AFTER A LONG LONG WAIT — WE FINALLY FOUND OUR NEWEST ADDITION TO THE FAMILY!

(Actually, he kinda found us, my Mom in particluar…)

Max was found because he ran in front of my mother’s car one day this week… he immediately starting purring and rubbing on her when she picked him up – so she hatched a secret plan to bring him home. WHY?

FATE.

This 6-month-old kitten has the same color and face shape, and big ears as my Mom’s late cat Nickodemus, and the wild child personality of my precious beloved Theodore. He has ONE whit spot exactly where Nick’s was, and he’s already running house-laps , climbing screen doors, and over all just being a rabble-rouser — EXACTLY like Theodore. On top of that, Theodore passed on Feb. 8th this year. The vet yesterday said Max was born on or around Feb  4-11.

I BELIEVE THAT NOTHING IS A COINCIDENE. We have gotten so much joy in the past 36 hours, it’s wonderful having a young, tumbling, rough-houser, counter-climber around again to lighten us all up. (My family and I are going through some serious issues over the past 3 weeks…:( )

We’ve both been in constant mourning from losing Theodore and then 4 days later Gibson…

This little guy was sent to us on purpose we believe. There’s another smaller black and white one (definitely feral) that we’re going after this wknd so we can give him/her a nice warm home, too.

Check out Max’s photo op… (Man its hard gettin’ a kitten to sit still – I think he must have ADHD like I do!)

Big Max, aka Maxamillion, Maximus, Mad Max and more to come...

Maxwell was doing "blinky eyes at us." That was Theodore's TRADEMARK MOVE...

Max GOES BANANAS Over Our Scratching Post!

Typical Tabby with a 'Tude -- Walkin' Away but Seeing if You Follow!

The August Kitten and Puppy Photo Contest lasts a whole week longer, so let’s keep those cute pet pictures comin’ in.

And don’t forget to vote, vote, vote!! I’ve only gotten like 10 votes so far, and half of them are for the same animal!!

Here are some more cute kittens and funny dogs/puppies for the contest… actually, it seems this is turning into another dog and cat photo contest for pets of any age… some people just send in pictures of their pets as they are now… oh well…

Let me know in the comments or in an email who YOUR favorite is!

Andy, Banks and Oliver

Bella

Aries

Anne

"Fi Fi the Wicked Frenchie Witch"

The Famous KC

Peanut

Putty Tat

Sammy vs Dumbo

Chloe

Daisy and Deeogie

Thomas Fiddlehead and Lewis

The August Puppy and Kitten Photo Contest is in full-swing mode now…

Here’s the first round of pictures!

 * Remember, you can vote for up to three pets in a comment or an email to me at thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com. You CANNOT send 3 votes for the same animal. *

Bailey

Bailey and Toffee

Ginny

Iris

Koko Bean

Koko Bean II

Logan

Oliver

Rumble the Shar-Pei

Angie Kitten

Get your votes in today or this week via email and comment! If you see your pet on this post, don’t forget to send all your friends and network here to vote! More cute puppy and kitten photos to come later this week!

Introducing the August Puppy/Kitten Photo Challenge!

It’s that time again — PET PHOTO CONTEST TIME!!!  I want to announce the August Photo Contest.

It starts RIGHT NOW and I will accept ONLY TWO entries per email pleae.

This is a KITTEN & PUPPY PHOTO CONTEST only, so please don’t sendpictures of your babies unless they’re 6 months old or younger! The entry deadline is next Friday, August 20th at 7 p.m. EST. I will then allow the whole next week for voting. You can vote once through comments (you can vote for three pets only), and once in an email.

** YOU CANNOT VOTE THREE TIMES IN 1 EMAIL FOR THE SAME PET***

And please remember the warning I posted about “vote-stuffing” last month… you will unfortunately be disqualified or, if I’m in a good mood, pushed down in the rankings if you attempt this again***

RULES/PROCESS:

1. This contest, again, is being judged by reader votes/comments. You can vote for up to three pets in a comment and up to three in one email – but not the same pet three times. Entries that do not follow this procedure will be disqualified.

2. Send up to 2 WEB-COMPRESSED JPEG,  or GIF files to thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com. You can also just paste the photos into the email body.

