Hello from Mr. Milky

Mr. Milky: Rocky is allowing me to post as a guest today to show off my new video ...

My Artsy Catsy mom came to visit me yesterday, and then she and DadStan took me to Dr. Shew to have a pedicure. I didn't mind at all - I love road trips, even in the snow! I don't even have to be put in a PTU - I just sit calmly on a lap in the car and watch the world go by.

And guess what? I now weigh more than 12 pounds! I've doubled my weight since I came to Artsy Catsy to be rescued! See how much better I look than I did before.

I want all my sick kitty friends to have a miraculous recovery like I did. It could never have happened without the kind and loving cats and beans in the Cat Blogosphere who helped with my vet bills. So I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you of a couple of fundraisers that will help our sick friends become as healthy and happy as I am now ...

Moki's Auction for Miles, Misty, Tucker, Beau & Moki

And at Artsy Catsy's Gallery, 40% of all sales between now and Dec. 31 will be donated to Miles & Billy, Misty, Beau and Criz Cats Sanctuary

I'll see you soon - Happy Holidays!

Book Bookkeeping

Rocky: It's book Bookkeeping Day at Artsy Catsy, and I'm calculating how many green papers we raised in the Book Auction for Billy Sweetfeets' and Beau's vet bills ...

Karen Jo won the books Category 7 and Critical
Peggy & the Cats won Blood Lies and Deadly Errors
Scooby & Spikey won Loving Our Cats and To Bend Without Breaking
Zippy, Sadie & Speedy won Obsession and Black and Blue
Spirit & Ezra won Listening with the Heart and Family Guide to Asthma
The Cat Realm won Restitution
Charlemagne & Tamar won Forever Liesl

If you don't get a comment or email from me shortly, please email me at artsycatsy(at)yahoo(dot)com with your mailing address and I'll send you payment instructions!

Also, since there have been so many sick kitties in the Cat Blogosphere lately - and it's just WRONG to be sick and have big vet bills at Christmas - I've taken every piece of my mom's jewelry inventory and set up a huge, emergency

HOLLY JOLLY JEWELRY SALE

There are more than 50 Artsy Catsy original Crazy Cat Ladies and one-of-a-kind necklaces, bracelets and earrings, all sale-priced until Dec. 21 ... and 40% of the proceeds will be given to Miles & Billy, Misty, Criz and Beau.

Oh, what the heck - I'm gonna give them 40% of EVERYTHING sold from our Artsy Catsy Gallery before Christmas! The best stocking stuffer in the world for these kitties and their caring beans would be enough green papers to pay the vet bills and get their furbabies healthy again!

Have a magnificent Monday, everyone!

Carnival of the Cats

Rocky: Oh, the weather outside is frightful ... but the kitties are still delightful! Step right up, folks, and warm your hearts with Carnival of the Cats #248 ....

Audace, Grace and Ruse show you how to stay warm this winter at Momma Grace & Company.

A tisket, a tasket, Hakuna’s baskin' in a basket at Blog d’Elisson.

It’s deck the halls with boughs of kitties and a great story about the newspaper quoting the mommy at Perfectly Parker.

Hee hee! How long will the Christmas tree remain upright? Place your bets here and here at Gotta Go Practice ....

The spirit of giving abounds with a list of Raffles & Auctions for the Sickly Cats of the CB at Mind of Mog.

Here at Artsy Catsy, we just launched a huge Holly Jolly Jewelry Sale to help several sick kitties, with more than 50 one-of-a-kind cat jewelry creations - all on sale for one week!

Time for some fun & games ... Can you find the torbie in the feline version of “Where’s Elmo” at Elms in the Yard?

And where is Tiny? See if you can find her at sisu.

There’s snow much fun going on with Snow Daze and Letters to Sandy Claws at Diamond’s Lair.

But Sir Tristan is a bit indignant about his new nickname, “Mr. Stinkypaws,” at Tabbylicious.

