Gracey's Blog | The Tiniest Tiger Cat Community

Maneki-neko $50 Giveaway

February 3, 2013 by Gracey

Maneki-neko is Japanese for beckoning cat

Super Hurrah to Jen, Patty and Sherrie!! Congratulations and we hope your Maneki-Neko brings you great fortune and luck.

Meneki-neko is a popular Japanese figurine of a cute cat with an upright paw believed to bring good luck to the owner. The figurine is usually made in the image of a calico Japanese Bobtail, beckoning with an upright paw and are on display in shops, retaurants, pachinko parlors, and many other businesses. Sometimes Maneki-neko figurines are electric or battery operated so that they will have a paw moving back and forth. Maneki-neko is kind of like a cougar in that it is known by many names.( cougar, puma, mountain lion). In English, Meneki-neko is called welcoming cat, lucky cat, money cat, happy cat and fortune cat.

This cute cat figurine comes is a variety of colors, styles and ornamentation but the most common colors are white, black, gold and sometimes red. It is thought that the white is for good luck, the black for good health and the gold for monetary good fortune.

Raised left paw attracts money

Bossy Backyard Blue Jay in Winter

February 3, 2013 by Gracey

Bossy Backyard Blue Jay

Members of our community are familiar with my buddy Bossy Backyard Blue Jay, but if you just joined us, I will give you a little background information. Bossy Backyard Blue Jay lives in my backyard and he gets his name from, well, let’s just say his name suits him. He talks a lot and he thinks he is the ruler of the backyard. Sometimes he dive bombs my dad when I send him out to fill the bird feeders around our house. I shouldn’t laugh, but sometimes I can’t help myself. Bossy doesn’t bother my mom, in fact he sits on a branch and chats with her. My mom and I think it is my dad’s red hair that gets Bossy riled up. Maybe he thinks my dad is a cardinal or a red headed woodpecker, we just don’t know.

Winter can be super cold and snowy here in Ohio so we try to make sure the birds that share our outdoor habitat have some nice food, suet and a heated water source to keep their water from freezing. Earlier today, Bossy Backyard Blue Jay was squawking up a storm. I had just settled into my heated thinking circle for some Sunday afternoon meditation when he came knocking on the window.

Easy there buddy! Peanuts are on the way.

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Filed Under: Gracey's Blog Tagged With: Bird, bird feeders, Blue Jay, Bossy Backyard Blue Jay

Cats and Aquariums Both Reduce Stress and Anxiety

February 2, 2013 by Gracey

What do cats and aquariums have in common?

You are feeling very sleepy......

Aquariums reduce stress and anxiety

Both cats and aquariums have been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in humans. That’s right, research concludes that aquariums have the ability to lower blood pressure, calm the nerves, and clear the mind. Aquariums create a soothing environment and are thought to have a hypnotic effect on humans.

Lazy Leopard’s One Minute Relaxation Video Test

Super Dog Sunday Photo Contest is for Cats Too

January 30, 2013 by Gracey

Can a Cat Crash Super Dog Sunday?

The super bowl is this Sunday and this is a great day for snacking and snoozing on the sofa with my dad. In addition to the football game and the commercials, there is Super Dog Sunday™ hosted by our good friends at Event Barkers. You know Event Barkers from the super terrific job they do hosting our Red Carpet Cat Events!

Super Dog Sunday™ is an annual charitable event in which 100% of the proceeds go to the Petfinder Foundation to help them find more homes for adorable cats and dogs. There is a great lineup of sponsors and participants can enter to win up to $1500 in prizes too! Helping find homes for our cousins and win great prizes? Put me in coach!

Put me in Coach I am ready to Play!

Cat Crashes Super Dog Sunday

I got so excited when Paris from dogtipper.com told me about this great event to help find forever homes for our cousins that I asked if a cat could crash the party and she said, I didn’t have to crash, that cats are welcome too! So I am calling all cats to enter to help our cousins in need of loving homes.