3. Please put “AUGUST PHOTO CONTEST” in the Subject Line.

4. It is VITAL to include the names of your pets. *** Entries received without the pets’ names will not be considered as it gets entirely too confusing with the number of entries we get with no pet name ***

5. Send your network to the post your pet(s) appears on to vote in the Comments. Or repost the post your pet appears on, put in on Facebook, Twitter, Share This, etc, to get your followers to vote!

6. Voting ends on Saturday, August 28 @ 9 pm EST.

7. Winners will be announced (either 3-5 winners) on Sundat 8/29!

PRIZES:

** The August kitten and puppy photo contest has tons of cool prizes, including one hand-held Bissell Spot-Bot, perfect for puppies learning to be house-trained (retails value $129.99) Furminators (retails value $49.95), PetSmart gift cards (Retail Value $25.00), boutique puppy shampoo, puppy “accident” cleaning products from Clean and Green by SeaYu, pet photo albums, toys, treats, and a special surprise for the human!! ** WOWWEEEE

– Needless to say, you don’t want to miss out on this one So start sending entries to thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com ASAP! Thx!–

————————————————————————–

A Gift for Mom Too - A BEAGLE Book!!

On another note, the reactions I received from last month’s winners are overwhelming; you can even read about Shiloh and Shasta’s exciting package-opening, plus I put some pix of them opening the package in this post. Their owner was also SUPER-STOKED about the Beagle book I included for her, Dog Park Diary.

We Opened It! Wow- Look at all this stuff!

The first place winner was so grateful for the Bissell Vac that she was crying because she and her fiancee are in such bad financial straits and to get a box of play things for their rescue efforts was the best possible “picker-upper.”

The owner, Amber, of Simba and Murphy said: “My fiancee and I both work for newspapers and are underpaid obviously but we are dedicated volunteers to pet rescue. The Bissell vac is hands-down the most amazing pet hair pickup tool Ive ever used. It get EVERYTHING – even stuff you can’t see – and we use it on the couches and bed too! I had never thought of trying a Bissell cleaning product but from now on am a Bissell fan! Thank you for your generous prize – it was too much – it literally brought us to tears.”

Looks like help was given where needed! All-in-all over $450 worth of prizes were given last month…

So – REST ASSURED THAT YOU DO WANT TO WIN THE THOUGHTSFURPAWS.COM PRIZE OFFERINGS BECAUSE THEY’RE EXTREMELY VALUABLE!!

Get your August Pet Photo Contest entry – whether cute kitten picture or funny puppy photo – in now!

As of now — it’s actually 10 minutes late, no more photos will be entered into the July Photo Contest; it is officially closed.

Please come back in early August to see what THAT contest holds for my loyal readers and fans… (it’s another REALLY GOOD ONE sponsored by a BIG TIME pet company… hint hint)

**Again, based on the sheer number of entries I reveived for this July pet photo contest — I am extending the VOTING deadline (NOT the SUBMISSION deadline). 

**The voting period is being extended (in fairness to those whose pictures were not posted until this week & tonight) to July 29th. 

 You can keep voting all the way until 7 pm on July 29th. Winners will be announced sometime on Friday July 30th on the blog.**

It seems that certain pet owners are sending LOADS of friends to vote for their pets, so if you haven’t done that yet – I seriously encourage you to… post my entry with you pet’s picture on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog so you can get some votes.

As of now, here are the top five most voted for pets over the last couple weeks. (Remember – this contest is being judged SOLELY on comments and emails to me with votes. You can vote two times by commenting AND emailing to thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com.)

1. Diva the Dog

2. Murphy and Simba (tied — same owner so people vote for both)

3. Tutti Frutti

4. Nietchze

5. Cheeto

Here are the last of the entries!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!! Send all you know here to vote — the prizes are the BEST I’VE EVER GIVEN OUT IN THE HISTORY OF THE BLOG!!!

Abby Lester

Another Bella

Another Bella II

BEAR

Bella's Worn Out from the Wii Fit!

Bigs and Minnie

Cute cat from Traci

Another Cute Cat from Traci

Easter

Finnegan

Freddie

Geddy

Jacob

Kitten from Desiree

Mini Me

Monroe

Sasha!!!! (This one CRACKED me up!)

