Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! Last night Pimp and Moo were "helping" me inventory all the Santa Paws Drive toys that got delivered. As you can imagine, I'm not sure exactly how much help they were...
There are 16 huge boxes of toys in my dining room right now, and out of all of them, I think Moo quickly found which one had the catnip in it...
This box is MINE.
Pimp waited until he saw what was in each box, and then decided to make his move for the stinkiest one...
If I stretch my neck far enough, I might just get to the catnip candy canes...
Aren't they great helpers? Just wait until I take all the stuff out of the boxes and pile it on my living room floor to divide it up for the six shelters. They're going to go crazy with the "Quality Control" job they do.
P.S. There is still time to donate to Santa Paws Drive! The raffle and cash donations are open till Friday. Let's finish with a bang! Thanks everyone!
P.P.S. Sweet Pea helped in spirit. When the catnip candy cane box came in a couple weeks ago, she was rubbing all over the outside of it. So it got her mark of approval too!
Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! Today we have two exciting things.
First, we set up our Christmas tree last night and you-know-who couldn't wait to get under there. So far all the ornaments are intact, but we normally do a bet each year on when the first one will go down.
Anyone have any guesses?
Do I look like I'd knock ornaments off the tree?!
Today is also one of the best "shopping" days of the year. It's Giving Tuesday! Have you ever heard of it?
Apparently it's new this year, but I'm all for it (and Santa Paws Drive is an official partner!). It's the day when you're encouraged to give to charity and to others who are less fortunate, instead of normal shopping for ourselves for the holidays.
So today for Giving Tuesday, we decided to have our Kickoff Pawty for Santa Paws Drive on Twitter! We're going to be tweeting from 8-10 p.m. EST -- and we'll have lots of great prizes, tons of fun, bunches of good friends... and I'll be tweeting as Santa! (@SantaPawsDrive, that is!)
Please stop by if you can by searching hashtag #santapawsdrive during that time. The goal is to hang out with and meet new friends, spread the word about Santa Paws Drive and help boost donations so we can send shelter animals tons of holiday cheer!
If you do want to give for Giving Tuesday, I'd really appreciate if you gave a little to Santa Paws Drive. Our goal is $1,000 for each of our six shelters and enough toys to send each of the 750 cats and 450 dogs a gift. I know we can do it!
For more info and to donate, please visit SantaPawsDrive.com. Thank you all!
Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! Today Pimp and Moo are doing a very important job... Quality control for the Santa Paws Drive toys!
We got a huge shipment in and I was inventorying everything to make sure it was there -- and having the hardest time telling Pimp and Moo these toys aren't theirs! We have plenty of toys (way more than two boys need, actually) and these are for the Santa Paws Drive shelters!
By the way, these aren't even all the toys. There were a TON of cat toys that didn't make it in the picture that I have here -- and we're still taking donations! Don't forget we have six shelters full of doggies and kitties that we're splitting this between. So the more the merrier!
There were four huge boxes like this stuffed with toys! This is what happened right when I opened them... Pimp waltzed right over, hopped on and sat like he was making claim!
And then I had to tell him they weren't his. He is not a needy kitty, our Santa Paws Drive shelter kitties are! But that didn't stop him from trying to make off with a catnip felt cube...
Then it was Moo's turn to inspect. Have you ever seen so many plush doggie bones?! Moo hasn't either. In fact, I don't think he's ever seen a doggie bone of any kind...
He was better about not trying to steal any. He just kind of sniffed around and gave his paw of approval.
So I started counting, and as I was taking everything out of the boxes and piling up what I'd counted, this is what I ended up with:
I'm king of the toy mountain!
Have you ever seen so many toys in one place? It was so awesome! The picture does it no justice. THANK YOU to everyone who has donated already!
(If you haven't checked out the raffle yet, you should! We have over $1,000 of amazingly fabulous pet products you could win. Tickets are only $1 and all proceeds go to the shelters as cash donations!)
Let's make the mountain of toys even bigger and send these special animals the best holiday ever!
With a belly full of milk, this little kitten is full and happy and settles in to cleaning herself. She's just getting the hang of it, so it's pretty much one of the cutest kitten grooming sessions I've ever seen.
Watch this, and I promise that in just 2 1/2 minutes your world will be a happier, more peaceful place. Mine is. This kitten is just what the doctor ordered! I think I'll watch her all day...
