Caturday Art

We used the Photo Face Fun app and chose the "Old Engraving" effect for our Caturday Art creation today.  Brulee agreed to pose for the piece. She thinks this engraving shows her Persian scowl.  Don't let that scowl fool you; she's a little sweetheart!  We then went to PicMonkey for our frame.

Brulee in Old Engraving from PhotoFaceFun.com

To see more Caturday Art Creations, visit Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty.

We hope everyone has a safe and "quiet" (no fireworks near you) New Year's Eve.

Finally Friday: A Look Back at 2016

Today is the last Friday in 2016 and we are exhausted.  A lot has happened in 2016:  both positive and negative, but we're always thankful to live in a home where we're loved and taken care of by Mom Paula.

Truffle is storing up energy for an exciting 2017

January

We were nurse kitties to Mom Paula during the month of January.  She picked up a nasty bug that wouldn't go away, so she was at home with us a lot.  She coughed so much that Truffle hid from her and Brulee became the constant companion in bed.

February

We participated in several product reviews and giveaways for some wonderful pet companies.  Mom Paula continued to fight the nasty bug and was at home more than work.  Mom Paula was able to travel to a meeting in Las Vegas and was able to meet Meg Hart, the human behind Housecat Confidential.

March

Mom Paula had the privilege to attend the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida where she met up with some wonderful cat and dog bloggers who were also there as press.  While there, she made connections with some new people in the pet industry and brought us back lots of toys, treats, and food to try.  She spent time with Julie McAlee and the wonderful kitties from Sometimes Cats Herd You.

April

April was more calm around our house last year.  Mom Paula was finally feeling better and both of us were healthy.  We reviewed the Drinkwell Sedona Fountain from PetSafe and the Sleepypod Mobile Pet Bed and offered a giveaway for our readers for these two great products.  

May

We participated in product reviews from Chewy, PetSafe, and Sleepypod.  We were selected for a couple of campaigns through BlogPaws.  Mom Paula became a member of the Cat Writer's Association.

June

Truffle turned 5 years old in July.  June brought us BlogPaws in Phoenix, Arizona.  This was Mom Paula's second trip to the BlogPaws conference, which was held jointly with the Cat Writer's Association.  The temperatures in Arizona were at an all time high, but that didn't stop Mom Paula from meeting dogs, cats, rats, bloggers, and representatives from the various pet companies.  While at BlogPaws, she found out that the 2017 conference will be held in Myrtle Beach, SC, which is only a few hours away from us.  We wish we felt more comfortable traveling...

July

We celebrated our 5th blogoversary in July.  We worked with representatives from several companies to offer wonderful new products to our readers in giveaways.  We participated in Pet Hydration Month, which is sponsored by PetSafe.

August

We remembered our little brother, Beignet, who went to the bridge in August 5 years ago due to cancer from a vaccination.  Brulee turned 5 years old.  We introduced a new look to our blog with a new header, wider margins, and a logo (all designed by Ann of Zoolatry).  We began working on the 2017 Cats of the Blogosphere Weekly Planner and recruited photos from cat bloggers from around the world.  Truffle had her annual checkup at the vet and received her first baseline blood workup. 

September

September was a little rough for us.  Brulee was rushed to the vet with a high fever and a upper respiratory infection.  Truffle had a slightly elevated temperature, so the vet suggested both of us take the antibiotic.  Unfortunately, Truffle had a reaction to the medication and also became sluggish and sick.  Truffle celebrated her 5th Gotcha Day.  Mom Paula was invited to attend a special event in NYC:  BlogPurr, which was sponsored by Merck.  While there she was able to visit a cat cafe and learn about a new flea preventative for cats that was being released soon.  Grandpa Paul was rushed to the hospital in September with a high fever.  He was in the hospital for several days.

October

We began the month of October with Hurricane Matthew hitting the coast of South Carolina and impacting almost the entire state.  Mom Paula's friend, Vicky, stayed with us for a week due to her being evacuated from the coast.  Mom Paula was off of work for several days because the hurricane.  

November

We celebrated Brulee's 5th Gotcha Day in November.  Mom Paula traveled to the coast to be with Aunty Vicky while she had eye surgery.  Grandpa Paul had major surgery and was in the hospital for over a week.  He's at home now, but the recovery is very slow.  The 2017 Cat Calendar was completed and sent to the publisher.

