mark j.

To my mind, cat toys come under two basic headings; those that tease with or without ultimate "capture" gratification. There are tons of toys out there that trigger a cat's hunting instinct, but most cat owners don't recognize the difference in the two basic types. That's what I'm here to help you with. You can buy an under $10 laser pointer and bounce the red dot around your living room floor and your cat will more than likely chase it until it drops from either boredom or exhaustion. My point is with this kind of "toy" your cat will never, ever in a million years catch that little laser dot. So, it comes under the heading of "teasing", which in my mind is borderline cruel. Sorry, but as a kid I was taught to never tease animals and for good reasons. Truth is my parents weren't thinking entirely about the animals welfare, either. Believe it or not, they were thinking about their children and our psychological and emotional development. A kid who doesn't recognize that teasing their pet cat or dog is cruel won't recognize that teasing the fat kid in class is also cruel or that the color of a person's skin makes a difference in how they should be treated. The lessons learned in early childhood set a pattern of behavior that molds a person into what they become as adults.

I felt inspired by Jackson Galaxy from Animal Planet and decided to buy my cats this set of cat toys. It is by far the best toy I have ever purchased them and well worth the money, in my opinion. It comes with two wands that expand to a fair length and multiple options of feather and worm toys; the wires are clear, so the cats have difficulty seeing them and think that the feathers or worms are actually moving on their own. They go crazy for this! (Action shots included of Miss Gingerbread Cookie and Sir Champion Floofypants.) What's really interesting about the feather toys in particular is that it almost floats when you are waving the wand. I felt like magic making the feathers fly around the house with the cats careening after them. Very pleased with this purchase and would buy again!

I love self-watering pots and was drawn to this set due to its mint green color. I was pleased when they came in and I discovered they are just as bright in person. Most of my self-watering pots in the past snapped into place, so I was a little disappointed to find that these slid and locked into place to become secure. Double-check when you slide them into place that they are locked properly or you will be cleaning up water all over the floor! Also, I recommend upsizing from the pot you *think* your plant will need because the pot is shallow, and about an inch of its height is the water compartment.

Let me preface this by saying I've used a LOT of different bark collars... more than the three that are in the pictures for this review. This is a very good one, especially considering the price, but I recommend you read over my cons to make sure it will work for your situation. We have two dogs and one of them barks excessively when we are out taking walks, so this collar is helpful in reminding him to relax and not cause a scene that frankly scares children... like he acts like a nut job. I don't mind the occasional barking, but he goes into fits... this collar has worked great. It beeps and vibrates to remind him to stop and if he doesn't, it gives a small shock.

PROS:
- it doesn't go off due to other loud noises, which is especially important since I live in a crowded apt complex in the city... I cant have a collar that goes off with car alarms or shouting

- the sleek design is a huge plus... many bark collars look very obviously like electrical equipment and it makes me feel like I need to apologize to strangers for torturing my dog or something

- the sequence of response is great-- in response to barking, it beeps. If barking continues, it vibrates. If barking STILL continues, it will send a shock. The level of beeping, vibrating, and shocking is all adjustable from 0-7, so you can set it to never shock if your dog is sensitive to that. My dog has thick fur and an even thicker skull (that's a joke) so while he doesn't LIKE the zaps, they don't bother him. Two of my moms dogs get very upset by shocks no matter how mild, so it's good to have a collar where that's adjustable... dogs senstive to it wont learn to not bark with zaps, they'll just get emotionally upset so this is something to take seriously.

- rechargeable and the charge lasts a while... many collars require special batteries that are quite expensive. Alternatively, I've had rechargeable collars that won't hold a charge for a day... this one has held a charge for over a week. I normally charge it daily, but I brought it with us to my moms and it never

Was looking for a couple of small lamps for the bedroom that would stand up to some mild abuse by my cats. The cats tend to brush up against them or bat at the pull chains. The lamps have not been knocked over so I'm happy. I like the 3 different choices of light tone. And the USB charger is nice addition.