Sunday Selfie

Truffle pauses from her warm sunbeam to pose for a Sunday Selfie.

Truffle

You can see more Sunday Selfies by visiting The Cat on My Head.

Caturday Art

We went to PicMonkey this week for our Caturday Art creation.  We used the "boards" effects within the textures to work with this photo of Brulee with the ecoFLEX™ Jumbo Litter Loo.  We thought it made it look like everything was made of brown stones and thought the result was "cool."  Mom Paula said if she had more time, she would have experimented with adding more color to it, but she's heading upstate to the farm for her sister's birthday party.

Brulee in particle board from PicMonkey

You can see more Caturday Art creations at Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty.

Giveaways

Don't forget to enter for a chance to win an ecoFLEX™ Litter Loo (choice of size and color) and Scoopy the Cat litter scoop holder (choice of color).  Giveaway ends August 2, 2016.

Congratulations to our two winners of the Ciao treats:  Crystal Van Daalen, Laila and Minchie.  We'll send an email within the next 24 hours for your information.

Our Original Pet Fountain

We can thank Sweet Praline for our first pet fountain.  This is not a sponsored post, but we do have some links to specific fountains sold by PetSafe®.

Sweet Praline and the Drinkwell Platinum® Fountain

July is National Pet Hydration Awareness Month which is sponsored by PetSafe® brand.  We shared a previous post about the importance staying hydrated, especially in our Southern heat in South Carolina.  We've experienced more than average days with the temperatures at 100+ degrees and the forecast is calling for the next three days to be 101+ degrees.  We stay inside with the AC running and Mom Paula makes sure we have plenty of fresh water to drink.  We'd had several different types of pet fountains over the years and Mom Paula has them placed throughout the house.  Each of us have our preference which type of fountain we prefer.  Truffle likes drinking from a flowing stream and Brulee likes to drink from the bowl.  Our first pet fountain was the Drinkwell Platinum® water fountain.  Mom Paula had purchased one for Sweet Praline, thinking she'd drink more water if she had one, but Praline never adjusted to the sound of the pump and the water fall.   Mom Paula put the fountain away, but she kept numerous bowls around the house filled with fresh waters.  Praline's favorite place to drink was in the bedroom where her water bowl was directly below the AC vent.



Truffle original mom had pet fountains in her house for all of the cats, so Truffle was prepared for the sound of flowing water.  The difference was that her original fountain had a design similar to the Drinkwell® Zen Fountain where the water flowed like water flows over rocks in a mountain stream. Mom Paula pulled out the Platinum fountain once Truffle came to live with her, hoping Truffle would drink from it.  Mom Paula was sitting in the living room watching the SEC network one evening and kept hearing the stream from the water fountain stop and then start again.  When she walked into the kitchen, she saw Truffle exploring the new fountain.  Luckily, Mom Paula had the video camera close by and quickly began filming.   Mom Paula still laughs when she watches this video.  We won't spoil the surprise before you watch the video, but we hope it brings a little laughter in your home today.

We hope all of our furry friends (and their humans) are staying cool and hydrated during these hot summer months.

Guarding the Chewy Box

Truffle and Brulee are guarding the two Chewy.com boxes in the spare bedroom. There are some exciting items inside that we're going to share with you in a couple of days and one of our lucky readers will receive their very own Chewy.com prize box!

Truffle and Brulee guarding the Chewy.com boxes.

Giveaways

Don't forget our current 5th blogoversary giveaways.

1. Ciao™ Churu™ Puree and Grilled Fillets - 2 winners - ends tonight at midnight
2. ecoFLEX™ Litter Loo (choice of size and color) and Scoopy Cat litter scoop holder (choice of color) from New Age Pet - 1 winner - ends August 2, 2016.

Wordless Wednesday

Brulee and Scoopy the Cat litter scoop holder

Giveaways

Don't forget to enter our 5th blogoversary giveaways.

1. Ciao cat treats - ends July 29
2. ecoFLEX Litter Loo and Scoopy the Cat litter scoop - ends August 2

New Age for Litter Boxes - Giveaway

Let's talk privacy issues when we kitties need to go do our business.  There are all types of litter boxes available for our preferences and it's important to find a box that is satisfactory for both kitties and humans.  We know some of you prefer open litter boxes and some of you are like us an prefer the closed boxes.  The problem with many of the closed litter boxes is that they are small and dark!  We have an enclosed wooden litter box that Mom Paula bought for Sweet Praline that blended into the carpet and decor of our house when she moved in.  Mom Paula loves this litter box because it does blend in and it's easy to clean.  The disadvantages are that it's very heavy, dark inside, and we love to scratch on the carpet so it's wearing out.  The box is not longer made, so Mom Paula began the search for a new litter box about a  year ago.

ecoFLEX Habitat N’ Home Jumbo Litter Loo

Disclosure:  We received a ecoFLEX Jumbo Litter Loo and a Scoopy the Cat Litter Scoop Holder from New Age Pet for free in exchange for our fair and honest review.  New Age Pet is not responsible for the contents of this post.  Sweet Purrfections only shares products and information we feel will be of interest to our readers.

While Mom Paula was attending Global Pet Expo last March, she met the wonderful people at New Age Pet.  They make a lot of enclosures for animals for both indoors and outside.  She was impressed with the Habitat N' Home™ line of products, especially the ecoFLEX™ Habitat N' Home Litter Loo, which is a fancy litter box that also serves as a piece of furniture. The ecoFLEX Habitat N' Home Litter Loo and Jumbo Litter Loo are made of a blend of recycled polymers and wood by-products known as ecoFLEX.