December

December has been both challenging and a blessing.  Grandpa Paul continues to improve each day. Aunt Vicky's eyes are slowly getting better.  We hosted the Secret Paws exchange for the 6th year (7 years with Sweet Praline).  We lost our sweet woofie cousin, Sydney due to an accident.  We gained a new woofie cousin, Angus (Miniature Australian Shepherd).  Mom Paula found out that her lifestyle will change drastically in April next year due to a retirement she wasn't expecting.  All of us are healthy right now, but our finances are really limited due to some personal issues, so Brulee hasn't been able to go to her annual vet appointment yet.  We're very thankful we're together and we have each other.  Our desktop computer that was purchased in March 2015 is dying, so we have to get a new one.

Look back on 2016 and forward to 2017

For those of you who've read through all of our experiences, trials, and successes this past  year, we thank you.  Thank you for being our furriends!

Thankful Thursday - Secret Paws - 2000th Post

Several years ago (7 years), Mom Paula took the lead on the Secret Paws for the Cat Blogosphere.  At that time, we had 47 participants and have varied from 46-65 participants over the past 7 years. Sweet Praline was the original host of the Secret Paws in 2010 and we took over the duties after she went to the bridge a few months later.  We've met so many wonderful cats in the blogging world and their humans.

Truffle and Brulee investigate their Secret Paws package

We've received packages from Luna and Zulu from Would You Like Some Fur with Your Wine; Rumbles and Diego from Rumblebum (Mom Paula still won't let us play with our toys from New Zealand); Sparkle from SparkleCat (Truffle still carries around her Tickle Gherkin); Katie and Waffles from Glogirly; Laila and Minchie from Cat-O-Holic (this was special to us because Laila and Minchie sent Sweet Praline her very first Secret Paws package back in 2008);  Zee and Zoey from Zee & Zoey's Cat Chronicles; and this year our package was sent from Spitty the Kitty from Spitty Speaks. It was really fun to travel back down memory lane as we found these links from the past.

Brulee sniffs the envelope from Spitty

Everyone always is a little disappointed because our Secret Paw isn't a secret to us since we host the exchange.  We always remind them that the random name generator selected our Secret Paw for us and we're always pleased and surprised by our packages.  We've known Spitty the Kitty for a long time and were excited when we were matched with him

Neatly wrapped packages in our Secret Paws box from Spitty the Kitty

Mom Paula was very impressed with Spitty's human and the time she took to wrap the packages. They were wrapped in pink tissue paper with lots of ribbons.  Mom Paula said she barely had time to get wrapping paper on the packages we sent to our Secret Paw.

Brulee claimed the feather wand toy

We shared a photo earlier this week of Brulee playing with the feather wand toy.  Brulee loves feathers.  She'll sit there all day licking and playing with them.

Truffle claims the beautiful kitty blanket

The first thing Mom Paula pulled out of the box was this beautiful pastel-colored kitty blanket.  The only blanket we usually sleep on is our homemade Kitty Blankie that was sent to us from Mom ML as kittens, but as soon as Mom Paula put this blanket on the floor, Truffle climbed on and made herself at home.  Truffle thinks this blanket brings our her lovely silver and white fur.

Brulee and Truffle check out the goodies from their Secret Paw, Spitty the Kitty

We received so many more wonderful items from Spitty the Kitty and his Mom, Mary.  There were Kong toys, a Yeowww Rainbow, three kinds of treats (we love the freeze-dried rabbit), some silvervine toys, silvervine, and some socks and a throw for Mom Paula.  We'll share more photos of these items over the next few days.  Brulee really isn't into catnip and silvervine as much as she is the feathers. Truffle, however, is a different story.  Truffle loves catnip and goes wild over silvervine.  We received two toys filled with silvervine and to Mom Paula's surprise, both of us played with them. When Mom Paula pulled out her phone to videotape us playing with the silvervine toys, Truffle took over both of the toys.


You'll notice Brulee stepped back when Truffle decided she wanted both of the silvervine toys because she knows Truffle can be a mean "drunk" when she gets on a silvervine/catnip high.

We want to thank Spitty the Kitty and Mom Mary for the wonderful Secret Paws package.  We  hope everyone else enjoyed participating the Secret Paws exchange this year.

Pee ess - Would you believe today is our 2000th post?

Wordless Wednesday

Secret Paw Preview

We are giving you a sneak preview of our Secret Paws package from a special mancat in the blogosphere...

