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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Thankful for all the anipals who crossed Mom's path

Mom has asked that I put up pictures of some of the OTRB creatures who have graced KampKruse. We are thankful for their love and comfort.

Mr. Buster, Wise Warrior

Julie Dog, Silly hound mix

Rudy, Taken too early

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Celebration of Frugal Dougal

Rudy started on Twitter in 2009 with the Woodstock pawpawty. He wasn't sure what it all was, but he saw a bunch of pawty animals, and he was there. The pawty raised monies for rescues and that sounded pretty good. Rudy soon became a barktender and got to know the CD, Chief Dog Frugal Dougal. Everyone was Dougal's pal, and everyone was welcome.

Rudy learned a lot from Dougal. He has been the OTRB proprietor of Rudy's Beautification Salon and Spa for 3 years. Everything he knows abut pampering and taking care of anipals, he learned from Dougal's ways.

I came onto the scene and became a quizmaster. It was great fun, and again, I learned the gentle art of taking care of anipals and experienced their joy of wining prizes from the greats quizmaster ever, Dougal

Parker came along and joined the fray as a dj. He was very lucky to get to know Dougal, and counts him as one of the dogs he loves.

Mom says she got the greatest priviledge ever when she met Dougal's mom Lynn. It was amazing how similar Dougal and Mom Lynn's personalities were - caring, loving, silly, a bit of a prankster, and always giving.

The KruseKats celebrate the life of Frugal Dougal and thank him and Mom Lynn for everything they taught and gave to the anipal community. May Frugal Dougal be running through the pastures. We hope Rudy has figured out how to style cairn terrier fur. May Lynn take comfort in knowing that she and Frugal Dougal started a movement to Be the Change for animals and that hundreds of us are going forward with that banner, spreading the word.

Frugal Dougal and Lynn, thanks for all the joys! We raise a Hank's Bacon Beer to you.

Please visit my anipal friends as they, too pay tribute to Dougal.  


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Meet Kenzu, Our New Brother

Is mom crazy? I need another young brother like I need a hole in the head. However, Mom thought she would help out a lovely lady by takin gin her Norwegian Forest Cat. The Skogkatt is one of the Maine Coon ancestors, so I guess mom's logic thought it was ok.

Anyway, he is here an installed in the "safe room", otherwiade know as the B&B style guest room with anituqe furnitur. We have all been to check him out through the gate. so, say hello to Kenzu, aka Ken.







Saturday, December 1, 2012

How to Make a Gift Bag

Mom has learned a lot about how to mass produce gift bags for our Etsy Store benefiting World Vets. She would like to share.


  • Purchase fabric. Come home and wash/dry fabric.
  • Remove Parker from dryer/laundry basket/top of dryer on the fabric
  • Get out cutting board.
  • Remove Parker from Cutting board.


  • Smooth out fabric and begin to cut.
  • Remove Parker's foot or tail from the path of the rotary cutter.
  • Get ready to cut next bag.
  • Remove Parker from fabric pile to choose next fabric.
  • Iron. This is a Parker free step.






  •  Pin bag sides together.
  • Remove pins and pincushion from Parker's mouth because she forgot to turn pincushion upside down. He just pulls out the pins, doesn't eat.





  • Take Picture of finished bag.
  • Remove paw from picture.
  • Post picture on Etsy. This is a Parker free step.
  • Hide bags from Parker. No need to send hairy bags to customers!
  • Start process over.


If you notice, I am not helping mom in the scenario. I repeat, I AM NOT HELPING AND I AM THE GOOD CAT!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

It's for Charity - World Vets

MAKE SURE YOU VISIT ALL THE SHOPS IN THE 1ST ANNUAL #NIPCLUB HOLIDAY BAZZAR! tHE STAFF HAS DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB!!!!! It is incredible the talent that is among the anipals. Be there and behold the wonder.


We have opened an Etsy store named KruseKats (big stretch on that name!). Mom is donating all profits to World Vets, an incredible organization that helps animals following disasters. In order to keep this transparent, approximately 50 - 60% of the price goes to World Vets.Mom picks up all PayPal fees, so there is no overhead for the charity.

Here is some of the great stuff you can find in our shop. And, no, neither Parker nor I am on sale although I really pleaded with mom to do something about Parks. However, we could negotiate a deal on the dog. MOL!

Mom has new pictures for the bottle caps, so will be adding more stuff!!!! Keep checking!




Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Feline Purrspective - Feeding the Meowing Herds

 
My homey, the STUNNING Cathy Keisha, gave me an idea to talk about how we view the world, I mean OUR world.