Truffle inside the Jumbo Litter Loo and Brulee beside the Scoopy Cat litter scoop

What is ecoFLEX™?  ecoFLEX is made through a process of reducing clean, recycled polymers and reclaimed wood by-products from the manufacture of hardwood furniture frames into a flour-like consistency.  This material is mixed with UV inhibitors and color blending compounds and granulated into a form that is used to mold the parts that are used to make the various ecoFLEX-based products.  The recycled polymers are imported from the United States and Western Europe where prior use can be verified or they come from the ecoFlex factory's post industrial scrap.  The wood is predominantly Poplar, which is a hardwood.

Photos courtesy New Age Pet

The ecoFLEX Habitat N' Home Litter Loo is available in two sizes as seen in the photo above.  The Jumbo Litter Loo is approximately 6-7 inches taller and 6-8 inches wider than the Litter Loo.  Both products are made from ecoFLEX which keeps moisture from absorbing into the wood if your cat misses the litter box.  All you need to do if this happens is to wipe the moisture away.  Both products double as a functional end table and can be used as an enclosed pet house (Truffle and Brulee loved resting inside the Jumbo Litter Loo prior to placing the litter box inside).  The materials of the Litter Loo help make it resistant to moisture, warping, cracking, and splitting.  The Litter Loo features a fold down front door (easy for cleaning) and two side vents on each side for proper ventilation (also allows light inside).  There are no tools required to put the Litter Loo together and it took about 30-45 minutes for Mom Paula to get it set up.  The Jumbo Litter Loo accommodates most self-cleaning litter boxes and includes a cord protector in the back to hide the cords.  There is a limited manufacturer's 10-year warranty.

Truffle exits the Jumbo Litter Loo

The Litter Loo is available in three colors:  espresso, russet, and antique white.  The smaller Litter Loo will hold a standard litter box and the Jumbo Litter Loo can hold some of the self-cleaning litter boxes.  Mom Paula put a high-back, large litter pan inside the Jumbo Litter Loo and there is plenty of room on both sides.  She'll probably purchase a jumbo litter pan in the future.  Even though the product advertises it doesn't soak into the floor, we'll probably add a small mat under the litter box to catch loose litter.  To find retailers near you who sell the New Age Pet products, you can visit the webpage for a list.

Inside of the Jumbo Litter Loo

We currently have the Jumbo Litter Loo in the middle of our living room until Mom Paula finishes cleaning out her home office.  The Jumbo Litter Loo is a large piece of furniture, so you'd need to measure to find the the perfect location in your home.  As you can see from the video below, Truffle has plenty of privacy to use the facilities and it's easy for her to exit the box.  The front door attaches by two magnets at the top.  If you have a kitty that is hesitant entering the smaller entrance or who needs a more open litter box, you could leave the door open or not put it on when assembling.



We also received the Scoopy the Cat™ Litter Scoop Holder.  This litter scoop holder is in the shape of a Siamese cat and comes in black and white.  If you're like us, we tend to put our litter scoops on top of the litter box, which is not very attractive.  The Scoopy the Cat litter scoop holder includes a high quality scoop.  It's made of plastic and is washable.  There is a one-year warranty that covers workmanship and material quality.

We're extremely happy and impressed with our Jumbo Litter Loo and highly recommend this for the felines in your life.

Giveaway

We are thrilled that the wonderful people from New Age Pet are allowing us to host a giveaway for a Litter Loo of  your choice (size and color) and a Scoopy the Cat Litter Scoop Holder of your choice of color as as  part of our 5th blogoversary celebration.  No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to residents 18+ of the United States, except where prohibited by law. Giveaway will run from July 26 - August 2, 2016  at 11:59pm ET. A single winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter (powered by Random.org) and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize and a new winner will be randomly chosen. Please check your email and be sure to add sweetpurrfections@sc.rr.com to your address book! Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Taking it Easy on the Ess

Brulee loves to relax on her Ess scratcher.  She literally sits on the bottom curve and rests her front paws on the top.   Mom Paula can always depend on looking down at the floor (when watching TV) and seeing Brulee resting there staring at her.  We can't get a good and clear photo because our chain that turns on the light in the ceiling fan is broken, so we have to use the flash or the iPhone for most of these photos.  So, you can't get an idea of her beautiful green eyes and silver fur here.  However, Mom Paula promises she'll learn how to use her new camera and get the light switch fixed.

Brulee taking it easy on her Ess scratcher

Giveaway

• Congratulations to Robin Mudge from Playful Kitty for winning the $50 credit to an AAHA-accredited veterinary hospital of her choice.
• Enter our giveaway for a prize package of Ciao Churu Purees and Grilled Fillets for 2 winners. Giveaway ends July 29.
• New giveaway celebrating our 5th blogoversary tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

Sunday Selfie

Mom Paula bought these awesome catnip bubbles for us.  When Grandma Faye came over last week, we had a great time playing with them.  Truffle even stood on her hind legs to try to catch them.  We hope everyone has a very restful Sunday.

Truffle trying to capture the catnip bubbles

You can see more Sunday Selfies by visiting The Cat on My Head.

