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Review of TEMPTATIONS SNACKY MOUSE™ Cat Toy

Posted April 17, 2015 By LadyJai

 

***I received my Temptations Snacky Mouse  complimentary to test and/or review from Influenster.***

Honestly, this is such a cute little thing. I have tried my hand at something similar, though nowhere near as cute as this. I took a small water bottle, cleaned and dried. Then cut random holes in is so the kitties could get their brain exercise, their prey and puzzle solving instincts going. It didn’t look as fancy but it worked. The cats loved it so much that they ATE. EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE.

I haven’t done that in a long time. And when I received this in the mail, it was quite interesting, to say the least.

NOTE TO SELF: Don’t attempt to set it between 3 kitties at the same time!



Of course, after I turn off my camera and leave the area, Sofie goes to town batting at it and eating all the treats.

This item is that it did not come with instructions on how to open it in order to fill it, so I could see it breaking before anyone could get a chance to use it. The other thing I found was that my cats still eat it all gone in one setting. The way to combat that is not to fill it up all the way. They all love it, though. So in my book, this product is a win!

LadyJai

PS: If any of my writer friends would like to keep up with my writing and how my life is progressing, I’ve moved over to “Caring for My Veteran“. Please subscribe there, too. Thank you.

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#Caturday Angst

Posted August 3, 2013 By LadyJai

Theo In A ConeWhen we came back from our Mini-vacation, of course I had to go back to work. Two days at work, one day off for the 4th, and then one day back before the weekend. So, on that Friday, TheBoy thought that Theo had blood on his butt.  We took a look at it and, sure enough, he had licked a spot fur-free and there was a wound that was sort of bleeding. You know the kind, where a cat’s rough tongue can lick it raw. That’s what I thought it was. But just to be safe, we took him to the vet on the 6th. The verdict: a ruptured anal gland.

They flushed it out and cleaned him up and we were allowed to take him home after several hours. We hated putting him through the sedation and the cleaning, but the alternative would have been so much worse.

My Shakespearean cat!

My Shakespearean cat!

When we brought him back home we tried a cone I borrowed from a friend. Talk about an EPIC FAIL! Holy wow! Theo freaked so hard he bounced off walls and fell down the stairs. So, rather than add broken bones to his bill, we took it off. I found an alternate solution: paper plate.

That worked fine for about 2 weeks, until he figured out how to get around it and lick his wound, or the paper plate cut back into it. Either way, the wound was not healing and he was getting a wound around his neck (if you ever do the paper plate thing, make sure you tape up the hole for the head so it doesn’t bite into their necks like ours did).

PetsMart sold another kind of cone. It wasn’t what I was hoping for: the soft sided ones. But at least it was see-through and it was shorter so he could at least eat. I think the lack of peripheral vision is what freaked him out so bad. This new one he tolerates pretty ok.

BUT…

From Shakespeare to Elizabethan, That look says it all!

From Shakespeare to Elizabethan, That look says it all!

Our other two cats don’t like him now. Sofie, his sister, has pretty much gotten used to him after all this time, but she still hisses at him on occasion. But Itty Bitty, the odd ball, my PTSD cat, has reverted to her old self.

We saved Itty Bitty from a home of bully cats. It took well over a year to get her to acclimate to our house and our other two cats. We figured with the mellow demeanor of the Scottish Folds, she’d fit right in. We never had a problem with hissing or attacking. She would even join on the bed with everyone on occasion.

Until Theo came back from the vet the first time. Now she hunkers down, low crawls and sprints away –  which is kind of an instigation, or invitation, for Theo to run after her. I’m not real sure if he means any harm to her; but she sure thinks he does and will turn on him, growling, hissing, and swatting.

She refused to come out of our bedroom for 23.5 hours of the day. She began not using the litter box and that’s *NOT* OK.  I’ve taken to picking her up and carrying her downstairs (our choke point), to the litterbox, and to the food. Each time she sees Theo she cowers and won’t do anything else. When she finally gets the nerve, she sprints back upstairs.