Beauty abounds in the Cat Blogosphere! Mimi exhibits that color is not necessary for beauty at The Poor Mouth.

Jones is handsome in color, at AllanThinks.

And Ping ... with a very red nose ... continues the color theme at Manx Mnews.

Ollie reveals the true purpose of Amazon.com at Blogg.

Some Best Buds are doing the nose bump at iInfidel.

And the tantalizing tummy is not to be missed at iMeowza!

Ivy is monopolizing the sun puddle at StrangeRanger.

Meet Belle, the new kitten at Watermark ...

... and see Boo's reaction to Belle.

Samantha & Tigger share a gallery of their favorite things to do and their favorite people at Life from a Cat’s Perspective.

Grr knows exactly what she wants for Christmas at House Panthers.

......................................................

Don't miss next week's Carnival of the Cats,

hosted at Nikita's Place!

Water, Water Everywhere!

Rocky: Water, water everywhere and lots of drops to drink! We won KC's raffle for the Drinkwell Fountain, and it arrived yesterday. I love, love, LOVE it!! The first thing I did was dip my head and feets into it and then proceed to drink so much I got waterlogged and had to spend the whole afternoon in the litter pan.

You can see in my video where the paint peeled off our cabinet from me playing in my old water bowl ... now I can peel the paint off the whole kitchen!!

Thank you SO much, KC, for this wonderful Fountain - my own personal shower!!

My human artist's daughter Tiffany, who lives in Rome, Italy, is getting waterlogged, too, but not in a fun way. Yesterday a state of emergency was declared in Rome due to flooding of the Tiber River. You can see pictures here that were taken only a few blocks from Tiffany's house. I sent an urgent message to Fred and Holly, my staff members in Rome, that they'd better learn to swim like me!

Okay, now I have to go take another shower and drink another gallon, then get busy because it's my weekend to host Carnival of the Cats - don't forget to submit your post here!

Fretful Friday

Rocky: It's Friday and I'm feeling very fretful ...

There's so much going on that I haven't been able to blog and stay in touch with my friends. My mom has been helping our friend Kay, who has been in and out of the hospital and goes back again Wednesday for another heart procedure, so she still needs our purrs and purrayers.

And now I find out that my good buddy Miles is very sick. His brother Billy Sweetfeets still needs green papers for his vet bills and their DadBean is out of work, so I'm fretting and fretting to figure out what we can do to help. I'm trying to get my mom to put up a huge Holly Jolly Jewelry Sale to help out our sick kitty friends, as soon as she stops running in circles.

In the meantime, you can still bid in our Book Auction to help Billy and Beau, which ends day after tomorrow ... and you can make a donation on Miles and Billy's blog, which I'm going to go do right now!

And please go to the Cat Blogosphere to find other bargains that will help our sick kitty friends! We're purring & purraying that they will be happy and healthy for the holidays and every day furever after.

More Books for Billy and Beau!

Rocky: Whew! Beau and I are exhausted!

I teleported over to his house this morning and - after I helped him overturn all the wastebaskets in his house because he hasn't been feeling well enough to do it on his own - we found 17 more books to add to the Auction to Help with Beau's & Billy Sweetfeets' vet bills!

So now there are 35 books you can bid on, and we're extending the auction until December 14! And don't forget, five winning bidders will also get a free Artsy Catsy bookmark!

Happy Sunday, everyone! And now it's time for Beau and I to get back in "Easy Like" mode.

Crazy Cat Lady Raffle Winner!

Rocky: Our new flashy thing finally arrived and I've selected the winner of our Crazy Cat Lady raffle to help Moki pay his vet bills! Our new flashy has video, so here I am in my motion picture debut, with my human artist as director (but, as CEO, I have total creative license to do my own thing) ....

Congratulations to Dorothy Pugh - you've won Artsy Catsy's original Crazy Cat Lady necklace and matching earrings!