Giveaway

Don't forget to enter our current giveaway by visiting the links below.  Stay tuned for more exciting 5th blogoversary giveaways this week.

• Ciao Cat Churu Puree and Grilled Tenders (2 winners).  Ends July 29,. 2016.

Staying Hydrated in the Southern Heat - #PetHydrationMonth

July is one of the hottest months in South Carolina.  We've already had six days that were 100+ degrees and the forecast is for at least four days in the 100s before July ends.  When it gets this hot, it's very important to stay hydrated.  PetSafe® has designated July as National Pet Hydration Month to help educate pet parents about the importance of proper hydration year round.

Turn on the faucet - I'm thirsty!

Did you know that 80% of a cat's body is made up of water compared to 55-60% in a human?  Pets need to drink one ounce of water per pound of body weight each day?  It's important for us to get proper hydration each day to maintain our heath and avoid trips to the vet.  Getting proper hydration can help

• prevent urinary tract infections and urinary disease
• aid with energy levels and temperature regulation
• speed recovery time from sickness or surgery

PetSafe brand has developed a infographic to help pet parents determine how much water their fur children need each day based on their body weight.  The infographic also outlines four easy steps to keep pets hydrated in the heat of the summer.

Infographic courtesy PetSafe

Living in the South is even more difficult for us because of our long fur, which we keep all year (we are not shaved).  We turn on our AC in March (sometimes earlier) and it stays on until November (or later) and our ceiling fans run 24/7 all year.  During the hot summer months, you can find us resting directly below the AC vents or the ceiling fans. We have little direct sunlight, but Mom Paula usually keeps the blinds closed during the day to provide shade in the house.  Cats are notorious for not drinking enough water, so pet parents should consider adding water to dry food and provide provide plenty of wet food because of its moisture content.  The most important thing is to have plenty of water available for pets to drink.  We encourage pet parents to consider pet fountains.  We were lucky that our first mom had pet fountains in her home, so we were introduced to them as kittens.  There are many varieties of pet fountains on the market and you should choose the fountain that meets the needs and desires of your kitties.

Brulee likes to drink from her Drinkwell® Sedona Fountain from PetSafe®

PetSafe brand offers a variety of fountains to meet the needs of pets.  Mom Paula had a Drinkwell® Platinum® Pet Fountain ready for us when we arrived five years ago.  It was humorous watching Truffle learn to drink from the fountain because of it's water flow.  The Platinum was our favorite because Truffle could drink from the waterfall and the bowl was wide enough for Brulee to drink. We had to stop using it because we developed feline acne from the plastic.  We received the Drinkwell® Sedona from PetSafe earlier this year to review and it's Brulee's favorite water fountain.  The water flows over the dome and the motor is extremely quiet.  The bowl is wide enough for Brulee to drink with her flat face.

PetSafe Drinkwell 360™ Multi-Pet Stainless Steel Fountain

Truffle prefers drinking from a stream of water.  We received the Drinkwell 360™ Multi-Pet Stainless Steel Fountain from PetSafe free to review as part of Pet Hydration Month.  The 360 Multi-Pet fountain is made of stainless steel (to help avoid feline acne) and holds 1 gallon of water.  The fountain comes with interchangeable spout rings that provide 1-5 water streams.  Mom Paula began with the four streams so we could drink water from any side of the fountain.  This fountain has a submersible pump for almost silent operation and a replaceable activated carbon filter to help remove bad tastes and odors.  The fountain is dishwasher safe (excluding the pump) and it best for cats and small/medium dogs.  The 360 Multi-Pet fountain is a large fountain, so you will need to find a good location in your home.  We have the PetSafe Pagoda Fountain that we shared with you in a previous blog post last year.  Mom Paula makes sure we have fountains in almost every room of the house to help us stay hydrated, especially during the hot months.  If your pet doesn't get enough water, she is in danger of dehydration.

Dehydration can occur when fluids in our bodies drop to less than the normal 80% as a result of reduced water intake or an increase loss of fluids.  Pet parents must be aware of the symptoms of dehydration that can occur anytime during the year.  Common symptoms of dehydration include:

• Vomiting and/or diarrhea
• Lack of energy
• Excessive and ongoing panting
• Loss of appetite
• Sunken, dry eyes
• Dry and stick gums
• Loss of skin elasticity

PetSafe brand has developed a how-to video (see above) to help pet parents administer a test to determine if their pet is dehydrated.  If dehydration is suspected, pet parents should take their cats and/or dogs to the veterinarian immediately where they can be closely monitored and receive IV fluids.  To get more information about proper pet hydration, please visit www.petsafe.net/water.

Truffle and Brulee, as kittens, with their Drinkwell Platinum® Fountain

We strongly encourage pet parents to consider a pet fountain for their cats and/or dogs.  We have a variety to satisfy our individual drinking preferences and the room location.  Even if you don't have a pet fountain, please have plenty of fresh drinking water available for your fur children.


Disclosure:  We received the Drinkwell 360™ Multi-Pet Stainless Steel Fountain for free as part of National Pet Hydration Month and in exchange for our fair and honest review.  PetSafe is not responsible for the contents of this post.  Sweet Purrfections only shares products and information we feel will be of interest to our readers.

Say Hello to Ciao™ Cat Treats - Review and Giveaway

We have some excellent treats to tell you about today!  Do your kitties like real strips of chicken or tuna?  Do they like a smooth puree they can eat directly from the package?  If so, say hello to Ciao™ Cat Treats.