I love watching Jackson Galaxy’s My Cat From Hell. Most of the time, I can pick out what needs to happen to fix the situation, unless it’s medical. Most of the time it’s always one or both of the humans that need retraining. But for us, we’ve been in tune with cats for a very long time. We understand them. Problem is, some of the remedies that Jackson Galaxy suggests involve modification to the structure or purchasing high dollar items to provide a safe passage.

Our only choke point is the stairwell, really. And there isn’t a simple solution we’ve come up with to provide the safe passage. With Itty Bitty’s hips being “stiff” her jumping capabilities are extremely limited. She doesn’t get up on high places normally. So we’re at a loss with this aspect.

I’ve also purchased and began using Jackson Galaxy’s Spirit Essence. 4 drops on each cat, twice a day, for the past two weeks. Sofie has gotten over Theo for the most part. She will still side with whomever is being attacked. Itty Bitty and Theo still act the same. I’m giving it more time, though. But recently, they went into a full on cat-fight. A huge ball of cat (all three of them) slamming into everything, knocking things over, and traumatizing everyone.

This is when they all were banished from the rooms, because someone (Itty Bitty, I’m sure) poo’ed on my pillow. Um, no! Not having that! They’ve now been out of our room for about 4 days.

Again, I’m so at a loss as to what to do.

Since they’ve been banished from the rooms, Sofie is sad. Her sleeping spot is on the bed, or on TheHubs (or me) on the bed. I feel bad for her. Theo is ok. Still hating the cone. And “sort of” stalking Itty Bitty. Not so much I don’t think. Itty Bitty, on the other hand, is still scared, though she’s using the litter box as I haven’t smelled pee or poo anywhere else. I do still pick her up and take her to the bathroom, though, because she doesn’t seem to leave the kitchen now. :/

Theo mere inches from Itty Bitty, backed into a corner, and her hair standing on end. 🙁

I have caught Theo still poking at Itty Bitty, but not nearly as much as before. I just wish Itty Bitty would get over it all and stop making Theo come after her with her scared stances. :/

I wonder if maybe she will get over him when he stops having that cone on him! I’ve been waiting for the vet to give us the go ahead to remove the cone. But every week we go back, they say he’s not healing quite right. And this last time, they said that the wound’s still not closed, and there’s still a mass inside. They aren’t sure what the “mass” is so gave him another round of antibiotics and told us to come back on Monday. If it’s still there, they are talking about removing both anal glands, which means even longer in the cone. 🙁

I ordered Comfort Zone with Feliway plug-ins to help with the choke points. I finally got the Feliway plug-ins on Wednesday and plugged them in, one upstairs, one downstairs. *fingers crossed*

After 24 hours, I was downstairs alone, watching TV. I had been home for a while and it was nearing my bedtime. But, this was so awesome. I’ve been playing with all of them, including Itty Bitty…trying to coax her out of the kitchen. No luck. BUT!!! As I was watching TV almost my bedtime, Itty Bitty hopped up on the back of the couch and loafed. ALL ON HER OWN!

Day two, she still remains in the kitchen mostly. But she’s venturing, little by little. I got her to play some more and I put her on my glider/rocker where she used to love to sleep when we were all downstairs. She was ok for a little while. But she did keep her eye out for Theo.

Morning of Day 3, I noticed she went to the litter box all on her own. I also managed to get her to come out into the living room playing! She’s ok with the other two cats with treats, even Theo. But she still goes back to her safe zones.

Night of Day 3, Theo began stalking her again. We can’t tell if he wants to play or what. But no matter, it’s what Itty Bitty thinks. And she doesn’t like it. She, again, did not use the litter box.

I’m so over all this angst. The anxiety is draining me dry. I want it all to be done with and get back to normal! I don’t want to have to give Itty Bitty away. But she may just be better off in a house with no other pets due to her PTSD. 🙁

I guess “baby steps” in the right direction are good. But after last nigh, I feel like we are taking one step forward and five steps back. I’m not giving up yet. I just don’t know how long to give it before we have to give her away. 🙁

LadyJai

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Happy #Caturday – 9 March 2013

Posted March 9, 2013 By LadyJai

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Happy New #Caturday Year – January 5, 2013

Posted January 5, 2013 By LadyJai

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Peeky. Peeky. Theo wants some dinner too!

