Paw it Forward, Hippo Madness, Thankful Fur Three Blog Hop, and other Miscellaneous Stuff

So yesterday sucked in the Cat Blogosphere - too many of our friends had to run off to the bridge.

But today is a new day, and though we are sad, life goes on and things will get better.

So today, we return to our happy posts - about the Paw it Forward, about Hippo Madness, a new fun blog hop we are in, and about just the crazy cats at our house. Oh, and Hippo Madness will continue later this evening with pics - I didn't have a chance to get them uploaded yet.

Let's start with the cats. Lola is doing good in her own room - she is even playing a little, which she didn't do too often even when she was not having any stress issues. I can't tell, but I think she has lot a little weight on her new lower calorie food (she just adores the kitten crunchies, which are very high calorie - much to high for a pudgy girl like her). She does get time outside (if she wants - one day she went right back in) and I do try and have limited visits in her room, one at a time. She tolerates them well, which is good.

The kittens are doing great - they go for their ectomies (lady garden and hoo-ha) next week and so I decided to take a couple days off - one to be sure to find every tiny bit of food that got under any cabinet so the can't eat it, and the other to drive them up (after the fiasco with Barney and my car breaking down last year, it seemed like a good idea). They will come home the next day. They are both pretty adventureous, and the other day Gus decided to climb on top of the TV (ala Milo Marshall) - it is mounted to the wall, and he climbed up the back and the mount to the top. I didn't get a picture (wish I had) but it turned out ok.

Virgil has gotten more snuggly lately - probably because Lola isn't around to chase and bother. He tends to snuggle more with Brad but that is ok, because he does snuggle a bit with me too.

Barney is, well, Barney - he loves to try and get into Lola's room when I go in and out. He makes it sometimes. Other than that he is just enjoying himself and playing with the kittens.

Kirzon is still rubbing his mouth - he loves it and I am positive it is why it causes him problems. I tell him to stop but I know he keeps it up. He is good though, it isn't really bothering him (he has liked to rub his mouth on things since it first had problems years ago - even when it isn't having any problems he does it - I just don't get the appeal) and he is eating great. He has been a little barfy but he has always been that way so it isn't anything I am worried about - if it is often or goes on multiple days I would be concerned, but mostly it is just hairball/eating to fast issues. He is still his normal self - tolerates the kittens but not too interested in playing - he lets them bat at his tail a few times before bopping them though, which is nice (though he does give a low growl as a warning first).

Ok, so on to the Paw it Forward/Hippo Madness Stuff! So, based on the responses the people who will be playing Paw it Forward with us are ♥Gracie♥ from Goodness Gracie, Tygana and Pepper from One Cat's Nip and Molly, Casper, Ben and Archie from Cat's Cats. And our first hippo host will be Connor and Lizzie from Chez Cat (and then they will pick who is next, then the next person picks, etc., so if you want to host, be sure to follow the hippo!) I will be doing more about them all in a couple days when I send stuff (once we have a hippo name), so if any of you who volunteered have had second thoughts let me know - I know this has been a crazy week and things may have come up that will change your minds, so please let us know! But we are super excited! And there are still two days to vote for a name - so if you want to pick one do it soon!!

And, good news, KoKo the kitty who's story made me so mad the other day has been adopted - we did a short post earlier - you can see it below this one!

And now, for the blog hop!

So, in addition to the Paw it Forward and Hippo Madness stuff, we are also participating in a very cool blog hop that was started by our new friends at The Teacher's Pets It is pretty easy, and super fun - here are the guidelines, and the links for everyone participating are down below!

I like to keep things simple so here are the 3 guidelines FUR the blog hop:

1. To join in the Thankful Fur 3 Thursday, include your link in our list, follow the hostesses (The Teacher’s Pets and my lovely friend, Maggie Mae) in the first 2 spots and WE PROMISE TO FOLLOW YOU IN RETURN and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Thursday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

2. When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Thankful FUR 3 Thursday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would think it was pawsome if you grabbed our Thankful FUR 3 Thursday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post but please don't feel obligated to do so! The more bloggers that find out about Thankful FUR 3 Thursday and participate, the better!

3. Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “Get the code here…” at the bottom of the list.