Okay so my friend Joan (over at the dog blog Lab Tails) has a Yellow Lab who just had nine puppies. I have been vigorously following her blog to watch the progress of the pups and they are simply adorable. They are absolutely irresistable. I could never breed dogs because I would never want to give up the puppies! They are too cute and snuggly! (Plus, there are so many homeless animals out there who need homes but that’s a whole different post and I must note here before posting these that Joan is a responsible, professional, reputable breeder.)

So here are some of my favorite puppy pictures thus far… (today is their six-weeks birthday!)

I would love nothing more than to be smack dab in the middle of this wonderfully yellow puppy pile. I can think of no better place!

This little guy has a little froggy leg hanging out (that’s what we call it when our Golden Retrievers do this…)

To see more adorable yellow lab puppy pictures, and to follow the progress of the puppies before they get adopted, visit the LabTails blog.

As Halloween draws nearer, many of us are either ramping up kids for the big night, or getting ready to dress up and parade our pets around. The ASPCA is offering “trick-free” Halloween tips to help pet parents avoid potential hazards as they celebrate Halloween tomorrow.

According to the ASPCA:

“That parade of kids, adults—and yes, even pets—in funny outfits is due to arrive at your door, bringing all the sweet and scary joys of Halloween! But pet parents, as you carve the Jack-O-Lanterns and fill those bowls of candy, please be aware that your furry friends may stumble upon dangers you hadn’t thought of.

Warns Dr. Steven Hansen, board-certified veterinary toxicologist and senior vice president, ASPCA Animal Health Services, which includes the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center in Urbana, IL, “Many of our favorite Halloween traditions could pose a potential threat to our companion animals. As pet parents start to make plans for trick-or-treating or costumes, they should be aware of Halloween-related products and activities that can be potentially dangerous to pets.”

Here are some of the ways animal lovers can keep their pets safe this Hallow’s Eve:

1. Skip the sweets. Several popular Halloween treats are toxic to pets. Candies containing the artifical sweetener Xylitol can be poisonous to dogs. Even small amounts of xylitol can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar, which leads to depression, lack of coordination and seizures. “Chocolate, especially baker’s and dark chocolate can also be potentially poisonous to animals, especially dogs,” advises Dr. Hansen. Symptoms of significant chocolate ingestion may include vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, and increased thirst, urination and heart rate, and even seizures.

2. Watch out for those wrappers. Cats especially love to play with candy wrappers, but ingesting aluminum foil or cellophane can cause intestinal blockage and induce vomiting.

3. Trick-or-treating is for kids, not pets. During trick-or-treating hours, it’s best to keep pets in a room away from your front door. “Halloween brings a flurry of activity with visitors constantly arriving at the door, and pets may escape the safety of their home. Be sure that your pet has identification tags should he/she accidentally get loose,” recommends Gail Buchwald, senior vice president of the ASPCA Pet Adoption Center in Manhattan. Make sure your pet is wearing a collar with tags and/or is microchipped.

4. Careful with costumes! If you dress us your pet for Halloween, make sure the costume does not limit his movement, hearing, sight, or ability to breathe or bark. Also check the costume for choking hazards. A smart alternative to dressing your pet from head-to-paw? A simple, festive Halloween bandana.

5. Decorations can be dangerous. Re-think putting candles in Jack-O-Lanterns. Pets can easily knock them over, and curious kittens are particularly at risk of getting burned by candle flames. Also take care to prevent your pets from having access to wires and cords from holiday decorations. If chewed, a wire can damage your pet’s mouth from shards of glass or plastic, or deliver a potentially lethal electrical shock.

*On a more personal note, if you have a black cat, be sure he/she is safely inside on Halloween night. You never know if some superstitous whacko will scoop your black cat up in the name of Halloween fowl play. My black cat got catnapped one Halloween when she was a baby and ever since then, it’s indoors for her all day and all night on Halloween.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the October contest, the cat photo contest. Winners were chosen on Monday and the following people, whose photos appear in posts below, are receiving prizes:

First place: Yvonne Lee
Second place: Nicole Lasorda
Third Place: Mr. Hendrix
Fourth Place: Kat Palmore
Fifth Place: Sharon Brock

Other winners: Daisy the Curly Cat, and readers Smith, Jung Park, Ann Marzano and Nancy Gorman.

Thank you so much to all who entered. Once again, here are the first, second and third place photos:

Here are a few more cat pictures that were entered into the contest for October.

These first three cute kitten pictures were sent in by Jung Park. Who could resist these sweet faces?

Little Pumpkin

Little Monkey

Mama and Baby

This next picture was sent in by reader Rachel. This is her cat Weezer…

I am getting some of the cutest cat and kitten pictures ever sent to me for the October contest/giveaway. Winners are being chosen today by the way. But before I do that, I wanted to share with everyone some of these great reader entries. All of the entries I’ve gotten are so adorable, it’s going to be so hard to choose winners!