Food, glorious food! Is there anything better? Our feeding ritual is kibble at the ready and a bit of wet food twice a day. We eat on the counter, I am on the left hand of the sink, Parker on the right. Dad feeds us in the morning, and his time is very consistent.

It is the afternoon feed that needs a bit of timeliness. As far as I am concerned feeding can begin at 12:30 pm. Mom doesn't think so. she says it has to be at least 2:30 - 3 pm. Why? Is this some human foible? Even Dr. Pepper back in the day had 10, 2, and 4 on the bottle? GET A HINT!

So, I start the endearing starving kitty routine at 12:30 anyway. Oh, life is so cruel. insert plaintive meow here. Sometimes I can get Parker involved in the schtick.Mom just melts when he head butts her. But, she holds firm.

So, I start the winding around the legs bit. That is particularly effective since Mom can be a klutz. She says she got us big cats so she could see us on the floor. She has been known to accidently drop kick a cat across the room when in the way.

You know what she does then? Waits a bit when I am resting my eyes, and THEN calls us to supper. GEEZ.

You know what the worst part is? they actually use the counter for quilting! It interupts our jumps. So, we sleep on it. Ha!

Thanks CK for the great topic!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

7 Things about Parker and Maggie


I promised my homey @cathykeisha that I would do her 7 things post. Make sure you go see hers, http://www.stunningkeisha.com/. She is an amazing complex cat, and I am proud to call her Homey!

7 things about Parker:

1. His breeder had 2 litters of kittens at the same time. He only had one sister, and aren't they adorable at 6 weeks old?

2. Parker has to have a clean litter box. So, when mom realized he would be a big brute, she got him a concrete mixing tray. As soon as it was filled with litter, Parker jumped in laid flat on his belly, and got the big grin while he looked around. He had a cartoon bubble above his head that said, "mine, all mine".

3. Parker lays on mom's pillow and makes a nest in her neck. He gets his claws trimmed every couple of weeks. Go figure.

4. Parker's favorite toys are: springs and boinks and kragonfly from BabyPatches. A straw from CircleK will do in a pinch. His fave thing is to put the toy in mom's purse and dig it out. Most times he leaves it in the purse for her tofind later.

5. When Parker was 9 months old, he let a 2 year old girl play wiht him and never hurt her. However, he was visibly absent when she arrived the next day.

6. Parker is very intuitive about people's moods. When mom is upset, he lays on her lap. this is Momma's Day 2012.

7. There are some human foods mom lets him have: green olives and pimentos, canned mushrooms, lunch meat, turkey on thanksgiving, and sometimes chicken.

7 things about me, Maggie:

1. I was a singlet and my momma couldn't take care of me since the cattery was crazy. So, I was bottle fed. Because of that, I didn't have the protection of clostrum, and I got conjunctivitis. Luckily, I can see fine in my left eye, but my nasal passages are scarred. I occasionally get nasal gunk, and I sneeze green snot on mom. This is my momma, not me. she's a champion kat.

2. I am very shy and tolerate Dad, Aunt Denise, and the neighbor. I love mom, Nice Grandma, Grandpa, and Niece Molly. I never show up at family gatherings.

3. I could have been a show cat, but my tail got kinked probably from a dog walking on it. I have so much fluff you can't tell. My tail is about 18" long!

4. My coloring is described as dilute blue tortiseshell with a split face. And, I have the Tortie-tude to go with it! Just ask Parker. Mom says it is just vocabulary, and even I admit I have never drawn blood.

5. I am really tired of Parker's attitude about boxes, carboard or litter. Even if we had 10, he still wouldn't let me use any. What a prima donna.

6. If there is anything to sit on, you can bet I will be there!

7. My human food choices are black beans, canned mushrooms, lunch meat, turkey on thanksgiving, and sometimes chicken.

BONUS FACTOIDS! OUR NAMES EXPLAINED!

Mom is a big Steely Dan fan. So, we were both named after someone in their songs.

My (Maggie) registered name is Coonbitztky Sugar Redox. The first is the cattery. The second is because everyone at the cattery called her sweetie. And Redox is a chemistry geek thing. Redox is a reaction where there is a loss and gain of electrons. Mom figured that the cattery's loss was her gain. Duh.

Maggie is from the Steely Dan song, "Peg". Peg is a nickname for Margaret as is Maggie.

Parker's registered name is Tanstasfl Parker Chromium VI. Again, cattery name, parker, and chemical related factoid related to redox; chromium in the VI oxidation state is red.

Parker is from Parker's Band which refers to Charlie Yardbird Parker, an inovative Bebop alto sax player.