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Happy #Caturday – December 28, 2012

Posted December 29, 2012 By LadyJai

In 2012, I managed to read and write. Here’s hoping 2013 allows me to do more of each. Thirteen is a grand number!

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Sofie helping me read!

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#Caturday – December 22, 2012

Posted December 22, 2012 By LadyJai
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Itty Bitty admiring the Christmas tree

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#Caturday — Itty Bitty Ready for the Attack

Posted September 8, 2012 By LadyJai
Itty Bitty Ready For The Attack

Itty Bitty Ready For The Attack

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#Caturday: Itty Bitty, Our Folded-Fold

Posted August 4, 2012 By LadyJai
Itty Bitty - Our non-Oxymoron cat

Itty Bitty – Our non-Oxymoron cat

March 2011, a friend of mine saw a post on Craig’s List that said they needed to find a new home for their Scottish Fold. She had 6 other cats and they were just bullying her to the point where she had to live her life in their bedroom. She didn’t want to give her up. She loved her. But she knew it was best for her.

She originally wanted a single cat home. But after telling here we already had 2 other Scottish Folds, explaining their easy personality, the fact they were about the same age, and that we didn’t think there would be a problem with them getting along, she agreed to meet with us. We had to drive to Georgia, about an hour away from home. We prepared everything for bringing her home, just in case, including the “fee” she wanted.

Once we got to her house, interacted with all her kitties, she knew. She knew it would be ok. This is what she told us. I offered the fee to her and she waved it off. She also told us that every time she’s given away any of her kitties (she saves and fosters), she always cries. This time, she was happy, she said.

It’s always good to know what others think of you, especially strangers and those trusting you with their life, or their heart. 

So, we brought her home, and we were now a 3 kitty family.

It has been a very long, and slow process to win her over. I believe we finally have. At least, as much as she will allow.

She is not a lap cat. And she definitely does not like to be picked up. But she likes to be close to me, in particular. She will follow me where ever I go. She talks to me. I invite her to come with me. And she knows when it’s “night night time” and will come upstairs with me.

Lounging Itty BittyHere is a letter I just sent to her previous owner:

It’s been one year since we picked up Itty Bitty! Amazing how much she’s changed in that year! When we first brought her home she wanted nothing to do with any of us. Now she helps me dress for work in the morning, greets me when I come home, talks to me all the while! She knows when it’s bed time and she needs no coaxing to go upstairs. she has her days with the other two, a hiss every now and again (even though Theo really wants to play) but the other two get in their spats too and they are brother and sister. Right now, as I type this, she sits in my lap. I call her name and she answers. She doesn’t sit in the lap as nearly as often as I would like. But I will take anything I can get. I knew it would be a long, slow process, but one well worth the wait. She’s happy here. So no need to worry! She’s loved and accepted. And the most important thing, she returns it all! Thank you.

LadyJai

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Theo came from the same litter as Sofie.

He is our tender soul.

It was such a sweet gesture when Lizz said we could take him along with his sister. But when we came to pick them both up, Theo freaked so bad he tore Lizz up. We were so afraid he would not work out. But we were determined to make it work. We met on neutral ground the second time. Lizz brought him to the cat show with her and he stayed in his carrier. We met her there and did a quick change-up and brought him home. It wasn’t as bad as the last time.

When we got home, we just opened the door to the carrier and let him come out on his own terms. He had been without his sister for a week. Lizz had said when she left, he cried for her every night. But when he saw her at our house, it was like he didn’t remember her. After a few hours, Theo had ventured out and made his way to his “safe spot” in our room. It didn’t take too long for him to get used to us, but he freaked at any sudden movement.

It’s been a few years now, and Theo has warmed nicely to us. He’s not a lap cat, really. Although he will get in our laps at the computer, or in my rocker, or on the couch. But on his terms. And he doesn’t stay for very long. He also likes to come and sleep on me around 4am for a few minutes. He doesn’t like to be picked up much, and he still freaks at any loud noise. But he is such a loving cat. Like I said, he has such a tender soul. He wears his heart on his sleeve. We love him and will take care of him forever.

