Caturday News: The Big, The Bad, The Beautiful

• Are you getting ready for Halloween? Cats and pumpkins go together like trick or treat. If you are a crafty DIY type, what could be more purrfect than a spooky cat carving? Even more fun? A Grumpy Cat pumpkin or #Grumpkin. If you’re not so handy with a knife, let a stencil guide you. Friskies spokescat Grumpy Cat has her own pumpkin stencil you can download for free thanks to Friskies teaming up with Petsmart. The stencil is designed by Ray Villafane who Martha Stewart dubbed “The Michelangelo of pumpkin carving”. See the maestro in action in this time-released video.

• We love to support ASPCA initiatives. Since 2010, hundreds of contestants have dedicated themselves to the ASPCA Rachael Ray 100K Challenge in which animal shelters around the country compete to see who can save the most lives. This marks the fifth and final year of the competition. – an increase of nearly 60,000 cats and dogs – with dozens of animal shelters increasing their adoptions by 100% or more compared to previous years. Over five years total, challengers saved more than a QUARTER OF A MILLION lives. The top prize winners include the Central California SPCA.
• We’re big on DIY methods of catification like using existing furniture or repurposing items already in your home. Anything we can do to enrich the lives of our cats is a good thing. It can be as simple as a step stool next to bed to give an older cat a leg up or making a “kitty castle” out of cardboard boxes. It’s fun, creative and saves money. But sometimes I run across something so different, I have to share. Three lucky cats in Asheville, NC have a custom made “Litter Loo”. When Jason Archer and his partner moved to a new home with their three cats, they needed a litter solution. One cat wasn’t covering his business, while an older cat didn’t want to navigate stairs. The home had a doggie door and a creative carpenter whipped up the “Litter Loo”. Most cats don’t like cramped or covered litter boxes. Since installing the airy and roomy loo, the cats are happily using it. The roof lifts up and the litter boxes slide out for easy cleaning.
• It would be pretty easy to make if you’re handy with a hammer and saw or you could just hire a carpenter.

• It’s no secret that my favorite working outfit are pajamas. Yup, that’s what I was wearing when my Pettie Award for Best Designed Blog arrived by mail. It’s a lovely award that sits in my office to remind me of you. Yes, you dear reader is why I’m here in my pajamas doing my creative best.

If you missed any of our posts this week…

• Check out our photo essay of the pet summit in Knoxville. Yes, I went a bit overboard but that’s how much fun I had.
• It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and here’s our VET 101 scoop on feline breast cancer. with a nice Pinnable/shareable PSA graphic.
• For more PSA sharing, our #AdorableAdoptable ginger and cream boy needs a name (and a home).
• If you like graphic novels and cats, you’ll love I Was The Cat. Plus enter to win a copy by simply leaving a comment at the review/giveaway post Hurry, today is the last day to enter!
• We loved sharing the good news about Chris Poole winning the Friskies Cat Video Award for Cole and Marmalade but devastated to learn about Marmalade’s test results yesterday. He has intestinal cancer. He’s had surgery and will need a treatment plan. We ask you to send your strongest purrs and prayers from him and his family. Pass it on. Chris sent us a bunch of extra pics we didn’t include in our post yesterday. I wanted to something so I made this graphic. The best place for updates is on their Facebook page

Merlin’s birthday fundraiser had a widget glitch and wah! no one could see it. There’s only one week left. Let’s make it count.