Thursday, October 31, 2019

BOO!!! Happy Meowloween 2019!


Meows from Mudpie, and Happy Meowloween!!!

It's no secret that this is one of our favorite days of the year, and we're super excited to be joining in the No Tricks, Just Treats for Shelters Blog Hop that is being sponsored by our friends at LLB in Our Backyard. Money will be donated to three worthy organizations for every post in the hop that talks about how we plan to/or have helped a shelter or pet in need.

All of Mommy's kitties have been adopted, including me, so this is a topic very close to our hearts. We try to use our blog whenever possible to show how pawsome rescue pets are. We've donated lots of extra food, treats and toys that I've received to review to our local shelters. We use Amazon Smile when we shop and designate favorite rescues to receive a donation from the proceeds. And Mommy is an online volunteer for Anjellicle Cats Rescue in New York City, helping to collect pledges for the kitties they pull from city shelters that otherwise wouldn't make it out alive.

We can ALL do something to make the world a better place for animals still waiting for their forever homes. They're counting on us!


Monday, October 28, 2019

Pumpkins & Bumpkins #MewsicMovesMe

The theme of this week's Mewsic Moves Me blog hop is "songs of the season...you can celebrate Halloween, or autumn, or both." It's one of the best times of the year so this was a fun playlist to put together...


Country Bumpkin is one of my all-time favorite classic country songs, even though I can't listen to it without shedding a tear or two. It's sweet story song that follows a couple through life -- from when they first meet in a bar, to the birth of their son a year later, to their deathbed goodbyes. It’s all framed by the refrain about country bumpkins and pumpkins: Her baby boy is “fresh as frost out on the pumpkin,” and at the end of her life, 40 years later, she says, “So long, country bumpkin.” It was a huge hit for Cal Smith in 1974, but I think it's a song that makes a perfect duet too, by who else by Conway & Loretta...



A couple more autumnal tunes...





And lastly, a good old Halloween classic...



We hope you enjoyed our choices this week! 

Did you "fall" for a particular song?

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Stink Eye #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

Are you wondering what earned Mommy the stink eye? She was trying to get me to snap a selfie in the bathroom window. Now that it's chilly out the window is shut most of the time, so when she finally opens it for me on a sunny morning I am not to be disturbed! Capiche?


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

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Caturday Art


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


And now our weekly answers for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

Mommy's answers:

1. I didn't learn to drive until I was 30.

2. My fear of flying and driving long distances keeps me from going many places. Thankfully I'm a homebody so it doesn't bother me that much, but I have quite a bit on my bucket list.

Mudpie's answers:

3. I try to avoid killing anyone with my cuteness. It's not easy - I need to rein it in sometimes.

4. If I were a ghost, I would haunt anyone who has harmed an animal.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Selfie Struggles #PetPhotoFails

Meows from Mudpie!

Another month has flown by, making it time once again for the Pet Photo Fails Blog Hop!


I hate to shatter the illusion for anyone who hasn't figured it out yet, but all those cute selfies of us blogging kitties have been taken with a lot of help from the cat's human staff. (Is that worse than saying there's no Santa? Now I kind of feel guilty...)

Mine are usually taken on Saturday morning and I rarely want to cooperate, even when Mommy reminds me that my fans are clamoring to see how adorable I am. (Do you really forget that quickly?) This month's bloopers show me blurry, distracted, and wanting to do anything but taking a selfie...




In this last picture Mommy is embarrassed by the condition of the back hall rug. In spite of being vacuumed nearly every week it's always a disaster and she hates that it's one of my favorite places to sun myself. Believe it or not, it's an even bigger mess right now thanks to damp fall leaves being tracked in. 


Those are my bloopers...let's see yours!


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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Mommy's Constant Companion...Besides Me #iPodDay

Meows from Mudpie!

Did you know that today is National iPod Day? Mommy doesn't have an iPod but a different brand mp3 gadget. Actually, this is her second one. The first one she bought had a frustrating charging issue so she finally gave up on it and got this one in pretty rose gold. It's practically attached to her more than I am.


She says she never even wanted an mp3 player until she realized she could tote around Conway's entire music catalog in one small portable device. You won't be surprised to hear he's the only one allowed on her player (except for his duets with other artists). She's got nearly 50 of his albums on there now with another 25 or so to go. She also has lots of live shows, unreleased tracks and radio interviews she wants to load on as well. It holds video too but says the screen is too small to fully appreciate his purrfection.


She loves having her music with her at work, in the car, and she can even plug it into our CD jukebox at home to play endlessly on shuffle. Last month my grandpa was in the hospital for a bit and she was so thankful to have it in her purse because Conway's voice calms her.

