Monday, June 8, 2026

The Black Cat Detectives by Kit Gray ~ Blog Tour with Character Guest Post and Giveaway

 


A charming cozy mystery with a delightful twist: The detectives are three kittens with magical powers, determined to solve a most purr-plexing case.

Precocious kittens Bippity, Boppity, and Boop are exceedingly loyal to their human, the twenty-eight-year-old up-and-coming magician Mila. She saved them from starving to death in a dingy Corvin’s Crossing alleyway and has been nothing but loving ever since, even though her own life is in shambles.

So when Mila’s sketchy boyfriend and business manager turns up dead at the end of her big magic show—she’s the prime suspect. With evidence mounting, there’s nothing stopping the sheriff from hauling away Mila to the human pound. Unless the kittens can solve the crime and clear her name.

The kittens will have to use their dubious control over the laws of physics and every whisker of know-how they’ve got to catch the real killer if they want to save their happy home with Mila. This is one meow-stery more tangled than any ball of yarn they’ve encountered yet.


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Are You a Dog Person or a Cat Person?

A Self-Scoring Questionnaire

with Bippity MacAllister

Hello there, humans! I’m Bippity, the cleverest kitten you could ever hope to meet. Does it surprise you to know that many humans find themselves in the sad state of not having a single solitary dog or cat to help them be less… well, forgive me, human, but less human-ish. Yours is a strange and limited species, and it’s a wonder you manage without us helping you along.

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure you do.

Regardless, if you’re one of the many bereft humans without a dog or a cat who calls you their own, I’m here to help. I’ve recently come to learn that there are humans who are more suitable to cats, and those more likely to be adopted by a dog. There are even some humans with the potential to be claimed by either or both!

So I’ve devised a brief self-scoring questionnaire to help you determine whether you are a dog person or a cat person. Each answer will tell you where to score your point(s): Column A or column B. If none of the answers to a particular question suit you, just move on. When you’re finished, add up your score in each column and get your results!


At least 6 points in A, less than 4 in B: Cat person!

You are clever, curious, and discerning, and deserve a companion who can match your energy. Adventuring is wonderful, but it’s a thousand times better with your purr partner at your side, so visit your local cat rescue today and give yourself the chance to meet your soulmate!

At least 4 points in B, less than 6 in A: Dog person!

You’re a goof, but that’s okay, because dogs are goofs too. You can waggle and slobber and burp together and do whatever it is dog people do for fun. Brutus says there are lots and lots of dogs who need good homes, so visit a shelter or rescue and tell them all about your ridiculous self so they can help you find an equally ridiculous partner in whatever dogs and dog people get up to.

At least 6 in A and at least 4 in B: Ambi-pet-uous! Both Dogs and Cats!

You’re a bit of an odd one, human. You’re smart and creative, but also not too caught up in being prim. I see great things in your future. I’ve heard rumors of kittens raised with dogs and puppies raised with cats, and how they can become best friends with guidance and care. I do admit, having a dog to ride on like how humans ride horses seems like it could be useful. However, I encourage you to do your research and make sure the fur-family you rescue are going to be happy with the arrangement, too.

Less than 6 in A, less than 4 in B:

Time to consider an aquarium. Though I’m told you’re not supposed to eat the fish, so I’m not clear on the point.

Photo via Pexels, taken by Valentin Cvetanoski, https://www.instagram.com/valentinn02_

About the Author:

Kit Gray aka Elise Scott writes from their lived experiences of queerness, disability, neurodivergence, fat-positivity, and petting three cats with two hands. Their life has been an adventure, from facilitating equine therapy for trauma survivors to counseling at-risk youth with the aid of an inordinately large sub-woofer and beyond. They earned their BA from Mount Holyoke and their MS from Capella University. Their debut novel, a cozy mystery featuring three kittens with the ability to bend the laws of physics, who must solve a murder to save their rescuer from the human pound, is forthcoming from Crooked Lane in May 2026. Elise is a Not Quite Write Prize winner and Best-of-the-Net nominee. Their short work has appeared/is forthcoming in The Advocate, Choices: An Anthology of Reproductive Horror, The Not Quite Write Anthology 2025, The B’K, Five Minutes, Knee Brace, All Existing, and Quibble, among others. Find out what they’re working on now at http://elise-scott.com.