Here are some fabulous professional-looking kitten pictures from reader Yvonne Lee. These pictures are so perfect – Yvonne must have a photography background!

The next entry comes from reader Nicole Lasorda. She humorously referred to this picture as “synchronized sitting!”

Next up we have the adorable kittens of reader Kat Palmore.

And last but not least, where would we be without fluffy Persians to give us discontented glares? Check out this big girl, Mia, from reader Smith (what a clever last name ):

Stay tuned to find out who the winners of the October contest/giveaway are!

Wags and Purrs,
Jaime

So I wanted to start sharing some of the contest entries I’ve been getting for the October cat toy giveaway. Some of the pictures I’ve gotten are simply adorable! Here is just a handful of them (more to come next week). If you want to enter your cat in the contest, email your best cat pictures to me at thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com.

This is Bob, the 18-pound Manx cat from my friend Sharon at Chasing Squirrels with Rusty. I’m pretty sure this cat is twice the size of sweet little Rusty! I LOVE this picture because number 1, I LOVE fat cats, and number 2, I also have a pudgy cat who loves to squeeze into boxes smaller than he is, and I think it is so funny.

Bob the 18-Pounder

Next up we have another big sweetie, the always-precious Daisy the Curly Cat. I LOVE Daisy (I visit her blog regularly also) because she is the epitome of feminine feline: frisky, playful, curious, sweet, loving, and totally in control. Daisy is always so good when her Mommie dresses her up, and I can never handle how good she is at posing for pictures. It’s simply amazing how tame she is! Here is a sweet picture of little Daisy:

Daisy the Curly Cat

Finally today, we have a photo contest entry from our other good friend Mr. Hendrix. We adore Hendrix because he is sassy, sweet, and smart and sometimes snarky. We also have a special place in our hearts for black cats because of our little love, Sasha. Hendrix’s blog posts always make us laugh out loud. Here is a great picture of Mr. Hendrix watching TV. (We can’t believe he watches TV, we think it’s hilarious!) His beans bought him a “cat sitter video!”

Hendrix Watching TV

I’ll be back next week with some reader entries. Stay tuned!

I just found this very interesting post from Lisa Wogan over at the Bark Blog.

“If the obstacle to pet overpopulation is money–consider that challenge handled. Orthopedic surgeon, inventor, and 346th richest American Gary Michelson will give $25 million to the brainy someone who conjures a safe, one-time non-surgical means to sterilize male and female cats and dogs. And that’s not all.

Michelson’s non-profit Found Animals Foundation will provide an additional $50 million to support the research into plausible approaches. Michelson and others, including the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs, believe an inexpensive, convenient alternative to traditional spay and neuter is the essential missing line of attack in the battle to save millions of dogs and cats from euthanasia every year.

My favorite line in the USA Today story on the program is when Michelson says, “No one will stop what they’re doing and turn their attention to this problem for $10 million. That’s not enough.”"

I think this is such an important news story, don’t you? Please cross-post as you see fit.

It’s time for the cute kitten pictures of the week! I always go to Webshots to find these, there are tons to choose from. I have a hard time picking out the perfect kitten picture every week since there are so many there.

This little kitten looks like he/she is wedged between a window being opened and closed, playfully though. The face on this little one is just too cute and the photographer did a great job of capturing the personality of the kitten, using the light correctly, and portraying felines for what they are: frisky and playful.

These pictures are from user bunnyfunny’s Cats album. See all the cute cat pictures in this album or cruise around the Webshots Kittens Category, Cats Category or Pets Category pages.

I just finished perusing one of the greatest cat books of all time. It’s called Cat Capers: Catitude for Cat Lovers. With stimulating, imaginative photographs of all sorts of cats, and cute little quotes and stories, Cat Capers makes for an excellent coffee table book. I highly recommend this book to any true cat-lover.

The hardcover book was written by and is chock full of photographs taken by renowned photographer Gandee Vasan. He captures cats in playful and captivating poses in crystal clear color photos. He further complements the photos with funny jokes, cat poems, and other musings on our beloved frisky felines.

The wonderful photos are also accompanied by: information on famous cat owners and their cats, a fictional cat timeline, amusing cat quotes, politically correct cat definitions (i.e., The cat is not fat, he is mass-enhanced!), and cat classifieds.

Perhaps my favorite quote in the book is this: “Dogs believe they are human. Cats believe they are God.” SO true.

Cat lovers will delight in and recognize their own cats’ antics in these fun photos and snippets. It’s highly entertaining! If you have a chance, I would order this book online or pick it up from your local bookstore before they run out. It’s well worth the $24.99 asking price.

What is Theodore really thinking as I shot this cute cat picture?

I think he is thinking things like:

“Wait, this is my good side”
“Must you always be following me?”
“Can’t you see I’m busy right now?”
“Unless you have food, leave me alone.”

What do you think Theodore is thinking as he tries to ignore my picture-taking presence? Leave me a comment and let me know and you could win a new cat toy!