Category Archives: Barnie

The antics of my found-in-the-barn rescue cat, Barnie

The Mousie Box

I have written before about Quincy’s love of his “mousie” — the mouse finger puppet he stole from my daughter’s room. While it was adorable watching him play with it, cart it all around, and pretend that he was a Great Hunter, he was ruining one puppet out of a set.

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I tried many times to take the mousie away, and tempt him with other, better, toys. But no matter where I hid the prized mousie, he found it. This included opening drawers and sliding around doors for his favorite prey. No other toy had the power of the white mousie until….

I found the MouseHunter™ toy by Play-N-Squeak. This was a game-changer. It randomly squeaks, like a real mouse.

To add to the fun, I cut up a shoe box to “hide” the new mousie, thereby making it even more irresistible.

Quincy was dubious at first.

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That squeaking is hard to resist.

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But he can’t resist. He loves trying to find that mousie. Here is a live action view. If you listen closely, you can hear the little mouse squeaks…

He finally decides to take a break.

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The next morning, I find him busy at work, chewing up the box.

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After creating a much larger hole, he is satisfied.

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He summons his best buddy Barnie, who until now hadn’t expressed much interest in the mousie.

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Oh, but boxes are sooooo hard to resist.

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Not wanting to spend any more time cutting up a box, I thought I could just tape over the large new hole with some packing tape.

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This kind of killed the interest in the mousie box.

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Guess I need to find another box!

What are your pet’s favorite toys? Leave a comment below.

It’s Hairball Day and A Giveaway!

Once again, Team AboutVetMed (Barnie, Quincy, my daughter and I) participated in Hairball Awareness day. I posted a sneak peek of our final entry on Monday, and here is a quick review:

2013 FURminator Entry

Ten bloggers participated in this year’s challenge of “mustache cats.” The 11 cats (we snuck in a second cat) are also featured on Romeo’s blog, the FURminator Facebook page!, and People Pets gallery. Check all of them out for info and links to great cat photos and pet blogs! Woooot!

2013 FURminator Challenge

The challenge seemed simple enough. Brush your cat(s), glue the fur on a stick mustache, take a photo of it with your cat. Too easy, almost. Until we brought out this crazy new toy.

Here is a recap of the photo shoot.

We started with Quincy. He was very interested in this new item.

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Mellow Barnie was easy peasy. One shot. There you go.

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Sophie gives this mustache thing a go.

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Argos kind of likes the new look.

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Crazy Purl just loved all of the commotion and wasn’t concentrating on her photo pose.

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Back to Quincy. Maybe a new environment would help with the mustache pose. Surely this “new toy” interest is wearing off by now?

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Back to Purl, taking a break from her toy destruction.

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Quincy isn’t sure about this yet. Maybe letting him “grab” the mustache will lessen the curiosity? Nope.

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Finally resorted to pulling out a new toy to grab his attention and get the quick photo of ‘stached Quincy.

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Win a FURminator

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If you aren’t sure about what a FURminator is or how well they work, please see my Cat FURminator review with Barnie the model.

Got a cat or two? Want a FURminator of your own? Just caption this photo in the comments below. The winner will have their choice of  a cat deshedding tool and choose the size (under 10 lbs, over 10 lbs) and long hair or short hair.

The winner will be chosen using the random number generator on Friday, May 3, 2013 at 12 noon Pacific time. Prizes will be shipped directly from FURminator. Please leave your comment here.

Update: this drawing is now closed.

And the winner is: the 4th comment – Nancy! Please see this post for the winner announcement.

Thanks to all who participated – loved your captions!

Disclaimer: I was given a FURminator tool for this review/photo shoot. FURminator tool image courtesy of FURminator Inc.

The photo to caption:

Caption this!

Caption this!



Hairball Awareness Day

It’s that time of year again. Hairball Awareness Day is Friday, April 26th. (This Friday!).