Thank you all who participated in our raffle. With your kind and generous help, it raised $134 to help Moki with his ongoing vet care! We love you, Moki - everybody loves you!

And for those of you who would still be interested in wearing Artsy Catsy one-of-a-kind jewelry - or giving it as Christmas gifts - tomorrow I'm starting a HUGE sale on our Gallery Blog, with more than 50 items! Everything is on sale, and 20% of the proceeds will be sent to Misty and Criz Cats to give them some much-needed help!

Thank you all so much for helping us help kitties in need!!

Book Auction for Billy and Beau

Rocky: My mom has been piling up books for a yard sale, but with snow in our yard it will be a long time before that happens. So I brought her books up from the basement for an auction to raise money for Billy Sweetfeets and for Beau, who need help with their vet bills so they can get well. Just leave a comment before midnight Sunday Dec. 14 with your bid and the book titles you're bidding on, and we'll announce the winners Dec. 15.

100% of the proceeds will be divided between Billy and Beau. And if the winners would like to contribute a dollar or two toward postage, it isn't mandatory but would be greatly appreciated. That way, Beau doesn't have to pay for shipping his own books out of the green papers raised for him.

But wait! There's more! I'm going to draw 5 names from the winning bids, and each of those 5 winners will also receive a free Artsy Catsy bookmark in their book!

(Click on title links to read inside the book on Amazon.com)

Loving Our Cats by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen
(New oversized paperback)
Current high bid: $8

Lying with Strangers by James Grippando
(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)
Be the first to bid!You've Been Warned by James Patterson

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)
Be the first to bid!

Obsession by Jonathan Kellerman

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)
Current high bid: $5 Restitution by Lee Vance

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)
Be the first to bid!Critical by Robin Cook

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)
Current high bid: $6The Race by Richard North Patterson

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)
Be the first to bid!

The Lost Constitution by William Martin
(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)
Be the first to bid!Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)

Be the first to bid!Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)

Be the first to bid!Blood Lies by Daniel Kalla

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)
Current high bid: $5Majestic Descending by Mitchell Graham

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)

Be the first to bid!Category 7 by Bill Evans and Marianna Jameson

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)

Current high bid: $6The Righteous Men by Sam Bourne

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)

Be the first to bid!The Archangel Project by C.S. Graham

(Gently used paperback but the last few pages are a bit wrinkled from bathtub reading)
Be the first to bid!Deadly Errors by Allen Wyler

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)

Current high bid: $5Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)
Be the first to bid!Dead Even by Brad Meltzer

(Gently used paperback; in excellent condition)

Be the first to bid!Protein Power by Micheal R. & Mary Dan Eades, M.D.

(New paperback)

Be the first to bid!Listening With My Heart by Heather Whitestone

(Gently used paperback by 1995 Miss America, who is deaf)

Current high bid: $5The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard

(Gently used paperback)
Be the first to bid!

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
(Gently used paperback)
Be the first to bid!

I'm OK, You're OK by Thomas A. Harris, M.D.
(Gently used paperback)
Be the first to bid!

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
(Gently used paperback)
Be the first to bid!

Forever Liesl: A Memoir of The Sound of Music
by Charmian Carr, who played Liesl in the movie
(Gently used hardcover)
Be the first to bid!Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

(Oprah Book Club selection; gently used hardcover)
Be the first to bid!

Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
(Oprah Book Club selection; gently used hardcover)
Current high bid: $10

Why Men Marry Some Women and Not Others:

The fascinating research that can land you the husband of your dreams

(Gently used hardcover)

Be the first to bid!
He's Just Not That Into You:
The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys

Be the first to bid!

Family Guide to Asthma and Allergies: American Lung Association
(Gently used hardcover)
Current high bid: $5

For You, My Daughter: A Blue Mountain Arts Collection of Poetry
(Gently used paperback)
Be the first to bid!

