Shedding #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

You know the first thing Mommy noticed when she looked at this picture? All the loose furs on my back! And would you believe she's brushing me every single day??? She's brushed enough fur off me this summer to build an army of Mudpies, yet there's always more.

Maybe I could earn a little extra treat money using ideas from the Crafting with Cat Hair book...

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

Purple Haze #CaturdayArt

Meows from Mudpie!

As is so often the case when I'm undecided on what to do for my Caturday Art project, I asked Mommy to throw a bunch of effects at a picture until we ended up with something we both like. I really think we hit the jackpot with this one!

We created this using our favorite photo editor, PicMonkey. (Speaking of PicMonkey, have you downloaded their mobile app yet?)

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

Fun Feline Finds: Socksmith Cat Socks Review & Giveaway

We've featured cat socks here before because they're such a fun fashion accessory. Sock drawers were definitely invented for a reason because you can never have too many pairs of socks...especially when they have cute cats on them!

Socksmith contacted us recently and asked if we'd like to check out their line of cat socks. Since they're the designers behind one of my all-time favorite pairs, the Cats on Books socks, I was eager to see more. (Contrary to what you might be thinking, I had no input when they created this design. Cats and books just belong together!)

Based in Santa Cruz, a town is known for its freethinking creativity and laid-back surf lifestyle, Socksmith's motto is "no boring socks" and it shows with their large selection of colorful, bold graphics and fun, creative designs.

Take a look at the goodies that Socksmith sent me (from left to right):

Tuxedo Cats

Lucky Cat

Kittenster

Catstronaut

Socks aren't just a way to keep your feet warm, they're an eclectic way to make a statement. And the statement that I want to makes is that I ADORE CATS!!!

Socksmith has generously allowed me to offer two lucky winners their choice of two of the cat-themed style socks featured here today. To enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter below. Good luck! (US entries only, please.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is sponsored by Socksmith. I am being compensated for reviewing these products but we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Socksmith is not responsible for the content of this article.

Is It Hot Enough For You? #ThrowbackThursday

As I type this we're suffering through our tenth 90 plus degree day of the summer. While I know that's nothing compared to the heat wave boiling other parts of the country, it's kind of newsworthy in our neck of the woods. Suffice it to say we are NOT big fans of summer here at our house.

Angel Tara had very thick fur and suffered terribly in the summer. I would brush enough fur out of her on a regular basis to make another cat but she would still lie around the house prostrate from the heat.

The following photos are a few of my favorites of Tara. I kept a small desk fan near her at all times, and one day I looked over to see her back legs straddling the fan, her little hips moving as it turned back and forth. How I wish I had videotaped it because it was absolutely priceless!!!

My, what a little exhibitionist she was!

Reunited & It Feels So Good

Meows from Mudpie!

If you were with us last week at this time you read all about the near tragedy that struck my favorite toy, lovingly referred to as Baby.

Thankfully Baby has fully recovered and we've been spending long, blissful days playing and napping together.

Don't we make a cute couple? Our colors even match!

Little Cats Helping Big Cats #TreatTheirWildSide

"God made the cat in order that man might have the pleasure of caressing the lion." - Fernand Mery

"A cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes." - Indian Saying

"The cat was created when the lion sneezed." - Arabian Proverb

"A cat is a tiger that is fed by hand." - Proverb

*Prowling his own quiet backyard or asleep by the fire, he is still only a whisker away from the wilds.* - Jean Burden

Lions, tigers, leopards, and all the other majestic wild cats we admire from afar really aren't all that different from our cherished house cats. Whether they’re pets or not, cats are cats, and they deserve our love and respect, so when we were asked to help spread the word about a new line of cat treats that benefit a sanctuary for big cats, Mudpie's answer was a resounding "ROAR" (okay, it was a "meow").

The family-owned, high-quality pet supplement company H3 Essentials is partnering with Chris Poole of Cole & Marmalade™, IHeartCats.com and Pure Formulas to kick off the ‘Little Cats Helping Big Cats’ campaign. Every purchase of their new line of cat treats will support and bring awareness to Big Cat Rescue, an accredited sanctuary for exotic cats in Tampa, Fla. that is home to more than 80 lions, tigers, bobcats, cougars and other cats that have been abandoned, neglected or abused.