Brulee and Truffle liked the puree so much, I couldn't get a clear photo of them eating it.

Disclosure:  We received samples of Ciao Cat Treats for free in exchange for our fair and honest review.  Ciao Cat Treats is not responsible for the contents of this post.  Sweet Purrfections only shares products and information we feel will be of interest to our readers.

Mom Paula attended Global Pet Expo this past Spring and heard about this exciting and new cat treat for cats.  Of course, she had to visit the booth to hear what all the commotion was about.  Ciao is one of the best selling brands of premium wet food and treats for cats in Japan and is now available in the United States.  Ciao is manufactured by a company who has been in business since 1834 and began launching pet brands in 1989.  The Ciao treats are prepared exclusively with human-quality ingredients are are grain-free and preservative-free.  Each treat contains green tea extract for antioxidant benefits.  The deep ocean tuna used in the treats is sustainably harvested and certified dolphin-safe.  The cage-free chicken is naturally raised on closely supervised farms.  Ciao treats come in two different forms that should satisfy even the finickiest of cats.

Photos courtesy of Ciao

The first form is the Ciao Churu™, which is a puree that you squeeze from a tub for us to lick like a popsicle.  Churu purees are made with chicken or ocean-caught tuna as the first ingredient.  The consistency is similar to yogurt or baby food, which would be great for kitties with tender mouths or as a topper for food to entice us to eat our food.  As soon as Mom Paula opened the tube (in fact, before it was fully opened), we immediately began licking the delicious puree.  Truffle couldn't get enough of the delicious puree and began biting the tube to get to it.  Mom Paula may consider serving this on a plate next time or on top of our food.  The Cio Churu purees come in five flavors:  tuna, tuna with chicken, chicken, tuna with scallop, and chicken with scallop.

Truffle and Brulee think the Churu purees are delicious.  Can you see the bite marks on the tube?

The second treat form from Ciao are the grilled fillets, which were Truffle's favorite.  This treat is made from hand-cut, responsibly harvested Pacific Ocean tuna and farm-raised chicken that has been lightly grilled and vacuum-packed in a savory broth.  The treat is a real strip of meat that is easily recognizable as chicken or tuna  (reminds us of some of the human commercials for chicken tenders).  The grilled chicken flavor looked so good that Mom Paula was tempted to taste it.  Mom Paula had to pull the strip apart into smaller pieces because because Truffle was eating it so fast, Mom Paula was afraid she may choke.   Mom Paula didn't feed us the whole fillet to us at one time because it was a large fillet.  She refrigerated the remaining portion for us to eat later.  If you have more than one kitty, the grilled fillet is the purrfect size to split among them.  There are eight varieties/flavors of the grilled fillets.  Ciao also has an "extra tender" version of the fillets for kitties who may have difficulty chewing. 

Photos courtesy Ciao

   

Mom Paula was able to get a video of Truffle eating the Grilled Chicken Fillet in Chicken Flavored Broth.  Truffle loved the taste so much that she literally sat up and begged for more.  

If you would like to learn more about Inaba Ciao cat treats, visit Inabaciao.com.  There is a store locator feature on the website to help you find a pet store near you that sells the treats. Ciao is also found on social media (links can be found on the website).

Say hello to @MeowForCiao. Review and Giveaway. https://t.co/kAfFhtniur 2 winners. Ends July 29. #sponsored pic.twitter.com/QnlY10U5T5

— Sweet Purrfections (@Truffle_Brulee) July 22, 2016

Giveaway

As a part of our 5th blogoversary celebration, the lovely people from Ciao™ have to let us host a giveaway for two lucky readers to win each of the flavors of both the Churu Purees and the Grilled Fillets.  This means you will receive 13 different flavors/varieties of the Ciao treats.  No purchase necessary.  Giveaway is open to residents 18+ years, who live in the United States, except where prohibited by law.  The giveaway will begin July 22 and end July 29 at 11:59 pm ET. Two winners will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and notified via email. There are several entry options once you complete the required entry of leaving a comment.  Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prize.  Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize and new winners will be randomly chosen.  Please check your email and be sure to add sweetpurrfections@sc.rr.com to your address book.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thankful for BlogPaws Swag

It took Mom Paula long enough to get our BlogPaws swag.  She attended Blogpaws June 22-27.  She had our swag shipped, so it didn't arrive until a week later.  She then let it sit in the front foyer until this past weekend!  But, we have to tell you, it was definitely worth the wait!  We have new food and treats to sample and lots of kitty toys to play with.  Brulee liked one of the cat food pouches that she bit into it and Mom Paula had to serve it immediately because it was leaking on the floor.  We cleaned our bowls because it tasted so good.  Brulee quickly found the feathers and let Grandma Faye play with her.

Grandma Faye and Brulee testing out a feather toy

We have many more items to share with you, but we'll hold off for a little bit until we complete our 5th blogoversary celebration.  Stay tuned for more exciting giveaway opportunities.

Giveaway

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for a chance to receive a $50 credit for an AAHA-accredited veterinary practice of your choice (located in USA or Canada).  Giveaway ends July 24, 2016.