Thanks everyone for playing!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Thankful Thursday - Weather


I have been watching my anipals out east and hoping they are fine in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Mom caught a bit of Hurricane Irene last year at BlogPaws, and was awestruck by the force of wind. Here in St. Louis we have wind, but it usually isn't prolonged and it involves some tree branch coming off a tree. What we do have are floods which can last for weeks adding a prolonged stress aspect.

Drawing from Lewis and Clark

St. Louis is at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. These 2 rivers carry the melted winter snow from the north which can cause flooding around April. Our cities and towns have built levee walls to protect them from the raging waters. One unfortunate aspect is that the levee systems create a channel forcing the waters down stream looking for somewhere to break loose.
Looking upstream, Missouri on your Left, Missippi on your right.


In 1993 a number of environmental factors came together and caused a 500 year flood. The effects were felt from at least as far west as Kansas City (Missouri River) and farther south along the Mississippi. The peak discharge in August 1993 was measured
at 485 million gallons per minute or 1,080,000 cubic feet per second—a rate sufficient to fill the old Busch Stadium about every 65 seconds.

Mom works at a manufacturing facility along the river just north of the Arch. There was a sand boil at the north property edge. Sand boils occur when water under pressure wells up through a bed of sand. The water looks like it is "boiling" up from the bed of sand, hence the name. (Wikipedia) Pretty scary stuff. They estimated that if that didn't hold (remember this was over 144 days!), the water would flow at least 2 miles inward from the levee and affect the ENTIRE city along the riverfront.

Obviously, the Great Flood of 1993 is something the residents of Missouri will never forget. However, we are greatful for the lives we were able to save, and the lives we have struggled to maintain and improve. That is the take home message - adversity is the brain child of perseverence.

Now, don't get mom started on the New Madrid Fault and the earthquake that will affect all of the Midwest!

Here are some pictures to give you perspective.

The Arch looking north under normal conditions. You can see Eads Bridge.

Eads Bridge, Flood 1993
Eads Bridge, 1993. Note the statue barely above the waters.

Eads Bridge in the winter. Note the statue in full.




Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Wordless Wednesday - We're in Things

We are on a campaign to get mom a new iBone, so are posting pics from the old one which makes us grainy. Maybe it is the picture taker? anyway, Enjoy Parker and myself!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

#PinkPawty Auction Time for @MizzBusyBiz

Auction s NoW closed
NEWER ITEMS ADDED 10-5-12 8:45 PM ET
NEW ITEMS ADDED!!!!! 10-4-12 12:30 pm ET

One of our beloved anipals is in need of our help. @MizzBusyBiz aka Missy is losing her house. Her dad is in the last stages of Alzheimer's which makes the move even more difficult. You can read more on PepiSmartDog's blog.

Please help Missy and her family by bidding on one of these auction items. The auction runs from Wednesday 10/3/12 through Sunday 10/7/12 ending at 9pm ET. Auction items are posted here and other items might be added. Please make bids in comments.

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Item #1 - Phenomenal Dog Collar Donated by Winston (@pushupsnpaws)

This is an incredibly gorgeous dog collar. Description: 14" BB Simon bluish gray leather collar with a baby blue/grey bling/stones.
Value: $100

Starting bid: $15
Current bid: $44 10/6/12 10:00 pm ET
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Item #2 - $25 Gift Certificate donated by Ruthie (@Flicka47)

Dreaming of a new cozy bed? Bid on this $25 certificate to Nip and Bones

Starting bid: $10
Current bid: $50 10/5/12 8:30 pm ET
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Item #3 - Eye Popping Jewelry donated by Niqqi (@niqqi)

Do your Christmas shopping here! This hand crafted piece was selected with care by Miss Niqqi and features gorgeous shells. Imagine yourself on a tropical retreat when you wear this!
Value: $75

Starting bid: $15
Current bid: $40 10/6/12 10:30 am ET
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Item #4 - Quilted Christmas Throw Donated by @MaggieTKat and @ParkerSKat
Mom is quilting again! There are cats and dogs frolicking with Santas. The size is about 50" x 68" and is machine washable. It is not done yet, but will be ready by November 3.
Value: Handmade with love - Priceless!