Available in rabbit, minnows, ahi tuna and chicken, the treats are all-natural, grain and gluten-free, good for feline oral care and 100 percent made in the USA. Each bag of cat treats retails at $7.99 and is available online only through H3 Essentials and Pure Formulas.

So what was Mudpie's opinion of the treats? This is one of those cases where a picture speaks a thousand words. Quite blurry and off-center (because I felt like I was in danger of losing a finger!), these treats definitely brought out Mudpie's wild side!!!

Visit www.LittleCatsHelpingBigCats.com to learn more about the campaign and share in the conversation on social media with hashtag #TreatTheirWildSide. 

Disclaimer: Treats were sent to us for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own and we never recommend a product we don’t fully believe in.

Book Review: The Cat, the Collector and the Killer by Leann Sweeney

From the publisher: In the latest mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Cat, the Sneak and the Secret, a cat collector is suspected of murder.

Jillian Hart and police chief Tom Stewart are enjoying peaceful, newly wedded bliss in Mercy, South Carolina, until a woman is found wandering the streets one night. She's in her night clothes, disoriented, and carrying a kitten in a tote bag. A search of the woman’s house reveals many more cats, a maze of cardboard boxes—and a dead man.

Although the evidence suggests the frail woman is the killer, Jillian doesn’t believe she’s capable of such a crime. The dead man had many enemies in town, which means finding the real murderer may prove to be its own cat and mouse game...

Leann Sweeney's adoration of cats shines through in every line she writes of the Cats in Trouble mystery series. Through the years I've come to love these characters and now that Tom and Jillian have married a whole new world of story lines are waiting to be written.

In this eighth book in the series Jillian's newlywed bliss takes a back seat when her dear friend Shawn, owner of Mercy Animal Shelter, needs her help. Complaints have been coming in from cat lady Minnie Schultz's neighbors that she's letting her cats roam free, but because there's a restraining order against him by animal control officer Chester, he can't intervene. Jillian agrees to look into the situation, only to find Chester dead in Minnie's home alongside stacks of boxes and cats everywhere. Worse yet, poor Minnie is found roaming downtown in her nightclothes with a kitten in her tote bag, unable to answer any questions about what's going on.

Jillian always becomes emotionally involved with the people she meets in each book, and this time is no exception. She takes the kitten home, befriends Minnie, her family, and other innocent victims who become ensnared in a killer's trap. Speaking of the killer - while I had my suspicions about this character I was stunned nonetheless. And the part dirty kitty litter played in the capture had me cringing and howling with laughter!

If you're a cat lover who doesn't typically read cozies...you'll love this series.

If you're a mystery reader who's not a cat person (I'll try to forgive you)...you'll love this series.

Start from the beginning and read all eight. You'll see for yourself why the Cats in Trouble series is one of the most beloved on bookstore shelves today. I know it's at the top of my list!

The Cat, the Collector and the Killer will be released on August 2nd. Pre-order today!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Mudpie in Dreamland #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

Dreaming seems to be the theme of our blog this weekend, doesn't it? But really, in this disgusting heat what else is there to do but snooze it away?

After our dreamy artwork yesterday we thought you might enjoy a picture of me in dreamland. I guess technically this is sort of a paw selfie :)

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

Dream a Little Dream Of Me #CaturdayArt

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

Farm Animals Deserve Better #ShopWithYourHeart

While this is a cat blog, I care about the welfare of *all* animals.

My father grew up on a dairy farm which remained in operation  until a tragic fire in 2001. As a little girl I would visit with the cows, pigs and chickens, not fully understanding what was destined to become of my newfound friends.

Today I rarely eat meat. If it weren't for other members of my household I likely never would. Give me a plate of rice, beans and grilled veggies and I'm a happy girl. The treatment of farm animals is important to me, so when I do purchase meat, egg and dairy products I want to make sure they don't come from factory farms. Luckily our multitude of organic farms here in Vermont provide better options such as grass fed beef and cage-free eggs.

It's a hard statistic to stomach, but most of the nearly 9 billion animals raised for meat, milk and eggs in the US are suffering in inhumane factory farms. And animals aren't the only ones affected, as factory farms impact human health—they can be breeding grounds for dangerous pathogens and the antibiotics used to prevent disease create the potential for dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria to develop.