Wordless Wednesday

Dr. Catsby's Whisker Relief Bowl Winners

Congratulations to Rebecca C, The Island Cats, and Linda S.  You can expect an email from us within the next day.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Special Moment

Grandma Faye and Grandpa Paul came over for a few hours this weekend to help Mom Paula put together some of the items for our upcoming giveaways.  Some of you may remember that Grandma Faye has always been afraid of cats and would never even pet Sweet Praline.  Grandma Faye has been around us since we were kittens and even went down to meet us in Mt. Pleasant, SC before we came to live with Mom Paula where she was surrounded by cats and kittens.  She made an effort to come around often so we could get used to her and eventually she began picking us up and petting us. Grandma Faye is much more comfortable with us now and likes to pet us and talk to us.  She's even our kitty sitter when Mom Paula goes out of town.   The interesting thing is that Truffle loves Grandma Faye and will let her pick her up for a few minutes.

Don't you wonder what the two of them were talking about?

Mom Paula - My mom never grew up with pets and was always afraid of both dogs and cats until she got her first dog, Bandit, several years ago.  Mom has become more comfortable with the girls and they with her.  I thought this photo was a beautiful moment between Mom and Truffle that truly showed trust and love.

Giveaways

Don't forget to enter our 5th blogoversary giveaways:

1. Dr. Catsby's Whisker Relief Cat Bowls.  Ends tonight, July 19, at midnight.  3 winners.
2. $50 credit at an AAHA-accredited Veterinary Hospital of your choice.  Ends July 24 at midnight.

More exciting giveaways to come this month!

Is Your Veterinary Hospital AAHA Accredited? Giveaway for $50 Towards Your Next Visit!

Does your vet meet the standard of veterinary excellence?  Like all cats, we do not look forward to trips to the vet, but are confident when Mom Paula takes us to our vet at Cherokee Trail Veterinary Hospital that we are receiving the best care because our vet is among the 12-15% of veterinary practices in the United States and Canada who are AAHA accredited.

Brulee resting on the examination table in a room designed for cats.  Notice the Feliway diffuser plugged in.

Mom Paula:  Like many pet parents, I always get stressed when choosing the appropriate vet for my fur children.  I remember during the sixteen years I had Sweet Praline having to depend on word-of-mouth recommendations when I'd move to a new town and never fully being satisfied with her vets. Even when she was seeing a "cats only" vet, there was still something missing.  Prior to Truffle and Brulee coming to live with me, I began research on a new vet for my special fur children.  I searched the Internet trying to locate a veterinary hospital that was less than 15 miles away.  Once I identified a few hospitals, I began calling and sending emails to them asking to visit their hospital to tour the facilities and talk to staff.  Only one veterinary hospital responded to my request and it was Cherokee Trail Veterinary Hospital. I shared the website of this hospital with Truffle and Brulee's first mom, Terri, to get her opinion because she was a vet tech.  When she went to the website and saw the this hospital was accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), she immediately told me this was the best place to take the girls because not many veterinary hospitals were accredited.  I did visit the facility prior to the girls coming to live with me and they spent over an hour with the tour and talking to me.  I knew this was the right veterinary hospital to take my girls.

Sign with AAHA logo at Cherokee Trail Veterinary Hospital

Having worked with higher education the past 21 years, I know the importance of accreditation and the research behind organizations becoming accredited based on a set of high standards. I've been on both sides of accreditation (the university faculty member who had to prepare for accreditation and a member of the on-site review team who determined if an institution would receive accreditation). An accrediting body is made up of individuals who are experts in their field and have researched "the best" standards of excellence.  

Dr. Keisler examines Brulee in the scale because that is where she is comfortable.  Notice the heating pad on the examination table for the cat examination rooms which have been implemented recently.

I was surprised to learn that veterinarians aren't required to be accredited and that only 12-15% of the veterinary hospitals in the United States and Canada meet the strict standards of AAHA accreditation. Being accredited is voluntary for veterinary hospitals and some are never inspected by an outside organization until a complaint is lodged against them or something tragic happens.  AAHA is the only veterinary association dedicated specifically to small animals.  Veterinary hospitals spend months preparing for the on-site visits and must receive a total score across 900 standards that is high enough for accreditation.  Not all hospitals who apply receive the accreditation. Once accredited, the veterinary hospital is re-evaluated every three years to make sure it is up-to-date on the most current thinking and methods related to pet care.  Examine the graphic below to see some of the standards that set AAHA hospitals apart from the rest and what you can expect to find when visiting an AAHA-accredited hospital.

Graphic provided by AAHA

I'm lucky that Cherokee Trail Veterinary Hospital is AAHA accredited.  They have a staff who obviously cares about my girls and they take the time to thoroughly examine Truffle and Brulee, answer my endless questions, and help me make important decision about their care.  I'm also thankful that the South Carolina Veterinary Specialist and Emergency Care is AAHA-accredited. There are two ways to determine if your veterinary hospital is accredited:

1. Look for the AAHA logo on the hospital's website or at the office
2. Search the AAHA-accredited Hospital Locator for a hospital near you

Dr. Hansche cuddling with Truffle and Brulee after their examination

The veterinarians at Cherokee Trail veterinary clinic are amazing.  There are a few who are more "cat focused" but I'd trust any of them to examine Truffle and Brulee.  I feel more confident that the girls will get the best of care because the hospital has passed rigorous standards for accreditation and they've maintained this accreditation.  The girls are becoming more relaxed when they visit Cherokee Trail because of the implementation of cat-friendly examination rooms that include:

• Scheduling appointments where cats can be taken into the examination area quickly and not stay in the waiting room too long.
• The examination rooms are placed away from all of the activity of the checkout area and waiting room.
• Feliway diffusers are in the examination rooms.
• A warming pad is placed on the examination table.