Theo and The Drinkwell! 2 hours we spent laughing and cleaning up. He just didn’t understand the flowing water!

Read about our other cats here:

LadyJai

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SofieWe knew we wanted to get a Scottish Fold. We had seen them so much at Cat Shows, researching their personality and their character. Besides a true folded fold is so adorable! After much research we had determined that MikeyKat was really a non-folded Fold. When we decided to get another cat, after GoofyKat passed, we looked around for a Scottish Fold Breeder in our area. There was a breeder about 80 miles from us that we see each year at the Cat Show. Luckily, we found one closer, in our home town. Ironically, she and Linnea (the one 80 miles from us) were corroborating together.  Lizz did not have a litter at this time, but she was working with Linnea . She had paired up one of her girls to one of Linnea’s boys and was hoping within a few months to be expecting. It didn’t take long, thankfully, and on May 10th, a litter was born. Of course, the breeder gets first pick and Lizz wanted to see how many, if any, folded back down. Nine weeks went by and unfortunately,  not a single kitten’s ears folded.

Christmas SofieWhen we went to visit Lizz and her kittens, it was amazing. The Boy was trying to get all the kittens to play with him with string and balls. It was only Sofie who pounced out from her hiding place to attack the little pom pom The Boy had just thrown. It scared him so bad he squealed. Lizz was so flabbergasted. She said Sofie was the only one in the litter who did not have a personality. Apparently, she was waiting until her human came so she could shine! She picked The Boy that day. And every night she watches over him from somewhere in his room. When she thinks he needs to be awake, she will head butt him or stuff her whiskers up his nose. She puts up with so much from such a rambunctious little boy. She is definitely his kitty, and he is definitely her human.

The Crash (Sofie)

The Crash (Sofie)

Sofie is now 6 years old and she is such a love. She loves everyone in the house. And now, has chosen The Hubs as her pillow. Sometimes she will come and lay on me, but only when The Hubs is not laying down. 🙂 She also has her morning ritual with me. She will keep me company as I get ready for work. She still gets in spats with her brother, Theo. And she tolerates the new arrival (Itty Bitty).

If she's not sleeping on our lap...

When she’s not crashed, she’ll sleep on our lap…

Sofie supervising my writing progress

… or our computers.

LadyJai
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Caturday: MikeyKat, My Buddy

Posted July 14, 2012 By LadyJai

The post is really hard for me. I knew it would be. But I didn’t think it would be this hard. Bare with me while I struggle through.MikeyKat

After about 4 years with Goofykat being an only “child,” we decided to get him a friend. (That went over well. NOT! GoofyKat was mad at me for a YEAR! Yes, you read right, a year he sulked and huffed at me! He eventually caved, but he only tolerated Mikey.)MikeyKat

So, back to the SPCA we went. I knew I wanted a grey cat this time. But my idea of a grey cat was like a Russian Blue. But when we went there, this little grey tabby who was very friendly, just wanted some love. I asked the attendants if I could hold him and he just snuggled up with me and gave me all the love he could. I immediately fell for him.

The only problem was, there were 4 names already on his card. He wasn’t allowed to be released until 4pm the next day. They asked if I wanted to put my name on the card. I said, sure, why not. But I knew I would never get him. But we tried anyway. They told me their policy was if the first name didn’t show up by 4:10, they would go to the next name. Ten minutes between names. Maybe there was hope.

We showed up a little earlier than 4pm the next day. And waited. Four-ten came and went. The first name was crossed from the list. Four-twenty, and the second name was crossed from the list.

By four-thirty, my heart flipped and my stomach roiled as they crossed the third name from the list.

He was mine!

We brought him home but had no name for this scrawny grey cat. His head was just too big for his body.

We thought of calling him Dusty. Only because he looked like those little dust bunnies you get under your bed. But that just wasn’t right.

It only took a couple of hours from the time we brought him home, til the time he told us his name.

Peek-a-Boo MikeyKatIt was about lunch time and The Hubs made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That grey cat just looked at him crooked and begged. So, The Hubs offered it to him. The grey cat not only sniffed and nibbled it; but, once he caught a whiff of that peanut butter, he snatched the entire sandwich out of The Hubs’ hand and RAN!

