Monday Mischief: Framed

Happy Monday, Pals!

Well, this weekend has been really warm, so all my white fluffy snow has been melting away :( I'm not too happy about that. 

Since our Christmas tree has been in our basement once again, my kitty sibs Thor and Allie have been up to quite the mischief lately.  

First off, they sleep IN the tree (or at least Allie does).  While she's in it, Thor will scale behind the tree and find his favorite ornaments to nab and take back to his "lair".  The ornaments have now traveled up to 5 feet away from the tree in a little "nest".  Hmmmm. Mom's up to his games.....she framed me at first, but now she finally understand that Thor likes to frame me.  Ugh!

Do your siblings frame you? What rebellion!  What deviance!  What betrayal!

That Allie is up to no good....

Wordless Wednesday: Bed Pirate

BLACK FRIDAY: A HOLIDAY REVIEW & GIVEAWAY!

Friday, November 21: announce official review and giveaway.

Hello, all you fantastic readers!

I have been working on this little project for a while now, and today is the day to announce:

I'm having my first giveaway, starting NOW!

I was given 2 different types of chews to review, courtesy of BestBullySticks.com.

The first one I tried was their 18" Gullet Ring Stick.  It was cool, because it looked like a lollipop!  This one was the first I tried, and I thought it was really tasty. First off, the thing is huge!  And guess what- the lollipop part can fit over my muzzle.  Kinda cool!  Mom thought it was funny because my schnoz got stuck in it- I just wanted to see her laugh a little bit.

Anywho, the lollipop is nice because it isn't super stinky (all you pet parents know how smelly some sticks can be!) and keeps a dog nice and busy for a while.  This one would be great for the light-to-medium chewer in the house.  I happen to be a heavy and ruthless chewer, so I packed this one away in about 15 minutes.

One thing I'd like to note is that while chewing it, I liked to pull it apart, a little bit like a human would do to a thing of string cheese.  While Mom and Dad really don't care that there are pieces on the ground, one might not enjoy this.  They also were watching me very closely to make sure that I wasn't choking on the pieces.  Everything else was wonderful about it, though, and I highly recommend this as something to put on your list to Santa!

The second ones I tried were the Super Toothpick Tails.  This one was quite different from the first, but if I had to pick only one (between the lollipop and this), I think I would pick these.  These ones smelled SO good (well, at least to me- the humans, not so much).  I could clearly show the Bosses that I preferred these the moment the bag opened.  I took it and hopped around with it for a bit, making sure that I was tenderizing my "prey" before going to town on it. ;-)

I even had my "paw"some friend, Willie, over to share the goodies with me.  Look how much he loves them, too! He and I gobbled them up in about 30 minutes.  It was a great break from an evening of fun playtime, and right after the tails were gone, we were right back to playing!

Check them out!  You can find them at www.BestBullySticks.com or www.facebook.com/BestBullySticks.  They were nothing but great to us- we love 'em!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oh, and by the way, Thor approves as well- the box was magnificent.  The kitty overlords are very amused.

BestBullySticks.com box- Thor-approved.

King Thor is much amused.

*Note: BestBullySticks.com provided us with 1 2-pack of Gullet Lollipops and 1 10-pack of Toothpick tails to try and review.  We did not receive any monetary compensation for writing this review- all opinions expressed in this post are our own.  Winner of the giveaway will receive their prize from BestBullySticks.com directly.*

Sepia Saturday: Caturday.

Is this mic on?  Good.

Don't mess with me- I won't give you your hair ties back.

Victory.

We're pretty sly little buggers, let us tell you.  The slaves (Sadie calls these people the "Boss"?! Psh. They're our slaves.) are up to our shenanigans, but what gives?  We're cats- we do what we want.

I rule this house from as high up as I can.  I look DOWN to my slaves, not UP!

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/2014/12/sepia-saturday-51-california-storm-has.html#sthash.pnDKKla3.dpuf

#Thankful Thursday: How We Saved my Brother, Thor

As many of you know, I have a VERY ornery brother named Thor.  Recently, Thor had a very pressing medical issue that, if left untreated, would've killed him while Mom and Dad were gone at work.

He's a bit of an "in-your-face" kind of kitty.

The cause?

A urethral obstruction.

"A what?"

Mom noticed that Thor was being more ornery than usual in the morning while eating breakfast, so she monitored him for the hour or so before she left.  He was very sensitive to touch, sat in the middle of the hallway and howled at people, hissed when anyone got close, and was just...odd.  More odd than normal.

Not an unusual sight in our house.  He rules the roost!

Thor went down to the laundry room, where the litter box is.  Mom followed him down there, just to see if he was using the bathroom.  He walked into the litter box to do his business, but he sat there for minutes, straining to get anything out.  Mom knew exactly what was happening, and called the vet immediately to see if there were any open appointments for the day, and to get an idea of exactly how urgent the situation was.

No one ever said my brother Thor was normal...

The vet told Mom to bring him in for monitoring, since the earliest appointment they had was at 3:45 pm (as she was calling at 7:30am).  Mom got Dad to drive home from work to bring him in, since he has a much more flexible schedule than she does.  He brought Thor in, and the vet said he would monitor him to see how severe the condition was.

Thor lives by the motto "If I fits, I sits"!

Mom and Dad both received emergency phone calls at noon- the vet said that if we didn't call back in 2 minutes, that Thor would either need an emergency procedure or be euthanized- he wasn't going to survive if left alone.  Of course we called back to authorize the procedure!!!

