Our New Easy-On Cat Harness

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For Throwback Thursday I thought I would share a post I did almost exactly four years ago. It is when I bought Frankie’s harness that he still uses today.

Charles Huss's avatarBad Cat Chris

After the trouble Frankie caused for me during the last couple of cat outings, I decided it was time to put him back on a harness. The harness he had was just too hard to put on a struggling cat so I looked for a harness that was very easy to put on. I found one from a company called Bark Appeal. Judging by the name, I assume it is a dog harness but it also works for cats. This harness has two Velcro strips and putting it on is just a matter of wrapping it around his neck and abdomen.

Bark Appeal cat and dog harness

Frankie seemed perfectly fine wearing it. He made no attempt to get out of it and gave no indication that it might be uncomfortable. I bought the mesh version because I thought it would be cooler and lighter but there were other fabric choices. I also got a size large…

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Frankie Loves His Blankie

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I have talked about this before but I never get tired of it. Frankie loves soft, fleece blankets, especially a small green one that we sometimes put on our bed just for him. He treats this blanket like it is his little cat girlfriend.

I have several videos of Frankie with his blankie but never from the beginning, until now. My wife put the blanket on the bed the other day and I started filming as soon as Frankie jumped on top of it. He always starts with the corner which would not be unusual for a human but it is nice to know that cats are smart enough to know that the corner is easier to work with than the middle.

Friskies Pull ‘n Play with Substitute Treats

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I wrote about the Friskies Pull n Play toy a few years ago (read post here) but that toy disappeared not long after that post and I recently bought a new one. This time I skipped the included treats and put in treats that I consider to be much healthier. I realize that that toy is like a computer printer, sold with the intent of making big money on the refills, so Purina will not be happy with me.

The Pull ‘n Play comes with Friskies Party Mix, which is a favorite of many cats, and some kind of string-like treat, which most cats don’t care too much about. Both treats, in my opinion, are not healthy options so instead I filled the toy with Instinct Raw Boost Mixers. This is a freeze-dried, raw cat food that I believe is a much healthier option than most commercial treats out there and our cats love them. They also love a similar freeze-dried, raw cat food called Stella and Chewy’s, which has the advantage of coming in larger sizes that are cheaper per ounce but the morsels tend to be too big and flakey for use in this toy.

There is one drawback to substituting the treats; They don’t fall out as easily as the intended treats, but that may not always be a bad thing. My plan is to fill it up before going away on vacation. I tend to worry that something may happen to the cat sitter and having a treat dispenser might just help a little if they don’t get fed. If I will use it for entertainment then I might want to make the hole a little bigger. Perhaps with a file or large drill I can increase the hole size just a little and all will be right with the world.

Here is a video of my first attempt. Of course Chris dominates the toy just like he did with the catnip.

What do you think? Have you tried this toy? Have you tried Instinct or Stella and Chewey’s?

Catnip, Take Two

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If you read Monday’s Post you know I tried bringing two catnip plants into the house. That was a major failure but you have to learn somehow. I decided to keep the plants outside and just bring a few leaves in at a time, which I did Tuesday. That went better from my perspective but I’m sure the cats preferred the entire plants. Plus, as usual, Chris spoiled it for Floki and Frankie.

Naturally, the silver lining seemed smaller and the dark cloud bigger when I went outside yesterday and saw this.

It seems that a stray cat or other animal found my plants and decided to dig out the dirt. Heavy sigh.

Catnip Houseplant Fail

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I have know for a long time the benefits of houseplants, especially in cleaning the air but I procrastinated about buying plants for the house. Part of the reason was because I am a procrastinator and the other reason was that I wasn’t sure which plants were safe for cats and which one of those grow well indoors.

It occurred to me recently that catnip was definitely safe for cats and, according to Google, it also grows well indoors. With that in mind I bought two catnip plants yesterday but realized when I got home that I only had one pot and that had a crack in it, so today I bought two pots that I thought would be hard to tip over. When I got home from work I put the plants in the pots and brought them inside.

I set them down at the door and they were immediately the focus of attention of our three cats. Frankie, almost immediately, crushed one of the plants and Chris, well, watch the video to see what Chris does. It’s not good.

The plants are back outside. I guess I will have to break off leaves and bring them in a little at a time unless someone has better advice.

Happy National Siblings Day

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Happy National Siblings Day to all of you who have brothers and/or sisters. We don’t have any true siblings in our home today but you may remember sister and brother Abbey and Alex.

cats and fish tank
Abbey and Alex

Shortly after adopting those two we adopted brothers Tigger and Flash.

Tigger (gold) and Flash.

I, too, have a brother and sister but it has been ages since we have had a photo together. The last time we were all in the same state was 20 years ago when my dad died which was not a good photo opportunity. Here is one from 1975.

Pay no attention to the hair.