Once again, Barnie and Quincy participated in the FURminator awareness campaign, along with my daughter, who designed last year’s Ellen FurGeneres piece. This year, it was all about “mustaches on cats,” which sounds easier than it was, as Quincy kept trying to capture and eat his mustache. My daughter did a great job making the mustaches and helping herd the kitties for their photos.

Here is our entry:

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Check out the other fun fabulous mustache entries for 2013 on the FURminator Facebook page!

More from FURminator:

(Press Release)

Mustached “Copycats” Promote Good Health for Cats in Conjunction with National Hairball Awareness Day

St. Louis, Mo., April 15, 2013 – In keeping with its annual tradition of taking a humorous approach to a serious subject, FURminator®, the company known for its innovative pet deShedding solutions, is using fashion and social media to celebrate National Hairball Awareness Day (NHAD). The last Friday in April (which is April 26 in 2013) is designated as a time to recognize the hazards of hairballs and take steps to eliminate them.

FURminator is inviting bloggers everywhere to groom their cats with FURminator deShedding Tools, mount the removed fur onto paper mustaches, take photos of their feline fashionistas and post the photos on social media sites (including FURminator’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FURminator). The idea is to spread the word that hairballs are more than unpleasant messes, they are signs of potential health problems.

Nasty and dangerous hairballs don’t have to be a part of a cat’s lifetime routine.

FURminator deShedding Tools, which are used and recommended by professional groomers and veterinarians, reduce shedding and hairballs by up to 90%. Using a FURminator at home to remove the cat’s undercoat for a few minutes twice a week can relieve pet owners of the mess of loose fur and hairball worries.

Veterinarian Shelby Neely explains that because cats groom themselves with their tongues, they naturally ingest hair in the process. Up to two-thirds of shed hair can be ingested as cats self-groom. These loose hairs can pack together in a cat’s stomach and form a hairball. In most cases, the cat will need to vomit to force out the hairball, which is not good for the cat or household. If hairballs are not spit out, they may block the passage of food in the stomach or become impacted, requiring surgery to remove the blockage.

“Traditional hairball treatments (lubricants, diets, etc.) address the problem after the hair has already entered the cat’s body. A FURminator deShedding Tool PREVENTS the problem by preventing the hair from getting into the cat’s body in the first place,” says Dr. Neely. “FURminator stresses preventative care and that is the true definition of good health!”

With options for both small and large breeds, the FURminator line enables cat owners to easily find the right size product for their pet. In addition, each size tool offers both long and short hair varieties for optimal results.

FURminator Cat deShedding Tools (small breed MSRP: $42.99 and large breed MSRP: $49.99) are available in long and short hair varieties. FURminator Hairball Prevention Waterless Spray for Cats (MSRP: $8.99) and Hairball Prevention Shampoo for Cats (MSRP: $8.99) are available in 8.5 oz. bottles.

Don’t let your cat suffer from hairballs. FURminator deShedding Tools, shampoos and hair care products are sold at pet specialty stores, and are also available online at www.FURminator.com.

About FURminator: FURminator enhances relationships between pet parents and their pets with effective and easy-to-use pet grooming products. Based in metropolitan St. Louis, FURminator was founded in 2002 by husband and wife team David and Angela Porter. Sold at pet retailers nationwide, the company’s products are available exclusively through select authorized pet industry distributors, through professional pet groomers, veterinary practices and rescue organizations and are also available for purchase online or through professional and consumer catalogs. For more information visit FURminator.com.

©2013, United Pet Group, Inc. – All Rights Reserved. U.S. Patents 6,782,846, 7,077,076, 7,222,588, 7,334,540, 7,509,926, D565,258, D626,295, D626,296, D626,297 and 7,581,514. Additional Patents Pending. FURminator® is a registered trademark of United Pet Group, Inc. Distributed by United Pet Group, Inc., 7794 Five Mile Road, Suite 190, Cincinnati OH 45230, (800) 645-5154.