Play-N-Squeak's Ball of the Wild

I was at the local pet store and stumbled on the most amazing toy ever, the 'Ball of the Wild'. It's a ball that can be filled with treats and makes squeaky mouse noises as it rolls around. I've been looking for a toy like this for years!

I brought it home, ripped it open and proceeded to stuff it full of Greenies. (The treat hole is small so I had to break the treats into smaller pieces for them to fit inside.)

Rufus is intrigued.

Giving the ball a sniff.

Rufus had a bit of trouble grasping the concept of this toy. When I first stuffed the ball with treats and set it down, he ignored the ball entirely and followed me around expecting me to give him the treats myself. I put in some fresh catnip and then he understood, quite quickly!!

He's got the crazy eyes.

Rufus doesn't care much for the mouse noises so when the batteries run out, I probably won't replace them. I think this is a superb product and really love that Rufus has to exercise his brain and body to get to the treats.

Rufie Rating: Three Paws!

Two Boxes With a View

Pictures of Rufus in boxes are becoming a weekly occurrence! This time he managed to be in two boxes at once!

That's right. Count them... TWO!

It's even got built in windows!

Enjoying the view from the window.

Catnip!

*New posts have been sparse! I've been out of town and haven't seen Rufus in over a week. Poppa bean has been holding down the fort so he's still getting his rubs & grubs. (I miss them both to pieces and can't wait to get home and see them tomorrow!!)


I let Rufus enjoy a few leaves of catnip before I left ...

Chomping fresh leaves, straight from the plant.

Waiting for the nip to kick in.

Eyes becoming vacant.

Exhibiting increased loopiness.

Being horribly and violently cute.

Giving me the eyes in hopes of more fresh catnip. He's hooked!!!

Sun Worshipping

California has a lot of warm rays of sun for Rufus to lay in. Every morning, he scarfs his breakfast and makes a mad dash to the living room to get his morning sun.

Warming his tush.

Thinking deep thoughts.

Moving off the rug, following the sun as it moves.

Wheatgrass: Day ...who the heck knows, let's eat!

We've lost track of the days since we started our wheatgrass project but it looks ready to eat! We planted extra seeds in the pot last week so it should fill out more.

Rufus knew exactly what I had for him as soon as I brought the pot inside.

Chow time!

He was munching so loudly! I had to take it away after a minute because he was devouring entire blades of grass. Roots, dirt and all!

Tokyo's Cat Cafe

Here's the latest fascinating cat article! - "Cat cafe soothes Tokyo's busy cat lovers"

Courtesy: Reuters

Japan has a place called 'Tokyo's Cat Cafe Calico' where cat lovers can come in, have a cup of tea and play with the cafe's kitties. Patrons happily fork over the hourly fees to mingle with the four legged residents as their apartments and lifestyles prevent them from keeping a pet of their own. What a concept!

Another New Box

Well, if it isn't a new box...

Lovely!

What a Peculiar Nose

Rufus has a multi-colored nose. I always thought it was odd. Do a lot of cats have this??

Pink, white AND black!

Wheatgrass: Day 21

We have a puny patch. Note to all others who plan on growing their own patch: make sure to quadruple however many seeds you think you'll need! I've planted more seeds but I just can't wait any longer than till the end of the week before I let Rufus loose on it!

Video: Simon's Cat

The Great Improvising Rufus

Rufus is not one to discriminate when it comes to finding a nice place to just lay. Suitcases, old boxes, clean laundry ....or in this case, dirty laundry will do. Silly guy.

Cat Stuffed in Bong in Nebraska

Here's the latest cat article we read - "Neb. man who put cat in bong says it calmed cat"

A knucklehead stuffed his baby cat into a bong to "calm it's nerves" on more than one occasion and finally go caught.

Courtesy: Associated Press

This is just so mean. Poor thing. We hope he's okay. :(

Wheatgrass: Day 16

I've got my fingers crossed that some more blades will pop up over the next few days but it's not looking as good as we had hoped. And I've misplaced the other seeds too. Bummer!

Peeping

Here's Rufus in his favorite spot again (except this is the inside view).

So many passersby, so little time!

Wheatgrass: Day 15

We planted more seeds than this! We demand more grass!

Feline Pine Cat Litter

Rufus has tried multiple cat litters as part of our mission to find the very best litter. Fortunately, Rufus has been a very good guinea pig and doesn't mind all the changes with his litter box (I've heard stories about cats revolting against owners when any change was made to their litter boxes.)

Feline Pine was the very first brand we used. The ASPCA sent us home with a bag of this when we first adopted Rufus. I love that it's all natural. This means we could just flush or throw it in the trash and not worry about hurting the environment. The smell of the litter was natural and inoffensive.

BUT... this litter was not easy to clean up. Feline Pine is composed of pellets that turn into sawdust when wet. The poo was easy to get rid of but the piddle was not. We had to dump out the whole tub of litter every week or so because the smells would get too unpleasant. This can be wasteful if there are still pellets.

They have special litter boxes suited for this type of litter but we weren't ready to commit to the first litter we tried.

Feline Pine's odor control could have been better. Also, Rufus would track yellow dusty paw prints around the box. This was the most off-putting side effect for me since dust = 'soiled' pellets.


Rufie Rating: Two Paws

Rufus' First Video!

Here's the first video of Rufus to grace the interwebs.



Rufus loves gnawing on those drumsticks!

Wheatgrass: Day 14

There's grass but not enough for me to show this to Rufus just yet!

He's Focused

There is a giant palm tree in our front lawn. It's probably over five stories tall and in that tree, lives a family of squirrels. This afternoon Rufus spotted them running up and down, digging up their nuts.

Rufus loves to study his bushy tailed neighbors.

He looks like a bank teller. Haha.

Look at that focus!

Wheatgrass: Day 13

Success!!