Staying calm in this crazy financial storm

This morning we came to work to find a delightful email from a long time and well loved customer, Cheryl W.  It was about a blind old man who envisioned that all in his life was beautiful and well ordered.  This gave him inner peace and the ability to keep going and thrive despite his blindness.   He said that its a choice to be happy.

Certainly there are days, or cycles, where its darned hard to rise above our own sorrows, worries, grief, anger, and fears.  But if we work at it every day, little by little, we can all master the art of letting the feelings of happiness flow through our bodies, hearts, and minds.  We’ve got to.  For ourselves.  Our loved ones.  For the survival of our species and planet.

And right now with the financial pickle we’re in its imperative to remain calm, sane, and rational.  Its absolutely mind blowing how every time we are out in the world in The Cat Faerie Mobile (a blue 2006 Prius) driving the speed limit that some miserable being in a ridiculously huge truck or SUV hits the accelerator to whip around us in a blaze of screeching tires and false machismo.  We chuckle “well, there went $4 in gas.”

Be seriously, slow down.  Conserve resources both outer (gas, electricity, your worldly goods, and so on).  Conserve inner resources.  Its the inner resources of steady nerves, a sharp thinking mind, the benefits of 8 hours sleep, the benefits of drinking several quarts of alkalized water every day, eating only healthful and vital food that serve us.  Especially in these seriously difficult times.

Because we want to be a part of solution soon we will be sending out a newsletter with our latest promo.  We are still working on the details but it was involve another of our famous “gift with purchase.”  The gift will be A Ball of Twine . . . calming music for your cat.  Guess what?  Yes, it’s going to calm your cat, and it will calm YOU too!

Staying calm allows you to think clearly and to make logical, prudent, and compassionate decisions for every aspect of your life.
Thank you Cheryl W. for giving us the inspiration for this blog posting.   Yes, staying calm and happy is definately a choice.  Just like it’s a choice to barrel through life with rage, anger, hatred, fear, and with a soggy mind that’s making very foolish decisions.   Happiness is your birthright – cultivate it and feel it, and spread it around.

Special gift with purchase through September 30th 08 !

$150 in product = 1oz Catnip Mist, a $24 value

Between August 21, 2008 and midnight September 30, 2008, each time you order and the order is for a minimum of $150 or more in product (sorry but shipping costs and sales tax don’t count), we will give you a 1oz bottle of our wildly popular and wonderful Catnip Mist. The retail value of this special and generous “thank you” gift is $24.

Cats in all 50 states are emailing each other to purr about their love of Cat Faeries Catnip Mist. They adore it when it’s sprayed on their old toys and their favorite resting areas. Their people love us because they can give their cats catnip without having messy crumbs to clean up.

If your order contains bundles that come with gifts, you’ll get those too! Meow-ie Wow-ie! Everyone loves a present!

We realize that not everyone will want this gift so when you order you need to type the code into the COMMENTS area of the online order form. If you don’t enter the code we assume that you don’t want the gift.

The code is CATNIPFUN

Coming September 1st – article on what’s really in cat food

Coming September 1st:
a very important article on our blog:

There’s more than meets the eye in that box of Meow Mix. The cat and dog food industry links matters as diverse as global food safety, health policy, international trade, and corporate and governmental influence. Marion Nestle’s examination of the 2007 cat and dog food recall developed into an expose that revealed glaring gaps in food safety between the United States and the developing countries that produce the food. She will speak about her research, which follows tainted pet food from its source in China to its destination – feed for pigs, chickens and fish in the United States.

On August 26th Cat Faeries will be in the presence of Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, at New York University. She is also the author of the book What to Eat. Marion will be at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club for an event called: Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine.

Cat Faeries will be there taking copious notes during this ground breaking and fascinating lecture. We will create a report just for you, via our blog. Expect to see the article around September 1st. It promises to be an eye opening, but also a solutions oriented blog entry that you will not want to miss.

Cat Faeries founder has been a pioneer in wholistic health, and a crusader for homemade cat food. She has written about the benefits of making homemade cat food for about 18 years. It can be raw, it can be cooked – its your choice. It will be certainly made with love, rather than with profit in mind! Stay tuned for future blog enteries about cat food!

See Juno the cat on You Tube with her Cat Faeries corn cob!

Juno, a stunning calico residing in Seattle, loves Cat Faeries corn on the
cob catnip toys. Juno’s mother/maid/videographer wrote to tell us:

“My calico LOVES her corn cob and has destroyed her last two. Nothing else
(carrot, pepper, strawberry) gets her going like the corn cob. Something
about the shape, I think. Juno (the calico) would greatly appreciate it if you could
ship her 4 more right away! “

We shipped immediately! Juno is a very happy girl! See the video of Juno playing with her new corn cob on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmcYIkK6M-k

Why you need a Purrsonal Assistant on standby!

No one expects to get sick or injured.  And when it happens often we cannot do more than stay in bed until it passes.  But we have our daily obligations, in particular we are obligated to care for our cats, and perhaps other animals.

But who will help you with your daily obligations, like feeding the cats and scooping litter boxes when you can barely get out of bed?  Who will help you get the medication for yourself from the drug store, or supplements from the health food store?  Who will cook for you?  Who will do those little things or errands while you are sick or recovering?
If there are no family members close by or you can’t ask or trust neighbors you need a “personal assistant” or a “personal concierge”

In the past few years people who are burnt out on soul sucking corporate America have gotten creative about making an income, and they have become personal assistants who you can call upon when you need help.

