Still Doin' the Q, and Answering Questions at the Pet Fair!

Carbon's still doin' the Q, just like our friend Monty Q!  A few years ago, Carbon joined many of our fellow cat bloggers to honor Monty with a "Doin' the Q" contest!  It was a lot of fun.  This picture from yesterday shows that Carbon's still in fine form, even at almost 10 years old.

Tabby writes:

I had a blast at the NW Pet and Companion Fair on Saturday and yesterday!  I saw many of my friends and family, and met some new friends.  I even got a new outfit from WildChild!  Mommy and I did a stage presentation about feline-assisted therapy and how to get started in animal-assisted therapy.  Mommy talked about how she trained me, and I demostrated how calm I am (by falling asleep on stage!) and showed off how I hug when being carried.  It was really fun!

There was a not-so-fun part, though.  A husky bit me when we first got there on Saturday!  It actually was going to carry me off somewhere, with a not-good ending.  *shivers*  The owner, who was on the other end of the leash, was 3 feet away and looking the other way, not paying attention to the tugging on the leash.  Mommy was pushing me in my stroller, and the husky charged the stroller, grabbed me behind the shoulderblades, and lifted me up a few inches!  Mommy charged the dog with a "Drop it now!" command, which the dog luckily obeyed the first time!  I was not hurt physically, and the bite did not break the skin.  The lady's comment when Mommy Cai confronted her?  "I didn't think anyone would bring a cat to a dog show!"  Mommy Cai responded, "It's a pet fair!" and pointed to the sign.  The organizers went after the lady after Mommy made sure that her dog had the proper vaccinations.  I was ok after about a half hour of snuggling and being petted.

One lady who attended our presentation may want to adopt Autumn!  And, if that weren't enough of a highlight, Jennifer at Spot Magazine wants to interview us later on this year about our work in animal-assisted therapy and animal-assisted activities!  Very cool!

Here's a video slideshow of our weekend!  We met up with Panther's Mommy Cai, Mommy Erin, Coriel, JJ, Erin's friend Amanda and her son Matthew, and Auntie Michelle McClintock and her brother on Saturday.  We also saw my birdie friend Athena from last year's fashion show!  On Sunday, we saw human Athena and her family, who are friends we know from Grammy's kitty blankets for the Humane Society for Southwest Washington.

Pet Fair!

Tabby writes:

I'm going to the pet fair today!!!  It's the NW Pet and Companion Fair, and I've gone with Mommy, Mommy Erin, and JJ for the last few years.  It's a lot of fun, and this year will be the best ever!  Mommy and I are going to do a stage presentation like we did last year.  We'll be doing that today and tomorrow, from 11:00 to 11:30 am on both days.  If you're in the area, we'd love to see you!  Last year, we met up with Mommy Erin's sister Anna and our Catster friend Bitu's mommy Michelle (and Michelle's brother).

Our talk is going to be on feline-assisted therapy.  I'll probably hang out on stage on a chair, like I did last year.  Since I did this last year, I probably won't want to dive for my carrier bag during the presentation, at least I hope I won't!  That was kind of embarrassing for me last year, but Mommy took it in stride and explained that it was my first time doing a presentation there.  We were also first on the schedule, so that made a difference.  This year, we have a reptile show before us one day and a training class before us the next, so I get to hang out in the audience and watch those before it's my turn.

After my presentation, I get to ride in my stroller and look at all the doggies, some kitties, and lots of humans.  There may be some other animals to sniff, but I'm not allowed to sniff the reptiles or the small animals.  Too much temptation, even though I only go after bugs and froggies!  I sure watch everything, though!  I'm really looking forward to it!

NW Pet & Companion Fair 2013

Tabby writes:

It was so cold today when we left the house!  I didn't know where we were going, and why Mommy Erin and JJ were coming with us, but I was sure it wasn't to visit my friends at H.  It was the wrong day and the wrong time!  Mommy Erin held me for part of the time, because I was shivering.  I had my jacket on, plus a fleece blanket, but it was still cold.  Mommy didn't think it would be that cold this morning, and she wished she had had another blanket for me to wrap up in.

Mommy Erin keeping me warm.

I was fine once we got the the Expo Center, though, because it was warm inside.  There were a lot of doggies waiting in line to check in, so I got sniffed and licked.  That was ok with me, though.  Mommy signed a waiver that said if I clawed anyone she would take full responsibility, although that would never happen.  I'm too well-behaved to do that!  I said hi to the lady at the check-in table, who was wearing a cat shirt.  Then we went over to another table where JJ got to throw a small sample bag of dog food at a bowl.  Why didn't they have an eating contest instead of a throwing contest?  I guess they couldn't, for humans.  Anyway, he won a pin.  Then, we got to see the fluffy black girl-cat who looks like Carbon!  She rides around on her humans' shoulders and goes to the Doggie Dash every year as well.  It was my first time meeting her, although Mommy's been introduced to her before.  Mommy Erin held me up to touch noses with her while she was on her daddy's shoulders.  We touched noses, sniffed, then I got hissed at!  I didn't take offense at her doing that, though, just gave her a puzzled look and got back into my stroller.  Mommy, Mommy Erin, and the cat's daddy all laughed and said the black cat was just jealous.

Hissy black girl-cat

Besides the black cat, there were two other cats visiting the expo with their families.  They were both young kittens, so that's great for their socialization and experience to visit places so young!  One was just over a year old and had a jacket harness like I used to use.  He was riding on his mommy's shoulder, looking behind her wide-eyed at everything.  The other kitten was only a couple months old, if that, and was an orange tabby.  She didn't know what to make of people, let alone all the doggies, sounds, and activity, so she clung to her mommy and was very interested in everything.  Her nose was going a mile a minute!

We saw a lady who recognized me from seeing me on the MAX.  That was fun to be remembered on sight!  Also, a lady at the Dove Lewis booth remembered me from when I modeled at Boutiques Unleashed, and had just been telling someone about me!  Another lady at another booth is going to buy the Kindle version of my book to read to her new baby.

We talked with a few people about therapy cat work, but mainly I snuggled in my stroller while Mommy went around to the booths collecting information and seeing what there was to see.  Mommy Erin and JJ got to hold birds, but I couldn't go in that part so Mommy didn't get to do that.  We all went to see the wild animals and saw a bobcat in a kitty tree!  That's right:  it was in housecat furniture!  One man kept looking from me to the bobcat and back like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Bobcat (lynx) in a domestic cat tree

Mommy Erin and JJ got to hold a Patagonian Mara, also known as a cavy, and a miniature pig.  They even got their pictures taken with them!

Almost-Wordless Wednesday: Portland Pet Expo!

Tabby writes:

Last Saturday, I went to the Portland Pet Expo with Mommy, Erin, & JJ.  We had a blast!  I got to see lots of doggies and I also saw lizards and snakes!  Plus, there were a lot of people who wanted to say hi to me and pet me.  I stayed in my stroller most of the time, relaxing but watching everyone and everything.

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