Truffles the Drama Queen

Use Grammarly to check grammar online because Truffles is exhausted from having to clean up sloppy blog posts!

Work, work, work. That's all I do around here. In case you haven't noticed, Mommy is constantly taking pictures of me. Staying this cute is hard work so getting the proper amount of rest is essential! Now that I'm a successful kitty blogger, I dictate my thoughts to Mommy but proofread everything she writes to make sure she doesn't stick anything in there that might embarrass me. Now she has the nerve to ask me to pull my weight around the house and do a little dusting!!!

I'm not even 3 years old people! Aren't there child labor laws???

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Grammarly. We are being compensated with a gift card for sharing their link with our readers, but all words are our own.

Chewy.com Review: Wysong Dream Treats

Hey everybody, it's Truffles! I have to tell you, my monthly goodie box from Chewy.com has become a highlight of my month. This month's offerings included treats from Orijen and Pet Naturals of Vermont, two of my favorite brands, but I decided to try something completely new to me: Wysong Dream Rabbit Freeze-Dried Dog & Cat Treats.

These treats are non-thermal, starch-free raw meat treats, loaded with extra vitamins, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, enzymes, powerful natural nutraceuticals and more. The meat is human grade and available in three tasty formulas: Chicken, Quail, and Rabbit. Dogs, cats, and ferrets can all enjoy these yummies!

They come as meaty discs that need to be broken up for kitties:

I've never had raw meat treats before and I thought they were DELISH! (Mommy was a bit horrified that I enjoyed eating rabbit so much MOL!!!)

Four paws up from this taste tester!

Disclosure:  I received a free product for review as a member of the Chewy.com Blogger Program. All opinions are our own.

5 Questions for Cat Rescuer/Author Linda Deane

How did cats become such a huge part of your life? Were you born a cat lover or at what point in your life did they steal your heart?

I was definitely born a cat lover. My mother had a ginger cat that used to lie, purring across her pregnant belly when she was expecting me. Thus I fell in love with cats before I was born. To me, there is no sound more beautiful than the soothing purr of a happy cat.

My earliest memory of cats stems from an incident that happened when I was about three years old. Mom and I were visiting my gran and I wandered off to explore gran’s garden, when I stumbled upon a kitty, fast asleep under a bush. I scooped him up in my arms with delight. He was most tolerant of my enthusiastic embrace and when I proudly dumped him on the floor at my gran’s feet she was incredulous. Apparently, he was quite a vicious tom living as a feral in the neighbourhood and normally did not allow anyone to come near him. He had been as meek as a lamb in my arms.

Can you tell us about some of the fur babies that have shared your life? Which have left the biggest paw prints on your heart?

All cats are special and I’d need hours and hours to tell you about all of the cats who have been a part of my life. At the moment there are fourteen permanent residents and several that I’m fostering. Misty is the current boss cat so I’ll single her out. She was found in a cemetery at the age of about three weeks. She was being used as a soccer ball by a group of grave diggers when someone attending a funeral noticed the abuse, rescued her, and raced off to the vet with her. My vet – knowing that I can’t say no to cases like this – immediately called me and asked if I’d be up to the challenge of nursing Misty. It was touch and go and caring for her was no easy task. She needed constant care. Many of her bones were broken and she was in really bad shape, but Misty is a fighter and although she lost an eye, she pulled through and is now the proverbial “iron fist in the velvet glove”.

Please tell us all about your rescue work.

As a child and throughout my adult life, I’ve always brought home strays and fed ferals but I really started taking it seriously when Misty arrived. I became part of the huge, informal animal rescue network and began volunteering as a cat fosterer for various shelters, taking in unwanted and rescued cats and kittens. We cleared out the large, sunny room at the front of the house. I put mesh on the windows and external door and refurbished the room to make it comfortable for cats. We decided to call it Mew-Topia.

Mew-Topia was soon bursting at the seams as I took in more and more waifs. My rescue efforts spilled over to all the rooms of the house. At one point we had fifty two kittens and thirteen adult cats. Many of the babies were orphans and needed to be bottle fed every three hours and most of them were ill with snuffles and miscellaneous other diseases. It was exhausting but enormously rewarding for me and my two teen daughters who assist me, although I’ve promised myself never again to take on so many at one time.

This past season I took in twenty. I’m still looking for homes for five of them for before I can take in a new batch. Those that really can’t be homed for various reasons end up staying and my own “collection” of psychotic, blind, cripple and geriatric cats keeps growing.

How did you become a cat writer? What have you written and what are you working on now?

Imagine if you will, a bleak and barren landscape of ice and snow. It’s dark. Suddenly the night sky is ripped apart by a flash of lightning. A shower of sparks rains down on the frozen land. Then, small, fluffy, grey cat uncurls as the sparks fizzle into the snow around her.

This is the story of an Ice Age boy who befriends a wild cat. There is much more to the cat then first meets the eye and this fantasy adventure was very well received by not only my target audience of eight to thirteen year olds, but by adults too.