About an hour later, we had chocolate cake and that cat did the same thing. So we set up an experiment to see what he DID NOT eat. Wasn’t much!

He ate it all! Well, everything he could smell at least. He wouldn’t eat plain yogurt, or sour cream. He liked peanut butter the best, then chocolate. (No, we did not feed him chocolate on purpose! He just found some. And when he could, he’d lick what he could off our fingers, our plates, our mouths.) Pickles! OMG he ate pickles!

One morning, we caught him digging in the trash after some coffee grounds. The Hubs was trying to unstick our pencil sharpener and left a paper towel full of oil and pencil shavings on the floor while he went to go get something. He came back and there he was, nomming on the pencil shavings. Poor kitty. He must have been starving out there in the wild!

So, we named him Mikey, after that 70’s Life Cereal commercial? You know. “Give it to Mikey. He’ll eat anything!”

MikeyKat and what he did to our couch cushion :DNeedless to say, he gained quite a few pounds after we got him. He finally grew into his head. And then his body became too big for his head. 🙂

MikeyKat's BellyI love that belly. I used to bury my face in it. How could you not resist??

MikeyKat was my buddy. He talked to me. He greeted me when I came home from work. He loved being in my lap, no matter where I was.

I was his.

Just like GoofyKat, Mikey was a well-traveled cat. He was born in VA. And while he didn’t make it to Michigan, he did go to Germany, Texas, and Florida with us.

It was about a year after GoofyKat passed over the Rainbow Bridge things went down hill. We knew for a very long time MikeyKat was overweight. But we tried everything to get him to lose the weight. He just couldn’t. He looked like he might be suffering arthritis and I had to set The Boy’s step stool at the side of the bed for him so he could come sleep with me.MikeyKat in the sink

And then, it just got worse.

Within 3 weeks, MikeyKat went from 17 lbs to 11lbs. He wasn’t eating, he couldn’t walk. He was sleeping too much, hiding and such. At first we contributed it to his hearing loss. But, when he stopped eating….and Mikey never turned down food….that’s when we knew something was horribly wrong. When I took him to the vet, his temp was 96 and they did the blood work. His test came back: renal failure. The vet said with his temperature the way it was and how he was acting, he didn’t have much longer. I brought him home and spent one last night with him….my MikeyKat….and now, I don’t have him anymore. He loved everyone, unconditionally.

I’ve always said MikeyKat was a Black Lab in a previous life. He was the closest thing I want to a dog. His loyalty. His love. I miss him so much. And, as I said, this was a very hard post to write.

MikeyKat's Last Night and Picture

MikeyKat’s Last Night and Picture

1991 – Oct 10, 2007

LadyJai

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Caturday: GoofyKat, Our First

Posted July 7, 2012 By LadyJai
GoofyKat 1996

The best picture we have of him. Outdoors really makes a picture better. He’s in our fenced in back yard and he did not like being outside! 😀

StupidKat was our first child. We saved him a couple of days after we were married. We happened to go to the SPCA and just as we did, someone brought in a box of kittens. Jamie wandered over and took a peek. She opened up the door, and the first one to wander out was the one we took home. Jamie said he was the bravest of them all. Boy, were we surprised! StupidKat is black with a white belly and all four paws. So, his name started out to be Mittens. But, as time progressed and he did all the silly little things a kitten did, we kept saying “Man, what a stupid cat!” And it just stuck. He will NOT answer to mittens. He only comes when we call him by his name–StupidKat. He learned to play fetch. He loved to climb up people. But the silliest thing of all–he played, what we called puss-n-boots. StupidKat had foam golf balls. He used to put them in Anthony’s Army boots. Then he would stick his head all the way in the boots and bat at the out side of the boot like he was playing with the ball. Then, he would pull his head out and put his paw in the boot. And the whole process would repeat. Every time we witnessed this all we could hear was StupidKat saying to himself “I can see the ball, but can’t feel it. Then, I can feel it and not see it. What’s going on!” You tell me that’s not a stupid cat!

