Category: Blog Hops

Dezi in a 2017 calendar

Blest Sunday: Bittersweet Memories

Published on by Service Cats U.S.67 Comments

Happy Mew Year!!!!!

Dezi in a 2017 calendar

Welcome to our very furst Blest Sunday of da Mew Year. Can you believe it? Another year has come and gone. Saying goodbye to 2016 was very bittersweet fur us. Last year brought us so much sadness and yet, so much joy. We all meowed and chatted ‘bout just what kind of posty we would make today. We’ve made some mew furiends this year and lost some old ones, so in da end we decided a look back was the way to go. Fasten your seatbelts and let’s zoom back to January of 2016. (This posty looks longer than it is, cuz we added lots of fotos fur your viewing purrleasure.)

 Dezi and Lexi in their harness dresses laying together

 

Dezi looks out side window on her cardboard derby truck
Y This ain’t so bad after all.

What a fine time; sis Lexi was still with us. We don’t make resolutions in our house, so instead, me gave you all a challenge. With so many anipals awaitin’ their furevers, me challenged you to all share and do whatever you could to help more of those anipals than ever befur. We partnered with a shelter here in Oklahoma and shared adoptable kitties every week till the shelter was empty. That’s right, they actually went fur several weeks without any kitties needin’ furever homes. January wasn’t all work tho’. Mommy and me made mes furst pick up truck fur the annual Cat Scout Derby. Me didn’t win, but we did have a good time. Mommy fur sure isn’t crafty. MOL  And we never could have known when we wrote ‘bout our pets grief that we would be facing that ourselves very soon.

Lexi at 16 years old in mommy's lap
I luvz minez mommy even more today

In February, sis Lexi was havin’ more bad days than good, and we started getting all sentimental and mushy. We celebrated our 2nd blogoversay; and just in time fur Valentine’s Day, sis Lexi wrote a thank you post to mommy. Me wrote mes thank you a couple of days later. And we got all educational and wrote a post telling you all about spay/neuter and vaccinations.

 Lexi:Always and Furever

When March came blowing in, sis Lexi took a turn fur the worse. She couldn’t balance very well, and wouldn’t eat much. Ever the Service Cat tho’, she continued to do what she could to help mommy; giving her massages meowning and night. And on Wednesday March 9th, 2016, sis Lexi gave up the fight and went to heaven. Mommy was a mess; me was a mess, and we wrote another post on pets grieving. We ended the month explaining why mommy needs Service Cats.

Emerald Cat urn for Lexi's ashes
Isn’t this just beautiful? Lexis’ furever resting spot that will sit on mommys desk.

April found us trying to figure out how to go on without sis Lexi. We began our search fur a new Service Cat to help me help mommy. Little did we know, that she hadn’t yet been born.

May came rushing in, and found us posting home made treat recipes. You can check out a couple of those treats here and here. And furinally on mommys’ birthday, May 27th, she got a lead on a new Service Cat in training. She had been born April 21, 2016. Sis Lexis’ birthday would have been the 29th.

 Baby Raena her first day riding home with mommy

So we waited with baited breath fur June to roll round. The day finally rolled around and mommy went to pick up mes new sisfur and helper. She was a little puff ball of pi_ _ and vinegar. A real spitfire, mommy called her. Of all the names mommy threw out, the little spitfire answered to Raena. Mommy had done a little research and thought that was purrfect. It’s a shortened form of Rahannan and means “New Beginnings”. We purrticipated in our furst Blogville Pawlympics, and turned Miserable Mondays into Service Cat Mondays. We plan to continue posting those Service Cat posts this year, so ifin you have any questions about Service cats or training cats, just let us know.

 Raena eating bonito flakes

July came bounding in just like Raena. We continued our Service Cat Monday posts and Raena got to make her furst post all by herself. And she learned all about treats, catnip and giving reviews. She learned how to be a blogging cat.