Mommy is nearly always late to the game when it comes to buying electronics and this was no exception but now she can't imagine living without her mp3 player. I'm just thankful it usually has earbuds coming out of it so I can enjoy some peace and quiet.

Question for my kitty friends...
do your humans constantly have an iPod/mp3 player attached to them?

Monday, October 21, 2019

Unboxing October's CatLadyBox

The theme of October's CatLadyBox was the annual Black Cats Box...here's what was inside!


Featured Cat Lady Artist: Peppa Potter

Happy Black Cat Long-Sleeve Shirt: I love wearing long-sleeved t-shirts this time of year, so this is the purrfect addition to my wardrobe. And it's not Halloween-specific at all, so it can be worn all year long.


Ceramic Black Cat-O-Lantern: This will be sitting in the middle of my dining room table right through Thanksgiving. Ceramic pumpkins of various colors and patterns seemed to be all the rage this year in home decor stores, but this is by far the cutest and classiest of them all.

Lacy Black Cat Ears: A cat lady can never have enough cat ears, and I have several, but I especially love the lace effect on this one.


Boo Kitty & Shelly the Skelekitty Glow in the Dark Catnip Toys: Poor Mudpie. Once again I managed to commandeer her toys for my Halloween decorations. Try not to feel too sorry for her...she already has more toys than she knows what to do with!


Not a subscriber yet? Visit CatLadyBox today!

Interested in purchasing individual items from past boxes? You can do that too!

Disclosure: I receive a discount on my CatLadyBox subscription as a thank you for my monthly review. Regardless of compensation received, we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Waiting for Mommy to Come Home #SundaySelfie


(Taken through the side door when I came home from work on Friday.
I count down the minutes until I get to see that face again.)


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

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Caturday Art


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


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

1. My parents' health makes me nervous.

2. I should get rid of so much stuff, but I can't because I'm a pack rat and have a sentimental attachment to so much of it. I'm getting better though and have parted with a lot over the past couple years.

3. My ideal home would include extra rooms to display my cat and Conway collections. As a follow-up to #2, these things are my priority. If you're not a cat or Conway item you'd better be darn useful or your days may be numbered...

4. You would not find skylights in my ideal home. I get headaches very easily from the sunlight coming through regular windows so I certainly wouldn't want to deal with skylights.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Halloween Through the Years #FlashbackFriday

Meows from Mudpie!

I was just thinking about how this is going to be my 5th Halloween with Mommy, and how much fun we always have together this time of year.

My first Halloween here in 2015 I met this freakish thing. As hard as I tried I could not kill it, but late last year something awesome happened. His batteries died and Mommy can't get the battery compartment open to replace them. Unable to make him work she didn't even pull him out this year!

This was Mommy's first video attempt on our blog which is why it's so dark, but we still think you'll enjoy it. We like to call it "Who Let Mudpie Out?" Did you ever think I could be so vicious?



In 2016 I participated in Tocktober with one of my Halloween scratcher houses from Target. Thankfully Mommy covered up my lady bits.


In 2017 Mommy brought home another creepy decoration that I was none too impressed with. He was even more skin and bones than I was when I got here, but he didn't stick around to let Mommy fatten him up like I did. We aren't exactly sure where he is right now...



And last year I got to be immortalized in some Boolatry art as a race car driver. Vroom, vroom...


If you're looking for some fun cat-related Halloween stories, we have those too! Mommy wrote all of these and we're quite proud of them...




Truffles' Halloween Tail Parts 1 and 2

A Home for Ichabod

This month has been rather chaotic here at our house so we're not exactly sure what we'll be doing for Halloween. We just finished decorating this week and only pulled out our favorite decorations since we got such a late start.

Do you have any fun Halloween plans, or a favorite memory from Halloweens past?

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Remembering Grandpa Mason on National Feral Cat Day

We wanted to devote our National Feral Cat Day post this year to Grandpa Mason, a cat who stole the hearts of everyone who knew him and made a difference in the lives of so many kittens in need.