Disclosure:  I was not compensated in any way for writing this post.  AAHA  has generously offered to provide a $50 credit to an AAHA-accredited veterinary practice to one of my readers.  AAHA is not responsible for the contents of this post.  Sweet Purrfections only shares products and information we feel will be of interest to our readers.

Giveaway

While attending BlogPaws, I was lucky to be chosen to offer a $50 credit for an AAHA-accredited hospital of his/her choice for one of my lucky readers.   No purchase necessary. The Giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18+ years old.  Void where prohibited. .  The giveaway ends July 24, 2016.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday Selfie

Truffle enjoys being near Mom Paula and enjoyed some extra time this past week when Mom Paula had to come home for some repairs on our clothes dryer.  Mom Paula took advantage of helping Truffle get this beautiful Sunday Selfie.  Have a great day!!

Truffle lounging in the sunshine

You can see more Sunday Selfies by visiting The Cat on My Head.

Caturday Art

Mom Paula always laughs when she sees Brulee's fur horns really sticking up.  It's even funnier when Brulee climbs into the top of the cat tree and hangs over the bed and stares at Mom Paula.  To celebrate our humorous little silver shaded Persian, we used the cartoon effect from Pho.to.com for our Caturday Art today.  On second thought, our Caturday Art looks more like a creepy Halloween graphic with the colors and Brulee's horns.  When Pho.to.com converted the original photo to the cartoon effect, it made her fur look like a fang.  There is no evidence of a fang in the original photo, but we thought it turned out kind of cool.

Comic Kitty Brulee

The original photo was a little blurry because the sunlight was behind Brulee.  When Mom Paula tried to adjust the photo in PicMonkey, it looks almost like a piece of artwork.  For comparison, we're including the original photo below.

We think Brulee looks humorous in both photos!

You can see more Caturday Art graphics at Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty.

Giveaway

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for a chance to win a Dr. Catsby's Whisker Relief cat bowl.  The giveaway is open to residents of the United States and ends July 20, 2016.

Bright Light and Green Eyes

Mom Paula was also able to capture Brulee in some natural sunlight this week.  Brulee's eyes are a different color of green than Truffle's.  They are a little lighter green and Brulee tends to squint when the sunshine is bright.  Mom Paula says that's what she does with her blue eyes.  This photo was on the same foot rest that Truffle was on in yesterday's photo.  It was a different time of the day,. but you could see Brulee's lovely green eye color, even if she is squinting.  You can also see her cute little brick red nose that is outlined in black, which is standard for silver shaded Persians.  Brulee has a lot of eye drainage and it's a constant battle to keep them cleaned.  She has some staining, but Mom Paula tries to work on the fur every day.  The unique thing about Brulee is her "fur horns" and ear tufts.  Many people will trim the fur on the top of the head, especially if they are showing the cats in a cat show for judging.  Mom Paula thinks all of that fur gives Brulee character and they're staying. Brulee also requires a lot of grooming because her cottony soft fur mats very easily.  Would you believe Brulee had been groomed a couple of hours before this photo?

Brulee in the sunlight

We hope you have a wonderful weekend and will come back next week to see more of our favorite products in review and enter the giveaways for a chance to win them for you own.

Thankful Thursday

We're so thankful for the five years we've shared with everyone and hope to share many more.  Thank you for visiting with us and helping us to celebrate our 5th blogoversary month with memories, reviews, and giveaways.  Mom Paula is thankful for the friendships she made throughout the eight years of blogging and is grateful that she's been able to meet so many bloggers in person through her business travel and conferences.  If you've never met Mom Paula, she is definitely an extrovert and loves meeting people, so she was in her element at BlogPaws last month.  What you may not realize is that when she gets home at night or in her room after a meeting, she "crashes."

Mom Paula says there's nothing like coming home to the two of us with our comforting purrs and relaxed attitudes to calm her down from a stressful or exciting day.  Mom Paula wasn't so thankful earlier this week when our clothes dryer stopped working and she had to come home from work early to the wait for the repairman.  However, it was a blessing in disguise  because while she was sitting in the chair waiting for him, she looked down and saw Truffle captured in the early afternoon sunlight coming through the front window.  Mom Paula is never home this time of the day for this kind of natural light and Truffle is rarely on the foot rest right in front of the window.  To make matters a little worse, there was no camera within reach (even though she has 4 cameras) to capture the photo.  Luckily, the cell phone was beside Mom Paula because she was waiting for a call from the repairman, so she grabbed it and began snapping photos.  We're so happy with the results of Truffle, especially this one.  You can see her snowy white fur touched with silver and her beautiful blue/green eyes.  Don't you wonder what Truffle is thinking in this photo?

Shades of silver in the sunlight with Truffle

Giveaway

Don't forget to enter the first giveaway celebrating our blogoversary for a Dr. Catsby's Whisker Relief Bowl.  The giveaway will end July 20, so get those entries in.  There will be THREE winners.  

End Mealtime Misery with Dr. Catsby's - Giveaway

We're celebrating our 5th Blogoversary this month with some special reviews and giveaways of products we're impressed with and want to share with our readers.  We wrote about the Dr. Catsby's™ Bowl for Whisker Relief in March 2016 and explained how this bowl encouraged Brulee to eat her wet food.  