NOTE FROM CUTE: A tremendous thanks to all of you for helping with voting for Santa Paws Drive in the past couple days. I am so grateful for all the support! We unfortunately didn't win the big prize, but they did do something incredibly generous... Yesterday they announced they were giving the two runners up each $1,000 for their organizations, even though we didn't win the vote!
YAY! The Santa Paws Drive shelter animals' holidays just got a lot happier!
Some people delicately remove each piece of tape and gently remove paper. Others act reserved, but move quickly. But Chip the Christmas Cat... he isn't shy about his wrapping ripping. He wants his present out of there now!
It's a no-holds-barred fight to the finish, complete with bunny kicks, teeth shredding and claw grappling. This must be the BEST PRESENT EVER!
NOTE FROM CUTE: Thank you all for voting so far for Santa Paws Drive in the Facebook poll yesterday! We still have some time to vote, so if you haven't yet (a vote is a click in the actual poll, not just a comment left on their page), please head over and take a second to click and vote here! Santa Paws Drive is behind, but let's try for a comeback!
I think the official poll started about 11 a.m. ET yesterday, so it should be open till around then today. They said it was 24 hours. Thank you!
'Tis the season to take all the Christmas decorations (a.k.a. cat toys) out and make the house a giant kitty playground for the holidays! This video is what most homes probably look like...
My favorite part, and it's not even really decoration-related, is the big cat sitting his pudgy butt in the box. Wait for it. You'll see!
This video also really good because at the end it lists all the dangers and things to be careful of with cats and Christmas decorations. You can make your home festive, but make sure you keep it safe, too!
NOTE FROM CUTE: Thanks so much for everyone who came out to our Santa Paws Drive Twitter party last night! In case you missed it, here is the post I wrote about all the exciting news and announcements we made. Two big things: We unveiled our raffle prizes for this year ($1 a ticket and we have over $1,000 in pet prizes!) and I need your help voting on Tuesday! Click here to see why. I'm SO excited!
Hi Cuteheads! Those of you following along for the past years know I started Santa Paws Drive, an online toy and treat drive to help send shelter pets a little holiday cheer each year. This is our third year!
It's my favorite thing in the world. Our pets at home get presents, and the sweet kitties and doggies still waiting for their forever homes deserve a merry Christmas, too!
Each year we choose six shelters all around the world, and everyone can donate toys and treats (or cash!) all online at SantaPawsDrive.com. We wanted to make it easy for everyone to donate, so all you do is buy the toys or treats or send a donation, we total everything up, split is six ways and send off HUGE gift packages to the lucky shelters pets!
These are just A FEW of the toys each shelter got last year!
Hearing back from the shelters and getting pictures of the animals enjoying their presents is highlight of my year. It makes all the hard work worth it!
This year, we want to make Santa Paws Drive extra special, so we're going to focus on shelters and rescues that make an extra effort to help special needs pets. Think FIV+ kitties, black dogs, senior pets, handicapped cuties, those that need a little extra medical attention... any animal that might have a little bit of a harder time finding a forever home. They deserve the most special Christmas ever!
If you have a favorite special needs shelter you'd like to nominate to be one of our six shelters this year, we are currently taking nominations. Up until October 21, you can fill out the nomination form and tell us why we should pick your special shelter! We'll officially launch the drive and start taking donations on November 1.
We know there are some great organizations out there, and we're counting on you all to tell us all about them!
Please share the word with all your animal-loving friends. We know there are many special needs shelters out there that we don't even know about, and many doggies and kitties that would love Santa Paws to visit them! The more people who know, the more Christmas cheer we can send their way!
What better way to celebrate the end of a tremendously successful Santa Paws Drive than with some cute animals singing Jingle Bells? Last week, we shared the silly mashup of animals singing Deck the Halls, and this week they're back and better than ever!
I don't know how this guy does it... but his talking animals videos are so perfectly done and crack me up every time.
Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! Today there's a special little surprise under our Christmas tree over here. It's just a tiny tree, so the surprise can't really be that big... but it is big on cute!
Don't bother putting "Moo" on your Christmas list, Cuteheads. He's mine. :)
This is my new favorite spot. I'm festive, OK?