Starting bid: $30
Current bid: $110 10/5/12 8:30 pm ET

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Item #5 - Cat Basket of Goodies Donated by @MaggieTKat and @ParkerSKat
Parker and I selected each of these Items and made sure they were great. We have 4 bags of treats, a number of balls, bonks and little mice, a YEOW nip banana, and your own stash bag of YEOW catnip. We thought your mom deserved something, so we have an adjustable charm bracelet with glass beads, and cat, paw and love charms.
Value: $35


Starting Bid: $5
Current bid: $50 10/4/12 12:30 pm ET

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Item #6 - Dog Basket of Goodies Donated by @MaggieTKat and @ParkerSKat




There are 10 Bully Sticks all tied up in a bow!!!!! Parker personally tried to check out the bag of chicken wrapped sweet potatoes. We can't tell if his teeth punctured the bag or not, but he left his signature chew marks. Mom added a couple of Air Dog squeaker balls, a bird toy, and a blue furry monster squeaky toy. We thought your mom deserved something, so we have an adjustable charm bracelet with glass beads, and dog, paw and love charms.
Value: $45

Starting Bid: $5
Current bid: $40 10/6/12 10:00 pm ET

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Item #7 - Bret Michaels ‘Pets Rock’ Leather Collar & Lead Donated by Cokie the Cat (@cokiethecat)



Remember this guy from Poison?? Uh huh. Well your dog can look like a rock star, too.! Description: Heavy duty, high quality real leather leash & large 19” collar. Brown with red stitching, the Bret Michaels signature logo & embossed with thorn & vine design. (“…Every rose has its thorn…”)
Value: $46.99

Starting bid: $10
Current bid: $30 10/6/12 6:30 am ET
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Item #8 - $50 Gift Card to PetSmart donated by @BigBoyBosco

This is $50 of the best shopping you will ever have to delight your little anipal heart!
Values: $50

Starting bid: $10
Current bid: $55 10/4/12 7:30 pm ET


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ITEM #9 - Mom Spa Basket donated by @SamthePoodle


There is not one anipal mother out there that doesn't deserve something special! Sam of JuicyDogCouture has put together this fabulous collection of spa day products which include:

Hello Kitty
Georgio Beverly Hills Blue Perfume (spray) 1.7 oz
Revlon lipstick in bamboo bronze
Garnier daily moisturizer 4.5 fl oz
Almay intense i-color eyeshadow
Victoria Secret small make up bag
Circus bright pink nail polish
Jane sparkle lipgloss
Rimmel black mascara
Paris in bloom body lotion 2 fl oz

Value: $75 (priceless for the peaceful feeling!)

Starting bid: $15
Current bid: $35 10/5/12 8:45 pm ET

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Item #10 - B Makowski Bag donated by Betsy Brown
Mom is in LOVE with these bags! However, I want Betsy to tell you in her own words:
" Hi! I have a B Makowski bag that is hardly used (and is gorgeous) that I would like to donate to Francy's auction. I think it was around $275 or a little more new and I have used it maybe 5 times. I have the dust bag as well."
Value: about $275

Starting bid: $30
Current Bid: $40 at 10/6/12 at 10:00 pm ET

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Item #11 - SuperDog Collar donated by Hurley and Dusty (@justanthrtrnd)

Dusty says this is a 16" dog collar with jewelamous super dog logo! How amaizing is this?????
Value - Unknown, but it has Dusty karma. ooooo!

Starting bid: $15
Cureent bid: $40 at 10/5/12 8:45 pm ET

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Item #12 - Chain Maille Bracelet donated by Whskr
OMC! You HAVE to bid on this! it is an amazing aluminum link bracelet that can be adjusted to size. Hand made in what I am sure is some incredible technique. Made in the USA Aluminium rings, very light. Made using the Orbital Weave (named for the way the links circulate)
*Mom! Can I have this?*
Value: $25

Starting bid: $10
If bidding goes over $30 I will add a pair of earrings (pierced) Shipping free

Current bid: $30 10/6/12 6:30 am ET

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Item #13 - ANOTHER $50 Gift Card to PetSmart donated by @BigBoyBosco

This is $50 of the best shopping you will ever have to delight your little anipal heart!
Values: $50

Starting bid: $10
Current bid: $30 at 10/6/12 6:30 am ET

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Items #14 and 15 - Flippin Fantasy 5 cat toys donatied by @twitinSuki

There are 2, count them, 2 of these collections up for sale. Top 2 bids get the toys. "The 'FLIPPIN FELINE FANTASY' is a 5 piece collection of Fabulously Furry Feline Fantasy Funtime Flippers. I can guarantee that the FLIPPIN FELINE FANTASY 5 Collection that you get has NOT been previously Frolicked with by any of my cats! Any1 wanting 2 read whole description of Cat Toys 4 auction, go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/Sukiroo"
*MOM! I NEED this!*
Value: $27

Starting bid: $5.00
Current bid: 2 at $20 at 10/7/12 at 10:00 am ET