Author’s Life

Sunday Purrs: Thanksgiving ABC’s 2012

Author's Life, Sunday Purrs| 17 Comments

Thanksgiving cats turkey cute

Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the United States. As we’re looking forward to spending time with family and friends and dreaming of turkey dinners, I think it’s important not to lose sight of the true meaning of the holiday: a time to count one’s blessings. Three years ago, I started my tradition of making a “Thanksgiving ABC’s” list. Some of the items on the list repeat year after year, others are new.

Here is this year’s list of what I’m thankful for:

A: Allegra

B: Books

C: Cats

D: DessertContinue Reading

A word about Hurricane Sandy

Author's Life| 30 Comments

Allegra, Ruby and the maple tree

What a difference a few days make. This photo shows Allegra and Ruby relaxing in our sunny bedroom last Wednesday. This evening, we’re preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. Right now, it’s just raining a little, but we’re supposed to get high winds and heavy rain starting Monday morning, and lasting into Tuesday evening. Other areas to the east and north of us are expecting even worse conditions.

We’re as ready as you can ever be for an event like this. I only just returned from Atlanta last night, where I spent a fun-filled three days at Barkworld 2012, a social networking conference for pet businesses. I was a little nervous about not being able to prepare for the storm, especially after I saw numerous photos of bare store shelves on Twitter. When I arrived home, I found that a dear friend had stopped by and dropped off a large case of bottled water and batteries for me. I think it was quite possibly the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me! This morning, I brought in all my deck furniture, cleaned up the leaves so they wouldn’t clog up the drains, and went in search of ice and non-perishable food.

Since Allegra and Ruby are raw-fed kitties, I stocked up on grain-free canned food in case we loose power and the frozen raw food goes bad.Continue Reading

Meeting Gwen Cooper, New York Times bestselling author of Homer’s Odyssey

Author's Life| 13 Comments

Gwen_Coooper_Ingrid_King

As a writer, I love connecting with other writers, especially when they write about cats. But it’s not every day that I get to meet the writer of cat book that made the New York Times bestseller list less than two weeks after its publication. Homer’s Odyssey – A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wondercat debuted at number 14 in September of 2009.

Homer's_Odyssey_Gwen_Cooper

I first connected with Gwen Cooper online three years ago, and subsequently interviewed her for The Conscious Cat two weeks after her book made the NYT list. This past Saturday, I finally got to meet her in person. Gwen appeared at a local pet store Continue Reading

Advance praise for Purrs of Wisdom

Author's Life| 20 Comments

Purrs_of_Wisdom_Conscious_Living_Feline_Style_Ingrid_King

There’s a lot of excitement that comes with getting close to a book’s publication date: working with editors, cover designer, book designer, and publisher. Final revisions. Spreading the word about the book. Lining up reviews and local events.

One of the most exciting parts about this stage is getting endorsements, also known as “blurbs,” for the book. What’s even more exciting is that this early praise comes from writers and editors who I greatly admire.

Christine Davis, the author and illustrator of Author of For Every Cat An Angel and Forever Paws:

“Purrs of Wisdom, by Ingrid King, is a treat for anyone who is enchanted by all things feline! The book isContinue Reading

The Conscious Cat celebrates 1000 posts

Author's Life| 38 Comments

party_Cats

The Conscious Cat reached a milestone today: this is our 1000th post!

When I started this site three and a half years ago, I envisioned a rapidly growing site, but the actual growth has exceeded even my wildest dreams. In three years, we have 1000 posts, almost 27,000 comments, 7400 Facebook fans, and 1300 RSS and e-mail subscribers. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

I never could have envisioned the community of cat lovers this site created, both here, and on our Facebook page. None of this would be possible without you, our readers. I appreciate each and every one of you for reading, commenting, and sharing every day!

Conscious Cat readers are passionate about cats, and they’re passionate about providing the best possible life for their cats. It’s a privilege for me to be able to bring you all the latest information on cat health, nutrition and lifestyle. There’s nothing more gratifying for me than knowing that because of something I wrote, a cat’s life has been changed for the better.