To fully harness the power of our collective purchases and demand better lives for farm animals, the Shop With Your Heart initiative gives consumers the resources to recognize, locate and demand meaningfully welfare-certified meat, eggs and dairy products as well as plant-based alternatives.

Take the Pledge!

Pledge to be a more welfare-conscious shopper by visiting aspca.org/shopwithyourheart. Everyone who signs the pledge also gains access to an exclusive Shop With Your Heart Grocery List, including welfare-certified and widely available plant-based brands.

Make Heart Hands for Farm Animals!

Pose with your hands in a heart shape and post a photo using the tag #shopwithyourheart to let your friends know you believe in a more humane world for farm animals. Don’t forget to tell us where you shop to find more humane products—give the stores a shout-out by tagging them, too!

We have the chance to make billions of farm animals' lives better by making a few simple changes to how we shop. Please watch this video to learn more about the "Shop With Your Heart" campaign:

Is animal welfare an important consideration for you when shopping?

Craft for Your Local Shelters Day: DIY Cat Toys Using Dollar Store Materials!

I'm the least crafty person you're likely to ever meet. While I love to wander the aisles at Michaels and imagine all the possibilities on those shelves, it's just not happening. Have you ever seen those cute bunny rabbits made just by folding a washcloth a certain way? I tried that once...the results would have frightened small children.

Today is National Craft for Your Local Shelters Day, a day to use your creative skills to give back to your local shelter by making something: toys, beds, blankets, collars, "adopt me" bandanas. I googled "DIY cat toys" and found a few ideas that even *I* could handle, so off to the Dollar Store I went where I picked up two items: a package of pipe cleaners and a package of feathers.

Here's what I came up with:

1) Spring toy: Simply wrap a pipe cleaner around a pen or pencil to create a spring shape. You could also make a double spring by wrapping a second pipe cleaner between the coils of the first.

2) Aluminum foil toy: Who needs to buy balls when kitties love batting around balls made from rolled up pieces of aluminum foil! Doesn't it look like a fish skeleton when you secure a piece of pipe cleaner inside?

3) Wine cork toy: Please tell me I'm not the only one with a jar full of wine corks in my kitchen? The designs on some are so pretty I just can't bear to toss them out, but they can be repurposed into a cat toy! I cut a pipe cleaner into three pieces, then made holes on both sides of the wine cork with a push pin just big enough to push in the pipe cleaner pieces and feathers. Pieces of rick rack would work nicely too. This toy gives kitty something to sink their claws into, bat, drag, and toss around.

4) Ring toy: Cats love milk rings, but I always worry that with too much chewing a piece could get swallowed. A pipe cleaner curled up into a circle a few times is much sturdier, and you can curl in the ends to make sure it doesn't come undone.

How easy was that??? In no time at all I'll have a basket full of toys to bring to the shelter...and all I spent was $2!!! Each of these toys can be placed in the communal cat areas, inside cages, or even tied to the outsides of cages to be batted around.

A word of caution when using pipe cleaners: Always fold in the ends to remove the sharp edges of the wire!

Have you ever made any DIY cat toys for your kitty or shelter? Tell us about them!

The Case of the Drowned Rat

Meows from Mudpie!

A couple months ago we had our Inspector Mudpie graphic created with the intentions of writing some short stories with me as the detective. Little did I know that I would end up on the case of a near tragedy in my very own home!

Everyone has seen this picture of me in happier times with my favorite toy. This animal print mousie was in the PurrPack box that I reviewed last year. It was my first review after moving into my forever home and we formed an instant bond. I've named her "Baby" and I've been known on more than one occasion to howl for her when I can't find her. I pick her up in my teeth and toss her in the air and we have so much fun together.

Sunday night when Mommy went to bed Baby and I were playing in the living room.

Monday morning we woke up to find her face down in my water bowl.

Photo recreation minus the water

Mommy dove in to save her before I hyperventilated. After wringing her out we had to find a place for her to dry *sob*. Hanging her outside wasn't an option because it was raining, plus I feared some klepto squirrel might take a shine to her! Mommy tried hanging her on the bathtub rack but in no time I had pulled her down.