Brulee enjoys the feathers on one of her Secret Paws presents

Boxing Day

Even though Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26 in both the UK and Ireland, we stay any day that includes boxes is a great day.  We especially like it when the Chewy.com boxes come because it usually means it's something for us.  We have one important box to share with you this week and that's the contents from our Secret Paw.  Stay tuned...

Truffle and Brulee check out all the boxes.  Notice most of the boxes belong to the girls.

Merry Christmas

For those of you who would like to hear a little Christmas Carol, we're sharing Mom Paula singing "I'll Be Home for Christmas," which is one of her favorite songs.  We hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season and are are home with those who matter most to you.

Love,
Brulee, Truffle, and Mom Paula

Holiday Cards Caturday Art

We always love seeing all of the holiday cards of our blogging friends and look forward to sending and receiving them during this time of the year.  We began the holiday season with very special artwork for our blog from Ann of Zoolatry.

Christmas e-card designed by Zoolatry

Then, there are all of the cards we receive from our furriends.  We received these through email and snail mail.  We helped Mom Paula download and scan all of the cards we received as of yesterday and made a collage.  We know some of the cards are quite small on our collage, but we wanted all of them in one place.  We used Picasa to make the collage and PicMonkey for the border and text.

Holiday Cards from our blogging furriends

You can see more holiday Caturday Art creations by visiting Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty.

Large Cat Eyes

Remember when Mom Paula told you about us staring intently at her this week.  Here are a couple of photos of us staring at Mom Paula.  Would this freak out your human or melt his/her heart?  There's just something about those green eyes staring out from the silver/white fur...

Brulee

Truffle

Giveaway

Don't forget to enter for a chance to win one of the Vesper V-Series pieces of cat furniture.  Giveaway ends December 27.  

Thankful Thursday

Brulee is thankful for the memory foam cushions on her Vesper V-Box Large cat tree.  She says it's very comfortable and forms nicely to her floofy curves.

Brulee resting on the memory foam cushion

Giveaway

Don't forget to enter for a chance to win one of the new Vesper V-Series cat furniture pieces. Giveaway ends December 27.

Photos courtesy Vesper

Wordless Wednesday

Two assistants lying down on the job

Purrfect Cat Furniture for the Discriminating Kitty - Giveaway

Everyone knows we are pampered Persians with discriminating tastes and that includes cat furniture.  When Mom Paula moved back into her house several years ago, she totally re-furnished the house because she didn't want anything that reminded her of her life with her ex.  She took time to pick just the right furniture with pleasing colors and design until it came to the cat tree.  The only tree she could find was made of gold felt.  Don't get us wrong, we enjoyed climbing the tree and sleeping on the perches, but Mom Paula hated the color and design.  We received a new tower a couple of years ago, but it's still the traditional cat tree that you can find anywhere.  We want something modern, stylish, and functional for our discriminating tastes.

The girls want to know when Mom Paula is going to open the box and put together their Vesper V-Box

We recently received a piece of cat furniture from the Vesper™ V-Line series to review. The V-Line series is the purrfect union of innovative design, cat-friendly materials, and meticulous workmanship.  This furniture fulfills both the needs of discriminating kitties and the aesthetic tastes of cat lovers. Each piece of furniture features combinations of comfortable cubes, platforms, tunnels, and strategically placed scratching areas.

Brulee assists Mom Paula is putting the V-Box Large together

Mom Paula opened the box and was a little concerned about putting it together, but was pleasantly surprised when everything needed to put it together was included with simple instructions.  The assembly took a little over 30 minutes to put together.  The instructions were clear and there were no problems (an extra pair of hands would be helpful).  Assembly may take a little longer when you have two curious kitties assisting.  The result was a beautiful piece of cat furniture that would fit into any household decor and is functional and attractive to us kitties.

Truffle and Brulee approve of the Vesper V-Box Large

Vesper V-Line Series Cat Furniture

Materials

• High-quality MDF made from New Zealand pine
• V-LOUNGE & V-High LOUNGE models are made of bended poplar wood and walnut veneer
• V-CUBE models feature powder-coated tubular steel frames
• Rounded corners and edges for a safe and pleasant feel
• Durable seaweed scratching poles
• Soft memory foam cushions
• Various fabric surfaces
• Wood-finished laminate with scratch-resistant surface
• Water-based lacquer

Features

• Sturdy design
• Removable cushion and scratching surfaces, thanks to Velcro^® strips
• Suspended toys can be replaced easily
• Easy installation
• Space-saving packaging

Vesper V-Box Large

We received the V-Box Large to review.  There are multiple levels and lounging spots that allow us to relax and play.  There is a large scratching post made of durable natural colored sea grass, which allows us to stretch to our fullest height and satisfy our need to scratch. The V-Box Large includes two ball toys made of rattan that click into place with a safety closure.  The V-Box measures 19.69" x 15.75" and is 30.72" tall and is available in walnut or white.  There are memory foam cushions and high quality sisal scratching mats  that easily attach to the V-Box with hook-and-loop tape.  

