Happy #WorldVeterinaryDay !!

Hi my furiends!! It's Cody!!

Today is a super special day! Now I know that many kitties and woofies cringe when they hear the word "V-E-T", but I gotta tell ya, we would be in deep cat litter if we didn't have a good Veterinarian! Dakota and I are blessed to have one of the best! Today is World Veterinary Day  a day when I can give my Vet and his associates a high-paw and tell them all how much I love them!

From the World Veterinary Association:

Veterinarians are a special group of health care professionals and scientists because they prevent disease in animals and treat animals of all kinds around the world.  Healthy animals also contribute to happier and healthier people.

In 2000, the World Veterinary Association initiated World Veterinary Day on the last Saturday of April each year to bring attention to the many ways veterinarians contribute to the health and well-being of animals and people around the world.  Most people know veterinarians as the “animal doctors” for our pets, livestock, horses, and a variety of more diverse animals such as zoo animals and exotic pets such as birds, reptiles, and small mammals.

 I know that my Vet (and the staff at DePorre Veterinary Hospital), love me and are always looking out for me.  Our Vet is gentle, caring and kind. He always tells Mom and Dad about what a "great cat" I am and that makes me purr with delight!

I started going to the vet when I was just a young kit and I remember the day like it was yesterday! Dr. "Smiley" (he is REALLY Dr.Lewis!), got the biggest kick out of me! He pulled out a pen and let me play with it while I was on the exam table, and he told my Mom "This one is FEARLESS!" He went on to say, "this can be a good thing or a BAD thing!"

This photo is from 2013
Before DePorre moved into their "new digs!!"
And before Dr.Lewis had his beard!

Thankfully it turned out to be a GOOD thing!

When I was neutered all of the lady Vet Techs fell in love with me and called me their "cuddle bug." They said that all I wanted to do was cuddle!!

Dr.Lewis always has time to talk to my Mom and always helps ease her worries, he always gives her the best advice. Two years ago when I had my mysterious illness, he helped calm my Mom down (trust me that is no easy task!), and he was in constant communication with her. Mom, Dad, Dakota and I would be lost without him!

Mom, Dad, Dakota  and I consider our Vet to be an important member of our family! Dr.Lewis used to care for Grandpa Bobo and he helped him cross the bridge. He helped Mom know when it was "time" to help Grandpa Bobo on his journey. When Mom felt guilty adopting me a mere two weeks after Bobo left her, Dr. Lewis said, "You aren't REPLACING Bobo, no cat could ever do that. You are making NEW memories with a NEW cat. Bobo would want you to give the same love to another cat that you gave to him." Those words helped my Mom more than he probably even knows!

We are truly blessed to have such a professional, caring, and knowledgeable Veterinarian and the other Vets, Technicians, Receptionists, etc. at DePorre Veterinary Hospital , are pretty darned good too!

Today we salute our Veterinarian (who deserves a medal just for putting up with our babbling, hyper and over concerned Mom!) and the staff at DePorre Veterinary Hospital, as well as Veterinarians all over the world!!! Thank you for all that you do!

Love from,

Cody

Winner!! Animal Hearted: "Apparel and Gifts for Animal Lovers"

Thanks to all who entered our Animal Hearted Give-Away!!!

HUGE CONCATULATIONS

TO THE LUCKY WINNER

LISTED BELOW!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This makes us super happy because this was a world-wide give-away and Rose is located in the United Kingdom! Huge Congrats!!!

Didn't win? Dakota is having the same give-away and he has two days left on his! Go on over to his blog and enter there too! Hurry before it is over!

Picture Me This Photohunt Week 17: "Expectant"

We haven't participated in a few weeks, but today we are happy to be a part of  a fun blogging event that was created by our friends over at A Tonk's Tail. It is a weekly photohunt. There is no pressure to participate, just jump in whenever you are able as we are doing this week! You can post on any social media channel that you wish, there is ZERO pressure (which is something WE LOVE!!)

