Back again

Wow, it has been 2 years since I posted this blog. A lot has happened, but now that my life is looking to enter a normal routine once again, I am looking forward to picking back up posting here at Four Paw Savings, and sharing my pet food deals with you all!

A little about the last 2 years. I made the decision to return to school and finish my Master's Degree in Social Work, which has kept me extremely busy. For you non-MSW people, that means classes, plus a 25-hr. a week internship, in addition to working, writing papers, and trying to maintain a household. Everything else had to take a backseat. But now I am almost done - finishing up my final paper, my last week of my internship, and then walking across the stage at my graduation. I am so excited, and so ready to settle into a regular work/home life without schoolwork always looming over my head.

My husband and I also bought a house, adding a new level to our home life. It is wonderful, and we love being homeowners, but it is still another component added to an already busy life.

My husband also decided to return to school, and is now working towards his Paramedic certification. He has even more reading and schoolwork than I did! He is insanely smart, and dedicated, so I know he will do well. He does this while working full-time to support us and the kitties while I am in school. He is superman.

I'm sure you may be wondering what made me decide to start the blog back up after a 2 year break? Well, it was my kitty Odin. Odin passed over the Rainbow Bridge 2 days ago, and his passing made me realize how much I have missed being a part of this community. Odin was our rescue kitty, our sweet sweet old man. He came to us with everyone expecting him to only live a few months. He was a part of our lives for just shy of 3 years, and we are so grateful that we got to share that time with him. He was at least 15 years old when we got him, though our vet estimates that he was closer to 20 when he passed than 18. FIV+, a former chronic stray, he certainly lived past his expectancy. He stole our hearts with his soft purrs and loving ways, and showed us the ways in which a pet enriches our lives. Anyways, I miss him, and missing him made me realize how much I miss being a part of the pet community, and I am happy to be back again. You can look forward to more frequent posts with deals, savings, product reviews and giveaways, as well as other helpful information for pet-parents out there!

My sweet boy Odin. 

Thankful Thursday

I don't usually post personal stories on here (I leave that up to Boots on his own blog), but today I really wanted to share my Thankful Thursday story.

A few months ago I saw this photo on Facebook.

This sweet kitty had been living with a colony, but when his eye started looking funny (the blue eye, the white looking one was from an old injury) his caretaker called the shelter for help. Sadly, because of his FIV status he could not remain at the shelter. The only choices were to find him a home (which for an FIV+ cat, long time former stray, around 10-15yrs. old with eye problems, is not easy) or to euthanize him. As soon as I saw his photo I knew he was my kitty. He almost immediately fit into our household as if he had always been there. I have young 2 FIV- cats, Boots and Bruin, and they are fine living with an FIV+ old man cat. We love him, and named him Odin.

Two months ago we thought Odin may be heading towards the end. He was sick, and without an expensive test our vet thought that he may have cancer. The test would only confirm the diagnosis, not change the outcome, so we chose to forgo it and instead treat with antibiotics incase in was just a simple stomach infection. My boy Odin decided he was not done, and rebounded, more energetic than before he became sick.

Yesterday again we began to fear the worst. Odin was lethargic, not finishing his food (though still eating some), and was simply not himself. Again we prepared ourselves for the end, only to see a few hours later a sore near his back leg. Within the hour the abscess ruptured, and we headed off to the emergency vet. After spending a good part of yesterday crying, thinking I was about to lose my kitty, it turned out to be a simple fix. I think my Odin was born with even more than nine lives, because anytime something happens he refuses to give up and rebounds.

I picked up my sweet, blind Odin from the hospital this morning. He was in his carrier, and as soon as he heard my voice he perked up, looking around to try and figure out where I was. Today he is home resting with my husband, being every bit a safe, indoor kitty - a total transformation from his life just 6 months ago. Every day I am so thankful for him, and the joy he brings to our home. My special kitty, who uses pee pads instead of a litter box, who gives me headbutts and the loudest purrs, who eats whatever food I feed him and sleeps at my feet under my desk, I am forever thankful for him. Even though his time with us will be short, we love him, and will love him forever. Love you, Odin.

A note to my readers

To all of my wonderful readers out there, I just want to let you know I may not be updating as often over the next few weeks. Odin, our sweet "foster" kitty who joined our home a few months ago, is really sick, and I just want to spend as much time with him as possible. He has only been with us a short time but he quickly captured our hearts and has become part of our little family. I will update as I can, but please be patient as we get through this difficult time, and I promise my absence will not be forever.

Sweet Odin

Wordless Wednesday: Enjoy the little things

Saw this on a store window when I lived in Canada. 

Words we should all live by.

Odin's first bath

Wordless Wednesday: Odin, our newest addition

I am Odin. Bow down to me, silly humans

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the fur-daddy's out there!

Bruin with her dad.

Wordless Wednesday

Boots, helping out with Four Paw Savings

Wordless Wednesday

Love at first sight. 

