Please vote for Shalybon Cockers

I'm trying something out for Lynda McLean - I now have a banner prepared for Shalybon Cockers & have a voting button on her index page - I wonder if you all would click on this Vote For Us button to give Lynda votes and/or go to her web site home page at: www.shalyboncockers.com and at the bottom of the page click on the Vote For Us bottom. I truly want to see if votes are really tallied and how many she gets. Would like to see Lynda keep up there on the first page of the American Cockers Top Sites page for awhile and she can only stay there as long as folks visit her web site at least once a month and click on the vote button each time. :0) Would you all do that please. Thanks and happy holidays!

CAT Rules

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door.

Dear Cats, The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate of food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets

1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.
(That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Free Holiday E-Book

I have a nice ebook about holiday traditions that I would like to give to you absolutely FREE of charge. Please email me dottye789@earthlink.net to get your copy.

Spoiled kitkat

MOUNT WASHINGTON, Pa. (UPI) -- The apricot scones a Pennsylvania couple gives their cat for afternoon tea got them only second place in Cat Fancy magazine's annual Spoiled Cat contest.

The first place went to the owners of KitKat, a thoroughly spoiled animal in DeMotte, Ind., the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said.

If KitKat is curled up on the lap of someone watching television, that person will knock on the wall to summon help changing the channel rather than disturb the cat. Family members also get up at night to guide KitKat to its feeding dish with a flashlight.

"Cat Fancy likes to see people spoil their cats, but it seemed like these went beyond spoiled," the editor, Susan Logan, told the Post-Gazette.

Emelie, an 8-year-old 17-pound Maine Coon cat in Mount Washington, Pa., certainly has a life many humans would envy. She gets thin-sliced salmon several times a week, turkey and pumpkin puree in a crystal dish at Thanksgiving and a fish loaf cake every year on her birthday with a statue of Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess on top, the newspaper said.

Merrie Beth Samways, who owns Emelie with her husband, Ian, says she prefers the term "creatively pampered" to "spoiled."

Ferrets

I've never had a ferret, but my husband has. He describes a ferret as "a kitten who never grows up!". He used to raise several at a time, building outdoor cages for them, but also allowing them to come inside.

I rented an apartment years ago from a lady who was on the board of directors of the Pasco County Humane Society. She was also a vet tech. She permitted renters to have cats and dogs, but not ferrets (by this time, my husband's ferrets were out of the picture anyway), because they were so hard to train, and had an odor that was impossible to get out of carpet, etc.

I was surprised when I heard that- Jim's animals had been easy to live with, playful little rascals who had given him lots of love and devotion. There had to be a way to train a ferret to make it a good pet, and manage its behavior in the house.

Click Here to Find Out how to Train your Ferret!