This week the theme is:

The photo below is an old one, it was taken a few years ago before a holiday dinner we were having at our home. While I was getting things ready, I turned, and this is what I saw:

Cody sitting "expectantly" at the dining room table, sitting ever-so-politely, like the purrfect dinner guest. I am wondering though, his eyes seem to be on the ice bucket. Do you think he wanted food or a "Niptini?"

If you participate in this photohunt be sure to tag #PMTphotohunt and @tonkstail

Pig In A Blanket Day

Ok, so that was kind of mean of me to use Cody in photos for today, which is "Pig In A Blanket Day."

FROM DAYS OF THE YEAR: Pigs In A Blanket are a simple concept and have been found throughout the world in many variations since time out of mind. You simply take a sausage and wrap it! Usually, you’ll find them wrapped in some form of pastry, with puff pastry being one of the most universally popular. Learn more about "Pig In A Blanket Day" here!

Relax Cody! You know I REALLY featured you on this day, not because of your ample "belleh", but because of your complete DELICIOUSNESS!

Happy Earth Day!

Cat Lovers "Heart" Animal Hearted: "Apparel and Gifts for Animal Lovers" Give-Away!

Animal Hearted Apparel has sponsored this post, both in product and monetary compensation, but all opinions are my own.

Animal Hearted Apparel

 is a clothing company with a conscience

They are are passionate about animals. Not only do they make fun and creative clothing and accessories for animal lovers, they are dedicated to saving the lives of shelter animals. They donate 25% of proceeds from every order to a non-profit animal shelter or rescue. They have helped save thousands of shelter pets. When YOU place an order, you will help save thousands more!

Some of the  organizations Animal Hearted has worked with include the Humane Society of the United States, Animal Place Sanctuary, Give Me Shelter Cat Rescue, the North Shore Animal League, SPCA of Solano County, Mid Atlantic Pug Rescue, Yolo County SPCA, and German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California.

Animal Hearted Apparel carries an extensive and ever-expanding collection of tee shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops, and hats/beanies in unisex, women’s, and youth sizes.

When I was contacted by Animal Hearted founder, Aaron Seminoff, (a dedicated animal lover, photographer and musician), asking if I would be interested in selecting some items and writing about them for both Cody and Dakota's blog, after reading about all the wonderful things they do for animals and seeing their quirky, fun, sometimes snarky, but full of so much love, products, I jumped at the chance! 

The shirts below, are the cat-themed shirts that I selected:

I bet ALL of you can relate to that!!

I will be attending CatCon this August and these two adorable shirts are coming with me! 

The T-shirts that I ordered are  100% cotton  which I LOVE!! Another thing I love? I am rather "fluffy" which is a nice way of saying I am "zaftig" or "chubby", and Animal Hearted is one of the few sites that has larger sizes that are TRULY LARGER SIZES. They are NOT those T-shirts with a size sticker that isn't true to size. Animal Hearted T's ARE TRUE TO SIZE. If you are "fluffy" like me, that is often hard to find and much appreciated!

There were so many cat-related items that I loved, below you will find a sampling of some of my faves:

(I also had a T-shirt custom made that will be featured on Dakota's blog on Monday, so be sure to check  out Dakota's blog on Monday, because there will be a give-away there too, just sayin!!)

 As you can see from the photo above they also have bandanas, that are intended primarily for dogs, but you just might see Cody make an appearance in it too! It is generously sized and just darling!

Superb Communication and Customer Service

Animal Hearted also has superb customer service. As I mentioned, I had a shirt custom made that you will see on Dakota's blog on Monday....creating the shirt was super easy, the team who made the shirt was not only in touch with me through email, but they were professional and extremely friendly. I love Dakota's shirt so much that I could just burst! 

I received emails notifying me that my order was received, when I could expect it, a tracking number AND a final email when the items were delivered, notifying me they had been delivered (in case they ended up somewhere else, which they did not).