A personal moment

I know that I have been M.I.A. for about two weeks now, but I promise, I have a REALLY good reason - I got married! That's right, my (now) husband and I tied the knot last Saturday, March 17th. It was an incredible day, and so much more than I could have ever hoped for. Now we are a "real" family - him, me, and the two kitties.

Now the wedding is over. The honeymoon is over. And it is back to keeping you updated on the latest and greatest savings for your four-pawed loved ones!

Bruin watching the Bruins

We are Boston sports fans in our house. I am sitting curled up with a Red Sox blanket on the couch, and my fiance just walked in wearing his New England Patriots sweatshirt. So last June, in the midst of the Stanley Cup playoffs, when we brought two kittens into our home, it seemed only logical that we named the all black kitten Bruin.

When we got the kittens, the Boston Bruins had already lost 2 games to the Canucks. The next game my fiance curled up with his new kitten, and the two of them watched the game together. And the Bruins won! The next game, same thing, with our little kitten watching the TV in awe as she tried to figure out what was moving on the screen. Again, the Bruins won. The next game we were over a friend's, without our kitty, and the Bruins lost. That was it for my fiance - he and Bruin watched the rest of the games together, curled up on the couch in the living room, both sets of eyes glued to the the TV (and yes, I know that cats don't watch TV, but she really did. Maybe she was just trying to impress her new family), and the Bruins won the Stanley Cup that year. My fiance is convinced it was all because of our special kitty.

Bruin is our black and gold kitty. She has a yellow collar. Her favorite thing in the world is to curl up on our Bruins blanket (she cries when we move it or it has to be washed). And yes, she even continues to watch hockey games on TV with my fiance. So is it all in a name? I can't be sure, but I do know that we definitely have a little hockey fan in our home.

The kitties (Boots and his sister Bruin) and I are participating in a Blog Hop over at Tillman Skates! to win a 1,000 lb. donation of Nature's Balance to our shelter or rescue of choice! The kitties know how important finding the right family is, and how expensive it can be to feed so many animals, and so they want to win the prize to help homeless pets. Look for our weekly entries, and check out the other blogs participating. No matter who wins, the biggest winners are the shelters and rescues that receive the donations. 

Four Paw Savings has a new button!

At the beginning of February I entered a giveaway over at DogTipper, of course never thinking I would win. Well, guess what? I WON! As a prize I received a month of advertising for Four Paw Savings over at DogTipper and AllThingsDogBlog, two wonderful sites for pet owners (and for you cat people, check out CatTipper, the sister site of Dogtipper). The only problem? I didn't have a button for the sites to use! So Paris, the human voice at DogTipper, put together this wonderful button for me:

Isn't it great? I love how well it turned out, and now you can see it beaming from the side bars of DogTipper and AllThingsDogBlog! If you haven't already done so, be sure to check out both of these great sites. They are filled with amazing articles, tips, and links to some other fabulous sites - not to mention all the terrific giveaways! If you found Four Paw Savings through my button on either of these two sites, please leave me a comment letting me know. And of course, please feel free to grab my new button to place on your blog!

Box Hopping with Boots!

Playful does not even begin to describe my kitty Boots. He is energetic, full of life, and into EVERYTHING! He can be such a naughty kitty, often getting into things he knows he shouldn't - like the "kitty cabinet" (where food is stored), a roll of paper towels we forgot to put away, plastic bags waiting to be re-used, etc. Even so, he keeps us laughing, and is one of the sweetest kitties  you could imagine.

From the time he was a kitten, my boy Boots has loved boxes. Anytime we get a new box he is right there, ready to jump in. He loves jumping in and out of the boxes over and over. It doesn't matter what size the box is, he even tries to get into the empty cereal boxes! I wish I had a photo of that - Boots with his head inside the box, his back end sticking out, pushing the box across the kitchen floor trying to get his whole body inside.

He loves to play "Kitty in a Box," where we close up the box and tap on the top as he tries to chase the sound. When we open the box back up he sticks his head out for a second, then curls back up on the bottom of the box so we can close it up again! 

At any given time there are usually several boxes laying around our apartment, waiting for Boots to jump in. And when all his energy is spent, then he curls up in his box for a nap. 

The kitties (Boots and his sister Bruin) and I are participating in a Blog Hop over at Tillman Skates! to win a 1,000 lb. donation of Nature's Balance to our shelter or rescue of choice! The kitties know how important finding the right family is, and how expensive it can be to feed so many animals, and so they want to win the prize to help homeless pets. Look for our weekly entries, and check out the other blogs participating. No matter who wins, the biggest winners are the shelters and rescues that receive the donations. 

Wordless Wednesday

Our hearts never forgot 

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....

Cat of the Day at CatTipper.com: A personal moment

I am so exciting! My sweet kitty Boots is Cat of the Day over at CatTipper.com! Head on over to check out his little write up! Normally I may feel a bit silly getting all excited about this, but this is a blog for pet lovers, and I bet there are many out there who would feel as excited as I do. I am such a proud kitty mommy right now!

Boots is Cat of the Day!