He had the wrong name nearly the whole time, until The Boy renamed him to GoofyKat. We called him StupidKat for 13 years. He responded much better to GoofyKat. 🙂

He has been to many places. He was born in Virginia. We took him to Michigan when The Hubs’ Nana got sick because we didn’t have anyone to watch him. He’s moved from several apartments while we lived in VA. We even brought him with us to Germany. From there, we moved to Texas, and we finally ended up in Florida. He’s a world-traveled cat.

GoofyKat SleepingJan 16 2006, we took him to the vet. He was now 16.  His insulin will be discontinued and we wanted to get a new prescription. Well, before the blood work came back, the vet offered us a new insulin along with a diet of prescription food (much like the Atkins diet). We would have to make the transition over the next couple of months. After the blood work came back, however, things didn’t look so good. His blood sugar levels were actually quite good (212). But there were about 5 or 6 different things that came back very wrong in his blood. He had kidney failure. The vet gave us some options, but had little hope. Because he’s diabetic most of the treatment for kidney failure would actually end up hurting his sugar levels. And, if we continued with the new insulin and diet, it could aggravate and speed up his kidney failure. We could also do dialysis and clean out his kidney. Nothing is guaranteed and the added diabetes complicates things even more. The vet also said we could just take him home, change nothing, and spoil the heck out of him these next few months. He’s 16. He was our first baby. We got him a few days after we got married. This is so hard. It’s going to be even harder when he gets so sick we cannot help him and will have to put him down.

GoofyKat passed over the Rainbow Bridge, 19 Apr 2006 at 2:30pm.

He crashed hard on that Monday. He refused to eat or drink. He couldn’t walk anymore. He had been hiding. And when he did come out, he would not move, raise his head or anything. We knew it was time. We tried everything that night to bring him back. We’ve had him refuse to eat before and brought him back with canned tuna, salmon and chicken. But not this time. This time he refused all the good stuff. We knew. We went to go take him in to end his suffering, but it was after-hours and it was an additional $100. Unfortunately, we couldn’t afford this so we tried to make him as comfortable as possible on Monday night. We stayed up with him most of the night.  We had to break the needle off his insulin needles to force water in his mouth. He was so dehydrated. I had to go to work, which was really hard being up most of the night. I had a hard time driving. The Hubs took a nap. And then, later, he took GoofyKat to our Vet, who agreed it was time.

When I came home from work, there Anthony sat on the couch, next to the cat carrier. GoofyKat was inside, wrapped in his quilt I made him when he was a kitten. We buried him in that too (now, in hindsight, we should have kept the quilt, something to have that was his). It is so sad. We had him for 16.5 years. He was our first baby. And The Boy doesn’t understand. How can you expect a 3-year-old to understand?! Though, he does try to comfort us. The words out of his mouth last night were amazing. “It’s ok. He’s safe with God now”.

Nov 1989-Apr 19, 2006

LadyJai

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Caturday: ProCATStination

Posted June 23, 2012 By LadyJai

This is only ONE reason (I have 3 cats, and 2 Boys) why I have the most difficult time writing at home!

proCATStination

LadyJai
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Caturday: Portal Cat

Posted June 16, 2012 By LadyJai

Feeding my gamer geek cat loving girl on one picture. 🙂

Yes, I love Portal as well! 😀

LadyJai
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Caterday: Unusual Surrogate

Posted June 9, 2012 By LadyJai

In this picture taken, Monday, June 4, 2012, Shar Pei dog Cleopatra feeds two baby tigers in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, southern Russia. Two baby tigers whose mother refused to feed them found an unusual wet nurse, a wrinkled, sand-colored Shar Pei dog named Cleopatra. The cubs were born in late May in a zoo at the October health resort in Sochi. (AP Photo/Igor Okunin)

Photo: Igor Okunin
Taken: Monday, June 4th, 2012
Where: Black Sea resort of Sochi, southern Russia

Two baby tigers, whose mother refused to feed them, found an unusual wet-nurse–a wrinkled, sand-colored Shar Pei dog named Cleopatra. The cubs were born in late May in a zoo at the October health resort in Sochi. (AP Photo/Igor Okunin)

LadyJai
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