Author: Sarah

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Catwalk, Catrun, & A Cat Enclosure!

Wow! Brad Stone created an extra special home for his adopted kitties and he documented it on his blog. Check it out—he gives some good tips on what he did.


First he created catwalks in his house to give the furred ones perches to prowl. Check out the fun video of a kitten exploring the catwalk.


Then he chiseled a hole in the outer wall of his house so his cats could use the catrun he built. Don’t miss this video of the cats checking it out for the first time.


But, Brad still wasn’t satisfied, so he built a 15ft x 24ft cat enclosure with a fenced walkway connecting it to the first catrun. Kitty heaven!

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Friday Fun: The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee

I have fallen in love with the itty bitty kitty committee. First—the name is perfection. Second—it has consistently outstanding kitten photos, not schmaltzy and you can just about hear them purring and feel their warm kitten tummies. Third—it’s excellent blogging about the joys and sometimes sorrows of fostering kittens. And, it turns out, Laurie has a shop, lalalaurie, on etsy.com and you know how I love etsy. There’s even a post about crafting with kittens.

The IBKC takes in kittens and their mom, if they’re together, for the Tacoma/Pierce County Humane Society to raise, socialize, and love until they’re ready for adoption. Very cool! Check with your local shelter if you’re interested in fostering kittens. As the summer progresses, shelters will be overflowing with kittens. It takes commitment, but it’s a wonderful thing.

Charlene Butterbean is the resident cat and supreme Big Sister who loves the kittens and seems to take her roll quite seriously, well, maybe not always that seriously.

Images used with permission of the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee.

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Puppy Throwing Marine Expelled

Lance Corporal David Motari, the Marine videotaped throwing a puppy into a rocky ravine, is being “separated” from the Marines and others involved in the incident are being disciplined. I suppose it’s at least some kind of justice. But, this isn’t the only video of servicemen abusing animals and clearly more needs to be done.

The Humane Society of the US has identified three areas where the Department of Defense needs to improve or change its policy concerning animals.

  1. American Servicemen are prohibited from adopting stray animals they befriend in Iraq.
  2. Pet and stray dogs are being killed in an attempt to prevent rabies although research finds that these culls are both ineffective and inhumane.
  3. There is no prohibition or punishment for cruelty towards animals in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

You can help by contacting the Dept. of Defense and the various branches of the military and urging them to make a change.

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House Plant Defense

Crow \

Do you have a little stinker of a cat like our Crow who can’t leave the potting soil in house plants alone? Some cats even use plant pots as a litter box. At least Crow doesn’t do that!

I found a quick fix to keep cats out of plant pots—just put down a layer of decorative rocks. Beach glass would work too. Use something that’s too big to be attractive to dig in and isn’t round enough that it looks like a toy. The roots of the plants can still breathe and you can just lift a rock to check if the soil is dry and needs water.

If your cat has used your plants as a litter box, I recommend:

  • removing the plant and carefully washing away as much soil as possible in a bucket (don’t pour this down a drain)
  • cleaning the pot
  • replanting the plant in new soil
  • cover in a layer of rocks!
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