 Raena peaking out of a chewy box

August sped in and saw Raena saying goodbye to monthly VET visits where she got poked and prodded. Raena continued to grow and explore her new home. We continued with Service Cat Monday and also wrote about kitties teething. We ended out the month with a day of remembrance written by mommy for sis Lexi.

 Raena playing with a silvervine stick

 

Dezi enjoying a silvervine stick

September 2016: Raena and me both got our furst Silvervine sticks. OMC  Those things are outta this world. And we continued Service Cat Mondays, offering training tips for all kitties.

 Mommy A waking Raena after her spay surgery

October was the month Raena had her “spa day”. We both got new harnesses and Raena learned to walk on a leash and go out in the stroller. We ended the month telling you about Shad, mommys’ furst Service Cat.

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Me couldn’t wait fur November to get here, it’s mes Birthday and Gotchaday month. What a time. Me got some great purresents and we finally had pizza. Raena got her furst nip nanner fur mes birthday. We also posted leash training tips in a Service Cat Monday post. And we were so blest to have received boxes fur mommy that included cleaning supplies fur all kinds of cleanin’, food and turkeys fur our holiday dinners.

 Raena plays with her Yeowww nip nanner

Finally, December blew in and so did Christmas. OMC  Were we ever blest!!! We got purresents, food and mommy food too. We received a couple more gifts over the weekend, that we still haven’t got fotos loaded fur. You know what else? All of you, our readers and furiends have been here fur us. We luv you all so very much!!!

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We’ve shared lots of sorrows this year, and also lots of joy. Some of us lost beloved family members, both furred and non furred, and some of us got new family members. The one thing we all have is the luv we share. 2016 was a roller coaster ride fur sure, but we wouldn’t have made it thru without all of you. Thank you all fur being our furiends, and sharing your lives, luv and support with us. The year was full of so much more, we just couldn’t list it all. We are indeed, Blest. ‘Member to take a minute today and everyday to give thanks fur the blessings in your lives. We’re joinin’ the Kitties Blue fur Sunday Selfies, and we hope you enjoyed our little slideshow with more Christmas fun. We can’t wait to see what adventures we’ll all be up to this year.

 Raena in a 2017 calendar

Till the next time…………………………………Be Blest!!!

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

Deztinee and RaenaBelle       

Dezi and Raena play with the Tower of Tracks

Tower of Tracks #ChewyInfluencer

Published on by Service Cats U.S.38 Comments

Hey, is anypawdy out there? It’s me, RaenaBelle. I’s so excited. I’s luvs Christmas. But we’ll tell ya’ more ‘bout dat Sunday. Today, I’s gonna get to write our very last Chewy review. Yep, da last one…of 2016 dat is. MOL  Did I’s get ya’? We didn’t receive our item till da day befur Christmas, so mommy decided to just save it and put it under da tree fur us. We ended up gettin’ so many pawsum gifts dat mommy waited yet another day befur givin’ it to us. Knowing how much we luv our track and ball toys, mommy got us da Pet Stages Tower of Tracks to review.

 

Chewy Logo

Disclaimer: We received compensation in exchange for our honest review of the PetStages Tower of Tracks 10” cat toy. As always neither Chewy nor PetStages are responsible for the content of this post unless otherwise stated. We only bring you products we use or have tried and believe would be of interest to you our readers and friends. And we always tell it like it is.

