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All these sweet creatures are slated for execution TOMORROW, May 1 at the Clayton County Police Dept. Animal Control Unit in Jonesboro, Georgia. I'm working with some people to see if we can help. This is a KILL Shelter and all the animals have one week before they're put on the euthanasia list.

If you can't help today, then keep checking back. There will always be a need for rescue from this awful place that kills dogs and cats, alike.

These are just some of the babies at risk for euthanasia
as soon as tomorrow.

Part One of Two.

I admit it. I love to brush my cats. No, that's not a euphemism.

That said, my cats don't necessarily like being brushed, so I do what I can do help keep them looking swell. I've been on a quest to find the ultimate grooming tool; one that won't RIP the fur off my cats, which causes them to shred the skin off my hands, and one that does a good job, leaving my hands to other noble tasks.

A few years ago, Super-Deb, my patient, go-to-about-cat-care-Princess, told me a few good ways to to work with my cats' coats. She said you really need more than one tool. A slicker brush for the top coat, a flea comb for mats and a Mars Coat King to scrub out the undercoat. At least that's what I remember her saying, but maybe she said; "This is cool, get a Coat King and some times you can get the mats out with a flea comb but that can hurt the cat, so be careful."

And that was it.

Some of the many grooming tools in my aresenal, while Bob hopes to get brushed.

Did it work? Sure, it worked OK. I still have my hands, but I'm still feeling like I'm missing something. I have cats with very different coats.

• Spencer's got a dual layer, long coat. The top is very fluffy and flyaway, 
  with a thick undercoat.
• Bob Dole has a long coat, too, but it seems to be generally thick and clumpy. 
  Due to Bob's age, his coat constantly gets mats that are difficult to remove.
• Nick & Nora, short-haired, are the WORST shedders in the universe. You LOOK
  at them and they shed. Their coats are THICK and Nora can get some small, 
  dense mats near her rear. Nicky is very nervous about being groomed. 
  He does not like it.
• Cricket & Petunia are too "goosey" to be groomed, but I'm working on 
  getting them to like it.
• Gracie- Up until she got terrible skin allergies, Gracie was the cat I 
  could groom just by saying the word; "Brush?". With her delicate, plush, 
  long fur, I could brush her for an hour and she'd sit quietly and drool. 
  I had to stop grooming her when she got sick. 

Along came Twitter. Through the "Twiterverse" I learned about a new grooming tool for cats and dogs called a FURMINATOR. It looked very interesting and I just had to buy one and try it out.

Bob wonders if he's closer to getting brushed now.

I got my Furminator and was impressed with it's sexy design, not to mention that the handle for the cat-size is purple. Nice touch! I looked at the metal blade. The teeth are small and very close together. I wondered if that was going to hurt the cats or maybe not do anything at all. I looked around and Bob Dole walked over to me and I gave him a swipe with the Furminator. He immediately sat down and started to purr. Now, Bob's coat is NOT mat-free, so I had to brush around the mats. He REALLY liked the feeling of being groomed and right away a big mass of undercoat appeared on his back as I brushed him. I was astonished at how much fur came off him with barely any effort.

Part Two...the Furminator Review...next up...stay tuned.

Last month I was the proud winner of RomeotheCat's FURPOWER $1 Donation Challenge Drawing! It was their way of singling out one of the many people who donated $1 or more to their "Challenge", which was then donated to Animals in Distress. and The Humane Society.

Not only will many animals benefit from Romeo's tireless efforts, but the kitties here will have fun being groomed with a brand new Furminator!

Not sure, but I think Spencer is nervous.

Make sure you check back monthly on RomeotheCat's BLOG to suggest new animal rescue groups to receive donations and to make a donation to the next Challenge rescue group nominee.

Thank You Romeo and Romeo's Mom, Caroline! May my kitties never have unwanted fur again!

Okay, so maybe Spencer doesn't look too thrilled right now, but it's only because he doesn't realize how much fun he's about to have!

I bought a Pet Cam a few months ago and never got around to using it. First, I couldn't find the right size collar and then it was a matter of figuring the thing out (which turns out to be pretty simple once you READ the directions).

My cats don't normally wear a collar, so putting one on any of them was not going to be fun, but I really wanted to see the photos they'd get, so I had to risk their unhappiness with me.

The camera only shoots 40 images, at intervals of every minute, every 5 minutes or every 15 minutes. I haven't used a long interval yet. I want the cats to get used to the weight on their neck before I put it on them for more than a few minutes.

Nicky was the first test subject. Since he's so big and tall, he was the perfect choice. Nicky got some good photos! He shot this one of the deck and the yard.

Of course, I had to give Spencer a chance. He's so pouffy I thought his fur would get in the way. He also doesn't like the camera, so he'll sit low, then the camera ends up getting pointed at the floor. I ended up having to jiggle toys in front of him or "coax" (chase) him to get him to stand up. He still managed to get some funny shots. Many have one of his paws in the shot.

I saw on Flickr someone who's cat is already showing photos at a GALLERY!!!!! Why not Spencer or Nick? Time will tell. If you want to see more photos my cats shot, visit my FLICKr web page

Whizidue [whiz-i-doo]

-noun

1. The dried, often gooey, remains of cat or dog urine upon furnishings, bedding, flooring, etc. This is not a "fresh" puddle of urine or spritz of urine. It must be dried and/or gooey.