Murder in Retrospect by Agatha Christie
(Gently used paperback)
Be the first to bid!

Playing the Tuba at Midnight: The Joys & Challenges of Singleness
(Gently used hardcover by Roberta Rand)
Be the first to bid!A Pocketful of Hope: A Book of Devotions for the Family

(Gently used hardcover by Mary C. Crowley)
Be the first to bid!

To Bend Without Breaking: Stress and How to Deal with It

(Gently used paperbook by Mary Ella Stuart)
Be the first to bid!

~~Thank you for helping Billy and Beau!~~

Stuff on Sunday

Rocky: Still no pictures because our new flashy thing won't be here until early next week. (I tried to scan myself, but for some reason the scanner lid wouldn't close over my slim and svelte self!)

It's a sleepy Sunday here, because on top of everything else that's happened this week, my mom got an emergency call from her daughter Tiffany in Italy late last night. Yesterday afternoon Tiffany cut her finger trying to open a walnut with a knife and had to go to the emergency room, where they closed the cut and gave her a tetanus shot. (We're getting Tiffany a nutcracker for Christmas!)

A few hours later, she had a reaction to the tetanus shot and suddenly got really sick with a dangerously high fever and terrible muscle pain all over her body. So my mom was on and off the phone with Tiffany for a long time, and then we all stayed up most of the night fussing and worrying. We tried really hard to purr a couple of degrees of Tiffany's temperature to Moki, who really needs them ... and we think it worked because Moki is feeling better today, and Tiffany's fever is down and she feels a bit better, too. Ah, the miraculous power of the purr!

Speaking of Moki, we've extended the Crazy Cat Lady raffle to help with his vet bills until tomorrow at midnight, so if you haven't bought a ticket ($2), you still have time!

Finally Friday

Rocky: I am SO glad it's finally Friday! We spent Thanksgiving Day giving thanks that nothing else has gone wrong this week!

First, you'll notice there's no picture of me in this post. That's because my human artist broke our flashy thing this week! I need to choose the winner of our Crazy Cat Lady necklace and earrings raffle for Moki, but there's no flashy thing to provide quality control! I ordered a new flashy, and as soon as it arrives I'll select a winner ... so you still have time to buy tickets.

Also, we need some purrs and purrayers for our neighbor and good friend Kay, who my mom had to rush to the hospital Tuesday. Kay has some serious 100% heart blockages and only one of them could be repaired with a stent. She might get to come home today, but has to go back to the hospital for more procedures soon. Kay is a wonderful cat and woofie lover / artist who has started to assist me with some of our beading. My mom has been spending lots of time at the hospital with her and she's very worried about our friend.

Our good friend Lois needs some purrs, too. She has been in cancer treatment for several years now and finally had to go off medical leave because her former company closed down. First she found out that her Cobra medical insurance will cost her almost $1,000 green papers a month, and she only gets $1,300 green papers a month from disability. Then the very next day, she found out that she may have metastases in her lungs. She gets Herceptin and other intravenous treatments for her bones every month that cost more than $7,000 each, and now she may have to go back on chemotherapy, too. We think this is awful that her insurance company could do this to her and we're all purring & purraying very hard for a solution, if you'd like to join us.

And my mom could use a few purrs, too. Right before the holiday my Almost Dad Jim decided he could find a better family than Artsy Catsy, and he had the nerve to tell this to my poor mom in an E MAIL! Grrrrrrrrr!! Mom says that's the least of our worries right now, but I really, really, really want to put the bitey on that guy.

My biggest wish right now is that all my blogging friends had a much better Thanksgiving week than we've had!

Carnival of the Cats #245

Carnival Barker Rocky: Ladiezzzzz and gentlemen ... step right up to see the greatest traveling cat show on earth! ....

Our first attraction is a real treat! Puddy has gone crazy at A Byootiful Life … crazy for Temptations!

Speaking of treats, there is one snazzy-looking pussycat over at Blog d’Ellisson. You don’t want to miss Her Ebon Splendor.

