Dona Nobis Pacem

We have not been blogging regularly lately, but we did not want this very special day to pass without us joining #BlogBlast4Peace...

This year's theme of 'Finding Peace in Troubling Times' is something that is on our minds everyday because even we cats can tell that our human is troubled and worried and we do our best giving her comforting purrs.

But in her sadness is hope, because every day she sees acts of kindness and love and compassion and she wants to imagine that one day those acts of kindness will grow to include all humans, and be what brings Peace on Earth. 

In 2011, Mimi Lenox began this project, and last year Peace Globes were created and shared around the world, over 214 countries and 6 continents! Here's the link to learn more about it! 

How To Blog For Peace

Remember Me Thursday

Today is Remember Me Thursday

It is the day we should all pause a moment as give thought to the shelter pets waiting for forever homes, sometimes for years...

And to think of those who have been lost, never to find love again...

There is much sadness and horror in the world today, but there is also much kindness. It is the kindness that keeps us going and give us hope...

Each year, over 3.4 million pets in shelters lose their lives without ever having a second chance at happiness. And only 30% of owned pets came from shelters or rescue organizations. While we can't change the lives of all of them, we can change the life of even just one...

So today, if each of us would do something, anything, that would help make a difference in even one homeless pets life, then you would 'Be The Light'...

And by remembering those who have been lost, we can shine a light on the ones we can save!

One of Teri's biggest commitments is to the cats she has brought into this world, and she has been there for those kitties through thick and thin, and even when her circumstances were pretty tough, that did not make her waver in her 'Being the Light' for kitties like Kely and Bebe and Carlos and Zeuss and Al...

She knew they would find the perfect forever homes with her help, and she is just Thankful on this Thursday that they did not end up in a shelter, and that they did not become one of those millions that we are remembering today...

GrandmaCat Kely's forever home is with us!

Get involved and become a part of this world-wide awareness movement by sharing on social media. If animal lovers unite around the world, we can make a difference!

To learn more about The Helen Woodward Animal Center and their involvement in this event, as well as Home 4 the Holidays and The International Pet Adoptathon, please click on this link HWAC

Ps: The photo in our post today was taken in our living room and just so you know...those are faux candles that have batteries to make the 'flame' flicker and glow. They are the only safe candles to have around us kitties!

Summer's Hot! Stay Hydrated with #PetSafe® Brand Pet Fountains! #sponsored

Disclaimer:  We are happy to be a part of this product review, and we did receive a free PetSafe® Brand Drinkwell® Pagoda pet fountain to use and review, and keep. However, all of the opinions about the product are ours and not dictated in any way by the company. We only share information that we feel is useful and relevant to our readers.

It's Pet Hydration Awareness Month!

Do you know how much water your pet should drink each day to stay hydrated? Are you familiar with the warning signs that your pet is suffering from dehydration? July is Pet Hydration Month, a campaign led by PetSafe^® Brand! We would like to join with them and help educate and inform our readers about the importance that your pet drink enough water each day.

Because Teri works in the veterinary healthcare field, at a feline-only veterinary clinic, she counsels clients on the importance of having water sources for their cats that encourage them to drink more water. Cats ancestors were desert-dwelling creatures and got the majority of their water from the prey they ate. Modern housecats, especially if we are fed a primarily dry food diet, are often on the verge of dehydration, especially senior kitties with impaired kidney function! 

Kely is a Senior Catizen...she will be 17 years old this year!

A cat (or dog) should drink 1 ounce of water for every pound of body weight! You can increase a pets water intake by feeding less dry food and adding water to their canned food (which is already about 87% water). A pet's body is 60-80% water and losing just 10% can bring on serious health problems.

Some of the symptoms of dehydration in a pet are vomiting, lethargy, dry and sticky gums and loss of skin elasticity. PetSafe^® Brand even made a video to teach pet owners how to check their pet for dehydration!

We rely on her to provide us with a clean source of water that actually encourages us to drink more water! Teri doesn't let us drink out of the toilet (actually a really unhealthy thing to do as it can be a source of bacteria) and we, unlike outdoor kitties, have never lapped water from a dirty puddle outdoors, yuck!

To help spread the word about the importance of Pet Hydration, PetSafe^® Brand sent us their newest model of stylish pet fountains, The Pagoda, in a brand new color, Himalayan Blue! We now have three PetSafe^® Brand pet fountains, one on every floor of our house. Teri decided to take the new Himalayan Blue Pagoda pet fountain in to the cat clinic where she works and set it up in the waiting room so all the clients can see it, and see Kely drinking from it, too!

Teri loves that it's so easy to set up, super easy to clean, is dishwaster safe, and with many different models to choose from, there is a style and color to fit every home. Why not  cater to your pet's water-drinking preferences as it's a simple way to increase their water intake!            