Truffle and Brulee eating from their Dr. Catsby's Whisker Relief Bowl

Disclaimer:  We received the Dr. Catsby's Bowls for Whisker Relief for review purposes.  We were not compensated for our review.  The opinions in this post are those of Sweet Purrfections and reflect our honest review.  Dr. Catsby is not responsible for the content of this post.

We'd never heard of whisker fatigue until last year when we came across a post on Facebook about this unique bowl.  Mom Paula reached out to Dr. Catsby's to see if we could try the bowl because Brulee was exhibiting a majority of the signs of whisker fatigue in cats and Mom Paula was having difficulty getting Brulee to eat her wet food.  Look at the signs of whisker fatigue below to determine if your cat could have this problem with eating.

Does your cat exhibit signs of whisker fatigue?

If your cat is exhibiting some of the signs of whisker fatigue, then the Dr. Catsby's bowl is for you.  The bowls are made of a stainless steel finish and are wide and shallow.  The design of the bowl allows easy access to our food without causing our whiskers to be pulled back, causing discomfort.   The wide and shallow eating surface allows the food to fall to the center of the bowl, but still provides enough of an edge to prevent food from being pushed out of the bowl (Brulee does this all the time in other bowls).  The stainless steel finish helps protect against wash-proof bacteria and is dishwasher safe and includes a cutaway in the side for easy lifting from the rubber mat.  The bowl is placed on a rubber mat, which keeps it from moving around when we eat from it.  An additional benefit of this bowl for Brulee is that she can see Truffle coming since her face isn't pressed inside the bowl and therefore, will eat with less fear of being "invaded" by her greedy sister.

Features of the Dr. Catsby's Bowl for Whisker Relief

Both Truffle and Brulee continue to love eating from the Dr. Catsby's bowl.  In fact, Brulee has eaten almost every bit of her food and isn't making a mess on the floor like she did in the past.  She appears more comfortable eating close to Truffle, which makes mealtime much less stressful.  The bowl retails for $19.99, which isn't a bad price, considering the stainless steel bowl is resilient to bacteria, easy to clean, and raised high enough off the floor to make eating a little healthier for your cat. 

Giveaway

In celebration of our 5th blogoversary, the wonderful people from Dr. Catsby's have kindly agreed to let us host a giveaway for three of our readers to win a Dr. Catsby's Bowl for Whisker Relief.  The giveaway will end July 20, 2016 at 12:00 am.  The giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only who are 18+ years old.  The winners will be contacted by email to confirm shipping address. Winners will have 48 hours to respond before alternate winners are chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Our Fifth Blogoversary

Can you believe we've been blogging 5 years?  Little did we know on this date 5 years ago that we'd come so far in the world of social media and meet such wonderful humans and furiends!  We're proud to say that we've posted something every single day since beginning, even if it's just a photo.  We have a huge celebration planned for the rest of this month with some of our favorite product reviews/giveaways and we're very excited to introduce some new items we're happy with.  This month is a month of celebration and next month will be a month of new beginnings, so stay tuned.

Year 1

Our first post on July 12, 2011 introduced the new blog with pictures of two queen mother kitties with some adorable litters of kittens.  Mom Paula was still grieving the loss of Sweet Praline, who had left for the bridge on April 25, 2011 from cancer.  Mom Paula has a special place in her heart for Persian kitties and knew she wanted to bring in a couple of kittens to start anew.  She was so lucky to find Mom Terri in Mt. Pleasant, SC, who raised silver shaded Persians in her home.  We've shared the story how how our blog got its name, but thought we'd share it again since we have a lot of new furiends (both woofie and kitty).  Mom Paula wanted to honor Sweet Praline with the new blog, but didn't want to have any kitty names this time so the blog would go on with any kitty who came to live with her.  Praline's registered name was Miss Paula's Sweet Praline because Mom Paula loved the sweetness of the New Orleans dessert and thought Persians were very sweet, it was obvious that "sweet" would remain part of the title of the new blog.  She wanted to honor Praline by naming her future fur babies with the sweet confections of New Orleans desserts.  She has no connection with New Orleans, except for liking their French sweets.  The next part of the title came from a play on words combining Persian and confections, and that fact that Persians are perfect, especially when they purr, into Purrfections.  Thus, the name Sweet Purrfections.  We'll share more detail later on how we arrived at our given names, Crystalpurrs Truffle Blanche and Crystalpurrs Creme Brulee, when we update our blog next month in the "about" section.



Mom Paula introduced her new fur children, Truffle and Beignet (Truffle's litter mate) with a short little video.  For the first time in several months, Mom Paula was happy and smiling, eagerly awaiting the new kittens.  Mom Terri sent Mom Paula photos and videos at least once a week as they were growing.  Unfortunately, little Beignet developed a sarcoma from his first vaccination (more details next month) and he didn't make it to 12 weeks of age.  Brulee was born a few days later, which we believe was meant to happen.  Truffle came to live with Mom Paula in September and Brulee came in November.  We brought laughter back into the house where there had been so much sadness.  The rest of the year went very quickly.  We hosted the Secret Paws exchange in December, were spayed in the Spring, and quickly began growing into beautiful silver shaded ladycats.

