Yes, I know, I already posted this on my Facebook page, AND I forwarded the email to a bunch of different people, BUT I still have to brag here on my blog about my famous cat. Ophy, aka Ophelia, has been named this week’s Pet of the Week by the Humane Society of the United States. Ophy and I have tried for this honor before, unsuccessfully, but this time we (I mean she, of course…) made it within two weeks of our (I mean her) entry submission. Here’s the link for any who are interested: Pet of the Week.
Of course, I’m sure that the HSUS does this Pet of the Week honor to help boost donations to their very worthy cause, so hopefully Ophy will be able to drum up a few dollars for them. (Which reminds me, it’s time for me to make our yearly donation to the HSUS.)
And just a note on our submission being accepted this time around…I’m feeling fairly clever, because after studying the Pets of the Week emails for a couple of years, I figured out that submissions that have some relevance to the work done by the HSUS are the ones that get accepted. So, since Ophy and I care about cats being kept indoors, and since I often find myself counseling new cat owners (or cat owners who are less patient than I) about “destructive behaviors” like carpet scratching, I figured that including those two items in Ophy’s profile would help our chances. Seems that it did, too!
Now I just have to figure out a way to get Pippa featured, since Ophy’s fame is causing a bit of a rift between them. This could be tougher, since what Pippa cares about is food, especially her twice daily Fancy Feast treat laden with her anti-thyroid meds, and Pippa’s main bad habit is that she can be a bit of a cranky pants (to everyone but me, of course). I’m not sure those traits are all that appealing, or that any fame and celebrity can be based upon crankiness and fondness of food. Not in the cat world, at least (unless you’re Morris, and I think that’s been done).
Meanwhile, let’s raise a glass of catnip to Ophy, star for a week!
Major congratulations to Ophy, and what a stunning picture! My kitties all gathered around the computer to see and are now star struck! Any appearances on Oprah in Ophy’s future? There’s a title: Oprah & Ophy: putting pets first. 🙂 Of course, kudos to you, too, Abs, for your clever entry, as a result of your close study of previous winning entries. A toast! A catnip mouse! To Ophy!
Yay! Congratulations to Ophy!
And please tell Pippa not to feel jealous. Everyone knows that short-haired tuxedo cats are far cooler than long-haired calico cats. We love you, Pippa!
Dear Ophy,
I want to be a star too. Then we can have stars on our food bowls, and we can go on the road in a big tour bus, the Ophy and Owen show, we don’t have to sing and dance, we’ll just be ourselves that will be enough, and we’ll have dressing rooms with lots of treats, like fat mice for you and tennis balls (A LOT!) for me. You can be my friend, but I will have to pretend to chase you once in a while. (PS I don’t chase cats, I just pretend to, I really like cats a lot, don’t tell anyone.)
Your friend and future star too,
Owen
Tabby, who also is a long haired beauty, is very jealous. I still like Pippa. She is the only cat I know who appreciates classical music
dad
Dear Uncle Dan,
I’m shocked to find out that, after knowing me for 11 years, you still don’t know that I’m a TORTOISESHELL cat, not a calico cat. Torties are much more intelligent and sophisticated – and unusually beautiful. >Sigh< Perhaps you'll remember now, though.
Ophy
Pippa IS a very cool cat – and it’s not just classical music she likes. She likes music in general. Way cool.