He's really cute when he sleeps- but he's pretty crazy, so he doesn't sleep as much as a normal cat would.

Luckily, the vet saved him, and he stayed at the vet for 2 days to make sure he was using the litter box alright.  He came home, and boy, you could tell he was a happy kitty! His twin sister, Allie, was confused, and hissed at him, but they warmed up within a day and they're back to snuggling in a big gray/white striped ball again. :)

Aren't they a cute pair? :)

We're beyond glad we have our little ornery kitty- it is definitely one thing we are thankful for this November.  Recently, we have started a new way of thinking: always finding positive and wonderful things to be grateful for.  It really cuts down on the negativity in life, and our home is more joyful because of it.

The infamous picture that made it to Grainbelt's Twitter page- he's officially a Beer Box cat!

What are you thankful for today?

Mom didn't get her hair binder back that day.

Back when Thor was a kitten & Bosses lived in an apartment...

Thor's curiosity for the big camera...

He likes to lay on Mom's desk and watch her sew.  I don't blame him- he gets pet up there!

Chow!

Thoughtless Thursday: DIY Doggie Bed

Good Morning, Every"paw"dy!

If you have read my past posts about my crafty Boss, you'd already know this!

But if you haven't, here's one thing: Small Boss is really crafty.  Her creative mind is always flowing, and she loves to make me new things!  If you have a little bit of sewing knowledge, you can definitely make your furry friend a doggie bed.  Here are the various ones she has made!

The first bed is for my kitty siblings, Thor and Allie.  Bosses got these guys off a free Craigslist ad almost 3 years ago when they were 9 weeks old.  Since they cuddled together all the time, Bosses decided the kitties needed a bed.  I don't blame 'em, maybe they should get another one so they stop encroaching on my bed!  Ugh!

My kitty siblings, Thor and Allie, when they were babies.

Aren't they cute?

Typical kitty sibling Thor...letting it all hang out.

Cuties in their kitty bed!

Sorry.  I digress. :)

So, that was the kitty bed.

The second bed was made for me.

Napping on the pre-made materials when I was a tiny thing

Willie and Me in my huge doggie bed!

Modeling my HUGE bed.

I can really stretch out in this thing!

The third bed was made for my friend, Willie.  His Bosses got a bigger place to live, so naturally, he needed a bed for both levels of their townhome!  Small Boss made him one for their living area.  Rumor has it that he loves it!  I made sure to sit in it while Boss was making it so that he could smell me all the time when it got to his house. He he he.

The fourth bed was made for, well, me again.  Boss has been experimenting with different shapes and sizes to see which bed I would actually sleep in.  So this time, she made a super fluffy rectangle.

Being a good little "momma" to my baby friend, Jax.

Chewing on a bone on my fluffy dog bed.

The fifth bed was made for my other buddy, Jax.  He went home with his Bosses and needed a puppy bed!  So, our family gave him a "welcome home" kit, which consisted of some of my little puppy toys and a fluffy little bed he could call his own.  I love my little puppy friend- I needed to let him know how much he meant to me!  :D  I tried to sit in his bed.  Not quite as successful- it kept my rump pretty cozy, though.

One of my good buddies Jax in his little puppy bed. So sweet.

Boss made these using some simple Geometry.  She drew out a couple sketches of what she would like the bed to look like, then she made these shapes into different "pieces" of which to sew together to get the 3-D shapes she needed.  Can you tell that Small Boss ditches me Monday-Friday to work in 4-6th grade Math class? ;-)

After she got the pieces cut out, she sewed the outer tubes together, as well as the bottom liner portions together.  Once those two portions were sewn, she assembled them by sewing the tube to the bottom liner portion, leaving a 5" portion open so that she could stuff each spot.

She stuffed them, and then hand-sewed the hole shut.  Voila!

Do you think they turned out alright?  What shape would YOU pick?  Or better yet, would anyone like her to make a detailed tutorial? :)

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/search/label/Thoughtless%20Thursday#sthash.HcMlCwWn.dpuf

Monday Mischief: The First #mondaymischief

Hey There, Readers!

I am back from my Southern Minnesota camping adventure, and boy, am I tired!  But just perky enough to write my first Monday Mischief blog hop post.  How exciting is that?!

Well, the Bosses just love when I get into mischief- well, the innocent and non-destructive kind.  Let's be honest- and don't tell Bosses this- but I think they get into plenty of mischief themselves.  But shhh, you didn't hear that from me.

Licking my chops before my mischief.

Moving on.  My latest mischief "mishap" has been the carpeted-stairs (or lack of) in the house.  I got a little lonely and bored a few weeks ago, and went to town on Bosses' staircase.  And by go to town, I mean I ripped up (and shredded) two stairs worth of the carpet and the padding.  Bosses are not thrilled.  But I think they're devising a plan to fix this lack of comfy sitting/walking spaces.  Can I be completely honest?  I don't mean to point fingers here, but I'm pretty sure that Thor and Allie started the whole "demolition" process.  They like to scratch their claws all over the edges of the stairs, and while they may not physically take the carpet off the stairs, the areas that they touch do look super fuzzy and different.  So, I took their "artwork" and made it into a "masterpiece".

This meanie framed me!!!  I'm in trouble, and he's taking a nap!

Voila!

My latest "mischief". Red handed.

...Bosses didn't like my artwork, either.  Drat.

Well, I'm back to my post-crazy-weekend nap.  Tune in tomorrow for my first Adventure Dog post about last weekend's camping trip!  This one is a doozy!

Chow!