Saffy Says... Shake Your Happy Tails!

As you know, I just had the opportunity to attend BlogPaws West, a conference for pet bloggers.  My favorite part of the conference was connecting with other bloggers and learning about the fun and inspirational work they do everyday.  Saffy suggested I write a series of posts featuring some of these blogs.  I thought her idea was pawsitively fantastic!

Kyla Duffy founded Happy Tails Books, a company that publishes books with successful dog (and soon cat) adoption stories.  Through Happy Tails Books, she enjoys raising awareness and funding for pet rescue efforts.  When I met Kyla, I was immediately struck by her warm friendliness, enthusiasm, and creativity! 

She performed an aeriel fabric routine at the opening program of BlogPaws West -- it was amazing!  The message of the performance conveyed the importance of ending puppy mills.  What a shining example of combining the arts with a great purpose!  This is all part of Kyla's most recent endeavor, Up for Pups!  This organization offers unique, memorable humane education presentations that marry cirque-style aerial fabric and humor to impart messages about creative volunteerism, puppy mills, animal rescue, and other related topics.

Also, Happy Tails books is still accepting cat adoption stories.  Please visit the website and click on "Share a Tail."

As you can tell, I was very excited to meet Kyla and learn about all the wonderful things she is doing to help pets -- go ahead, check out her sites!

Stay tuned for the next featured blogger post!

Man Cat Monday: What is a Real Man Cat?

Because Cosmo thinks everyone calls him a "mama's boy," he wants me to help him dispel that myth and assure you his masculinity is in no way compromised.  He asked me to post these pictures and he would supply the comments.

Real Man Cats get served by their mommies.  We even look astonishingly handsome whilst waiting.

Real Man Cats love to be held by their mommies, even if we look a little crabby sometimes. 

Real Man Cats love mommy-smooches... even if some of us drool a little.

Real Man Cats like a good mommy-snuggle...especially if a fuzzy blanket is involved.

There!  Now if you'll excuse me, my mommy wants me to join her on the sofa to watch Steel Magnolias.  Don't judge me!!  Grrrrrrr..... (are you intimidated by my manliness?)

BlogPaws West: A Tail to Remember

This morning I am getting ready to leave Denver and the BlogPaws West conference.  It was fun, informative, and inspirational! I'm looking forward to getting home, virtually connecting with the people I met, and utilizing some of the tools I learned.

I did not win the Pettie for Best Cat Blog, but my friend Sparkle did.  I was so happy for her and her human!  I know it sounds trite, but I was thrilled to be a finalist among these very popular and established blogs -- I look up to every one of them!

Although BlogPaws West was an experience I will not soon forget, I am looking forward to getting home to my 2-legged and 4-legged family. Will my cats be happy to see me or will they shun me for a day or two?  I'm thinking the former -- I do have cat swag, after all...

Here are a couple of my favorite memories from the conference!

Kyla Duffy's aerial work on opening night -- a performance art message against puppy mills.  Beautiful!

Friends!  Janiss from Sparkle, the Designer Cat and Stacy from Trupanion -- out for a night on the town!

Finally meeting my friend Janea from Paws and Effect!

Getting to see lots of pets, including Snotface the Ferret!  Oh, and I met Stephanie too!

Informative sessions like this one for Lijit -- can't wait to use this on my blog!

The cheesecake....my paws were all over it!

Birthday-Cake-flavored gelato...so good, I enjoyed it two nights in a row!

Contributing to the artist BZTAT's mural, which included participants' heartfelt personal thoughts on animals.

Watching the Be the Change panel was inspirational beyond belief! 

I am the change for animals!  Excited to get home and create some action!

Did I mention the gelato?

Pawsing for Thought....and Some Gelato

I can't believe today is the last day of BlogPaws West!  There's a full day ahead and plenty left to do, but I thought I'd share a few things that I already learned.

• Twitter isn't as overwhelming as I once thought it was.  Who would have guessed something with a cute cartoon bird as a logo would intimidate me so much?  I feel 95 years old sometimes...

• I really should always bring workout-wear when I'm away from home....especially if I plan to carb-scarf.

• Just because I write a humor blog doesn't mean I can't somehow incorporate helping animals in need.  That component can and will be a part of my blog.

• Dang, ferrets are cute!