Looking for A Gift For You Or An Animal Loving Friend?

Animal Hearted has shirts, and Frisbees for dogs, as well as other animal-themed accessories like tote bags, stickers, phone cases, magnets, and key chains. There is so much to choose from that I am certain you will find the purrfect gift for YOU or that special someone!!! And, you will be helping animals at the same time!!! They also have FREE WORLD-WIDE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS OVER $49 !!

Shop By Animal

Know someone who has:

• Birds
• Chickens
• Ferrets
• Fish
• Frogs
• Guinea Pigs
• Hamsters
• Horses
• Rabbits

AND

• Alpacas
• Hedgehogs
• Goats

Yep you read that correctly!!!! You can find items for those people too!

 And....you can

 SHOP BY BREED!! 

• Bird Breeds
• Dog Breeds
• Cat Breeds
• Goat Breeds
• Horse Breeds
• Rabbit Breeds

YOU CAN DO ALL OF YOUR 

ANIMAL LOVER GIFT SHOPPING

IN ONE CONVENIENT PLACE

AND HELP ANIMALS TOO!!

The shirt featured above, is a shirt that Animal Hearted added to my order that was a much appreciated  surprise!

I couldn't be happier with the items I received from Animal Hearted and now ONE OF YOU will have the chance to try them yourselves!!!

WORLD-WIDE GIVE-AWAY!!

Aaron is generously offering a world-wide give-away where ONE PERSON who is 18 and over will be given a $30 gift card to their site to choose what they would like. Entering is super easy, just enter on the rafflecopter below and GOOD LUCK!!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cat Toys: Winners! 4CATS Cuddly Toys!!

  THANK YOU to all 

who entered our give-away!!! 

HUGE CONCATULATIONS

 TO THE WINNERS

 LISTED BELOW! 

 Remember when we said we would just have three winners? Well, Cody was nice and said he would share a few of HIS toys that HE received with TWO EXTRA WINNERS!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



The TWO EXTRA WINNERS who will be receiving some of the toys that Cody received (personally mailed by us that were not opened), are:

LAILA AND MINCHIE

ALASANDRA

SURPRISE!!!

Do You Know an Aspiring Veterinarian? Help Them Enter This Vet Camp Scholarship Contest -Dr. Chris Carpenter DVM

Photo Courtesy of Vet Set Go

I was 11 years old when I told my mother that I wanted to become a veterinarian.   That doesn’t make me unique.   The majority of veterinarians practicing today made their career choice before they were 13 years of age.  Veterinary medicine is a calling that starts early in life.

The challenge is that it is hard to explore your dream at such an early age.  

You want animal experience but so few organizations will let you volunteer until you are older.   You also yearn to see what an animal doctor does but many hospitals have policies that only allow older teens to shadow the veterinarian.   In time, you discover that there are a lot of age barriers to exploring your dream of becoming a veterinarian.  That is why I created Vet Set Go.

Photo Courtesy of Vet Set Go

Vet Set Go  is the first and only community dedicated to teen and tween aspiring veterinarians.  Our goal is simple, ENCOURAGE today’s future veterinarians to explore their dream and show them HOW the can do it today.   We provide lots of ideas and one of my favorites is veterinary camps.  

Veterinary camps didn’t exist when I was a future veterinarian. 

They are amazing programs that a small number of veterinary schools in North America provide for younger students.  While they vary slightly from school to school, campers typically spend 5 days exploring veterinary medicine and getting hands on experience with animals.  In fact, campers often do things that I didn’t do until I was in veterinary school – like gowning and gloving for surgery.   They are truly a future vet’s heaven.

Photo Courtesy of Vet Set Go

That is why we are so excited to be offering three scholarships for future veterinarians to attend this summer’s Auburn University’s Junior VET Camp .  All aspiring veterinarians need to do is share their story and send us a photo   The contest runs through May 4^th, 2017.

Surveys have shown us that “veterinarian” is the number one career choice of tweens.  