Now she hangs all by herself inside the screen door where I can't get to her, and I'm howling and searching for her in the bathroom...

Mommy says that since I was the last one to be seen with the victim, I most likely bopped Baby into the water all by myself while playing, but I'm a better caretaker than that! I think a neighbor kitty broke in and it was attempted murder!

What do you think happened to my Baby???

Mudpie Interviews...Artist BZTAT on Oh My, Mia Meow! Children's Book

Meows from Mudpie!

Today I'm so excited to be interviewing Artist BZTAT about her sweet kitty Mia, the feline star of her very own children's book, Oh My, Mia Meow!, which is currently in the fundraising process through an Indiegogo campaign.

Mia is a very clever kitty who has many important lessons to teach children, and we're really looking forward to seeing her book come to fruition. Please help us spread the word!
 



Mudpie: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today! Could you start by telling us a little about your sweet Mia and how she came to become a part of your family? 

BZTAT: You are welcome! Thanks for asking me to talk with you and your readers!

Mia Meow is a small tortoise shell cat. She will be 3 years old next month. I met her as I was trapping a colony of cats for TNR (trap/neuter/return) in a neighborhood in Canton, OH. Her mother, Patches, is a beautiful calico cat who has had several litters, and the colony consisted of a number of her children of various ages. Mia and 2 other kittens were the last litter, and they were about 4 weeks old when we first started trapping.

We trapped and neutered some of the older offspring first. We waited to trap Patches until the kittens were old enough to be weaned. One of the kittens developed a severe upper respiratory infection and sadly, he had to be euthanized. The other one was very friendly, and as soon as he was old enough, he was adopted by a local family.

Mia proved to be a little bit harder to catch. Trapping is a difficult process, and you don’t always catch the cats in the preferred order! We ended up trapping Patches before Mia. Thinking we would catch Mia on the same day, we took Patches to the clinic to make sure she didn’t get pregnant again. It took 3 more days to catch Mia! I felt so bad having her out there without her mom or brothers. Taking that extra time to catch her bonded us together, though.

Mia had a family interested in adopting her, but she was a bit skittish at first, and they backed out. I fostered her with the intent of socializing her for adoption, but I fell in love with the little sprite, and she has been with me ever since.

What made you decide that she would be the purr-fect star of a children's book?

Although she began her life as an outdoor cat, Mia has turned into a great house cat. Even so, she loves to sit in the windows and “chase” the birds and squirrels that she sees from inside. I always get the sense that she is longing for adventure, even though she is happy with her home. The story for the book is inspired by this sense of adventure that I see in her.

The book, though, was not only inspired by Mia. I got the idea for the book from working as a teaching artist with preschool students in an arts integration program. Last year, I started painting pictures and telling stories of Mia Meow to introduce art lessons with my students. The kids LOVED the paintings and they loved hearing stories about Mia! After seeing how much they loved her, I decided to make the book so that many more children could enjoy her story.

What do you hope kids will learn in Oh My, Mia Meow?

The story is simple and fun, yet there is an important, underlying message to it. The message is that our power is in our creativity and our imagination. The story teaches children that they can overcome obstacles with creative thinking and imaginative resourcefulness. It is a very important message. The jobs of the future will require creative thinking skills, yet so much of our educational programming for children strips away creativity. We are not properly preparing our children for the careers that will be available to them someday. My hope is that Mia Meow will teach them to be curious and creative at a young age to help them prepare for the future.

How can we all help to support this project?

There are several things that you can do to help. First of all, you can contribute to the Indiegogo Campaign that I have running currently to raise funds for the book. By contributing to the campaign, you can preorder copies of the book and get other perks as well. If you want to support the campaign but don’t have a young person around, you can donate books to schools or other organizations.

You can also help spread the word. Share with others who may have an interest in supporting the campaign, and share about it in social media. And don’t just share once, share often! Share why it is important, too. There are so many crowdfunding campaigns out there these days, people need to hear why this one merits their attention.

Back to Mia the kitty, as a tortie myself I know a little about tortitude. How does Mia flaunt hers?

Oh my…

You see, the name of the book is “Oh My, Mia Meow!” for good reason. Mia never fails to astonish and amaze! Tortitude is a sassy flair of independence and fun, and Mia flaunts that every chance she gets!