Behold the beauty of Tiny as art imitates life imitates art at sisu.

And Tamir at Friends Furever has become a proud member of the Gorgeous Gingers. Congratulations, Tamir!

Some seriously cute kitten blogging is happening at Bloggg ... "Come visit me NAOW!!"

Don't doodle around! Go learn all about the perfect First Dog at Katie's Kitties. The Obamas are considering a Labradoodle (or would that be an Obamadoodle?)

Then go feast your eyes on some purrfectly wonderful kittypics at Elms in the Yard ...

On Fierce Fighter Day at Manx Mnews, Abby purred a beautiful tribute song to those who came before.

China Cat also fondly remembers those Fierce Fighters who came before ...

And The Poor Mouth pays tribute to Oscar, Robyn's predecessor as alpha cat at Hope Cottages.

Eric and Flynn pay a lovely tribute to the kitties who came before and brought so much happiness into their mum's and dad's lives.

Kashim and Othello are remembering their angel brother Paul.

And Mr. Milky guest hosted Fierce Fighter Day here at Artsy Catsy.

Naughty and Luna are houseguests at the Cat Realm … and they’re asking for your vote!

It's fair weather at Texas Oasis, where Blueberry continues the Tour de Chairs and soaks up some passive solar heat.

Elsewhere, the weather outside is frightful! But Phoebe gives us an important lesson on how to be a cozy cat on a snowy day.

Samantha and Mr. Tigger are freezing over at Life from a Cat's Perspective.

At The Catboys Realm, Kashim and Othello are weathering the first snow of the year by taste-testing pumpkin bread and snuggling in bed.

And Edison settles in for an afternoon snooze at anniemiz. What a long shelf life he has! ...

Even though it's only November, Perfectly Parker and her family are already missing their deck.

Only November? That means it's holiday season! Tristan at Tabbylicious says, “Turkey Day is coming and looky! Looky! I caught me a turkey!” Go check it out and take a Turkey Trivia Quiz.

And at Cat Whisperer, Timmy (who was named for Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol) is asking, “Is it Christmas yet?”

At Willow's Cat Blog, Sadie Katie won the Halloween Dress Up your Squillion contest and had a Fun Friday opening her contest presents.

Carnival of the Cats is not only fun and games but education, too. At The Pets Central, you can learn about caring for your cats’ teeth, or what to ask before bringing home a kitten, or get info about cat care web sites or basic cat health care.

At iinfidel, Cece spent the week in some serious inspecting and more inspecting of the housepainting.

And at Mind of Mog, there are nosekisses, wordless wonders and tummies, too!

Luna is still in exile in the CatSynth FEMA Trailer, but as you can see is doing quite well ...
Read the Weekend PersePHONY Report at Jack of All Shades and Shadows ... wild human fingers are running rampant!

And don't miss the story of two lovely and lovable ferals at House of Chaos.

At StrangeRanger, the good news is that Ivy is doing well ... but Maddie is attacking the papparazzi!

Carnival Notice:

Rocky: Phew! I've been very busy getting ready for Carnival of the Cats, coming to Artsy Catsy tomorrow ...

And my human artists are no help at all. First, they gave both their computers a virus or something and they wouldn't work all day. Now they're getting ready to leave town tomorrow for my Grandpa Bob's birthday party.

So here's the deal: I may have to do this week's Carnival of the Cats in installments. If you've already sent me your post, or if you get it to me tonight, it will be included in Part 1, scheduled to be posted on time tomorrow. But if you don't send it until tomorrow, it will have to go in Part 2, to be posted after the humans return home tomorrow night.

Everything would be SO much easier without humans ... well, except for stinky goodness, Temptations, scritches, litter pan cleaning ... so, okay, I guess humans aren't all bad!

You can submit your post here, or email it to carnivalofthecats (at) gmail (dot) com.