Sasha II

Sasha III

Sophie-Kay

Sylvester MiCato

Sylvester MiCato II

Tigger

Tigger II

Our Friends Shiloh and Shasta

*** Don’t forget everyone — ONE DAY LEFT to get your pet pictures into me for the July Pet Photo Contest!! They must be received via email by 9 pm EST tomorrow – Thursday, July 22nd! (Email to thougthsfurpaws@gmail.com.)

Don’t forget ALSO that prizes include:

-  A VERY EXPENSIVE Bissell handheld pet vac (thank you Bissell, Inc for the donation of this one!) — 1st place winner gets this only

- Two ergonomic Furminators (retail value over $50)

- A Dog Teeth Cleaning Kit (retail value over $75)

- Boutique puppy products/shampoos/etc

- TONS of toys and treats and gift cards from Petco/PetSmart

- New special Martha Stewart pet toys

As of now, here are the top five most voted for pets over the last couple weeks. (Remember – this contest is being judged SOLELY on comments and emails to me with votes)

1. Murphy and Simba (tied)

2. Tutti Frutti

3. Nietchze

4. Cheeto

5. UNKNOWN!!!

Right now all the winners are KITTEHS!!! C’mon Doggies — get your parents to send some voters your way!!!

Obviously the more people who send their friends and family here to vote, or post it on Facebook, or send a mass email to me are the ones getting all the votes! So get out there and get your pets some votes!!

In the mean time, here are some more pictures in the running. One last post of pictures tomorrow (and maybe one Friday if last-minute-people send me pix late tomorrow night as I astill have about 20 more to get up here)…

So here are some more photos for you guys to peruse through and vote on!

Kitty I from Sam

Kitty II from Sam

Kitty III from Sam

Sadie

"Pierre in Paris"

Ginger

Ginger II

Tiger

Jemaine

Jemaine II

Jemaine III

Kitty from Vikki

Kitty II from Vikki

Smokey

Smokey II

Chase

CHEWY

Chewy II

Captain

Captain II

Captain III

Dog from Catherine

Dog from Catherine II

Dog from Catherine III

Pup from Lisa

Pets from Lisa

Based on the sheer number of entries I’m getting for the July pet photo contest — I am extending the VOTING deadline (NOT the SUBMISSION deadline). Please have all entries in by 9 p.m. EST on July 22nd. (Email entries to thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com as a JPEG or GIF file please.)

**The voting period is being extended (in fairness to those whose pictures are being posted later) to July 29th. Winners will now be announced on Friday July 30th.**

We’re shocked at how many entries we’ve received for this contest so far! Thanks for entering everyone – we really wish we could reward ALL of you for your adorable fur babies “photogenic trait!” Thank Goodness we will be having another two or three photo contests this year so everyone has more chances to win really cool stuff (including Bissell products, Furminators, cat toys, dog toys, pet treats, and tons of pet products:) )

So here we go… here are some more entries! Don’t forget to re-post, Tweet, post on Facebook or do whatever you have to to get friends and people to vote for your pet — as winners are being judged ONLY on votes in Comments and emails to us here…

Kitty's Name Unknown from Melanie

Ryoma

Nietzsche

Nietzsche II

Nietzsche III

Nietzsche IV

Diva

Diva II

Monkey

Akela

Kitty from Kennison

Pup from Kennison

Kennison Kitty II

Kitty from Katie

Katie Kitty II

Katie Kitty III

Meko

Meko II

Kitty from Tara P

Calypso

Tinker

Griffin

Griffin II

Griffin III

Missy

*** DON’T FORGET to send ALL your friends here to vote for your pets — or have them email their votes to thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com.

Good luck!

More photos to come tomorrow or Tuesday:)

Here are some funny pictures for Fun Friday (note- these are NOT entered into the July contest….unless the owners  see this post and email me that they WANT to enter it…)

NIGEL!!

My friend Sandra's Kitty...

Swimmer Dogs!!

My friend & co-worker Tracey's cute pie

Tracey's Dogs Again...what's he into??

Tracey's Pack Again...

MORE JULY PHOTO CONTEST PICTURES!

So far, I’ve only gotten about  votes in – so you guys need to really start pushing your friends, other bloggers, and family, co-workers, etc to the blog to vote for your pet. Honestly, this is one of thee MOST GENEROUS prize offerings I’ve EVER offered in the two years the blog has been around, so you don’t want to miss out on the chance to score a prize. (All packages are worth AT LEAST $60, some include pet store gift cards and boutique pet products…)

See the first of the entries here.

