I wanted to share this tutorial video I found on YouTube that I used to repair a part of our cat tree. Our three kitties are master sisal scratchers and they started to unravel the rope on one of the main posts of their favorite cat tree. We've had this tree for almost 6 years. 

The cats use the tree for napping, scratching, and as the end point after a round of zoomies across the living room. It's held up remarkably well, except one of the lower sisal-covered legs started to unravel after years of constant use. 

I looked into cat tree repair and most of the tutorials I found required the use of staples or glue, or both. I looked a little deeper and found this great tutorial that uses no tools. All I had to do was get some new sisal rope. Check out this tutorial.

In my case I was replacing sisal rope with more sisal rope, so my finished product left two longer strings dangling. I tied toys to both of them and almost immediately after I put the tree back upright, Gumby started playing with one of the toys. It's been a couple of months since I made the repair (it was an early quarantine project) and it's holding up very well.

The last Saturday of April is marked as World Veterinary Day. We celebrate our veterinary professionals on this day, first noted by the World Veterinary Association in 2000.

While we always appreciate the health of our pets, and the help and care they receive from veterinary professionals, today especially we'll think about their important work.

Let's raise a virtual catnip toy today to honor all of the veterinarians that have helped our cats throughout the year!

Today, April 24, is recognized as National Hairball Awareness Day. This "holiday" is "celebrated" annually on the last Friday in April. I think most cat owners are aware of hairballs without having to mark a special date on the calendar. The day is listed along with many other such awareness campaigns on the AVMA Veterinary Awareness Events page.

In our house, we are very lucky to have minimal problems with hairballs between our three boys.

With our previous long-haired tuxedo Arby, it was a regular battle that we fought with periodic doses of hairball preventative gels. Here's a photo of our sweet tuxedo boy enjoying a face-plant nap in a cat bed.

Hopefully you are among the lucky cat owners who hasn't had to think about hairballs until being reminded by this annual event!

Today, April 11, is National Pet Day. While this may not be a major, widely-recognized holiday, the love we have for our companion animals is worth celebrating every day.

Especially in the current Covid-19 pandemic crisis facing everyone on this planet, pets can provide their owners with much-needed emotional support and cherished companionship.

I know our cats have been providing essential services: comforting snuggles and improv comedy entertainment are helping us tremendously as we stay #saferathome. On behalf of our three sweeties here at home, we wish everyone a very happy National Pet Day!