Links:

Indiegogo Campaign: http://bit.ly/MiaMeowFund 

Mia Meow Website: www.miameow.com

Mia Meow Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mymiameow  

Mia Meow Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyMiaMeow 

BZTAT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistbztat 

BZTAT Twitter: https://twitter.com/BZTAT 

BZTAT Studios Website: http://bztatstudios.com/

Book Trailer:

Photos used with permission: Artist BZTAT

Book Review: Arsenic with Austen by Katherine Bolger Hyde

From the publisher: When Emily Cavanaugh inherits a fortune from her great aunt, she expects her life to change. She doesn't expect to embark on a murder investigation, confront the man who broke her heart 35 years before, and nearly lose her own life.

Emily travels to the sleepy coastal village of Stony Beach, Oregon, to claim her inheritance, centered in a beautiful Victorian estate called Windy Corner but also including a substantial portion of the real estate of the whole town. As she gets to know the town's eccentric inhabitants--including her own once-and-possibly-future love, Sheriff Luke Richards--she learns of a covert plan to develop Stony Beach into a major resort. She also hears hints that her aunt may have been murdered. Soon another suspicious death confirms this, and before long Emily herself experiences a near-fatal accident.

Meanwhile, Emily reads Persuasion, hoping to find belated happiness with her first love as Anne Elliot did with Captain Wentworth. She notices a similarity between her not-quite-cousin Brock Runcible, heir to a smaller portion of her aunt's property, and Mr. Elliot in Persuasion, and her suspicions of Brock crystallize. But as she and Luke continue to investigate and events speed toward a climax, Emily realizes that underneath the innocent-looking rocks of Stony Beach lurk festering jealousies that would have shocked even the worst of Jane Austen's charming reprobates.

2016 has been a banner year for debuts, and Arsenic with Austen has earned a spot right at the top of the pile!

The first Crime with the Classics mystery introduces us to widowed literature professor Emily Cavanaugh, bored with her life and looking for a change. When her great aunt Beatrice passes away she returns home to Windy Corner to claim her inheritance. She hasn't been back in 35 years and doesn't look forward to running into her lost love Sheriff Luke Richards. Having had very little contact with her aunt since leaving Emily is stunned to learn that she's inherited the vast majority of a *very* large estate, much to the chagrin of her cousin who was hoping to inherit more in order to buy into a huge development plan. It's not long before Emily starts to suspect that Beatrice was actually murdered, especially when another suspicious death takes place in the house. Teaming up with the Sheriff to get to the bottom of things, they begin to fall in love again, even as Emily is hiding a tragic secret dating back to their brief time together.

I loved the almost gothic atmosphere of Arsenic with Austen, with much of the action taking place in an amazing old Victorian complete with a library to die for. The cover kitty is the curmudgeonly Bustopher Jones who is silently suffering the loss of his beloved mistress. Other secondary characters include cat whisperer/Emily's BFF Marguerite, and the mayor's niece Katie who moves into the Victorian with her newborn, rounding out a very strong debut. The references to Jane Austen will delight Austenophiles everywhere.

I can't wait to see what comes next for Emily, Luke, Katie, and the plans that are being made for the charming Victorian's future.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Pissy Mood #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

I hope no one is offended that I used the word pissy. This is a family blog, after all. Oh well. This is my blog and I can say whatever I want...you can't censor this tortie!

Yikes...I guess I am in a pissy mood, but I have very good reasons!

First of all, it's so freakin' hot!!! My favorite thing to do during the day is play, but it's so hot I just don't feel like it. When it finally decides to cool off around midnight I start pulling out my toys and zooming around the house...but then Mommy says it's time for bed! I just can't win.

Then the past couple mornings I've had brief coughing spells because of my asthma which resulted in my gagging and losing my breakfast.

Yesterday morning my grandma tried to rub my tummy and I grabbed her hand (claws out) and started bunny kicking her!

So when Mommy told me it was time to take my selfie this week, this is the best that I could muster. (Anyone know if there's such a thing as kitty PMS?)

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

Who Wouldn't Want To Paint Me? #CaturdayArt

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

Fun Feline Finds: The Creative Cat Sampler Box

One of the most aesthetically beautiful websites in the cat blogosphere is The Creative Cat - with creative being the key word. An award-winning blog featuring the incredibly talented artist Bernadette Kazmarski's art, photography, writing, and poetry, all inspired by her lifelong love of the feline form.

