Why Being "Picky" Isn't All Bad

DISCUSSION POINT:

The Power of Vision - Achieving Your Goals, Starting Your Dream Business, And Creating Your Very Own Masterpiece. 

 

I have a problem.

My mom used to define this problem as being "too picky". This applied to my choices in guys, clothes, purchases, etc.

The truth is that I have a picture in my mind of exactly what I want, and it seems impossible (in the "real" world, I mean) to conjure it myself.

How to Build a Cat Exercise Wheel, Part 1

RESEARCH & REVIEW

Bengalized.com Bengal cat on exercise wheel

Bengal cats are renowned for their energetic antics. You bought cat climbing trees, cat condos, cat toys; you tried scratching posts, catnip and cat calming aids, but for those who live with such a feline, you may want to consider buying a exercise wheel.

Bengal Cat: Jungle Cat

All exploration was courtesy of Meri and her garden in Walla Walla.

The Animal prowled through the tall grasses:

She climbed trees on the hunt:

And practiced her camouflage: 

The Bird Feeder Where Every Bird Finds His Perfect Perch

(AND EVERYONE CAN AFFORD TO BUILD IT)

We have all seen the garden bird feeders that get hung by a black rod iron pole.

It is functional, but not particularly eye catching or attractive. Furthermore, if there are a lot of birds in your area, all of them have to compete for a roost.





As many of her family and friends are aware, Meri in Walla Walla created a practical, attractive and organic solution that resulted in, what I think to be, the most beautiful bird feeder I've ever seen:

This has been a labor of love, crafted from the branches of her generous, ever-producing curly willow in her yard.

A few more images:

Thank you, Meri, for allowing me to post this and also for allowing me to cut my own curly willow branches as a souvenir!

Bengal Cat: The Animal Versus the Window Washer

We had our first (and probably only) window washer clean the windows of our apartment today, and the Animal was pretty disturbed to see a person hanging outside our six-story window.

Trevor and I love natural light and rarely draw the living room blinds, so she knew something was about to happen and, curious as always, had to get a closer look.

Her first suspicion that something entirely new was going to rock her world occurred when the foot appeared outside the window...

... Followed by a bucket and some legs...

 

And then she started to become really alarmed! 

Always the curious one, she leaned in for a closer look...

 

By now the cat was meowing like crazy!!

The window washer was bemused.

Bengal Cat : Breeders in Seattle, WA

Ever since Matsu (a.k.a. The Animal) came into our lives, I've become a HUGE fan of Bengal cats.

While searching for a little cat, I had trouble at first finding a reputable breeder. I've therefore compiled a list of the local breeders in the Seattle and surrounding area:


SNOWYSPOTS BENGALS Monroe, WA
Matsu was born here and I can't say enough great things about Julie and Darrin. The cats are raised underfoot and are very well behaved and socialized.
BENGAL FLATS OF WASHINGTON
EPSILON BENGALS - Matsu's sire lives here! 
DREAMQUEST BENGALS

WHIDBEY BENGALS

DADAELIS BENGALS

ABSOLUTELY OF WASHINGTON
TOUGH AND MIGHTY BENGALS
AVANTI BENGALS OF WASHINGTON
ENCORE BENGALS OF WASHINGTON
BELLA BENGALS OF WASHINGTON
JAVAJUNGLE BENGALS OF WASHINGTON 

 (Assembled from www.bengalcats.com)

I also recommend looking into the Bengal Rescue Network as well as local purebred rescue shelters such as CPR in the Pacific Northwest.

Finally, PLEASE crosscheck your potential bengal source with The International Bengal Cat Society's Disciplinary List. This list provides information about breeders who have been suspended or banned from TIBCS due to negligence or dubious business practices.

Bengal Cat : The Animal, An Update

The Animal has really settled into our lifestyle. She pads around the apartment with us and is always eager to help in so many ways….

For example, she helps unload groceries after grocery shopping:

She oversees the prep-work for cooking:

She’s full of advice about doing the laundry:

She wants to help, not only around the house, but with bill-paying and filing:

Much to our chagrin, she even has a hand in our cleaning and grooming!

Yikes!

Cat Tree Alternatives

Ugly Cat Trees (no offense, cat-tree builders)

 


The Animal loves her ugly little carpeted cat tree (donated by my dad, who was very eager to get it out of his house I might add). I want something for our wonderful kitty to climb and jump and scratch all over, but most cat trees seem like they are simply elevated beds that are always in the way of things. I decided to do a little research….




Two favorites are the HOLLYWOOD FRANKLIN Cat Tower and the HICAT Cat Climber:

Hollywood Franklin

The Appeal:

- Floor-to-ceiling tension (so no worrying about the thing toppling over or needing to find space for a massive base for the tree)

- They both look like an industrial take on something that one would find in NATURE. The Hollywood Franklin looks like a mod tree- perhaps a Ginko. I almost expect the “leaves” to turn bright yellow in the fall. The Hicat looks like one massive tree trunk that you  decided to build your house around instead of chopping down one more tree in the world, and I imagine your cat feels similarly.

- In short: they ain’t BUTT-ugly.

http://hicat.co.uk/

And of course, great things typically have their disillusionments as well:

- PRICE!

In order to purchase a truly functional Hollywood Franklin, I’d have to buy two “Pack A’s” (approx $77/ea) and one or two “Pack B’s” (approx $55/each). So in the end, I’m spending well over $200.00, which I’m just not interested in.

The Hicat, unfortunately, isn’t sold in the US- only in the UK & possibly the EU. If you’re lucky enough to have someone in the UK who will let you use their address for shipping, and then send it over to SEATTLE (where I am), the price- NOT including the eventual international shipping, amounts to about somewhere around 82 – 224… Great Britain Pounds, of course.

So how can somebody with a humble wallet such as mine POSSIBLY get there hands on an attractive, useful cat tree?? Is it the ultimate fate of our kind that we must resort to the hideous, carpeted monstrosities that represent most cat trees under $100? Must we sacrifice for the pleasure of our cats? Can there be NO COMPROMISE?!

This blog entry represents my personal determination to find something budget-friendly, useful, and above all attractive (or at least “artful”), and it is a call to all other do-it-yourselfer’s who detest turning to their wallets, checkbooks and CC’s as the ultimate solutions to these problems. PLEASE comment with any ideas!
Thus far, I’m thinking of seeking donations of emptied carpet rolls from carpet warehouses and Craigslisting sisal rugs….

Project: Cat Shelves - A Cat Tree Alternative

In effort to NOT have a house full of bulky cat trees and scratching posts, I did some research and am in the process of creating attractive vertical space for Matsu.

Here she is demonstrating her new shelves (carpet samples from Flor, shelves & brackets from Ikea, plus some feathers and catnip spray to make them more “attractive”)