Example:
Honey, if you clean that table, make sure you've removed all the whizidue. We don't want the cat to catch the scent and it whiz on it again.

To celebrate, www.RomeotheCat.com and FURminator, Inc. are sponsoring the “Who’s Your Favorite Furball?” contest.

The winner will receive a free FURminator deShedding Tool and will also see their favorite, funniest, furriest furball featured on www.PeoplePets.com and popular pet blogs across the Internet.

Entering is easy!

1. Visit www.RomeotheCat.com and click on the FirstGiving link to donate $1 (or more if you choose!) to Romeo’s FURPOWER beneficiary of the month, (Kitten Rescue ) of Los Angeles.

2. Submit your favorite, funniest, furriest furball photo (cats only, please!) via email to romeo@romeothecat.com and tell us how winning a FURminator deShedding Tool will change your life (and your furball’s life!). Make sure to include the following information:

• Your Favorite Furball’s name
• How winning a FURminator deShedding Tool will change your life (& your furball’s life!)
• Your name
• Your email address
• What name you used with your FirstGiving donation 

Entries must be submitted by 9 p.m. EST Thursday, April 23, 2009.

3. A Favorite Furball gallery will be posted on www.romeothecat.com leading up to the big announcement.

4. The winner will be selected via a random drawing.

5. The winner will be announced on www.romeothecat.com, www.PeoplePets.com and participating blogs at 12 p.m. EST Friday, April 24, 2009.

Contest parameters:
• Contest is only open to cats (sorry doggies!)
• Entrants must be located in the U.S. or Canada
• Entries must be submitted by 9:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, April 23, 2009
• Entrants agree to allow their photo to be posted on participating blogs

If you have additional questions, please contact romeo@romeothecat.com

Good luck and Get Grooming!

Wet.

I didn't want to wake up, but I had the brief sensation of wetness on the back of my left arm. As the cat hair covered fog began to lift, I noticed that Spencer was right next to my head, purring loudly. Time to get up and feed him, of course. I glanced at the clock.

OMG. 9:30AM!

I gotta get up, but it felt so good to lie there, but why was my arm damp? I petted Spencer. He was purring louder than a jet engine. I realized it had been so dry lately that perhaps it was bothering his sinuses. Maybe he drooled? Could that be? Spencer has NEVER drooled before. Huh.

I could barely focus. I looked at my arm. Where it felt wet it was a pale brown in color.

BROWN?

BROWN?!!!

BROWN as IN POOP-BROWN?!!!

I sat up, looked at the sheets and saw a watery brown POO puddle. I quickly grabbed Spencer's tail and lifted it. There, below his amazingly pouffy buns was a stringlet of poop, or "pooptailia" as I call it.

Not wanting to be selfish, I woke Sam up to share my "good news". Sam kindly got up, since I was blocked in by Spencer's pooptailia and the shock of starting the day off on the WRONG, oh, so WRONG, side of the bed!

We got Spencer cleaned up, I washed my arm, we stripped the bed and I got the laundry started. I got back into bed. I wanted to re-boot my day. Even without the sheets, the bed had a peculiar magnetic pull on my eyelids. I wanted to go back to the time BEFORE I had cat POOP on my ARM! My ARM!

Sam got up to feed the cats. I was alone. Here comes the train to Sleepytown!

Of course, Spencer immediately jumped onto the bed, practically into my face-mostly poop-free, this time, at least. I sat up, realizing there was NO way I was going to arrive at Sleepytown any time soon and if I didn't lure Mr. Pouffy Pants downstairs, he wouldn't eat his breakfast. Sounds silly, but I think Spencer's a few fries short of a Happy Meal and if I don't go downstairs when he goes, he doesn't eat. So I got up. What else could go wrong, anyway?

If only I had stayed in bed a few minutes longer. If only I hadn't gone downstairs and tried to do the right thing, by herding Spencer to his plate. If only I had cat-like reflexes as I was putting the clean dishes away...

...I wouldn't have knocked a paring knife off the counter, which fell in clichè-slow-motion into MY DELICATE, FRAGILE, NEVER-BEEN-KNIFED-BEFORE PINKY TOE!!!!

Sure, this doesn't LOOK that bad, but it's a deep puncture. So there!

All I could say was; "Shit!, Shit!, Shit!" Not only AS the knife was headed for my toe, during the nanoseconds when I was too stupid to MOVE my foot and I braced for impact, but after the knife tore into my toe. I couldn't move. All I could do was swear. I didn't want to look. It felt like I severed my toe. I looked! I saw blood! The pain was racing through my toes and up my leg. Sam walked into the kitchen, not realizing what had happened-like anyone would realize what happened just seeing me hunched over in pain!

I suppose the toe-terror was a karmic sign. Up until that moment and for the better part of the last week, Sam and I had not been getting along very well. Now we had something to remind us that life is precious and that we would be wise to stop fighting and just love each other. It truly was a miraculous change.

Please tell me you didn't believe that crap. I cut my toe! This is not life and death. Sure, Sam was nice to me, but really now, this is not a cure to fighting, but it WAS nice to have Sam fuss over me, but this was far from, say the Mets winning the World Series again?

So that's it.

Ha ha ha. WRONG!

More misery in a bit...

Cricket may be deciding on whether or not he can take down this turkey and I wonder
if the turkey's thinking the same thing about Cricket?