relief, educate peoples and positively impacts communities. BlogPaws, Pets360 and World Vets are teaming up to make a difference and you can help. Donations will be collected by World Vets here though Tuesday, May 28 at 11:59 p.m.

Looking for other ways to help? Click here for ideas.

Wordless Wednesday: I Love a Cat in Uniform

My Cats and I are Feeling Vine, Thank You Very Much

Have you seen the Vine video app available for download in the Apple store? I just started hearing about it and then last week at BlogPaws, my Catster buddies were totally swinging from the Vine so I thought I'd give it a try. Now I'm totally hooked!

Saffy gets ready for her premiere on Vine.

It's kind of like Instagram, in that you can follow other users and they can follow you. You create an account and then link it to Facebook and Twitter if you wish. To create a video, you simply press the screen with your finger and then let go when you are finished recording that particular clip. You can record as many clips as six seconds will allow. Then Vine edits them all together and plays them on a loop. It's pretty cool!

Here are a couple that I made:





I know I'm just a beginner, but I'm having a ton of fun. If you're on Vine, follow me!! My username is ... Catladyland! And I'd love to see your silly Vine vids!

Guess What? Catladyland Won! And Joy Happened!

It's true! Catladyland won Best Humor Blog in the BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Social Media and Pet Blogging Awards!

My friend Amy took this photo of me on the big screen. I thought for sure writing a speech would jinx my win.  Of course I had no speech prepared so I stood up there and blurted out something about kissing ferrets and then ran off stage. 

My favorite part of BlogPaws is reconnecting with my favorite cat ladies. This year I was so proud to be in the company of some fabulous finalists in the awards. These ladies rock in a super-hard way. Fur realsies. How could you not want to totally smooch Deb from The Chronicles of Zee and Zoey, Robin from Covered in Cat Hair, Tamar from I Have Cat, me from ... this blog, JaneA from Paws and Effect and Debbie from Glogirly. YAY!! 

L-R: Deb, Robin, Tamar, me, JaneA and Debbie. FOXES!!

Some of the Catster writers got to finally meet up with Janine and Lori from Catster.com, the online magazine to which we contribute. We ate way too much delicious food and by the time we left, I wished for some maternity pants. I am so in love with these ladies.

L-R: Dorian, me, Janine, JaneA and Lori

Overall, this was my favorite BlogPaws ever!! Thank you so much to Purina for sponsoring me -- they are the best! And next year is Vegas, baby! Cats in showgirl costumes? Yes, please!


 

Fetch Me My Finest Ruffled Cat Dickey!

Yesterday at BlogPaws, this happened:

Sir Brighton of Curlz and Swirlz

I Kissed a Ferret and I Liked It

I kissed a ferret. My cats are going to kill me.

BlogPaws Means I Get To Meet New Kitten Friends -- Real Ones

Today I'm forgoing the typical Friday Fanglish post to show you a couple of cute kitty babies I've met at BlogPaws, the annual pet blogging conference that's one of the highlights of my year.

This is Odilia, the little blind kitten my blogging friend Connie of the Tails From the Foster Kittens blog. She was so teeny and totally feisty! Cats really are badass -- even tiny ones with special needs.

And then I met Triscuit, another foster who we all loved on in one of the workshops. She was so docile and completely adorable. 

There are definitely a TON more dogs here at this conference, and that makes sense. My cats could totally freak out if I carried them to a hotel in another state. But some cats are good travelers and I'm just glad to have made the acquaintance of these two cuties.

Oh, and the cherries jubilee over ice cream was divine last night.

Happy BlogPaws, everyone! And thank you to Purina for sponsoring my trip!

Cat Truth #90: Cats Can Be Comfortable Most Anywhere

It's true, right? They do love a soft pile of warm laundry, but my cats are just as likely to rest their head on the edge of a cardboard box or sleep on top of a 24-pack of shrink-wrapped water bottles. I suppose if I were that tired all the time, comfort wouldn't be that big of a deal. Heck, I remember childhood sleepovers at friends' houses when I'd crash on top of a cheap Holly Hobbie sleeping bag on a hard floor.

Wordless Wednesday: My Cat's a Pig

My Cat's a Stalker

This is how it goes down at my house: Saffy inhales her food and then stalks Phoebe's dish. I do my best to distract Saff, but she always winds up creeping around the corner somewhere, waiting until I'm not looking so she can descend upon poor Pheebs. Look how stalkerish she looks. 