Author Links:

Website: https://elise-scott.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEliseScott/
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/elisescott.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisescottwrites/
X: https://x.com/buttonjar1
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/58697146.Kit_Gray
Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/authorkitgray


Saturday, June 6, 2026

Caturday Art


Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!



And now our weekly answers for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

Mommy's answers:

1. My plans for June include stalking stores for Halloween decor and counting down the days until Christmas in July.

2. Letting Mo go is the bravest thing I have ever done. He's the first cat I've had to make that most heartbreaking decision for. Dad told me after he was surprised I was able to do it. 

3. I swear by sucking on an Altoid as a cure for an upset stomach.

Mudpie's answer: 

4. As if my ear wasn't bad enough, I've been coughing and sneezing the past couple days too! Stupid allergies! (There was a story on our local news the other night saying that because of a cooler spring pollen season got a late start this year, but now the pollen levels are even higher than usual.)

Friday, June 5, 2026

Unboxing May's CatLadyBox

The theme of May's CatLadyBox was the Cat Mom's Box...here's what was inside!


Featured Cat Lady Artist:
Macu Barreto

I Only Talk To Cat People Tee:
I don't know what I love most about this tee - what it says or the color!

Mod Meow Wall Clock:
I've seen many people on Facebook painting this clock to look like their cat, even torties! I wish I was that crafty and creative. I have mine hanging in the kitchen.

Meow Money Mini Wallet:
Such a darling little wallet! I'm giggling at the thought of a cat carrying this into the store to do their own shopping.

Kitty Paws Binder Clips:
These make boring paperwork so much more fun.

Ice Cream Sammie Catnip Toy & Boop N' Smooch Wand Toy:
The wand is just purrfect for those nose boops we love to give, and the ice cream sammie is beyond adorable (and yummy looking!)

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Disclosure: I receive a discount on my CatLadyBox subscription as a thank you for my monthly review. Regardless of compensation received, we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. 

Sunday, May 31, 2026

My Poor Ear #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

I mentioned on Friday that I had to go back to the vet. When I was last there (just 2 weeks ago) some debris in my itchy right ear was taken to look at under a microscope, and bacteria was found, so the vet wanted to see me again. 

Waiting in the car. I think I was just here a couple weeks ago, Mommy.

This year Mommy started taking me to a new vet that she just loves, but it's a very small practice and last week they had to close for several days because of a "personal tragedy". We later found out the wonderful vet tech lost her home in a fire in the middle of the night, and all 4 of her pets were killed. Unimaginable. 

So once they reopened Mommy made an appointment. Remember how I said I had lost a couple pounds at my last weigh in? Well I gained a little of it back MOL! Must be that rotisserie chicken Mommy got me. But the vet said she is ecstatic that my appetite is so good, because that's not the case for so many CKD kitties. 

But my right ear is a mess, to put it mildly. For the past several weeks the "stuff" you see in the above photo has been coming out of my ear. It's hard as a rock. There are days my ear makes me feel just miserable. The vet went through several q-tips trying to clean it out to no avail. She doesn't know if chronic inflammation has caused the ear canal to narrow or if there might be a mass in there. She sent us home with a daily salve to make the ear more comfortable for me, and a cleaner to be used twice a week. Then she wants to see me again in 3 weeks in hopes it gets cleaned out enough for her to see what's going on in there. 

No, I was not trying to hack into the vet's computer. I would never. 

Of course Mommy had a panic attack hearing the word "mass". This ear has been a problem off and on for the past 3 years and we never considered it a big deal. Our prior vet chalked it up to allergies (which makes sense because I have asthma), so we're hoping and praying it's inflammation that we can manage with medication.

If anyone has experience with this type of thing, please let us know! 

We're joining our friends at The Cat on My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!  

Saturday, May 30, 2026

Minty Mudpie #CaturdayArt


Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!



And now our weekly answers for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. Finding Mudpie online, even though my heart was still shattered from losing Truffles just a few weeks before is the luckiest thing that ever happened to me.

2. A container of Trader Joe's chocolate mascarpone with Mudpie pee in it (for a urinalysis) is the most unusual item in my refrigerator. 

3. My patience is lacking. I always say when God handed out patience I didn't have the patience to stand in line for it! 

4. I have more than enough Halloween and Christmas decorations. Yet I look forward to shopping for more every year.