So chances are good you know a future veterinarian or have one in your family.   Help them explore their dream today.  Share the Vet Set Go website and contest page  with the future veterinarian in your life.

Remembering Nellie, My "Furever" Friend

Hi my furiends. Today, this is Cody at the keyboard and I am having an incredibly hard time putting my thoughts together. You see, I found out today, from my furiend Speedy, that my cherished furiend Nellie went to the Bridge.

You can visit Nellie's blog here

If I were to write a blog post about Nellie and all of the adventures we had, it would take furever. I was thinking this morning about how Nellie was one of my oldest female kitty furiends (not in age, but in the time we knew each other), in the Blogosphere. Even when Nellie cavorted with every male cat in the Blogosphere, I sat back and watched, knowing that she would still make time to see ME. I had a special place in her heart, and I LOVED HER.

Nellie's Mama
made this photo a long time ago
It is probably my favorite

Nellie and her Mama brought joy to oh so many of us. They made us laugh and made us think, and touched our hearts. They did so many thoughtful things that I couldn't begin to list them all.

I know that Nellie wouldn't want our eyes to be leaking, so I am going to try and smile. I will try to smile as I share photos of Nellie and I from our many adventures. I am pretty sure that this would please her. There are a number of photos, but I picked my faves. Hoping you enjoy.

Mom and I pawed through over 1700 blog posts and it appears that the first time Nellie was on my blog was May 2, 2012.   (Nellie might have appeared before then but we couldn't find it).

Photo Courtesy of Nellie's Mama

Nellie next appeared on May 3, 2012

Photo Courtesy of Nellie's Mama

Then on Friday, July 26th, 2013, Nellie was being driven nuts by her kitty sibling "Jo-Jo" and she needed to escape. Who did she call? ME! This is just one photo from that pawesome visit.

 May 15, 2015 I pawticipated in wishing Nellie a Happy 17th birthday..........

Then, last year, we wished Nellie a Happy 18th birthday:

When Nellie began her "Gift" Series, I started to sense that something might be amiss. I hoped with all of my kitty heart and soul that I would be wrong. On January 17, 2017 I had the honor of sharing Nellie's "Gift #14" The photo below is courtesy of Nellie's Mama.

Nellie girl, things will never be the same without you. My heart will never feel the same without you. You were a constant in the ever-changing blogging madness. If there was one thing I could count on, it was YOU. Love you forever sweet Nellie, never forget that.  With all of my love, Cody

Photo from Nellie's Mama's Blog

Mom and I send much love and many prayers to your most pawesome Mama. We are going to get a hold of her soon. Our hearts are just broken. Love, Cody and "Mom"

Have a "Hippity-Hoppity" Easter!

Since we are Jewish we don't celebrate Easter, but we wanted to wish those of you who do celebrate,  a joyous and blessed Easter! Love from Caren and Cody. Comments have been disabled, enjoy your day!!

This is too appropriate NOT to post!!!

Found on Pinterest

It is impawtant for you to know that the above photo refers to MOM and NOT to ME!!!
This...is from ME!!!! 
Love, Cody

HAPPY EASTER 

FRIENDS!!!

"Have a Meaningful Passover"

WHAT IS PASSOVER?
FROM CHABAD.ORG

What Is Passover?

The eight-day festival of Passover is celebrated in the early spring, from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan, April 10–18, 2017. It commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. It is observed by avoiding leaven, and highlighted by the Seder meals that include four cups of wine, eating matzah and bitter herbs, and retelling the story of the Exodus. In 2017,

In Hebrew it is known as Pesach (which means “to pass over”), because G‑dpassed over the Jewish homes when killing the Egyptian firstborn on the very first Passover eve.

The Passover Story in a Nutshell

After many decades of slavery to the Egyptian pharaohs, during which time the Israelites were subjected to backbreaking labor and unbearable horrors, G‑d saw the people’s distress and sent Moses to Pharaoh with a message: “Send forth My people, so that they may serve Me.” But despite numerous warnings, Pharaoh refused to heed G‑d’s command. G‑d then sent upon Egypt ten devastating plagues, afflicting them and destroying everything from their livestock to their crops.

