Save $2 on Purina Dog or Cat Chow!

I love great coupons, and this is definitely one. Save $2 on Purina Dog Chow or Cat Chow, any size, any formula! The 3.5lb. bags of Cat Chow are only $3.98 at Wal-Mart, so they would be only $1.98 with coupon. Dog Chow is $4.97, so $2.97 after coupon. Even if your pet does not eat this food, this is a great price to grab a bag for a donation to your local shelter.

Another great deal is to use this coupon with PetSmart's Purina Holiday Bonus Bucks deal. Bags of Purina Cat Chow are around $11.49 for the 16lbs. bags. With the coupon they would be $9.49, plus receive $5 Holiday Bonus Bucks back, good on any future purchase of Purina items! Look for the 10% more bonus bags for even greater savings!

Save $3 on Bil-Jack dog food!

Join Bil-Jack's Best Friends Club and receive a coupon for $3 off any Bil-Jack dog food! Registration for the coupon ends December 25, 2011, and coupons will be mailed out in early 2012. Registration gets you a monthly newsletter filled with great training tips, inspiring stories, and exclusive savings! Go here to register today!

Turn your old t-shirts into a tug toy for your pooch!

When it comes to saving money, finding new uses for items you already have is one of the best things to do. Upcycling is the act of taking an old item and turning it into something new. Not only does it save you money, but it also keeps items from ending up in the landfill - a win win!

If you are anything like me you have a bunch of old t-shirts laying around. I have two drawers full of them, mostly free ones from events I have attended, and to be honest I don't wear them often enough to keep them. In my search for upcycling projects for my collection I came across these great instructions for turning those old shirts into a tug toy for your dog!


It is an insanely simply project that can be completed in less than an hour. You can even make a few of them in an afternoon so your pup always has a spare! What a fun and simple gift to make for Fido's stocking!

From DIYyourfaceoff.com, by iamthemandy




What You Will Need:

scissors
old t-shirts (use a few for a colorful toy, or one for a solid color)


Step 1: Take your t-shirt and begin cutting 12 1inch strips, about 17inches long. If your dog is a larger size, make your strips longer.

Step 2: Gather all 12 strips together and tie a knot at one end.

Step 3: Divide the strips into 3 groups of 4 strips, and begin to braid down the length of the strips. 

Step 4: Gather all strips at end and tie a knot. 

                                                   

Step 5: Enjoy playing with your dog and their new toy!

Thanks to DIYyourfaceoff and iamthemandy for sharing this great project! All photos from DIYyourfaceoff

Wordless Wednesday: Kitty In A Box

Boots sneaking into our box of decorations

Sometimes I wonder if Boots thinks I get mail just so he can have new boxes to sleep in....

Save $3 on World's Best Cat Litter

In my opinion, World's Best Cat Litter is one of the best litters on the market. I love how easily and quickly it clumps, and how much simpler it makes cleaning the cat box. Now you can save $3 on any size bag of their Scented Multiple Cat Clumping formula. Simply go to World's Best Cat Litter's Facebook page, "Like" them, and click on the "Scent formula coupon"tab on the left side of the page. This was the first litter I ever bought for my kittens, and I loved it. It is scented with all natural essential oils, and is a very light and clean smelling scent. And with $3 off you can't go wrong.

Free 8x10 Collage Print from CVS! Great holiday gift idea!

I love these great photo deals. During the last one from Walgreens I made a collage print of my kittens to hang in my home office, and every time I look at it I smile. These make terrific holiday gifts when placed in a nice frame - got any photos of a friend's pet? Now you can get one from CVS at the Kodak Picture Kiosk! These prints always come out beautifully (in a pinch while in photograph school I once had my final printed at CVS. No one could tell!), and are ready in minutes. Go over to coupons.com and search under the "photography" category, listed on the left hand side. There you will find the FREE 8x10 collage print from the Kodak Picture Kiosk. Click on it, and it will take you to Facebook, where you must "Like" Kodak to print your coupon. Now to decide if I really need another collage print of my kitties....

50% off Feline Pine Cat Litter at Shaw's Supermarkets!

Every time I go to the grocery store I take a walk down the pet care aisle to see if there are any good deals. Well yesterday my walk paid off when I spotted 50% off tags on Feline Pine cat litter at Shaw's! Sadly there were none left at that store, but I plan to stop by another on my way to work today and hope that there are some boxes of the clumping kind left. I believe they were marked at $2.75, so paired with this terrific $1.50 off any Feline Pine cat litter coupon a box would only be $1.25! So if you live in the Northeast and have a cat, be sure to stop in at Shaw's and grab a box today!

Crochet your own catnip toys!

When I was younger my grandmother taught me to crochet, and even today I still enjoy it. In my search for D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) cat toy tutorials I came across this adorable crochet pattern on Mollie's Blog of Stuff for an "Easy Peasy Catnip Mouse."To be honest I never learned to read patterns (I wish I had), but judging by the comments it is a fairly simple one. I may have to have one of my crocheting friends teach me to read patterns so I can make these cute toys for my kitties! The best part is that they take very little yarn, so they are a great craft for using up all those leftover pieces from other projects! Wouldn't your kitty love to get one of these in their stockings?

Easy Peasy Catnip Mouse

Materials Needed:

Small amount of scrap acrylic yarn, small amount of good quality catnip, 3.5mm crochet hook, some stuffing, jingle bell (optional).

