Inexpensive Cat Toys

All cat households require a steady supply of cat toys, since they have the ability to keep your feline friends happy and stimulated throughout the day.

While you can save money on your cat's toys by using coupons from Discountrue.com and other helpful websites, the prices are constantly rising and pet parents often feel the pinch. If you do not wish to be one of the owners who consistently lavishes their pets with the most expensive toys, read on to learn more about some more inexpensive options. 

Cardboard Boxes 

Every cat owner has experienced the awkward moment that occurs when they purchase new toys for their pet, only to watch them derive more enjoyment from the packaging. Instead of waiting for this moment to take place, cut out the middleman and provide your cat with cardboard boxes to play with. Cats love using these boxes as makeshift forts, so be prepared for a lot of jumping and hiding.

Three fluffy meows!

Pipe Cleaners 

Pipe cleaners typically cost less than $5 and have the ability to keep your pet entertained for hours at a time. These cleaners can be bent into a variety of alignments that will allow your pet to play a variety of games. They are easily lost around the house, however, so be sure to buy plenty of replacements.

Balls 

Such a simple option, but one that often goes completely ignored by cat lovers everywhere. Have you ever seen a cat fail to enjoy playing with a ball? Many cat breeds even love to play fetch and you will be hard pressed to find a cat that doesn't find some level of happiness from playing the balls that you graciously provide. You can also make a ball for your cat at home, with materials that are already on hand. Just use tin foil and watch your cat entertain itself for hours at a tune. 

Feathers 

If you are providing your cat with feathers, it is best to sterilize them well. While you can spend big on cat toys that come with feathers, you can find them just as easily by going outside and taking a walk. Your cat will love to swat feathers around and is sure to have an absolute blast "killing" them. One rule of thumb when it comes to providing your cat with feathers: the bigger the feathers, the more your cat will enjoy playing with them. 

99 Cent Stores 

Heading to your local 99 cent store is a great option for pet owners who are looking to provide a large quantity of toys for their playful pet, without destroying their budget. Your cat is not going to care if you purchased the toys from an expensive pet store chain or a discount market, as long as they are well chosen and fun to play with.

 

MARIUCA LOVES

Appliance Repair & Benji's Hideout

Catching Benji hiding inside my clothes dryer usually gets me a little flustered. It's tiresome having to clean the inside of my dryer after Benji takes a nap there simply because he leaves a huge trail of fur behind. I'd have to use a wet cloth or wet wipes to get it really clean and sometimes I miss a spot or two since it's kind of dark inside the dryer so I can't see too well. End result? My clothes come out fluffy not only from the Bounce sheets that I use but from Benji's leftover fur as well! And as much as I like fluffy things, furry clothes are not one of them.

Today however, I am all smiles to see Benji hiding inside my dryer. He does look adorable inside the dryer, which is broken by the way so I have no qualms with Benji making it his hangout for the next few days. This is the first time my dryer is giving me problem so I'm a little unsure if I have to replace certain dryer parts or send it for appliance repair. Either way, I've already called the store and since our warranty has expired, there would be the additional cost to consider if we are obligated to purchase new GE parts to repair the dryer.

The dryer is actually a gift from my parents and it has served us well over the years. So we're thinking or getting it serviced instead of hastily purchasing a new one for the sake of convenience. I'd rather save the money for our vacation fund so it's been decided that we'd take the trouble to get it repaired. Meanwhile, Benji is happily conquering my dryer and he refuses to leave his new hideout unless it's chow time. How cute is that?

-FC Scoreboard points for my first THREE commenters-

GAGAY
LADY JAVA
TEKKAUS

New Toy for Phoebe and Master!

I am researching cat food at the moment. Ever since Benji fell sick last week and started throwing up for no apparent reason, I've been considering switching his food to something gentler on his stomach. We're currently feeding our cats Royal Canin, which is as good as it gets but it still doesn't hurt to find out more about other types of healthy and nutritious holistic cat food available in the market.

I found a very useful website for both cat and dog lovers alike, so if you fall in the mentioned category, feel free to visit. Besides holistic cat food, Healthy Pet Food also offers holistic dog food. What's good about holistic cat food is that it does not contain Steroids, Hormones, By-Products, Artificial Colourings, Corn, Wheat, or Soy. Most importantly, NO Chemical Preservatives are used. Instead, it is infused with powerful Antioxidants like Pomegranate Extract and pure digestible Protein sources that delivers fresh human-quality ingredients to your pets to ensure a long and healthy life.

You can actually make your purchase online and there's also the promising additional prospect to run your very own home based pet food opportunity. More information can be found at Healthy Pet Food. As a cat owner, I find this extremely interesting so other pet owners, do take note!

And speaking of my babies, of course I did not forget them while I was happily shopping in Tokyo! I got my cats an adorable, fluffy friend - the laughing cat. Basically the cat works on batteries and will laugh hysterically when it detects any movement nearby. The TMX Cookie Monster is for yours truly LOL! I have to replace the batteries first prior to having it fully functional so maybe I'll take a video of me playing with my new toy later.