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Filed Under: Gracey's Blog Tagged With: Cat, dog, dogtipper.com, Paris, Pet, Petfinder.org, PrestonSpeaks.com, Sunday, Super Bowl

Daily Kibble’s 26 Acts of Kindness to Share the Love

January 28, 2013 by Gracey

Ann Curry sparks 26 Acts of Kindness Movement

Ann Curry, NBC News correspondent asked herself, after the tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, what

she could do. And she thought performing 26 acts of kindness, one act for each child and teacher who lost their life that day, would be a small gesture to honor the victims.

Ann then invited everyone to join her by sharing the idea on social media. Within a few days the hashtag “#26acts” was trending on Twitter and a “26 Acts of Kindness” Facebook page began to grow. People began to tweet Curry with photos and descriptions of their acts of kindness such as paying for parking meters, tolls and leaving larger than usual tips.

Curry wrote on the NBC News website that the movement is a way to “help heal us all.”

Daily Kibble’s 26 Acts of Kindness Contest

The Daily Kibble

Our Master of Zoology Graduation Celebration

January 20, 2013 by Gracey

Master of Zoology Graduation Celebration

This tassel looks like it has my name on it.

It was with mixed emotions that we celebrated our graduation from the Master of Zoology program at Miami University. Even though my mom and I spent many many hours in the office reading, thinking and writing, what we were learning was so super interesting it seems the time just flew by.

Into the Field

We had the opportunity to travel to the Baja peninsula to live in the dessert at Rancho San Gregorio and swim in the Sea of Cortez. We visited elephants in Amboseli National Park in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya, dismantled snares with the African Conservation Center Game Scouts, learned to track lions, walked with baboons and lived with the Maasai in Olkiramatian.

Cat Anatomy 101 The Cute Factor

January 19, 2013 by Gracey

Cat Anatomy

Our friends at pet365.co.uk asked me if I would be interested in sharing this fun Cat Anatomy graphic with you. I thought you might like the graphic too and that we could chat for a moment about one of the fun facts.

The graphic says the cat has the largest eyes of any mammal. I think we need to add in proportion to their body size because whales are mammals too and a whale’s eye can be the size of an orange or a soccer ball depending upon the species. But in proportion to body size, we felines have the largest eyes.

My What Big Eyes You Have

Creative Comfort for Feral and Community Cats

January 7, 2013 by Gracey

Architects for Animals: Giving Shelter

The third annual Architects for Animals: Giving Shelter is Thursday, January 10, 2013 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Steelcase Showroom, 4 Columbus Circle in New York City. These past three years New York’s elite architectural designers have been coming to the rescue of the city’s feral cat colonies by creating innovative shelters to provide the cats with a refuge from the winter cold.

Bushblok Restores Habitat and Saves Cheetahs

January 2, 2013 by Gracey

Burning Bushes to Restore Habitat Land and Save Cheetahs.

Bushblok Saves Cheetahs

Most of us know our big cat cousins are struggling to survive in in the wild. You might even know that loss of habitat, human-wildlife conflict, loss of prey and poaching are among the biggest reasons the big cats are fighting for their lives. But did you know the loss of habitat is not just due to the increasing human population but due to another invasive species, the thorn-bush.

The acacia thorn bush overgrowth has claimed thousands of acres of savannah in Namibia where the largest number of wild cheetahs still live. Overgrazing, drought, extirpation of elephants are a few of the reasons for the bush encroachment. As the bush thickens and the sharp thorns of the acacia entwine to form a barrier, not only is the cheetah at risk but so are the prey species that thrive on the savannah.

The Tiniest Tiger’s Snow Adventure

January 1, 2013 by Gracey

Tiger cubs romping in the snow are super cute. And these Amur tiger cubs living at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium are no exception. The cubs are six months old and weigh about ninety pounds and as you can see in the zoo’s video, they are happy as can be frolicking together around their habitat.

Amur Tiger Cubs Snow Adventure at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium

Watching my young big cat cousins inspired me. While in my heated thinking circle today, I thought perhaps I should feed my inner Amur tiger and venture out to frolic in the snow. After all, it is winter here in Ohio and my backyard is completely covered in white fluffy snow. The neighbor children are all suited up and sledding down the hills and they seem to be enjoying themselves. So I thought, why not brave the cold and pounce around a bit in the snow. So I left the comfort and warmth of my heated thinking circle and I went into the wild.