I’ve always enjoyed writing, particularly about cats but several years ago when we lost Angelica – a very special little cat – my daughters were distraught. To comfort them, I made up a story of how I imagined one of her nine lives to have been. Every night I told the girls a part of the story to help them fall asleep. Eventually I got around to writing down the story and last year I published Ice Angel – a fictitious tribute to Angelica – on Amazon.

The success of the first book inspired me to write a second one – Angel Bones. This time I wrote a book in tribute to Tammy – our cat with only one eye and no tail. It’s a fictitious account of the events that led up to the findings of a French archaeologist and his team. They discovered a grave on Cyprus where a human and a young cat – minus its tail - were buried together. This is the oldest fossil evidence of human and cat association.

I’m currently working on a book set in Russia during the Bolshevik revolution and needless to say, cats are the heroes.

What is the greatest lesson that cats have taught you?

How fragile and ephemeral life really is. Yesterday we lost one of our little rescue kittens. This happens often in rescue, as the cats and kittens usually come from the most dire of circumstances and are often seriously ill. Despite one’s best efforts, some of them don’t make it. As I held her in my hands in the waiting room at the vet’s, she drew her last breath and I realized afresh that nothing can ever be taken for granted. I’m grateful for each day and all the special people and animals in my life.

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About Linda Deane: Linda Deane is an avid cat fan. She rescues and rehomes abandoned and abused cats and kittens providing a safe haven, veterinary care and sterilisation for them until a forever home can be found for them. She calls her home Mew-Topia Cat Haven and there are never less than 15 cats in residence at any given time - usually more. To fund her rescue efforts she writes about cats. Her books are aimed at children mainly but most adults enjoy them too.

Angel Cats series available at:

http://www.amazon.com/Linda-Deane/e/B00ENHQ6GI

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LDeane

 

Angel Bones: A family of ancient people find themselves in grave danger and flee the mainland in the dark of night. What awaits them on their new island home? How will they survive? Find out more about the mystical connection between a woman and a cat as you discover the surprising answers to these questions. For many years, scientists believed that cats were first domesticated in Egypt. Recent archaeological findings on the island of Cyprus now prove that the connection between feline and human began much earlier. This is a fictionalised account of that early bond.

Ice Angel: Take a flight of fantasy with Angelica, a visitor from another world as she travels back in time to rescue a clan of Ice Age people. In this historical fantasy, we go back to our Ice Age roots and see the world through the eyes of a young man who has some tough choices to make as he grows up in a very harsh world. Can Angelica help him find the courage within to defeat evil and fulfil his destiny? If you like the Warriors series, you'll love this story inspired by the real life Angelica who graces the cover.

A Lady's Pleasure on Audible Blog Blitz

Do you read audio books? I'm ashamed to say that I'm an Audible member who keeps accumulating credits unable to decide what book to use a precious credit on.  I am determined to change this in 2014 though and would love your advice. What are some of your favorite audio books? Do you have favorite narrators? Do you ever have trouble concentrating on a story while engaging in other mundane activities?

I'd appreciate any help you can send my way, and as a thank you please leave your email address for a chance to win an Audible copy of Renee Bernard's A Lady's Pleasure...I hear it's a sizzler!

Seeking revenge, she discovers how delicious a case of mistaken identity can be…

Merriam Everett has always been regarded as a shy, docile creature. But for one night, Merriam the Mouse has become a temptress who will recklessly take her pleasure with the arrogant earl who once slighted her, and then leave him aching with lust. A fine plan, if Merriam had not just seduced the wrong rogue!

Drake Sotherton left England amid dark speculation and has returned to seek vengeance against Julian Clay, the man he believes murdered his wife. Convinced that the masked beauty who seduced him is Julian’s pawn, Drake tracks her down and proposes that she become his mistress for the Season. Every sensual desire, every secret longing will be explored…and fulfilled.

But keeping his enemy close is a dangerous game. Merriam is an irresistible mix of innocence and abandon, and each encounter proves more soul-searing than the last. With a passion this wild, this wonderful, one Season will never be enough….

Buy Links: 

Audible: http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/A-Ladys-Pleasure-Audiobook/B00HNETCHS/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1391532723&sr=1-1

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ladys-Pleasure-Renee-Bernard/dp/1416524207/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391532800&sr=1-1&keywords=a+lady%27s+pleasure

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ladys-pleasure-renee-bernard/1100333569?ean=9781416524205

About the Author:



What in the world is a retired Navy chaplain’s daughter doing writing scorching hot historical romances and paranormal graphic novels? Renee Bernard is applying a great education from traveling all over the world to story telling and doing her best to keep her father proud. Truthfully, her father is her number one fan, even though he has sworn never to read a single word of her books (a vow he has kept to this day!) Nothing stops him from telling everyone he knows that his daughter is now a USA Today Bestselling author or from handing out bookmarks on the golf course. Love can make even a minister do strange things!

Renee Bernard is a freelance writer and host of “Canned Laughter and Coffee” on Readers Entertainment, as well as a contributor to Romantic Times BookReviews magazine. Renee currently lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California. (Note an interesting proximity to great wineries!)