At the stroke of midnight of 15 Nissan in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), G‑d visited the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. While doing so, G‑d spared the children of Israel, “passing over” their homes—hence the name of the holiday. Pharaoh’s resistance was broken, and he virtually chased his former slaves out of the land. The Israelites left in such a hurry, in fact, that the bread they baked as provisions for the way did not have time to rise. Six hundred thousand adult males, plus many more women and children, left Egypt on that day and began the trek to Mount Sinai and their birth as G‑d’s chosen people.

To read the complete Passover story click here

He May Be A Sheltie, But He's My BROTHER!" National Siblings Day!

Happy National Siblings Day All!

I know Dakota and I aren't "brothers" in the traditional sense, but we all know that sometimes those who aren't your blood (or species) oftentimes make the BEST siblings of all!

A Birthday Greeting Thank you!

Yep we have been dragging this out, but turning 10 is a big deal and Cody and I aren't quite ready to stop celebrating!

Cody and I would like to thank everyone who left a comment on Facebook and on our blog on his special day! It is much appreciated and means a great deal to us!

It also dawned on us that we neglected to post some cards that Cody received, and we want to do that now and give a HUGE THANK YOU to the people who sent them!

"Forest" from Tracy Ahrens

From Angel Sammy at Two Spoiled Cats

From JM Myers

From Pipo and Minko and Mr.Jack Freckles

From Sandee from Comedy Plus

Cody and I loved each and every card and greeting, THANK YOU for taking time out of your busy day to think of him!!

Love,
Caren and Cody


Also, if you haven't entered Cody's Colossal Cat Toy Give-Away (Open World-Wide!!) You can do that HERE!!

Cat Toy World-Wide Give-Away from 4CATS Cuddly Toys!!

FINALLY!!!! Cody's Colossal 10th Birthday Cat Toy Give-Away is HERE!! We deeply apologize for the delay and we thank you for your patience!!!

Cody and I were so happy when a few weeks ago our furiends at Katzenworld  asked if Cody would be willing to try some cat toys that are made by their furiends at 4cats . We happily agreed, but only if we could have a give-away for our readers!

ABOUT 4CATS:

• All products are made in Germany
• Their "careful manufacturing process uses only selected, certified pollutant-free, raw materials."
• Their OWN cats test their toys
• The cuddly toys are filled with 4catsnip (their exclusive blend of catnip, Green Labels on packaging) or Valerian (Brown Labels on packaging)

Cody has always been a pretty big fan of catnip, but he had never tried any toys that contained Valerian until he tried the toys from 4cats. I have to tell you, the second I opened the packaging, even after having traveled all of the way from the U.K. to our home, the smell was super pungent! So pungent that not only did Cody "get buzzed", but I think that I did too!!!

Their cuddly toys, filled with valerian as well as with 4catsnip, are designed with love at their company's facility based in Stolberg,  Germany where they are hand-crafted and then placed in sealed packaging to preserve their potency. They eschew the use of any adhesives, metal parts or other dangerous components.

Normally, I like to shoot video of Cody with new toys but the 4cats toys had such an effect on him that he would have been nothing but a big ball of blur!!! He did his usual "bunny-kick" routine and was rolling and kicking to beat the band!

Cody was lucky to receive a BONANZA of toys!! You can see by the photos just how adorable the 4cats toys are and I am pleased with how well-made they are as well. The patterns, styles and colors of the toys are just darling. My faves are the "knots" shown above and the huge "kickers." They are quite large and are perfect for bunny-kicking and holding close!

The toy that Cody was immediately drawn to was the heart, (because he is such a loverboy?) He just seemed to not be able to get enough of it!

Check out Cody's expression above. He was feeling pretty darned good!!!!! Once he was done playing, the toys made GREAT pillows too!