We're very impressed with the Vesper V-Series cat furniture from Hagen and are putting additional pieces on our wish list as Mom Paula converts her home office into a home office/cat room once she retires.  You can see the complete line of the V-Series here.  We saw some of the pieces available at some local pet supply stores ear us and you can purchase them on Amazon.com and other online retailers.  

Holiday Giveaway

We're excited to announce that one of our readers has the opportunity to win a piece of Vesper V-Series cat furniture of their own.  Vesper has offered a choice of the V-Playstation or the V-Stool in either walnut or white.  No purchase necessary. The giveaway is open to residents of the United States 18+ years, except where prohibited by law. The giveaway will run from December 20-27, 2016 at 11:59pm ET. You are required to leave a comment to be eligible to win the giveaway and other options are available once a comment is left.  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!

Photos courtesy Vesper

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday Mystery

Truffle wants to invite everyone to come back tomorrow to see what's in the box and a special
Christmas giveaway we're hosting this week.

Truffle is guarding the box until the surprise is revealed

Sunday Selfie with Brulee

Brulee decided she wanted to post for the Sunday Selfie today.  She's really happy because Mom Paula will be home for two weeks.  She says it's practice for her upcoming retirement in a few months.  We think we'll like having her home more often.

Serious Sunday Selfie 

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

Christmas Wish Caturday Art

Brulee is hoping Santa will bring her something special for Christmas this year.  We used a combination of designs from imikimi and PicMonkey for our Caturday Art today.

Is this box mine?

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

Flashback Friday - First Christmas

Brulee had only been with us for a little over a month when it was time for Secret Paws and wrapping Christmas packages.  She had a blast supervising Mom Paula with the wrapping.  Eventually, Mom Paula had to put both Truffle and Brulee outside the bedroom and close the door so she could finish wrapping the packages.

Are any of those packages for me?

Do You See What I See?

Mom Paula often wonders what we see when we are looking intently at something in the house that she can't see.  With the recent episode of Brulee getting spooked and Truffle meowing at the vents in the house, we're beginning to wonder if there are visitors inside.

Do you see what I see?

Both of the girls have a new ritual each might that spooks Mom Paula.  They will go beside a small space beside Mom Paula's chair and just stare at her.  The girls just started doing this when the Hurricane hit South Carolina in October.  The space is only about a square foot, but both will go there and just sit and stare at Mom Paula.  We should also mention that this space is very near the secretary desk that hold both Praline and Beignet's ashes.

A Tasty Topper or Snack from Wellness

All of our readers who follow us know how much we love treats.  Truffle will eat almost anything, but Brulee is very finicky when it comes to food.  Many times, Mom Paula will resort to putting some treats on top of the wet food to encourage Brulee to eat.  Imagine our surprise when we discovered a new complement that can be used as a topper, mixer, or a snack from Wellness®.

Truffle enjoys a snack of the Wellness® Trufood® Complements shredded chicken breast in broth

We've shared a previous review post about the Wellness® TruFood® line of cat products (dry food, wet food, and treats).   We were delighted to hear about Complements; a new product in the TruFood line.  This versatile meal complement for cats is delicious and nutritious and has five ingredients or less in a tasty broth.  What made the complements more enticing for us is the fact the meat is shredded, which makes it really easy for Brulee to eat.  Brulee eats her food by picking it up with her tongue, which is a characteristic of the flatter-faced Persians.  This makes it difficult for her to eat chunks or pate type foods.  We already eat another variety of Wellness, the Signature Selects™ shredded cat food.  We talked to the representatives from Wellness about this and they told us about the Complements.

Brulee licking the gravy in the Wellness TruFood Complements along with the shredded chicken.

