Full Frontal #SundaySelfie

 We're joining our friends at The Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Closing Out the Month of Love #CaturdayArt

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our answers (all answered by Mommy this week) for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. You don't have to convince me to wear a mask. Last spring I was very hesitant to wear one and only did so when it became mandatory in so many places. Now I will probably be hesitant to stop wearing it!

2. Worrying about my parents is causing me stress.

3. Speaking from experience, cats are excellent stress reducers. Sometimes I feel like Mudpie is the only thing keeping me sane lately.

4. Over time, my opinion of blue cheese dressing has changed. As a kid I was repulsed by it, but now it's my favorite flavor of salad dressing!

February Pet Photo Fails

Meows from Mudpie!

Thank you for joining us for this month's edition of the Pet Photo Fails Blog Hop. Wow, March is next week! I can practically smell the window whiffies now! (Mommy isn't as excited about the coming of spring as I am.)

My fails this month were taken a couple weeks ago when I was trying to snap a good selfie. Geez, I've been at this blogging thing for nearly 6 years now and with the trouble I was having one would think I'm an amateur!

What bad news is that TV spewing now?

Wait, I just heard a noise in the kitchen.

Do I have any squeezie on my nose? That sure would be embarrassing!

Oh piffle, let's just start over!

Some days you can't help but wonder why you got out of bed!

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Those are my bloopers! Let's see yours!

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Mudpie Interviews...Cat Behaviorist Anita Kelsey

Let’s Talk About Cats: Conversations on Feline Behaviour features 16 unique in-depth conversations with devoted feline experts, each chapter answering a question about our cats. An abundance of catty conversation points with many useful takeaways for cat owners to improve their own every-day connection with their cats.

This book, the first of its kind, presents the combined wisdom of experts from all over the world on the psychology, behaviour, diet and training of cats, in a relaxed and conversational style.Contributors include Jackson Galaxy, star of My Cat From Hell and composer David Teie,whose ground-breaking album, Music for Cats, was released by the Universal Music Group.Each illuminating chapter exudes a love for cats and a wealth of fascinating insights.

This book also includes advice and real case studies that offer the author’s own professional guidance on cat care topics, explaining the most important cat concepts, giving food for thought and expanding on all the most important issues and debates in the cat world.

Welcome to our blog, Anita! Thank you so much for chatting with me today. Could you start by telling us a little about yourself and what inspired you to write Let's Talk About Cats? 

Thank you Mudpie. It’s not often a cat is interested in what I do!! I’m a human that has studied your behaviours and is called in to help owners understand them too. I thought a book of conversations with other experts might do the trick!

What do you think makes cats such misunderstood animals, making a book like this so important?

That’s a good question Mudpie. I think there’s always misunderstandings with cats kept in a domestic environment as pets because humans expect one thing from you and of course, you have other ideas! A nice balance is the best outcome and Let’s Talk About Cats enables humans to get that balance just right, I feel.

What's the most challenging issue you've encountered with your own personal cat(s) and how did you deal with it? 

Well, I have two personal cats I call pets. They are Norwegian Forest cats called Kiki and Zaza and they are now 14. I would say my most challenging issue was realising that not all cats can be happy as indoor only and once I learnt more about cats my challenge was to give mine a taste of outside life safely as well as keep them entertained and stimulated.

Perhaps you can solve a personal problem I've been having...regular readers of our blog know Mommy is pretty passionate about music (one artist in particular), but I am not a music lover at all! It annoys me and often makes me leave the room to seek some peace and quiet! I noticed one chapter in your books asks the question, Do Cats Like Music? Am I unusual in my intense dislike for it? Do you have any suggestions for us? 

Not at all Mudpie. Every cat is different just like us humans. What on earth does your mummy like music wise that makes you re-coil in horror? Some suggestions are that your mummy wears headphones on occasions to give you a break, doesn’t have the volume up to high, perhaps listens to her bad taste in music when you have popped out for a walk or that she buys you some music that may be more to your liking, like David Teie’s Music For Cats CD.

What's the most frustrating HUMAN behavior you encounter while working with cats? 

That they do not listen to me!

Lastly, what's the most valuable advice you have for cat parents? 

Excellent question Mudpie. Seeing life from a cat’s viewpoint is a good starter and one I know you would love to hear Mudpie, seeing as it’s all about you after all!

Once humans take their emotional response out of the equation and obtain a professional diagnosis on their own individual circumstances then a plan of action can be mapped out to help their cat as well as help the humans themselves understand and deal with the issue better.

Let’s Talk About Cats covers so many subject matters and the experts on each topic speak about them from the cat’s perspective. What’s not to like!!

About the author: 

Anita Kelsey is an author and cat behaviourist. She holds a first class honours degree in Feline Behaviour and Psychology (work-based BA Hons) and runs a vet-referred service dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of behaviour problems in cats.

She is also a cat groomer with master level certification and is known for her work with aggressive or phobic cats during the grooming process. Anita is an advocate for holistic gentle handling during grooming with a strong emphasis on educating clients. She is a full member of The Canine & Feline Behaviour Association. Anita is also a columnist for Your Cat Magazine and is on their experts panel giving advice on behaviour and grooming.

Dreaming of Spring #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

Any other kitties out there getting a touch of spring fever? Temps in the 40s are predicted for the coming week and Mommy said maybe we can open the screen window for a bit! (We're brave Vermonters.) I've been spending less time lately cuddling in bed at night and more time in my cat bed by the bedroom window waiting for the sun to come up, then heading back there after breakfast for a little sunbathing. 

Mommy loves it when I still want to cuddle on the couch, even though I've been doing less of that lately too. She always takes a good nap when we're together and says I work better than a sleeping pill!

(As she's typing this I just jumped onto her lap, so off we go to dream land!)

We're joining our friends at The Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Caturday Art

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our answers (all answered by Mommy this week) for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. I keep hoping this past year has been nothing but a bad dream, for many reasons.

2. Last year at this time, I was getting nervous listening to the news reports coming out of China, but never in a million years did I think we would be affected so greatly here in the US.

3. A cool, crisp autumn is my favorite kind of weather.

4. One random fact I happen to know is mares are pregnant for around a year. I googled it the other night while watching an episode of Mister Ed.

Mudpie's Dance Card is Full

Meows from Mudpie!

Oh my Cod did this little tortie have an eventful Valentine's Day! 

It's no secret that Bear Cat has a major thing for torties, and that I'm his best girl. (Sorry, Amarula...) Well this year he sent me my very own Valentine, and serenaded me with Conway's I'd Love to Lay You Down! I'm not sure who was swooning more when it showed up in our inbox, me or Mommy! (And Bear, I'm a very innocent little girl, so if the song means you want to lay down and take a nap together, I'm all for it!)

Then Mommy signed me up for Peaches and Paprika's Valentine Cat Match, and I got paired up with a very handsome house panther named Namaste! We sound like a very compatible couple...

What's a girl to do? It's all rather overwhelming. I think I need to go take a nap and give it some thought...