 

PetStages Tower of Tracks

So, let me tell ya’ a little ‘bout da Tower of Tracks. Maybe da most obvious is dat it’s bright orange and made of shiny plastic. Da Tower of Tracks is 10” wide and 5” tall and has 3 levels with a ball on each level. Each ball is lightweight, made of a thin plastic and sammiched ‘tween another row/level. Each level gets smaller in diameter as you go up. There’s a plastic “bar” on da top dat closes off da hole. It doesn’t move or have any function fur da toy itself, other than to keep kittys head from gettin’ stuck. And trust me, I’s tried fittin’ mines head in there, and it just doesn’t fit. So I’s guess da bar’s doin’ it’s job. Chewy lists da Key Benefits as these:  

Key Benefits

  • Durable toy consisting of three levels of exciting play, each level includes its own circular track and ball

  • Non-skid pads keep track from sliding around as cats bat and play

  • Spinning and rotating action of the balls entices cats to play

  • Great fun for a single cat or multiple cats

  • Measures 10″ diameter x 5″ high

Dezi and Raena check out the Tower of Tracks

 

I’s gotta tell ya’, I’s luvs me a good track toy. I’s like to get all 3 balls zoomin’ ‘round and ‘round. I’s haven’t yet figgered out how to get those balls off their tracks, but give me some time, I’s’ll find a way. MOL  All things considered, I’s give da PetStages Tower of Tracks 4 paws up. Dezi, do you wanna tell everypawdy what you think?

 Dezi checks out the Tower of Tracks

          Sure Raena, fanks. Me luvs track toys too, and this one is purretty cool. There’s no place fur catnip, but it’s small enuff fur me to lay down and reach all da sides to whirl da balls ‘round. Me thinks it makes a great toy fur a kitten or small kitty, but ifin me pushes da balls too hard, it falls over. Raena, still bein’ a kitten, really likes it; and it can keep her occupied fur a whole 10 minutes. Fur dat reason alone me gives it 2 paws up. Da PetStages Tower of Tracks is on sale right now fur $9.79. Mommy, what do you think bout da Tower of Tracks?

 Dezi and Raena play with the Tower of Tracks

     Thank you girls. Well, as Raena said, the Tower of Tracks is made of a thin plastic. And as Dezi said, it’s pretty small. Having recently fallen and broken one of the girls track toys, I can say that this track toy would have shattered and made a huge mess. But, it does keep Raena occupied for short spurts. Anything that can do that, deserves a thumb up. lol  Even at less than $10.00, I think it’s still a little overpriced. But if you have kittens, you’ll pay almost anything for a few minutes of peace. lol So again, 1 thumb up from me. 

 Chewy blog hop badge

 

Pet Parade Blog Hop Badge

Fank you sissy and mommy. Guess we’re a little mixed here. But hey, you can’t expect everypawdy to luvs everything. Well, we do all luvs Chewy.com. They have lots of pawsum purroducts fur all da anipals in your life. They offur speedy free shippin’ on all orders over $49.00 and speedy flat rate shippin’ fur all others. They also have an auto ship purrogram so you don’t have to worry ‘bout runnin’ out of your favorite noms, treats or other items, and ya’ save an extra little bit of cash. But don’t worry, you can skip, cancel or delay at anytime. And Chewy has da bestest customer service peeps, so you can shop with confidence. You can check out other chewy reviews by clickin’ here. And befur I’s go play with da Tower of Tracks again, we’s gonna join with Rascal and Rocco fur da weekly Pet Parade. See ya’ll next year.

 Raena plays with the Tower of Tracks

 

Raena plays with the Tower of Tracks

Till da next time………………………………………….Be Blest!!!

Raena: Navy Blue 

Dezi: Vibrant Blue 

Mommy A: Black 

 

 

Luvs and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

RaenaBelle and Deztinee

Raena sleepy selfie on mommys lap

Blest Sunday: A Note From Mommy

Published on by Service Cats U.S.47 Comments

Hello everyone, mommy Audra here today. Can you believe Christmas is just a week away? For anyone who reads our blog regularly, you know that I don’t write posts often. I live for my girls, and they have so much to say. And when we started this journey into technology and social media, my “fears” of the all seeing intrusive internet, led me to speak through them. I quickly learned about Facebook pages and the girls’ personalities came to life. I knew we, especially Lexi, had a story to tell I just didn’t know if anyone was interested. Through the years I’d sent her story to cat publications, only to be disappointed by their lack of interest. Somehow, through the magic of the internet, we connected with people. Lexi touched peoples hearts, the way she had touched mine. When she introduced her sister Dezi to everyone, their story took on a life of its’ own. And out of that, DezizWorld was born. To keep this post from going on for days, I’m just hitting the highlights.