Pattern:

Ch 17,

Row 1: sc in 2^nd st from hook and continue till the end. This will make the tail.

Row 2: Next, make 7 sc in the last loop of the tail (ie. In last sc). (7st total)

Row 3: We will be working in a spiral so do not sl st into the first of the 7 sc. Next, do 2sc in each sc (14st total)

Row 4: *sc in 1^st sc, 2sc in 2^nd sc* repeat 6 times. (21st total)

Row 5-7: sc in each sc

Row 8: sc in first 5 sc, sc next two sts tog. Repeat until you can just snugly fit your index finger into the top of the mouse. Stuff with catnip and stuffing (and bell).

*next we add the ears. Get another colour of yarn, join it to the outer lip of one sc, as we will use the inner lip to complete the mouse. Ch 2, then in the same sc make 2 dc, sl st in same sc lip. Next, sl st in the outer lip of the next stitch, and the one after. Next, ch 2, 2dc and sl st. tie and cut off.

Row 9: Continue with sc in 1^st sc, sc next 2 sts tog, until you only have 7 sts around left. After which just sc next 2 sts tog until you are left with about 3 sts. Leave a 3 inch tail of yarn to seal and secure.

Weave in any loose ends into the mouse, et voilá!!! You have a catnip mouse!

Thank you Mollie for posting such a great pattern!

Cat-Proofing Your Christmas Tree

from Socialitelife.com

If your kitties are anything like mine, they are fascinated with the Christmas tree. The moment it went up the kitties were both over there sniffing it, batting the branches, and trying to figure out what this giant green thing was that we placed in the middle of the living room. And that was all before we got any decorations on! Anyways, here are some tips and tricks I've gathered from various sources, including my family, the internet, and of course our own learning experiences with our rambunctious feline duo.

1. Decide if you are getting a real or fake tree.  
Both have their advantages and disadvantages. A real tree has sharp pine needles that could potentially get stuck in paws or harm kitty in other ways. Then again, an artificial tree is not a healthy chew toy either, especially if the "needles" fall off and are swallowed. If you choose a real tree, try and make sure you get a stand that does not have much exposed access to the water. Most kitties love to drink any water that is NOT in their bowls, so you will need to make sure that they cannot easily get to the water for the tree. The water for the tree has the potential to make your cat sick, so try and make sure that the water in the stand is not exposed at all. Also make sure you vacuum up any fallen pine needles regularly. If eaten these can make your cat very sick.

2. Hang breakable and irreplaceable ornaments up high.
This seems obvious, but many people don't realize just how high their cat can reach when stretched out. Try placing them as close to the top of the tree as possible to avoid kitty breakage. And be sure to place all glass ornaments out of the cat's reach - you don't want them breaking one and getting cut while you are not home.

3. Make sure the tree is secure.
This is a tough one for our home. Our apartment is in an old building, complete with very slanted floors. Even with a secure base our tree was at a slant. It took the kitties a whole 5 minutes before they had the tree tipped over the first night (thankfully it was before we decorated). Our tree is now anchored to the window sill to prevent it from tipping over because we could not secure it otherwise. You can also anchor the tree to a wall or ceiling to further secure your tree. Additionally, if possible place your tree away from furniture that your cat could jump from onto the tree.

4. Consider leaving the tree up undecorated for a day or two.

from Socialitelife.com

Cats are always curious when anything new enters the home. Consider putting up your tree, undecorated, and allow your cats to get used to it being in their home. Let them sniff the tree and look at it (as long as they are not trying to climb it!). After a day or two the initial curiosity will be gone and they will have found something else to explore. This will also give you time to teach your cat to leave the tree alone before placing any of your potentially breakable ornaments on it.

5. Don't use ornaments as toys.
This is just asking for trouble. It may be cute at first to tease your cat with an ornament or two, but it will not be so cute when they are knocking over the tree to get to that ornament. Seriously, just don't do it. And no catnip anything on the tree.

6. Consider spraying your tree with vinegar or lemon juice.
Cats hate the smell of vinegar and strong citrus smells like lemon and orange. If you don't mind the smell spritzing your tree with either can help deter your cats from bothering the tree. You can also place lemon or orange peels around the base.

7. Avoid tinsel.
While tinsel can be pretty on trees, especially when mixed with Christmas lights, it can be a serious hazard for your cat. The shininess of the tinsel is very attractive to cats and may entice them to want to play with it. If chewed on or swallowed tinsel can cause serious health problems, such as choking or damage to the intestines. If you have kitties is it best to avoid this shimmery Christmas object all together.

Holistic Select on clearance at Petco

I stopped into Petco yesterday to use my $5 off $25 purchase coupon, and I noticed that nearly the entire line of Holistic Select pet food, both dog and cat, was marked for clearance. I asked an associate, and they said that Petco is discontinuing the entire line. So for those of you who feed this brand to your pet, now is a great time to stock up on some bags and cans. To make the deal even better you can use these coupons for even greater savings!

$1 off any Holistic Select canned dog or cat food
$3 off any Holistic Select dry dog or cat food

I noticed the 5.5oz. cans of cat food for marked $.98, and the 3lb. bags of cat food were $8.98 with the larger bags being marked $14.98. I cannot remember the prices for the dog food, but they were clearanced as well.

EDIT: Be sure to check the prices at your store before purchasing. I went to my local Petco today and Holistic Select was still regular price, even though two towns over it was on clearance. It may be a while before the clearance hits your store, so be sure to check the prices first.