Anyhow, here are some more entries for the July Pet Photo Contest, again, in order they were received. You still have until June 22nd to get entries in to me, and remember, only THREE ENTRIES PER PERSON please. (Email entries to thoughtsfurpaws@gmail.com.)

Ziavier

Bronco Says "Throw the Ball...I'm Ready!"

Cheeto

Cheeto II

Cheeto III

Gianni

Gianni II

Goliath

Goliath II

Gucci

Gucci II

Gucci III

Izzy

Izzy II

Karma

Karma II

Murphy Cuddled Up:)

Precious Murphy Bathing...

Rocky the Pug

Rocky as a Puppy!

Rocky Sportin' Shades!

Little Roy & Gertrude the Chicken

Sweet-faced Rudi the Rescue Baby

Sweet Simba Strechin' Out

Simba's Sweet Face Close-Up

Tutti Frutti the Rescue Cutie:)

Tutti Frutti II

Unknown Kitty from Susan Lawson

Unknown Pup from Samantha Stark

So that’s it for today! ** Don’t forget to send all your contacts here to comment and leave their votes for their favorites! REMEMBER: this contest is being judged SOLELY on reader comment votes and emails with votes sent to us!

Good Luck!

Tomorrow I’ll be showing you an array of “Fun Friday Fotos!”

So it’s NOT just dogs that our herioc soldiers are taking in, taking care of, and then taking home to the U.S. – its KITTEHS TOO!

Yeah, I’m a little late to the game in getting this posted, but I’ve worked at least 30 out of the last 70 hours so what can I say??

Thanks to Unique Scoop for this WONDERFUL HEART-WRENCHING article. Go there after you read to see ALL the pictures of the kitties when they get home to Michigan finally…!

“In Afghanistan, in the midst of war, many animals are lost and separated from their family. Many are found later by troops from the US, UK and Canada. Soldiers rescue these animals and get help from rescue groups that help them send these animals out of the country and to a forever loving home that they deserve.

Three US marine soldiers, Brian Chambers, Chris Berry and Aaron Shaw, started a mission to help bring home the kittens they have befriended while serving in Afghanistan . With generous donations from cat lovers and help from Noward Dogs animal rescue, Kiki and Keykey, two lovely ginger kitties, have successfully made it home in the US. Unfortunately 2 other cats, Simba and Ra-Ko, lost the battle against their illnesses a few weeks ago.

Kiki and his sister Bones were found by Brian Chambers, a US marine.

“At only 3 weeks old, their mother had disappeared and they were left alone to live rough and fend for themselves like the other cats in this area. We looked after them both and they lived in a box in the office, after a week they were allowed to roam around during the day and sleep with us in the hooch at night.”

Unfortunately Bones vanished a week after along with Kiki, but Kiki eventually returned.

Kiki was injured badly on Monday 8th of March. Brian found him in horrible condition. “He was too frightened to approach me, I ran to find some wipes to clean him and I then realised how bad this wounds really were…”

A vet came the next day and put Kiki on a course of antibiotics. Today Kiki has fully recovered.

“Kiki is a very playful adventurous cat, he loves to explore and is very curious, he enjoys sitting on my shoulder, chewing on my hand and running up my legs. He hasn’t been put off by what has happened to him.”

Keykey was found by another US marine named Chris Berry.

“I found Keykey tangled up in c-wire one day in the beginning of the deployment, I took him in and fixed his wounds. He was also extremely malnourished so I constantly kept an eye on him and fed him until he got back to good health and he has been by my side ever since.”

Both Keykey and Kiki have arrived in the US. Kiki is currently living with Brian’s parents in Houston, Texas until he leaves the Marines and moves home. Keykey is living with Chris’ parents in Detroit, Michigan and enjoying his new family.

For soldiers who are on duty overseas, often time the only chance they get to cuddle is when they meet these stray animals. These soldiers are lonely and longing for love from their family and friends. The kitties are abandoned, lost and have nowhere to call home. When they find each other, they become best friends.”

***This article was taken from the original post on “Unique Scoop,” so thanks to them for story and photos! Visit their site for TONS MORE ADORABLE photos of these kitties!