Shiba Inu Puppy Cam Is Back

Kika’s new litter of puppies are on the web cam. If you missed out on the first litter or need a good dose of cute, now is your chance.  There are 3 boys and 2 girls this time.  The web cam was originally set up so their people could monitor them while away at work. Their people also created a calendar and donated the proceeds to Shiba Inu rescue groups.  Cool!

Check out the very first pics of the pups right after they were born.  And there’s a message board for the puppy cam.

Friday Fun: ColorMeKatie & Her Cat Moo

I am smitten—it’s true!  I’m in love with Moo the cat and his person, Katie Sokoler, is pretty nifty too.  He’s got mad ninja skills & really knows how to strike a pose and she’s a photographer & street artist with a scrumptious eye for color & a double helping of humor.

This series of Moo on the faucets is wonderful and really captures that melty, completely unconcerned essence some cats have.  Check out what Moo was secretly working on in the night. Clever boy!  He also works part-time as an alarm clock.

Katie has also started a project of pet portraits.  I swear I can hear that kitty purring.

Katie is also part of Improv Everywhere which stages silly, sweet, fun “scenes”.  Check out their Invisible Dog Doo-Dah!


Just one more thing, Girl might have the best business card evar!(images used with permission from Katie Sokoler)

Thrifty Things: Towels & Bowls

I’ve written before about some of the great things you can find for your pets at thrift stores & garage sales and I was reminded today just how much money you can save by recycling or repurposing things you find at thrift stores.

A bunch of the towels we use on the cats & dog had become pretty ragged & threadbare, but the towels we use for ourselves are still too nice to be relegated to the pets. I wasn’t about to go buy new towels for the 4 legged creatures, so I checked my favorite thrift store and found 4 thick bath towels for under $8 total, which is about the cost of one new towel.

I also needed a couple of glass bowls for water and found good sized Pyrex bowls for under $5 total that will be perfect. Pyrex is thick and pretty rugged so these bowls won’t get chipped or cracked.  Sweet!

Here are some of the other things I’d try to find at a thrift store or garage sale before I bought them new:

  1. pet crates (This is probably the best bargain you’ll find. Crates can be pretty pricey ($20-150+), but I see them in all sizes pretty regularly at my favorite thrift store.)
  2. bird cages
  3. glass aquariums
  4. stainless steel pet bowls
  5. Habitrail components
  6. kitty condos (you could recover it pretty easily with carpet remnants and a staple gun)
  7. storage bins with lids (for storing toys or to make your own awesome litterbox)
  8. blankets for pet beds