Chuck Uping

Smokey and I have been in real creative moods lately. I'm not sure what's spurring me on, but for him I think its his new cat toys. I kept hearing about how great they are on "My Cat From Hell", and Smokey kept begging me to get one, so I finally broke down. Now he has 3! Though I think the one I bought him most recently at HomeGoods (they have amazing pet products for great prices!), is probably his favorite. Its amazing what giving them a little predator stimulation can do. I know he hunts rats at night, but I guess even during his 18hr nap time, he likes to play a little too.

He got to adventure last week when I brought him into work with me.He just came for half day this time. Of course he was thrilled about the elevator ride, he's never gone up one on a leash before. So many new sights and smells. Once he got to the office, he settled in at my feet for a nice long nap, sort of. All the patients wanted to see him, especially this little girl when she heard there was a kitty in the office. He's just a big old tease though and would duck under the desk whenever someone wanted to pat him, then pop back out the minute they stepped back and start purring. So obnoxious!

I've actually had several people ask me lately if I do any pet photography. While I never went to school for photography, I did take some classes in HS and have always had a passion for. That mixed with my love of animals... I love taking Smokey's picture, he's a great model, as well can Tessa be should the mood strike her and she doesn't want to be sitting on you instead. I've turned all of my pets into glamor models at some point.

To fully answer this question, yes, I do pet photography. I am working on a small portfolio of some of my work, but for those interested, you can see some of my adorable pets here. Or.. you know, closely related pets of friends and family.

Panda

Scout

Smokey

Leia

Tessa

Peter

Smokey and I have also joined up to help a close friend of ours, Cindy Waggoner, with her new non-profit organization John R Hamil Animal Wellness Foundation Inc. They are located in Blount County, TN. 

"Our "main" goal is to subsidize spay/neuter/vaccinations for the pets of qualifying low income families in Blount Co TN. We are also branching out in humane education as we have had several children bitten by dogs so we are currently raising funds to purchase dog bite prevention dvds for elementary school teachers here in Blount Co."

We've offered to help out in any way we can, including helping with a 'logo' so people remember them, making collars, or evening going up to help out. Anyone interested in finding out more about them you can contact Cindy via her facebook.

Keep Up!

Life is good for Smokey. His health is doing awesome, he's even lost 5lbs! Which is great news for his Diabetes. He thinks he's a kitten again, and is getting into everything. Which, isn't the best, but some how he makes it cute. When he's not out and about, he spends his time napping on my bed.

Its good to have him around, because while it might look like he's sleeping, he's also helping me brainstorm ideas for now things to work on. As the greeting cards were starting to wear me down, I've decided to put them on the back burner for a little while. Smokey has suggested I perhaps do some work to help raise money and awareness for animal charities. Such as the Humane Society, ASPCA, and other local, smaller animal rescue agencies.  I'm happy to hear any ideas, or if anyone has a non-profit they'd like help getting the word out about, please let me know. We're happy to help!

Some of these things will be going a completely new direction, such as my new business card:

Smokey likes the way he looks in silhouette. So right now I'm leaning towards this for possible stickers, bumper sticker, car magnets, etc. He really wants me to start with an awareness ribbon for feline diabetes. I have that one in the works now. We make them for ourselves, we should have them for our furry family members too. Everything else is still a work in progress, hopefully I'll be able to get some work up soon.

Right now I'm applying to go back to college for Psychology. Maybe I'll go into pet psychology. People aren't the only ones with problems.

As a final word, I wanted to share a story about Smokey's friend (my aunt's cat), Pepe. He's just recently taken to eating bread, and lots of it! Now while I always knew Smokey enjoys a table scrap now and then, I'd never heard of cats going after bread. At least not to the extent of ripping open bags, getting on counters, etc. So I looked into it and apparently its a much more common thing than you might think.

Here are a few threads about it: Bread Eatting, Where's My Bread?, International

Cat Whisperer

 While Smokey may not be worlds most well mannered cat, he's certainly no cat from hell. For any of you cat lovers who have not discovered the wonders of the show "My Cat From Hell", you should check it out. It airs on Animal Planet and is a fantastic show. You can check out the show and the cat whisperer, Jackson Galaxy on his website.

It's very inspiring getting to see people who think they could never love a cat, let one into their hearts. Couples and families that are at their wits end, because they love their cats so much, but just don't know how to handle them. You get to watch them transform, its a great show for those who may need a little cat training. Not everyone can be so lucky to end up with a Smokey. You know, if you put aside his nagging at night and banging on doors....

I think he likes to watch the show while I'm at work to pick up on some pointers, only the good ones I hope.

We plan on reading his book Cat Daddy, when it comes out this May. And for those interested, for every copy of the book that's preordered, $1 will be donated to helping save shelter cats. Just email Jackson a copy of your receipt.



Check him out! It's worth a look.