As of now, the MAIN world-wide link for purchasing is on the Katzenworld blog. (For FTC disclosure we aren't 100% sure if he is receiving a commission on toys sold, but we wanted to disclose that the main purchase link here could be an affiliate link. We were NOT monetarily compensated in any way for this post. We received a more than generous assortment of toys for Cody to try) You can also purchase HERE world-wide (but pricing might be a little higher than where I have linked above).

GIVE-AWAY!!!

4cats has generously offered a WORLD-WIDE GIVE-AWAY for those who are 18 and over. 4cats will send THREE LUCKY WINNERS an assortment of toys!  Entering is easy, simply enter on the rafflecopter below and be sure to follow the instructions! Failure to do so could cause disqualification.  GOOD LUCK!!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Play Ball and a Give-Away Delay!

Hi All! It's Cody!!!!

First,  I would like to THANK EVERYONE who stopped by my blog, emailed me cards and posted on Facebook to wish me a Happy Birthday! It is much appreciated!

Also...the give-away that was planned for today was NOT an April Fools joke. Mom and I apologize, but there has been a slight delay because Mom ran into an issue that she needs to have cleared up before she can post the give-away. We are hoping to post the give-away tomorrow, but as of now, we are not sure. Thank you  for your patience and please keep your eyes peeled for it!

 Today, Mom, Dad and I are excited because BOTH of their teams are kicking off the 2017 baseball season!!!

Dad's team, (and the team that I favor, because I am a feline, The Detroit Tigers), begins their season at 4pm today. They are playing the Chicago White Sox. 

MOM'S TEAM (The defending American League Champions, The Cleveland Indians) kicks off the 2017 baseball season at 7pm today against the Texas Rangers.

Yes, Mom lives in Detroit, but she lived in Cleveland for 35 yrs so Cleveland is HER TEAM!!! Also, today it has been 16 years since Mom's Dad passed and he was a HUGE baseball fan. It was thanks to Mom's Dad that she developed a love for the "Boys of Summer" too.

Mom, Dad, Dakota and I wish EVERYONE'S TEAM lots of luck in 2017 but for Dad, I say "Goooooooo Tigers!!" (Dakota, is cheering for Cleveland because he is a MAJOR Mama's Boy!!)

Love, 

 Cody

Today My Special Cuddle-Bug is TEN!!

Ten years ago a special kitty was born. A silver gray tabby, who didn't have a home, but had one of the most incredible foster Moms EVER.  She said he was her favorite and she had named him "Prince."

The day I first saw Cody in July 2007, how foolish of me that initially he wasn't my first choice. My heart had been shattered by the passing of my 18-year old "soul-kitty", Bobo  a mere two weeks before. I was more drawn to Cody's litter mate, a female, who was identical to Bobo. When I picked her up it was clear she wasn't the "one" for me. Nor was Cody's male litter mate.

My eyes then fell on the silver gray tabby who was jumping and prancing in the back of the cage with glee. I asked to hold him. From the moment he entered my arms, he DID NOT LET GO. He climbed up my chest and cuddled close. He did NOT want to be put down. 

My precious boy climbed into my heart and is a "soul-kitty" in his uniquely "Cody" way.

Cody is fearless, loving, determined and takes everything in stride. He loves people. He greets all who enter our home. Not much rattles him. Not even his Sheltie brother when he barks in his face. He tolerates going to the Vet with no "singing the song of his people" in the car.  

In ten years I have heard him hiss once. Cody is kind, and will happily show his belly to anyone who happens to be near, hoping they will take the time to pet it. 

Happy, Happy 10th birthday to our feisty, silly, loving and precious boy.  Thank you for CHOOSING ME and THANK YOU for all of the joy you bring EVERY DAY!

You are cordially invited to attend Cody's Colossal Cat Toy Birthday Give-Away this Monday, April 3rd. It is a world-wide give-away!!!  See you there!