Cats Want More Luxury, Please

Cats can never enjoy too much comfort. One pillow? Child's play! Phoebe can rock three pillows and still feel like she's not getting the full luxury she deserves.

Mother's Day Wishes and Toileting Dreams

Happy Mother's Day from Catladyland! 

May you receive lots of  sweet kitty kisses today! As part of my Mother's Day gift from the cats, I am hoping to receive at least one un-assisted visit to the bathroom.  

Cat Storage

Last week I bought some new storage containers and, of course, Phoebe was immediately intrigued by the box. She gave me permission to keep the plastic containers inside the box, but promptly confiscated the cardboard container that's obviously meant to store cats.

Fanglish Flashback: All Present and Accounted For and Flee Control

It's time for a Fanglish Flashback! Test yourself: Do you remember these terms?

All Present and Accounted For
All cats are gathered around the present-wrapping supplies the human has arranged on the floor

Mittens, Maurice, and Snowball were all present and accounted for when The Lady began wrapping Christmas gifts. 


Flee Control
The act of placing a cat in a closed room while movers or other humans come and go from a building, thus preventing the feline escape

In an act of flee control, The Lady locked Mittens in the bathroom while the delivery humans carried new furniture into the house.

Click for Past Fanglish lessons


See you next week for another visit into the back alley world of Fanglish!

Cat Truth #877: Cats Like to "Help."

Cats love to "help" us with projects. Anytime I pull out craft supplies, the sewing box, gift-wrapping gear or anything that looks remotely interesting, my three nosy cats are all over the scene. They study everything I do and walk over, swat at and sleep on top of my supplies. They must really think we are helpless. Or just simple-minded. Thank goodness for their able paws.

Wordless Wednesday: Look At What Camera?

Cats, Boxes and Short-Term Memory Loss

Cats will try and fit inside a box of any size. Look at Cosmo -- does he really think he can stuff his fuzzy frame into that box of Cheez-Its? He must, otherwise he wouldn't try ... over and over again. And he will slide across the floor, trying to wedge himself into that box until it hits the wall. He does it all the time -- like he thinks, "This time's the charm!" He must have short-term memory loss.

Smells Like Cat Food ... Or Butt

Her tongue either smells like cat food, cat fur, or her own butt. Or, really, another cat's butt.

What Happens When Your Cat Hacks Into Your Computer? I Wrote a Book About It!

Excitement! After nearly two years since project conception, my cat humor book is finally available for pre-order and is scheduled for publication on September 3, 2013! Here's the 411:

• whiskerslist: the kitty classifieds is a cat parody of craigslist. It includes 160 posts of cat wheeling and dealing online while their humans are away. 

• whiskerslist has a Facebook page! You can LIKE it by clicking here!

• Like I mentioned, you can pre-order whiskerslist. Click here to pre-order on Amazon.com and click here to pre-order on Barnes & Noble. If you decide you'd like to pre-order later on, you can always come back and click on the little whiskerslist button on the ride sidebar. That'll do the trick.

• There will be an interactive site to accompany the book. Beginning sometime in early August, users can hop on whiskerslist and make their own posts, comment and connect with other cats online!

I'm really excited about this new adventure -- it's my first book and I really hope you love it as much as I do. Thank you for any and all support you and your cats will offer!

Pillow Talk With My Cat

This is what my pillow looks like when I wake up in the morning.  I could only make this scenario more realistic to by adding the sound of Cosmo licking the wrought iron on the headboard.  Close your eyes and imagine...Good Morning!

Friday Fanglish Cat Slang: The Glass Menagerie and Bow Diddley

Hey, hey, hey! It's Friday Fanglish time and that means you get two brand new cat slang terms! Sharpen your pencils, folks -- here we go!

The Glass Menagerie
A group of cats trying to drink out of a human's water glass.

The Lady walked into the kitchen and suddenly had a front row seat to a performance of The Glass Menagerie.


Bow Diddley
A cat who steals bows off of wrapped presents.

The Lady always had the most boring-looking Christmas presents because Maurice was a total Bow Diddley.

Click for Past Fanglish lessons


See you next week for another visit into the back alley world of Fanglish!

Cat Truth #312: Cats Inspect Boxes

Boxes are cat magnets and each one that passes through the front door must be sniffed corner-to-corner by each cat. They're like fuzzy little TSA agents, except I never find a TSA agent sleeping in my suitcase. That'd be weird.

Wordless Wednesday: Cranky Leg-Dangle