Year 2

We celebrated our first birthdays in the summer of 2012.  Truffle had a fancy Debutante Ball where many of our furry furiends visited.  The Debutante Ball is a tradition in the old South, especially the Charleston area, which is where we were born.  Truffle exemplifies the Southern Belle attitude and grace, and was definitely in her element among the many attendees.  Brulee had a Circus for her first birthday because Mom Paula views Brulee as her little clown.  Brulee is a beautiful silver shaded Persian, but she has a cute and quirky little personality.  Our fur began to change from our kitten fluff into the beautiful silvery tips and thick fur of our adulthood.  Our kitten blue eyes began changing to the green eyes, which are standard for silver shaded Persians.  We hosted our second Secret Paws gift exchange.  We began participating in various themed posts throughout the blogosphere: Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, and Photo Hunt.  Mom Paula started Friday at the Movies and showed little video clips of us each week.

Brulee, Mom Paula, and Truffle off to the ball

Year 3

We became Chewy Influencers and began doing reviews for Chewy.com in 2013 and were happy to receive many different treats and food to try out and share our reviews with everyone.  We helped Mom Paula put together a full-color, page-a-day calendar with photos of our friends in the Cat Blogosphere and sold over 100 calendars.  The problem was that the publisher didn't ship to different addresses, so we had to order in batches of 12 and ship them out individually from our house.  All of this occurred while Mom Paula was suffering through shoulder pain and eventually had shoulder surgery in December.  We hosted the Secret Paws gift exchange for a third year and began making many more friends.  By now, we had our full Persian coat with the unique silver tips and the green eyes of the silver shaded Persians.  

Page-a-Day Calendar designed by Mom Paula with photos contributed by cat bloggers

Year 4

Our fourth year of blogging brought about many changes.  We were contacted by various brands to review their products and share our thoughts with everyone.  Mom Paula joined BlogPaws and was excited for the chance to attend her first conference in Las Vegas, but unfortunately, had to back out because of a fall during a rare ice storm in SC (injured shoulder, wrist, and knee).  We experienced the first (and only) snowfall of our lives that year.  Mom Paula even opened the door and let us touch it.  She didn't let us stay out long because she knew she couldn't catch us if we decided to run into it and may get lost in all of that white. We helped Mom Paula put together a weekly planning calendar with beautiful full-color photo collages designed from photos submitted our blogging friends.  The cover was designed by Debbie Glovatsky from Glogirly and Pattie Kleinke from Stunning Keisha helped with the editing.   We hosted our 4th Secret Paws gift exchange.

First Snowfall in January 2014

Year 5

We became very involved in BlogPaws in our fifth year.  We participated in our first BlogPaws campaign with PetSmart and the importance of containment products and education for pets.  Mom Paula attended BarkWorld in Atlanta where she met several of the humans behind the blogs and Waffles (from Glogirly).  She was thrilled to attend her first BlogPaws in Nashville, TN, where she met pet bloggers, attended workshops and one-on-one sessions, and brought back a lot of swag for us. We were honored to be chosen for additional BlogPaws campaigns this past year.  Our goal this past year was to improve our photographs (we still have a long way to go) and we experimented more with photo editing software.  We participated with Caturday Art and Sunday Selfie posts which featured our natural Persian beauty in art and photographs and are some of our most popular posts. Once again, we published a weekly cat blogging calendar with full-color photographs contributed by our blogging friends which included special days throughout the year to help with blogging.  Ann Adamus from Zoolatry designed the cover this year and Pattie Kleinke from Stunning Keisha once again provided excellence editing skills for us. We hosted our fifth Secret Paws gift exchange where 60+ cats participated.  We've had some challenges with our health this past year with Brulee being taken to the emergency clinic twice (given oxygen and IV fluids) and Mom Paula being diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  We've met many new pet bloggers (both cats and dogs) through BlogPaws and have built our Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter pages.  Mom Paula attended Global Pet Expo in Orlando and we've shared many new products with our readers.  We can't wait to share some exciting new products and host some giveaways of a few of them in the upcoming weeks.  

Brulee with the 2016 Weekly Planner

We've had so much more to happen the past five years.  We've lost some of our furry friends, but gained many more.  We look forward to introducing a new look next month with a new layout, larger photos, and our first logo.  Mom Paula is scheduled to retire within the next 9-18 months and she wants to take some classes in graphic design and photography to continue to learn and become more engaged in the blogging community.  We look forward to continued projects with our friends in the cat blogging world and interaction and engagement with everyone in BlogPaws.  We're very excited that BlogPaws 2017 will be in Myrtle Beach, SC next year, which is only about 2.5 hours away from us.  We're hoping some of the humans can drop by and visit on their way to the beach because we don't think we'd do too well actually traveling that far and staying in a strange place.  We do plan on hosting the Secret Paws gift exchange as long as it is desired from our readers and we look forward to publishing another full-color weekly planner for 2017 (we may have a contest for the cover design this year).  We also plan on posting some serious articles related to cats and our experiences at various times during the year.

We couldn't finish our 5th blogoversary post without sending special thanks to Ann from Zoolatry for our blog designs.  Ann understands our theme and brand and always comes through with unique headers and graphics that match our Southern sweet and sassy personalities.  Ann has designed headers and graphics for Mom Paula for over 8 years, beginning with Sweet Praline.  

Five years together

We look forward to sharing our lives with you for many more years to come!