 Lexi lays in mommys lap and gets some loving

We garnered followers who quickly became friends. I remember the first person I ever spoke directly to in something other than the girls’ voice in a comment. We began to look forward to seeing and reading about our friends lives. And of course we always love seeing photos. Who could ever tire of seeing pictures of beautiful cats? And they’re all beautiful, aren’t they?.  

Lexi and Dezi lay on scratchers

I remember our first Christmas in social media. The kindness and generosity of those “strangers” now friends. Yet still, people we would probably never actually meet. I didn’t understand how people could be so loving?. For the first time in the girls’ lives, they actually had a Christmas with presents under the tree. And not the repurposed ones I’d dug out of the bottom of the toy box. They were so adorable. They almost didn’t know what to play with first. 

And then, Lexi got sick. Again, it was you, our friends who reached out. It was you, our friends who helped and you, our friends who were there for us, when she died. In some ways, this year has flown by; and in others, it has been the longest and hardest year of my life. For those of you who don’t know, for the last 25 years, I had lost a cat every 5 years. It felt like a curse. When Dezi turned 6, we celebrated like never before. I took a deep breath for the first time in years. It was always the younger cat that left me. I never even thought there’d come a day when Lexi would be the one to go. I really mean that. I know how unrealistic that sounds, but it’s just the way it was. Anyways, you were all there for Dezi and me, and for that, we can’t say thank you enough. I’m still trying to pick up the pieces.

 Dezi lays on shower bench

But life goes on. Soon Raena would join our family, and hopefully your hearts. You’ve all welcomed her, and for that I’m grateful. As some of you have noticed and emailed us about, Dezi’s personality has changed. When we started all this, we determined to always be truthful, good, bad or otherwise; and you can continue to expect the same. Dezi faced the same loss as me when Lexi died, and it did affect her personality. At least I can reason it all out, Dezi doesn’t truly understand everything that happened. With the addition of Raena and Dezi becoming the “big sister”, her personality has continued to shift. These are all things to be expected. I imagine she will continue to evolve as Raena continues to learn and grow. Dezi’s still that sweet beautiful kitty girl you’ve all come to know and love, she’s just trying to find her way in our new dynamics. Those of you who read our blog regularly will be here to see how it all plays out. We imagine our blog will continue to evolve as the girls’ personalities take shape.

 Raena sleepy selfie on mommys lap

We do hope you will continue to follow us in the coming years. I know today is Blest Sunday, and we’ve had a multitude of material blessings this week and want to say Thank you very much. But I wanted to take today to thank you all for the biggest blessing in our lives, You. Yes, it’s been a rough year for us, but we have been blest every day to be a part of this community. We pray for all of you daily. We share your joyful times and your sad times. Many of you have felt the pain of loss this year, and will be missing one or more of you family/furry family members this Christmas. I’m not here to offer you advice on how to cope as I’m still reeling myself. But I do want to remind you, to take a minute and give thanks; we are all Blest. As long as we’re all here for each other, we’re never alone.

We would also like to thank you all for your kind words and Christmas wishes and cards. Some of you may have already received our card, and some of you may have gotten it more than once. I apologize if you receive(d)  multiple emails from us, this old belles’ memory isn’t what it used to be. lol  The girls and I want to thank you all for everything. And we wish you all a very Merry and Blest Christmas.

 Dezi in a blue Christmas frame with orange balls.

Dezi & Raena: Don’t furget Sunday Selfies with the Kitties Blue mommy.

 

Till the next time………………………………………Be Blest!!!