Photo: Grandpa Mason and his kittens on Facebook

For anyone not familiar with his story...
Grandpa Mason’s Story (by Tiny Kittens Rescue in British Columbia, Canada)
In October 2016 we trapped an injured feral cat named Mason. 
A surprise diagnosis of advanced terminal kidney disease meant we couldn’t return this fierce warrior to his home in the wild due to daily medical and feeding regimens with a special diet.
Mason’s many scars told us how hard he had fought to survive this long. So, instead of euthanasia, we felt Mason deserved a chance to experience comfort and freedom from pain in his sunset months. We didn’t know if he could accept life in captivity, but we needed to try. 
Mason adjusted better than we were expecting, although he doesn’t want Humans to touch him. That was the best we thought it could get for him, and he seemed quite content. 
What happened next shocked us.
He met some rescue kittens one day, and his life suddenly was complete. He had a purpose again, and every day since he met his first litter, we have seen a carefree kittenhood emerge that he clearly never had a chance to experience growing up feral. 
He adores his kittens, and teaches them manners, lets them “comfort nurse”, and chases them around the house with great glee. We’ve never seen anything like it, and we will try to keep him surrounded by kittens as much as possible. 
What he taught us in the last year has been shocking and remarkable. This “lost cause” “worthless” old feral cat has enriched our lives in ways we could never have imagined. Follow his adventures at Grandpa Mason and his kittens.
We don’t know how many days he has left, but we know each one will be filled with happiness, comfort, adventure, love -- on his terms -- and the dignity every living creature deserves after a life well lived.
Grandpa Mason ended up spending 1,069 days with the organization's founder doing the work he was surely put on this earth to do before being called home to the Rainbow Bridge last month. He was an angel even before he left for the Bridge, and I'd be willing to bet that even now he's caring for those who were let down by humans and never knew a loving touch or a kind word.

In Grandpa Mason's memory let's help raise awareness about feral cats, debunk common myths about them, support TNR efforts in our communities, and spread the word about the importance of spaying and neutering our pets. We humans have caused this problem, so it’s our obligation to do the best we can to protect these innocent creatures.


Tiny Kittens just posted this beautiful tribute yesterday on Grandpa Mason's Gotcha Day...

"Three years ago today, we trapped a dying feral cat named Mason. With just a few months left to live, I brought him home to give him the comfort and dignity every living creature deserves after a life well lived.

What happened next blew us away.

Mason found a new purpose in life: being a foster grandpa to rescue kittens. For 1069 magical days, Grandpa Mason shaped dozens of young minds, passed down important grandpa secrets, demonstrated tremendous hunting prowess, taught manners, quashed impudence and created a multitude of fashion-forward kitten hairstyles.

On September 19, 2019, we had to say goodbye to Mason. He crossed the Bridge peacefully and painlessly, with great dignity, at home on his tiny sofa, surrounded by the Auracuda, the TinyTuxies and his kittens.

For 1069 days, we got to love this glorious ancient "lost cause" feral cat. We got to give him 1069 days surrounded by love, free from pain and smothered in slobbery kitten kisses.

Each of those days was a gift to us, and to him. Given his feral upbringing and his medical condition when he arrived, it would have been easy to write him off as a lost cause. I’m so grateful we didn’t.

Grandpa Mason showed the world that even if you’re old, sick, feral, broken or different… you have value. You have something to offer. You are worthy of compassion. You matter."

Monday, October 14, 2019

Torties Take Trips Too #MewsicMovesMe

The theme of this week's Mewsic Moves Me blog hop is "in honor of Columbus Day, songs about taking a journey. It can be an actual trip, or a trip into the imagination, or even an emotional journey."


I'm not a fan of travelling by any stretch of the imagination, but this is a topic that lends itself to some great songs. We'll start with a legendary Conway & Loretta duet about a trip across the Mississippi River to get to the one you love...











Should I be worried that Mudpie has her suitcase packed?

Where do you think she's headed, and who wants to ride shotgun?


Sunday, October 13, 2019

Heart Melting #SundaySelfie

Mommy here!

Mudpie melts my heart on a daily basis, but this took the cake.

Her favorite way to sleep in our bed is with me on my right side, legs bent just enough to make a little nest for her. Yesterday morning I woke up to find her sweet little head resting on the back of my leg, looking completely blissed out. I grabbed my phone to capture this priceless moment and was surprised that it came out pretty good in spite of no lights being on in the room.

Have you ever seen a more cozy, content kitty? I was so glad it wasn't a work morning because it was a moment I wanted to last forever.


The blankie she's on is from the wonderful Florida Furkids mom. And Mudpie is quite appalled that no matter what angle her photo is taken in our bedroom, Conway is in the background. She's just gonna have to learn to live with that!


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

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Scary Mudpie #CaturdayArt


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


And now our weekly answers for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

Mudpie's answers:

1. Delectables Squeeze Ups are tasty. I'm totally addicted to "squeezies," as we call them. I want to try those Inaba Churus too but we can't find a place to buy them singly. Mommy doesn't want to buy a case if I'm not going to like them.

2. If I was going to a Halloween party, I would go as myself. So many people dress up as cats for Halloween, so I wouldn't even need a costume. Good thing because nobody's gonna cover up all this cute!