Meanwhile, enjoy this picture of Phoebe meeting her new friends. The other two were too afraid to venture close!

-FC Scoreboard points for my first THREE commenters-

ANE
MONICA
DEBBS

Cute Fluffy Dogs

As much as I love cats, I am however afraid of dogs. No matter how small or harmless they seem, I'd run a mile if I see one nearby. This brings me back to when fifteen year old Mariuca was unfortunately chased by a stray dog. Mind you I did not provoke the dog at all but I guess he sensed my fear and chased after me. I escaped with a scratch on the leg but ever since that day, my fear of dogs intensified and I could never feel comfortable with a dog around. Even now when I have to take my cats to the vet and I see our doctor's small fluffy dog running loose inside, I refuse to enter until the little guy is taken into another room.

I do love seeing adorable pictures of dogs however. The fluffier they are, the cuter they seem and that's as far as I go with dogs; mere admiration from a safe distance. By the way, this is my friend Sushi. Isn't he adorable? He's also a Virgo like me and I think he's one of the fluffiest, smartest dogs online!

I also love grizzly-looking dogs like this brown one. He's just so adorable and fluffy that I feel like hugging him and that's saying a lot for the dog-fearing me! If I were his Master, I'd make sure to pamper this fluffy cutie with the best dog beds available so he'd love me even more!

-FC Scoreboard points for my first THREE commenters-

MONICA
BEM BEM
EMILA

Some Privacy Please!

Pssst! Guess what? I'm so excited today because I overheard Master talking to B about buying a new washroom for me! Master found a really cool one while doing some online shopping at ShopWiki. According to her, you can find anything and everything for sale at ShopWiki. Many other items caught her attention especially when she was browsing through the Home & Garden, Kitchen & Dining and Housewares departments, but she was most interested in this pretty white washroom!

Right now, I have to share the washroom with the boys and they are really messy sometimes! A pretty, fluffy little thing like me needs some privacy and this washroom is perfect for me to wash up and clean myself in a nice enclosed area. This attractive cat washroom hides all unsightly cat litter boxes from sight and the shelf space is useful for Master to store all my supplies and food. Oh and the door swings open for easy cleaning!

Master said my new washroom will depend on B, and if he agrees to get me one. He is away right now, but I hope he will say yes when he comes home. If I get this pretty white washroom, I promise to be a good kitty all year round! I can't wait to see the look on Benji's face when he finds out about my new washroom; he's gonna be so jealous! ;)

Angry Kitty!

A trip to our local pet store is always exciting. There's bound to be something new and cute for us to go oooh and ahhh over, like a new kitty condo or some cute tees for the kids. Last weekend was a special treat as a new litter of kittens just arrived and boy, were they an adorable bunch!

I happened to have my camera with me; so there I was, happily snapping away instead of shopping for pet supplies. I tried counting them through the glass door, but there were so many kitties, and they all kept on moving about, trying to push their way through the glass door, that I kept on losing count!

Among this adorable bunch, there was a particular black kitty that was extra ferocious. Can you spot which one? He reminded me of a black Persian I used to have by the name of Marvin. A friend gave it to me. The first few times I saw it at her place, Marvin was a cute, fluffy kitten, who loved to roll over and snuggle up to you. I was hooked and agreed to take him home. The moment I brought him home, he became very aggressive and made himself the King of my cats! I had several other cats then. I saw Marvin, on several occasions, used his huge paws to fight off my other cats, which were trying to "welcome" him into his new home. He'd hiss and snarl, almost like a wild cat, rather than the soft-natured lazy, fat Persian he was supposed to be! And once, when my brother was lying down on his tummy, Marvin, for no apparent reason decided to pounce on his back and gave him a beating too!

Truly the most vicious cat I ever owned, Marvin was totally the opposite of the 3 friendly cats I have now. He was also a shade of black and brown, just like this little tiger here! All the kittens you see here are Persian mix by the way, and each one fetches from RM800 onwards. When I finally moved away to start my shopping, he would not let up, look at him go! It was as though he was calling out to me to stop shopping and buy him instead. Adorable isn't he?

We finally got around to buying the actual stuff we came for and even found a new kitty treat for the kids. And speaking of treats, here's a special one for all cat lovers out there. I found a cool site where you can enjoy great coupon treats and deals from a number of established pet stores such as Petco, Entirely Pets and PETsMART. Aptly named Best Online Coupons, this site offers a wide variety of the best discount coupons and promotion codes, which are updated constantly. Isn't it great to be able to shop and save at the same time? My main interest lies in the pet coupons of course, but there are many other categories to browse including clothing, computers, and even travel. You can also find unique gift ideas and cool gadgets from Sharper Image, Hammacher Schlemmer and Brookstone here, so drop by if you're looking for a new place to do your online shopping!

Oh and before we left the store, I took one last shot of the angry kitty. It looks like the fellow is just not giving up huh? Too bad I just don't have the space to house another kitten. Plus, if I do bring this one home, can you imagine how much bullying poor Phoebe might have to take? ;)