Happy 4th of July 2012

Author's Life| 12 Comments

4th_of_July_cats

Happy Independence Day 
from
Allegra, Ruby and Ingrid 

Please keep your cats safe during the festivities. A cat’s sense of hearing is much more acute than ours, and so the noises are much more intent for them. Add to that the lack of understanding of what is going on and you can have a very scared cat on your hands. Here are some tips for helping your cat cope with fireworks, thunderstorms, and other loud noises:

  • Create a safe space for your cat. If you’re having a party, unless your cat is very social and doesn’t mind a lot of commotion, keep her confined to a quiet bedroom. Put her favorite blanket, bed or toys in with her, along with a litter box and fresh water. Shut the curtains and drapes and turn on lights to lessen the flash of the fireworks.Continue Reading

BlogPaws 2012: Catification, cat bloggers and one very special cat

Author's Life| 25 Comments

Moki_the_Wobbly_Cat

I spent the last three days in Salt Lake City, Utah with about 400 of my fellow pet bloggers at BlogPaws 2012. This was my second BlogPaws experience, and it was even better than last year’s conference in Tysons Corner, VA. From attending top-notch presentations by blogging and social media experts to networking with other bloggers, the weekend was a blur of learning, networking, and socializing.

But as was the case last year, the highlight of the conference for me was connecting and reconnecting with so  many of my blogging friends, including Robin Olson of Covered in Cat Hair, Stephanie Harwin of Catsparella, Joanne McGonagle of The Tiniest Tiger Conservation Cub Club, Tamar Arslanian of I Have Cat, Angie Bailey of Catladyland, Deb Barnes of The Chronicles of Zee and Zoey, Janea Kelley of Paws and Effect, Janiss Garza of  Sparkle Cat, Karen Nichols of Mousebreath, Debbie Glovatsky of Glogirly and so many others. I was especially delighted to finally get to meet Peter Wolf of Vox Felina.Continue Reading

Memorial Day: a day of remembrance

Author's Life| 17 Comments

cat_collage

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die. ― Thomas Campbell

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day when we honor the memory of the men and women who have died in military service.

For many people, it’s also a day to remember all departed loved ones, and for most of us, that includes our beloved felines. I’m remembering Amber, Buckley and Feebee today. All three of them changed my life in ways I never could have imagined. I miss them every day, and I treasure the legacy they’ve left behind.

As you remember your lost loved ones today, please take a moment to recognize the sacrifices of our military personnel and thank them for their service. I hope you enjoy this heart-touching slideshow of soldiers with cats:Continue Reading

Tortoiseshell cats, one blog post, and 10,000 comments

Author's Life| 124 Comments

tortitude tortoiseshell cat personality

Today, The Conscious Cat reached a milestone I never could have envisioned, not even in my wildest dreams. Today, one single blog post reached 10,000 comments.

It all began on August 17, 2009, when I wrote a post titled Tortitude – the Unique Personality of Tortoiseshell Cats. The post features one of my favorite photos of Amber and Buckley, and rapidly became one of the most popular posts on this blog.

Comments began pouring in almost immediately. Turns out there were a lot of people out there who loved these cats as much as I did, and who were sometimes delighted, sometimes puzzled, and occasionally frustrated, with their strong personalities. Within a few months, a Google search for “tortoiseshell cat” showed the post halfway down the first page of search results. A search for “tortoiseshell cat personality” returned the post as the first search result.Continue Reading

Happy Mother’s Day 2012

Author's Life| 29 Comments

mother_cat_with_kitten

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

Wishing you purrs,
Allegra, Ruby and Ingrid

If you’re fortunate enough to still have your mother in your life, be sure to tell her that you love her today and every day. My mom passed away 18 years ago, and I still miss her. Even after all these years, I still feel a pang when I see Mother’s Day cards appear in stores.

Even though we never had cats when I was growing up, my mom was a cat lover. The apartment building we lived in did not allow pets, but luckily, whenever we went on vacation, somehow, every bed-and-breakfasts or rented vacation condo we stayed at would always have a resident cat or two, or there would be a number of stray cats hanging around the property. My mom and I both loved spending time with those cats.Continue Reading