Mommy's answers:

3. If everything goes according to plan, I'll finish up my Halloween decorating this weekend. I'm so late this year!!!

4. Some of the haunted house attractions I went to as a kid are the spookiest things I have ever experienced. I miss going to those! One was a Haunted Forest and it was amazing. Now it seems like Halloween parties have taken the place of haunted happenings.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Unboxing September's CatLadyBox

The theme of September's CatLadyBox was "Teacher's Pet"...here's what was inside!


Cat-related office supplies are right up my alley, so this box made me very happy! The items are pretty self-explanatory so this month's post is primarily pictures.

"I Speak Fluent Cat" Shirt


Black Cat Scissors

Cat Binder Clip Set


Light-Up Cat Pen

Cat Memo Notepads


Catnip Ruler Toy & Crunchy Catnip Apple Toy

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Not a subscriber yet? Visit CatLadyBox today!

Interested in purchasing individual items from past boxes? You can do that too!

Disclosure: I receive a discount on my CatLadyBox subscription as a thank you for my monthly review. Regardless of compensation received, we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

The Napping Negotiator

I posted this story on my Facebook page Monday evening, but for anyone who didn't see it...

Put this at the top of the list of Cutest Mudpie Moments Ever...

My car lease is up at the end of the month and I've decided to buy it. I wanted my Dad on speaker phone when I called the leasing company because I had no idea what I should be asking.

While we were on the phone Mudpie strolled into the room and heard the seemingly disembodied voice coming from my cell phone. She climbed up into Dad's lap and started meowing...right into the phone!

The lady didn't say anything but I was laughing so hard I could barely contain myself. I only wish I had video! It surely would've been a contender on America's Funniest Home Videos, and maybe my little one would've won me enough money to pay for the car!


Negotiating such a tough deal took a lot outta Mudpie and she needed a looooong nap afterwards! I think she earned an extra Delectables Squeeze Up, don't you?

Monday, October 7, 2019

October Retro Country Rewind #MewsicMovesMe

This spring we premiered our new mewsic feature "Retro Country Rewind," a look back at favorite songs that hit #1 during that month from 30, 35, 40 plus years ago. We were so happy that you guys seemed to enjoy it! Now let's take a look at October for this freebie week in the Mewsic Moves Me blog hop...


45 Years Ago - 1974, I See the Want to In Your Eyes, Conway Twitty

In a way it breaks my heart and irritates me that some people only know Conway as a running gag/distraction on Family Guy. On the other hand I've read YouTube comments from people who say they looked him up after seeing him on the show and fell in love with his voice, so I guess if it's introducing him to a new generation it's a good thing. The one episode that featured an entire song, not just a snippet, was this performance.


40 Years Ago - 1979, Last Cheater's Waltz, T. G. Sheppard

Such a beautiful song...


35 Years Ago - 1984, I Don't Know a Thing About Love (The Moon Song), Conway Twitty

This footage came from 1985's Wembley International Festival of Country Music in the UK. 


30 Years Ago - 1989, Living Proof, Ricky Van Shelton

Read on for my personal RVS story!



This picture was taken on August 31, 1991. As a fan club member, this was actually the second time I'd gotten to meet Ricky backstage. It was 2 weeks after the death of my childhood cat Patch and our hearts were still broken, but it was still an amazing night. Two things in particular I remember - it had been very rainy and the mud was insane, and I took note when he covered a couple Conway songs. (Even when I was enjoying another artist it was still always about Conway!)


We hope you enjoyed our choices this week!
Let us know if you have a favorite...

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Caturday Art


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


And now our weekly answers for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

Mommy's answers:

1. October is the perfect month for kitty cuddling. Mudpie is wanting my lap and extra blankies on the bed more and more lately, and I'm loving it!

2. The most recent purchase I made online was Grumpy Cat Halloween pajama pants from Walmart. My store didn't have them in stock so I ordered them online for free pick up.

Mudpie's answers:

3. If I turned invisible for a day, I would have fun scaring Mommy. Every night when she's getting ready for bed I wait for just the right moment to fly up the recliner outside our bedroom door to scare her. She's come to expect it and it has become a fun game between us, but I still manage to make her jump. I can only imagine how much more fun it would be if she couldn't see me coming!

4. Doing the aforementioned has gotten me in trouble in the past.

Friday, October 4, 2019

Fun Feline Finds for Halloween from Etsy

Meows from Mudpie!

I'm excited because Mommy is planning to start pulling out our Halloween decorations next week. Even though she already has more than she could ever use she's always looking for more, and one of her favorite places to shop for Halloween goodies is Etsy. There are so many creative people out there creating pawsome kitty items, and we thought we'd share some of our favorite finds (for both humans and cats) with you today!





We hope you enjoy our Halloween picks, and don't forget, if you find something here you like and make a purchase using our affiliate links, I get a little money for my piggy bank!