Renee’s FB Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Renee-Bernard-Fan-Page/85990572539

Renee’s Website: http://www.reneebernardauthor.com/

Renee’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReneeBernard

Leave a comment and your email to be eligible to win a FREE Audible copy of A Lady’s Pleasure.

Cat's Meow Mews & Mailbox #23

Cat's Meow Mailbox is inspired by the great weekly recap book memes (Mailbox Monday, Waiting On Wednesday, It’s Monday! What are you reading? and Sunday Post)

Is it spring yet??? Valentine's Day brought another 8" of snow, which is nothing compared to what other areas got, but I think at this point everyone is just sick of winter weather. To make matters worse later in the week temps will be in the 40s with rain which will just make for a yucky, slushy mess.

One week from today is the Daytona 500 and I could not be happier about that!!!

Last week on Mochas, Mysteries and Meows:

* Town in a Strawberry Swirl by BB Haywood: Guest Author/Giveaway

* Truffles' Valentine eCard 2014

* Limoncello Yellow Book Tour with Traci Andrighetti: Guest Author/Giveaway

* Truffles Interviews...Rags from Patricia Fry's Klepto Cat Mystery Series (with Review & Giveaway)

* Interview/Giveaway with Lucy Burdette, Author of Murder with Ganache

* Truffles & Fancy Feast: A Love Story
* Reflections on Sashi, 8 Years Later

I adore the black cat necklace that I won from author Karen Rose Smith:

Bought:

   

   

For Review:

   

NetGalley:

   

Reflections on Sashi, 8 Years Later

This week I'm able to merge the Caturday Art blog hop and Photohunt theme of "Reflections" as I look back on my beloved Sashi who went to the Rainbow Bridge eight years ago today, February 15, 2006.

Sashi was the cat in my life prior to Tara. I adopted her when she was 9 years old and was blessed to have 8 wonderful years with her. She passed away just before her 17th birthday following a long illness. 

Sashi was actually a "first" for me in many ways. She's the first cat I adopted as an adult...my first female cat...my first little girl. The first cat that I picked and was "mine". Although I loved cats all my life, she's the one that turned me into a cat lover extraordinare. She's also the first cat that passed away lying right by my side, and her death was the first great loss of my life. 

I still love you and miss you so, so much, Sashi. My sole consolation when I lost Tara seven months ago was knowing that you would be there to meet her at the Bridge, that you would take care of her for me and my two little girls would be together forever. 

Truffles & Fancy Feast: A Love Story

Hey everybody, it's Truffles! I'm actually feeling a little guilty today. You see, this is my first Valentine's Day with Mommy in my forever home. (Can you believe I've been here six months already? WOW! Time flies when you're blissfully happy!) Anyways, you would think that today I'd be writing about how much I love my Mommy, but the truth is, I have another love in my life that I want to tell you about. (Mommy is totally fine with this, she says I show her how much I love her everyday!)

My friends at Pet360.com contacted me recently and asked if I would like to review a case of Fancy Feast cat food on my blog. When Mommy first adopted me she didn't know what I'd been eating at the shelter, so before picking me up she bought a few cans of Fancy Feast because she's never met a cat that didn't love it. Little did she know that she was creating a monster because now, with the rare exception, it's the only food I'll eat. The case I was sent is the Classic Seafood Feast Variety Pack, which includes Savory Salmon, Ocean Whitefish & Tuna, and Cod, Sole and Shrimp.

Fancy Feast gourmet entrees include more than 25 flavors in eight textures, such as gourmet, sliced, flaked, chunky, chopped, roasted, minced and grilled. I only eat the classic pate variety, because Mommy doesn't like the wheat gluten that's included in the various gravy formulas. My other favorite flavors include Liver & Chicken, Beef & Chicken, Beef & Liver, Beef, Chopped Grill, Turkey & Giblets, and Salmon & Shrimp. I eat between 2 and 2 1/2 cans per day, and I always have a happy tummy!

Mommy wanted me to tell you that Tara was a huge fan of Fancy Feast too. When she was diagnosed with diabetes and wouldn't eat her prescription food, her vet said that the pate variety of Fancy Feast was a good grain free, low carb alternative for sugar kitties. We hear that many diabetic cats have gone into remission changing their diet from dry kibble to classic Fancy Feast alone! (Of course, any change in diet should first be discussed with your veterinarian because a close monitoring of insulin needs will be required.)

My final verdict on Fancy Feast: I eat it. I love it. My ultimate goal is to replace their fluffy white spokescat. I think it's about time a tortie took her rightful place on their cans, don't you?

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Click here to order your Classic Seafood Feast Variety Pack shipped direct from Pet360.com.  Newcomers to Pet360.com can save $8 on Fancy Feast orders using the code "FANCYFEAST" at checkout!

If you aren’t familiar with Pet360.com, they are a wonderful resource for all your pet needs: great articles, videos, community and shopping for all the furry members of your family.

A case of Fancy Feast was sent to us for review by Pet360. The opinions expressed are our own.