I think he might have also taken a liking to the water in the tree stand. Not sure, but the water is disappearing on random nights and not on others. I don't think the tree has anything to do with the inconsistency...
P.S. I wanted to make sure all of you know about the fabulous raffle we have going on for Santa Paws Drive! Tickets are only $1 and you can win over $700 in pet prizes! Plus, 100% of the proceeds go right to the shelters to make the kitties and doggies' holiday brighter!
You can win a year of Greenies, a super cool Scratching Tower from ModernCat, an outdoor pet enclosure from Kritter Kondos and more! Some great stuff for a great cause. Thanks!
Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! Today, Pimp is doing a little pouting. I told him to snap out of it, but he just has this face...
I am pouting a little bit. But I'm still cute, right?
So why is Pimp pouting? Well, he is a sad because there are lots of kitties and doggies in shelters that won't be lucky enough to have comfy, warm, loving forever homes like he and Moo have for Christmas. He is sad because while he'll no doubt get showered with new mice and catnip toys, his furry friends in shelters probably won't.
It's sad, yes... but we can cheer Pimp up!
How, you ask? It's easy! Lucky for him, his mommy (the Queen of Cute herself!) and some friends have put together Santa Paws Drive -- an online toy, treat and donation drive to bring Christmas to shelter animals!
Yes! And YOU can help! Me, Pimp and Moo are asking (begging, pleading, looking very cute and convincing) you to please donate a few green papers or a toy to Santa Paws Drive. It's so easy! All you have to do is go to SantaPawsDrive.com and choose what you'd like to donate. Then, when the drive is over (Dec. 10 for toys and Dec. 20 for cash), me and the other three elves are going to divide up the goodies between the six shelters around the world and send them huge holiday gift packages!
Moo got a new shirt just to show his support for Santa Paws Drive! That's worth at least a dollar donation from everyone, right?
We sincerely wish all these cats and dogs could have forever homes for Christmas, but if they can't, we at least want them to have some holiday joy.
Our goal is to raise at least $800 for each of the six shelters plus oodles and oodles of toys and treats for the cats and dogs! We'd love your support. Every single dollar helps... and spreading the word helps even more!
Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! We have some super big, super huge, super humongous news for you today! It's so exciting, in fact, that Pimp and Moo wanted to wait until their day on the blog to share it with you. (Cats... hmph. Always taking over.)
Are you ready?
Really ready??
OK, here goes... Cute has teamed up with three fantastic friends again this year to put together Santa Paws Drive again! And it officially started yesterday!
In case you don't remember from last year, or weren't a friend yet, here's a little bit about Santa Paws Drive:
Cute had the idea to do something like "Toys 4 Tots" (they collect toy donations and spread them to needy children) -- but for shelter animals! I know that pets with homes are showered with gifts and love during the holidays, and I wanted shelter animals to feel the same love, too.
How to do it though? I wanted to do more than just drop off some toys at a local shelter. I wanted to make a BIG difference. And it seemed like the most obvious way to do this would be to create a "virtual toy drive" all online since Cute's friends come from all parts of the world!
But how? And where to start?
So I reached out to some Twitter and bloggie buddies -- @BabyPatches mom who runs NipandBones.com (we need toys, so we needed a shop!) and @frugaldougal's mom (who better to raise funds then the #pawpawty people themselves?!) -- and together we built a site, had events and raised a ton of toys, treats and cash donations last year.
The Animal Rescue League in Australia enjoying their Santa Paws Drive gifts last year!
This year, we wanted to make Santa Paws Drive even bigger and even better! So we brought in a friend from @TheKittenCrew who, along with her husband, are web design experts and created a whole new, easier to use site for SantaPawsDrive.com!
And now, after many, many hours of work, we're officially ready to collect donations! We made it SUPER easy (and fun!) to donate: All you do is go to our site, choose which toys, treats, bundles of both or just cash you'd like to donate and purchase them right there! Every single dollar helps.
Then, at the end of the drive in about a month, we'll add up all the gifts and cash, divide them between six shelters all around the world... and send them each a HUGE holiday gift package full of presents and a check! And we'll even pay the shipping so that every cent everyone donates goes right to the shelters.
A pretty kitty at Eleven Eleven Animal Rescue in Canada enjoying gifts from last year!