Bernadette sells her work through her Portraits of Animals website, and has now jumped on the subscription box bandwagon with her new Sampler Box Program which sells for $25 per box, or $75 for a three box subscription (shipping included).

Each box contains:

• an 8” x 10” print matted to 11” x 14”, ready to frame OR a small framed print, either an existing piece of artwork or a new one

• two or more greeting or note cards, current designs and new designs

• a handmade or other gift item—a small keepsake box or a little art sampler book, a polymer clay or ceramic item, screen-printed dishtowel, tote bag, crocheted item or rubber stamp, new art paper, for instance

I was so excited to receive the May Sampler Box to review. Even the packaging itself is a work of art: cat-themed wrapping paper with minimal tape so it can be repurposed.

This enclosed letter made me smile. I did indeed find a few black hairs in my package...and that just made it all the more special! Handmade, hand-picked, and packaged with love...and cats!

“Peaches and Peonies” Pastel Print: As a huge fans of pastels, I can't even tell you how beautiful this is in person.

“A Tangle of Cats at the Door” Pencil Print: The best part of every day is coming home to a cat (or four). I think that's exactly what the kitties in this pencil drawing are doing...waiting for someone very special to come home.

6 Selected Greeting Cards: I actually collect cat-related greeting cards that I come across in my travels. I never send them to people though...they're for me!

• Sympathy Card: “Kelly Twice”, The sweetest memories often come in quiet moments.
• All-purpose Greeting Card: From the Feline Fine Art Cards collection, ” Buster Lookin’ at His Toes”
• Photo Cards: From the Victoriana Cats collection, “Don’t You Wonder What They’re Thinking?”
• Note cards: From My Cats in the Sun collection, “A Warm Bath”, From the Saturday Morning Cartoons collection, “Saturday Morning”
• All-purpose greeting card: In the Garden, “Columbines”

Gift Item - Creative Cat Coloring Book, with watercolor pencils and art sponge: Have you gotten back into coloring yet? As a little girl it was one of my favorite hobbies. Ah, such a simpler time. This little book was created in Bernadette's own unique style leaving so much room for the colorer to express their creativity. Spiral bound, thick paper, and the perfect size to slip into your purse for coloring on the go!

Any of the prints can be given as a gift to a family member or friend, or as a thank you to a veterinarian or veterinary technician, pet sitter, groomer or anyone else in your life who would enjoy a cat-themed gift. They can also help other cats by being donated to online auctions or shelter and rescue events to help raise much-needed funds. Will I be giving anything away? Most likely not. When something cat-related enters my home chances are good it'll be staying!

More information on the May box's contents can be found in this blog post, which also goes into detail the inspiration behind each piece. (And a sneak peek of the June box can be found here!)

Discount Codes

Each month The Creative Cat sends out a monthly e-newsletter that previews new items and offers special discounts to the list members. Here are the current discount codes:

• Get a 25% discount on all Tortie Girls things through July 31 with discount code TORTIEGIRLS25. Visit the Tortie Girls Linoleum Block Prints page on Portraits of Animals. Tortie stuff??? Take my money!!!
• Members of The Creative Cat Preview can purchase The Creative Cat Coloring Book set for only $20.00, shipping included, through July 31 with discount code COLORINGBOOK20. Click here to read more, see sample art or order!

Also, if you sign up for a free account on Portraits of Animals you receive a thank you gift from Bernadette (a matted digital print that usually sells for between $20.00 and $40.00), giving you a chance to see a sample of her work and the quality of her merchandise. You don’t need to purchase anything to get your thank you gift. When I signed up I chose the Snowy Morning watercolor, special to me because as a native Vermonter I love winter scenes. Snowy Morning also won a Muse Medallion from the Cat Writers' Association this year!

If you're looking for beautiful art to further "catify" your home, I can't recommend Bernadette Kazmarski's work highly enough...and with The Creative Cat Sampler Box you'll be receiving a selection of pieces hand chosen by the artist (and her cats!)

Disclaimer: We received product compensation in exchange for featuring this content. All opinions are our own and we never recommend a product we don’t fully believe in.