Purina #BetterWithPets Summit Was Informative ... and KITTENS!

I love New York City and I love pets, so of course I was thrilled for the invitation to return to Nestlé Purina's annual Better With Pets Summit. In past years, the summit was set up in a TED Talks format, but this year included three expert panels, interesting speakers, and some fun hands-on activities. Yeah, that means I had my "hands on" a lot of kittens! Jealous? You should be.

Yay, kittens!

The focus of Better With Pets is the human-pet bond, and how our lives really are better with pets. In particular, this year's event centered around the theme of emotional wellness for pets and the people who love them. The panels and activities supported that idea.

P is for Pudge

The first panel discussed the question, "Are millennials changing our relationship with cats?" It was an interesting conversation because I'd never really considered any differences. Since millennials tend to wait to start families, their cats are their children, and they also don't blink an eye at spending money on pampering them.

In a word, infinitely.

The second panel focused on stress and pets. I've always believed my cats are fuzzy little anti-anxiety "meds." I can't tell you the number of times I've looked to my cats for balance, peace, and relaxation. This panel not only validated what I already knew, they discussed stress in pets, how to recognize it, and how to soothe and prevent stress. One of the panelists noted that some vet clinics are now using cages with horizontal bars instead of vertical ones. This gives the cats unobstructed views, thus keeping them in a calmer state.

Expert kids-and-pets panel.

The third panel was especially close to my heart. I've always been a huge proponent of nurturing the relationship between kids and cats. Well, that's just what this panel covered. Pets can be great therapy for kids who are stressed or in crisis, and living with pets helps teach kids responsibility and compassion. Yeah, I'm a big fan.

Yes.

After lunch, we got to experience some cool hands-on exhibits. There were examples of food puzzles, which not only keep pets from wolfing their food, they exercise their brain. My favorite part, of course, was the cat room, which demonstrated healthy environments for kitties. There were many levels or perching spots, hiding places, and toys galore. I could have stayed in that room all day long. I'd probably still be there if I didn't have to catch a cab back to the hotel!

This guy!

Oh, and how cool is this? Purina announced they will donate $50,000 to The Frank Attla Youth Program, which was developed to help at-risk youth in rural Alaska gain confidence and self-esteem by adding dogs into the school curriculum, and giving them a unique opportunity to create bonds with these dogs by teaching students how to care for them.

Robin, Tamar and I hijacked the set.

All in all, it was another successful Summit! I learned a lot, got to play with kitties, and visited with a whole bunch of my favorite blogger friends. I already can't wait until next year!

I was compensated to help spread the word about Purina Better With Pets Summit. Catladyland only shares information we think would be of interest to our readers. The opinions are our own.

Every Bed is a Cat Bed

I recently stayed with some friends in Iowa while I was in town for a Texts from Mittens book signing. They share their home with a handsome cat named Tate and a busy Corgi named Oreo. Here's my cat lady confession: I'm a sucker for Corgis. I've always adored their short legs and fluffy butts. I'd never spent time with one until Oreo ... and then the dog-shaped clouds parted and the Corgi angels played their harps. And they chewed on them and growled, looking incredibly adorable.

As you know, cats rule the home, no matter how many other animals (or humans) are present. Tate represents this beautifully in the below photo. You can just see the look of entitlement on his face as he completely jacks Oreo's bed.

Like this is surprising to you, right?

Stink-Eye, Dog Breath, and Peace Offerings

Yesterday I returned from the week-long whiskerslist: the kitty classifieds book tour and, just as expected, was met with a little bit of stink-eye from the three feline amigos.

Phoebe dishes out the stink.

I think they somehow knew this had happened:

Dog breath!

Good thing I came home with goodies. 

Hey -- I had to bring goodies for the humans too. Cuts down on the stink-eye.

Kitten Tries to Steal Dog's Tongue

Cat got your tongue?

I'll Have a Blue Christmas...Under the Table

On Christmas Eve, we visited our human and furry cousins. 

Blue the kitty spent most of the day sleeping under the table and 

Mia the doggie spent most of the time watching Blue. 

Join Paws to Help Pooches!

Greetings fellow cats and cat-lovers!  It's time to step our paws up and help our doggie buddies!

How often have you had a chance to have a 20 pound bag of dog food donated to a shelter simply for writing a blog post? It’s really that easy. Pedigree has upped the ante big time. And please spread this message: The food drive is not limited to pet blogs. Imagine if we could spread this message beyond our circles and see how far it goes? Just include the bullets listed here, and add the direct link to your blog post to our Blog Hop below so we can all see how big an impact we are making! The numbers could be substantial. Here is the full scoop:

• Each year, more than 4 million dogs end up in shelters and breed rescue organizations. Pedigree created The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive to help shine a spotlight on the plight of these homeless dogs.

• This year the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a “Fan” or “Likes” The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive on Facebook. So far more than 1  million bowls have been donated.

• Special for BlogPaws West: For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive through September 19^th, PEDIGREE® will donate a bag of their new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It’s simple: Write a post, help a dog.

Don’t have a blog? You can help by becoming a Facebook fan of Pedigree.  For every Facebook “Like”, Pedigree donates one bowl of dog food to feed shelter dogs. So far, they have donated over 1.1 Million bowls of dog food!

You can also help out by watching this video. Every time the video is viewed, Pedigree will donate $1, up to a maximum of $50, 000 to animal shelters. See, there really are easy and free ways to help doggies in need!

Get that tail waggin' and let's join paws to help the pooches!