We got our first PetSafe^® Brand Drinkwell ^®  fountain a few years ago when Brighton had a urinary tract blockage and had to spend three days in an emergency hospital! It made Teri realize that anything she could do to increase his water intake and keep his urine dilute and less prone to forming sludge to him him up was a good idea!           

Drinking more water can help prevent urinary tract infections, improve the kidney's ability to excrete toxins and waste products from the body, and help with the body's temperature regulation. And besides all that medical stuff, we think it's quite entertaining to watch us drink from a fountain!

The PetSafe^® Brand Drinkwell ^® Pagoda fountain is very 'Zen' and comes in three colors-white, taupe, red and the new Himalayan Blue. It has three places to drink from-the bowl, the bubbling top or our favorite, the double waterfalls! The fountains continuously recirculate and filter the water, keeping it cleaner and fresher than a bowl of water. 

If you would like to learn more about the PetSafe^® Brand Drinkwell ^® Pagoda fountain, just click on the following link, and if you order from them directly, shipping is free, too! 

https://store.petsafe.net/drinkwell-pagoda-fountains 

And of course, you can follow them on all the social media - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, too!

PetSafe^® Brand Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PetSafeBrand/
PetSafe^® Brand Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petsafe/
PetSafe^® Brand Twitter: https://twitter.com/PetSafe

Fashion Friday, We're going to #Blogpaws2017

Yes, Curlz and Swirlz is a 'family' blog, all about the cat family! There is a lot of family napping and a lot of family cuddling and a lot of family adventures outside, too...but not idle roaming around, HaHaMeow!

Teri calls our adventures our 'Personal Appearances' and we do get around! Cat shows, visits to Teri's work (aka The Stabby Place) and every once in a while, traveling to something called #BlogPaws! 

Us Man Cats actually got to go to the very first BlogPaws Pet Blogging Conference, back in 2010 in Columbus OH and boy, did we cause a sensation! 

Here's some of our outfits for that very first BlogPaws Conference, as Teri calls it 'Off-The_Rack' wear! 

And we're not sure how we ended up in a Pink Catillac though, cuz now that's Coco's stroller...Thank Cod!

Seems just like with human kids, it's harder to find cute and stylish clothes for Man Cats, too! Seems like Coco, the Couture Cat gets all the attention, and even her mother has an Instagram page...but we don't! 

Teri says she can barely keep up with social media as it is, but she keeps promising to do better, including making us an Instagram page, too! She should cuz Disco recently won a photo contest for Canna-Pet, beating fashionista Coco!! The theme of that photo contest was Canna Pet Dress Up, and if you know us, you know they can and we do!! Here's the winning photo:

We wear mostly casual wear, not the high-fashion couture that Coco wears, and we are OK with that, we like every day to be Casual Friday, HaHaMeow! But we do have a few custom made outfits, from outdoorsy wear to formal wear!

But lately we haven't been having any personal appearances (all these photos are from the archives, sigh) but that is about to change and we are so excited about this news! 

As you might have guessed by the Disclaimer at the beginning of this post, we have been invited to be part of the Cat Lounge Team at this years BlogPaws PetBlogger and Social Media Conference. 

Our little niche in the Cat Lounge will be "Enhancing the Human-Cat Bond" and will will be talking about and showing you some of our favorite products that build a closer relationship with Teri, including carriers, strollers, foraging feeders, clicker training and yes...Pet Clothes!

While we do have our occasional detractor (aka troll) who leave comments on social media that we aren't kids and shouldn't dress up, those of you who have met us see the relationship that we have with Teri (which includes personal appearances and dressing up, always for a pet-related cause because that is how we roll).

This is going to be the best Cat Lounge yet, and Kate Benjamin has scoured the earth for unique items to fill the Lounge, over 200 items to ooh and aah over, including cat-centric clothing for humans as well as cats! 

And there will be a cat astrologer, a fun selfie booth and the authors of many cat books there to sell and sign their books and more! For additional info, just click on this BlogPaws link to get all the details! 

BlogPaws Cat Lounge Readies for Conference!

Caturday Saturday!

We are spending our Caturday doing just what we like best...

Give us a fuzzy blanket or a sun puddle and it's a match made in Heaven!

We hope that whatever your Saturday has in store for you, that it includes some of your favorite things to do, too!

#BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday--Lights, Camera, Action!

Years ago, when Teri got her laptop, she played around making movies, but now she says she's forgotten everything she learned and she doesn't have time to study right now...

But they say that 2017 is going to be the Year of the Video and well, we already know that cat videos are a big hit...so maybe she oughta go back to school and make us the next internet sensation! Or at least make our fans and friends giggle and smile and be happy watching us play and frolic! 

So, just for fun, here is one of the very first videos Teri ever made!

If you'd like to see what other BlogPaws Community bloggers have been up to, maybe even making movies, then you best join in the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop with us!