Are you ready to help shelter animals have a happy holiday and get toys and treats and presents like they deserve? Me, too!
I can't even tell you how excited I am about this year's drive. Santa Paws Drive is basically my baby. It is easily one of the things I'm most proud of doing in my life. Just thinking about all the shelter animals we can bring Christmas to is enough to keep me (and the rest of the Santa Paws Drive elves) working these long hours. It's truly a labor of love!
P.S. Please join us on Twitter for our kickoff party tonight from 7-8 p.m. ET by searching hashtag #santapawsdrive. We're going to have a fun Power Hour full of prizes, quizzes, fun and games -- with a special goal of spreading the word about Santa Paws Drive. If you can come, please RSVP here and spread the word!
P.P.S. Pimp and Moo will be back next Tuesday. They hope you don't mind that I took over their day to share this exciting news! Let's make Santa Paws Drive awesome for our furry shelter friends!
Where were these guys when it was time to decorate my place? I love it!
Also, just want to take a quick second to say THANK YOU to all of you who donated to and supported Santa Paws Drive. We met (and exceeded!) our goal! We have already shipped out all the toys and treats to the shelter animals -- pictures to come, we hope... we asked for some! -- and will be sending the cash donations shortly.
Santa Paws Drive was the huge success that it was because of all of our great friends and furriends. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This has been one of the greatest projects I've ever, ever been a part of. And now on to the festivities...
As one of the team members behind Santa Paws Drive,Your Daily Cute is donating 5 cents for every person who follows@SantaPawsDriveon Twitter-- up to 4,000 followers!
Santa Paws Drive's mission is to bring holiday cheer and presents to shelter animals who are often overlooked during the holidays. Pets who are lucky enough to have forever homes are showered with gifts and love, while our furry friends in shelters miss out...
Through Santa Paws Drive, six shelters worldwide will get great holiday care packages full of toys and treats, plus an additional cash donation for each! Our goal is to put some big smiles on the faces of as many shelter cats and dogs as we can!
See the counter widget on the Cute's sidebar to see how much we've raised so far!
How can you help? It's easy to donate toys or money! Simply visit http://www.santapawsdrive.com and click either "Cash" or "Gifts." Simply choose the toys, treats or dollar amount you'd like to give!
There are no shipping charges for any of the items purchased for Santa Paws Drive!
Happy Two Cats Tuesday! Pimp and Moo are thrilled to be back on the Cute this week! (They weren't feeling very "cute" last week. Poor babies had tapeworms, but they're better now.)
Today I'm going to do what every proud mommy does -- show baby pictures! Unfortunately, Pimp came along before digital cameras were huge (to me, at least) and I've switched computers three times since then, so a lot of his baby pictures are lost somewhere... but I do have a few!
Moo was a rescue baby (bless his little cow-cat butt) who showed up on my back porch and adopted me when he was already over a year old, so I don't have official baby pictures of him -- but I do have "before he came inside" pictures that are oh-so-cute.
Without further ado... Let's start out with Baby Pimp!
And here he is being wild with the door frame. I can't get over how tiny he was. And look at his black nose -- it's pinkish orange now! Is this normal? (Whatever it is, I know it's CUTE.)
This is my little guy when he was just a tiny baby. He's about the size of that bear now... if not bigger!
Look! This is him and the same bear now. Can you believe it?! (And leave my dingy bear alone... I've had him forever and he's staying forever. Hmph!)
And now Moo's "when I was still an outside kitty without a home" pictures. He was a little over a year old then. It's been almost a year since I decided he was mine and brought him inside, and he's gotten so chunky and healthy since then!
This is where he spent almost all his time in the three weeks he was working on adopting me -- in my purple Adirondack chair on my back porch. I set up him with a towel, food, water, a box in case it got cold or windy...
Here's Moo wanting to be inside so bad. He broke my little heart. How could someone not love that crazy cat?!
The face that melted me. Here he is staring inside from my back porch through the screen. Such a love! I am the luckiest person in the world that he picked my porch to camp out on. :)
Hope you enjoyed the boys' baby pictures! Come back next week for more Two Cats Tuesday!
Special note from Cute: If you didn't already know, YourDailyCute.com is one of the team members behind Santa Paws Drive. So excited about this project! We're helping bring holiday cheer and toys to shelter animals for the holidays.