As you can see from the graphic above, the Wellness TruFood Meal Complements are 100% natural and are grain-free.  It's important to serve the Complements as a topper, mixer, or snack alongside a regular cat food and not as a full meal.  We are light eaters and tend to nibble on our food over a period of time, so the Complements are a perfect appetizer prior to our main course.  The Complements are in a single serve pouch, but your human needs to keep the pouch upright when opening because of the amount of broth in the pouch.  The Complements are available in four recipes: flaked salmon and tuna, flaked tuna and shrimp, shredded chicken breast and flaked mackerel, and shredded chicken breast.

Truffle and Brulee enjoying a snack of Wellness TruFood Meal Complements

We really did like the Wellness TruFood Complements and are hoping Wellness will soon develop a complete can/pouch cat food with the same shredded textures and flavors we can eat as a complete meal.  We hear 2017 is bringing exciting news for cats from Wellness and look forward to what they have planned for the felines of the world.

To find out more about Wellness TruFood products, visit their website.

Where's the Food?

Truffle can be a little moocher when she wants to be and is always trying to sneak up on Mom Paula's plates when she puts it down.  Mom Paula fooled Truffle this time by the plate being empty.  You can see what Truffle thinks of this empty plate!

Where's the meat?

We have a neat food topper/treat to share with you this week from Wellness®.  Stay tuned because both Truffle and Brulee love it!


Pee ess - Mom Paula went to the doctor yesterday with her arm because it was still bleeding. Luckily, she didn't need a tetanus shot because she had one within the 10-year time period.  The doctor did give her some antibiotics and some cream to put on the scratches and told Mom Paula to watch it closely.  Mom Paula knows Brulee didn't mean to do it and as soon as she can hold Brulee with both arms, those nails will be trimmed.

I Didn't Mean to Do It

I promise I didn't mean to injure Mom Paula's arm yesterday morning.  It was an accident.  I promise.

I promise I didn't mean to injure Mom Paula

There I was resting in Mom Paula's arms Sunday morning and something spooked me.  I lept straight up from her arms onto the bed and with one leap again, I was off the bed and gone.  When Mom Paula looked down, she realized I'd left some pretty bad scratches on her arm (don't look down if you're the queasy kind).  We still haven't figured out what spooked me because nothing moved or made a sound and I was fine a minute later.  Unfortunately, Mom Paula's arm isn't fine.

An unexpected Christmas present to Mom Paula from Brulee

Sunday Selfie

There's nothing like snuggling next to Mom Paula for a Sunday Selfie.

Truffle looking at the button for the selfie instead of the camera

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

Remembering Sydney

We were going to do something cute for the holidays for our Caturday Art post today, but we received some sad news last night.  Our woofie cousin, Sydney, went to the Rainbow Bridge yesterday.

Sydney belonged to Mom Paula's sister, Dorenda.  Sydney was almost 8 years old and she was a Miniature Australian Shepherd.  Sydney loved to jump up beside you on the sofa or chair and cuddle. She was a blue merle and had two different colored eyes.  Mom Paula loved snuggling with Sydney every time she visited.  Sydney had recently moved to a 31-acre farm the family bought and she was so happy.  We are so sad about losing our sweet Sydney to an accident.

RIP our little sweetheart!

You can see a lot more photos of Sydney in the photo album Mom Paula made for her sister on Facebook.

Our Biggest Blooper

We've read a lot lately about the importance of photographs on our blog, especially when participating in sponsored posts.  Mom Paula gets so frustrated when she gets that purrfect show of us actually looking at her, with the right backlight, and the product in clear view, and then realizes she had items in the background that didn't belong there.  We didn't want to show any of our bloopers with products, so we showed you our biggest blooper that usually happens:  junk in the background!

Truffle and Brulee resting among the junk in the office

Mom Paula has been so busy the last few months and the stuff keeps piling up in all rooms of the house, especially the home office.  We don't usually let you see everything on the floor or the door (usually clone it out), but in the spirit of participating in the Pet Blogger Blooper Roundup for December, we agreed to let you see us in our natural space without photo editing.  We hate to tell you, but this is actually neat for the office.  MOL!

You can see more Pet Blogger Bloopers at The Lazy Pit Bull.

Thankful Thursday

I'm so thankful these two little furballs came into my life 5 years ago.  They were the best Christmas present I could have.  I don't think they would say the same thing about the holiday collars around their necks.

Brulee and Truffle in their 1st Christmas collars

Wordless Wednesday

Brulee's 1st Christmas

You can see more Wordless Wednesday posts by visiting BlogPaws here.

This Belongs in My Bowl

Truffle likes to remind Mom Paula that her bottled water belongs in the kitty water fountain.

Truffle - I think this belongs in my water fountain