Generally they charge by the hour.  These resourceful folks will do the stuff you are not able to do.

Even if your not sick, but you are super swamped and crazy busy,  they can pitch in and run errands, tend to your animals, keep food in the fridge, and so much more.

Before you get sick, or before you need to leave for a trip, start looking for professional cat sitters or/and professional personal assistants.  Find out their rates.  Find out what they are willing to do, as well as what they are not willing to do.  You’ll find a person who’s just right for you and your needs.

Do the research now so that the next time you are sick in bed and cannot tend to your cats or yourself, help is just a phone call away.

Clipping your cat’s nails

Its easy !  With a bit of practice after a lesson with your vet or a tech at your vet’s office you’ll be a pro!

Number one reason to trim nails – so that they don’t grow uncontroled and curve under and into the cat’s foot.  OUCH!

Feliway spray can “somewhat” deter a cat from scratching at your furniture.  But its not perfect and you need to apply it daily.

But if you trim your cat’s nails every 10 or 12 days they will be short, and if your cat does scratch at a sofa not much damage, if any, will occur.

You can find nice clippers in shops or you can use a good quality human toe nail clipper.

We suggest you sit someplace comfortable for you with good lighting – that could be the bathroom, on the toilet seat which you put down.  Clip as many nails in one sitting as the cat will allow.

Some cats are comfortable if you softly drape a towel over their head. Other cats are comfortable if you wrap them like a “burrito”  And yet other cats are comfortable being held free on your lap, sort of like a baby, on their back.

A cat is never too old to learn to get used to twice a month nail trims.  Gentle handling, showering the cat with praise will really help.  And of course treat yourself to something special in honor of a job well done after!

A funny video which emphasizes the importance of spray and neuter.

Hey Jude and Eleanor Rigby!
If you have stubborn friends or family who just don’t get the importance of spay and neuter, here’s something that illustrates it in a fun and easy to grasp way.

We are in favor of anything that can enlighten with humor, creativity, and which does not smack people over the head in a way which puts them off. Enjoy this You Tube video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMzW3LIkNLA

yeah yeah yeah yeah!

Comfort for when an animal friend or any friend dies

A group of students of a Tibetan Buddhist Lama were walking through a forest with their teacher.

They came upon the body of a young man.  The students looked the man over, looking for marks, blood, any of the usual indicators to explain why a person might die.

They found nothing.  Puzzled they asked their teacher:

“Why did this young man die?”

The wise Lama said: “Because he was born.”

May this simple thought and perspective ease your pain.

Arthritic cats and a clever litter box idea!

As we all age bones creak and just don’t move like before.   Arthritis makes life difficult for all.   One of the reasons our older cats pee or poop outside of the litter box is that the sides are the box are now a bit too high to make climbing in and out easy.

Since this is the time of year when we are roasting turkeys, the grocery stores have lots of aluminum roasting pans for sale.  If you look you’ll probably find one the length of your current litter box, but the sides will be lower.  Try one!   See if your cat likes it.  See if its just as easy for you to clean and manage.

We have seen a few litter pans in the stores with lower sides, but they are not long enough for most cats to use comfortably.  Try the roasting pan idea – they come in several sizes, you’ll find one that’s right!   Its a pretty cheap experiement which could save you oodles of money in the long run,  and your sanity.   And the cat will be so much happier and in less pain.

Its gift giving season – could gift wrap harm cats and the planet?

Ho Ho Ho, its that time of year again. So many holidays to celebrate including Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Winter Solstice, Kwanza, and New Year’s. Did we forget a holiday or festival day? If so, tell us, we don’t want to miss out on anything FUN! This time of year there are oodles of chances for festivities and giving sweet little gifts to those you adore.

But all that paper gift wrap. What a waste of paper. This year Cat Faeries behaviorist dusted off her sewing machine and put her very limited sewing skills to good use by making up lots of re-usable gift bags which are super easy to cut out and sew. She’s using a mix of old sheets, a few old dresses, hubby’s old shirts, and some new fabric (particularly yummy Japanese cotton in bold prints, or organic untreated cotton).

The gift bags are in lots of sizes to accommodate a wide range of gifts. In fact an assortment of bags make a great gift themselves. Here are some bag size ideas for you:

* very small – ideal size for an engagement ring or pretty earrings, or one cat toy,

* rectangular – for a bottle of wine or olive oil,

* square – to hold a book or two,

* medium – to hold an a bunch of cat toys, a few jars of homemade jam, a big jar of homemade bath salts,

* really big – for a hemp bathrobe. This size is probably big enough to use later for grocery shopping,

* super big – for really big gifts like a new computer. This size would be wonderful for future shopping trips when big items are bought or for packing clothes for a weekday getaway.

One of the reasons we like re-usable cloth gift bags is that many of our feline friends are tempted to chew on ribbons and bows. If swallowed they usually get barfed up, but that makes a huge mess for you to clean, and can scare the cat. But if chewed ribbon or bits of a bow do not get thrown up by the cat and starts to be digested serious or life threaning health problems can arrise. There’s nothing festive about THAT!
So now we have two reasons to stop using all that paper, tape, and ribbon. You’ll cut down on waste and you’ll keep your cats healthy so that we all can enjoy another holiday season with fewer worries. Be happy knowing we have made one more step to green up our world and not be slaves to creeping consumerism. Ho Ho Ho – indeed!