Love,

Mommy Audra   

Dezi and Raena wish everyone a Merry and Blest Christmas card

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Published on by Service Cats U.S.30 Comments

Hey, is anypawdy there? It’s me, RaenaBelle. Can you believe it, twice in one week.

 Dezi sits on the arm of the chair

        Yeah Raena, don’t get too excited. Pushin’ me outta da way and runnin’ to da catputer to get there furst doesn’t mean you get to write da posty. 

 Raena bathes and plays on the floor

What do ya’ mean push you aside sissy? I’s didn’t push you anywhere, I’s just run faster than you.

          Dat’s debatable Raena. But our furiends didn’t come by to hear us arguing. 

Sure they did sissy. Don’t you ‘member mommy readin’ da comments to us, ‘bout how much our furiends enjoy our witty banter and me stickin’ mines tongue out at ya’?

Dezi and Raena on cat tree and Raena sticks her tongue outHere’s another look at dat foto.

 

          Witty Banter? Nopawdy said “witty banter” Raena. And do you even know what dat means? As fur da foto of you stickin’ your tongue out at me, me thinks they were all talkin’ ‘bout da whacky paw you were ‘bout to get form me.

Don’t be silly sissy. We Ragdolls don’t whacky paw. I’s knew you weren’t gonna whap me.

          Well you better start thinkin’ me might whap ya’ Raena, cuz here lately you’ve really been askin’ fur it. And mommy’s given me da okay to do it too.

Noooooo, she was just jokin’ sissy. Mommy wouldn’t let you hurt me. And besides, I’s know you luvs me.

 Dezi lays on the bed and looks into the camera

          Me does luv you Raena, and any whacky paw me would give ya’ would be done outta luv. (Dezi snickers, she knows humans love to say things like that) You need to learn some manners Raena. Ya’ know, respect fur your elders and all?

I’s do respect mines elders sissy. I’s didn’t bite or scratch anypawdy at da senior citizens home.

          Dat’s great Raena, but it’s not just them you need to respect. Anypawdy dat’s older than you is your elder. And cuz they’re older and have more knowledge and experience than you, you should show them some respect. Seein’ as how me’s older than you, and has lived here fur 7 years longer than you, means you should show me some respect. You can start by not botherin’ me when me’s in da pawdee box.

 Raena Selfie woth paw reaching out

I’s can’t bother you when you’re in da pawdee box anymore sissy. Uncle Pete, Timmy and da furmily just sent us a new pawdee box…with a lid.

          They sure did Raena, and me luvs it. It’s big and roomy and bestest yet, you can’t stick your grubby little paws over da side. Fank ya’ll sooooooooooooo much. Now, you just need to keep away from da door while me’s usin’ it.

 Dezi sits on the small perch with her fluffy tail flowing over the edge

Come on furiends,  just lookit dat fluffy tail. Don’t you wanna grab it?

 

I’s will try sissy, I’s will try. It’s just dat you back up to da door and let your floofy fluffy tail wave at me. It’s so temptin’ to just reach out and grab it. You know, it looks so much like dat feather toy mommy let’s us play with.

          Well no matter how temptin’ it may be, you just need to control yourself. As fur da feather toys, me will chat with mommy and no more feathers fur you.

Raena playing with wand toy

No More Feathers!!!? Dat’s not fair.

 Pet Parade Blog Hop Badge

          Fair or not Raena, dat’s just da way it’s gonna be. Now, let’s join up with Rascal and Rocco and their pawsum cohosts fur da weekly Pet Parade blog hop and take a mid meownin’ nap. We finished our Christmas card furinally and will be sendin’ it out this weekend. But ifin you’d like to take it now, here it is. We hope and purray everypawdy has a very Merry and Blest Christmas.

 Dezi and Raena wish everyone a Merry and Blest Christmas card

Till da next time……………………………………….Be Blest!!!

 

 

Dezi: Vibrant Blue

Raena: Navy Blue

 

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Deztinee and RaenaBelle