• A speaker yesterday said, "everything you do is your resume."  Even posing my cats in lasagna pans and taking pictures?  Cool!

• Birthday Cake-flavored gelato is the the shizz...(see #2)

• My cats don't even miss me a bit...when I called home, they didn't even care to talk to me.  I should have disguised my voice as a can-opener.

BlogPaws has presented an outstanding conference so far and I'm excited for one more day of learning and networking...and maybe another scoop of gelato.

Blog Paws West: My Cats Would Not Be Pleased...

Mission Blog Paws West Arrival: complete!  I arrived yesterday afternoon and have already enjoyed the opportunity of meeting so many people!  Some brought their dogs to the conference and I hear that there are even a couple of cats here. In general, I'm certain my cats would not be pleased with my experience in Denver.

My room at the Grand Hyatt

Saffy: "I see no fuzzy blankets!"

Hanging out with Janiss from Sparkle the Designer Cat blog

Cosmo: "You were friendly with someone from another cat blog?????"

The swag!!

Phoebe: "Do I see some dog-swag in those bags?  Seriously???"

Well, I guess it really was a good idea to leave them home...

False Advertising!!

Today I head for Denver to get my paws on three days of Blog Paws West, a conference geared toward pet bloggers.  Thank you again to all of you who helped me win this trip by voting on my video!  And additional thanks for the votes that resulted in Catladyland's inclusion as a finalist for a Pettie Award!  The awards will be presented on Saturday -- I'll be sure to keep you posted.

The cats won't join me on this trip (they barely tolerate a car ride to the vet), so you can imagine how much I will miss their fuzzy little butts.  Yesterday I noticed Phoebe and Cosmo wearing shirts that read, "Free Kisses."  Since I won't see them for a few days, I was ready to cash in on some extra kissy-snuggle time.  They were not as interested in actually handing out those free smooches that they were advertising...

Phoebe: Mama wants more kisses??

Let me think about it....

Nope! 

Cosmo: Free kisses, you say?

When does your flight leave??

I think they should have been wearing "Free Hairball" shirts....they always deliver of that one!

Wordless Wednesday: Phoebe Fits into Overhead Bin!

Two-Cats-Tuesday: Cosmo and Phoebe

Phoebe: "Cosmo, do I look like a bean-bag chair??"

How to Celebrate Non-Labor

Labor Day marks the end of summer and, for many, a day of picnics, relaxation, family, and most importantly...no work!  This day is no different than any other day for my three cats, who spend their hours sleeping, eating, chasing catnip-filled-mice, and then sleeping some more.  Because fall is a time of new beginnings, I figured today would be the perfect day to talk to my lazy felines about getting a job.  I'm not picky...just something to get them out of the house and provide a little pocket change for movies, extra catnip, and what-not.  Plus, how cool would it be if they actually bought me Christmas presents this year??  Yes, they all three need gainful employment.. and soon!  I knew it would be a touchy subject, so I approached them very quietly and with a few treats in my pocket.  Here's what happened....

Phoebe:  "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about... "

Cosmo: "This is seriously going to cut into my Facebook time."

Saffy: "I can haz Twinkie?"

I think I should have put a few more treats in my pocket...

A Titch on the Crazy Side

I'm officially, certifiably, unequivocally insane.  Seriously.  Really.  For suresies.  Some of you know that within the past week I decided to create another blog:  Katt Food.  Basically, it's a hilarious assortment of photos readers submit of their cats (katts) posing as or with food.  I am having a freezer-ful of fun with it, but wow...didn't realize how busy all of this would keep me!  Now my daily maintenance includes two blogs, two Facebook pages, two Twitter accounts, one website, and two e-mail accounts.  Oh, and then there's my personal Facebook page and e-mail (gotta have my Scrabblez). 

It's all good!  It's fun!  It's a hoot and a half! But I must say that my brain is busy trying to organize everything into lists, schedules, and categories.  This is nothing new....my brain does this all the time.  Control issues?  Maaaaaybe.  I think my brain is just figuring out that it needs to step up its game and start running with the big dogs....um, cats...um, katts.  Until then, I feel just a titch on the crazy side...kind of like this:

So please forgive me if I forget little things, mistakenly feed the cats macaroni and cheese, disappear from a Word Twist game for a day, or begin posing my children in roasting pans.  I promise...I'll be back to normal soon.  Normal?  Did I really type that??