Thanks Rafflecopter… Not…

My Rafflecopter Doesn’t Work and There’s a Stray Cat in My Guest Bedroom – isn’t that what any respectable blogger would say the day she had an important post scheduled and was on her way to work? It all started Wednesday morning – the day I had a really important PAID sponsored post scheduled that included a giveaway, hence my need to use a Rafflecopter widget for entry purposes.

Being the overly cautious, neurotic, anal, and compulsive person that I am, the first thing I did after waking up (at 5:55 a.m.) was to check my blog to see if the widget was behaving properly. Now mind you, I have successfully used Rafflecopter numerous times in the past, but naturally, as luck would have it, today was not one of those days.

Oh joy – as you can imagine, my heart fell to the floor. What a great first impression to make. After trying EVERYTHING under the sun to correct the situation, nothing worked. Not even yelling at my computer and ruing the day social technology was ever invented. Thank you ever so much Word Press and Rafflecopter. Really appreciate you pulling the rug out from underneath me. But, being the resourceful person I am, I dug in and changed the entire entry tone of the blog post, running woefully late as a result for my real job that pays the bills.

Thoroughly discombobulated and disheveled – I don’t even remember if I bothered to put makeup on – I rushed out the door to get to work at a reasonable hour. So, of course, I forgot my phone. Today was not the day to forget my phone, so making a crazy judgement call, I turned around after driving a couple miles to come home and get it. Phew – got the phone, all is well.

I start to drive to work and am about a block away from home and that’s when I see the cat in the road. Damn it. There’s a cat in the road. Damn, damn, damn. Obviously I can’t just drive away with A CAT IN THE ROAD. So, I get out of the car and she lets me pick her up (naturally I have a spare cat carrier in the back seat). Long and short of it, after getting fresh food, water, toys, a scratching post, and a litter box for her, there was now a cat in my guest bedroom.

Welcome to Zee & Zoey’s Cat Resort… Human Deb will be your server for the day… Please enjoy your stay…

I texted my boss to let him know I would be late and I called Dan to tell him not to open the guest bedroom door when he came home from work. Not knowing whether the cat was a dumped stray, a lost pet, or whatever, I did not want to take any chances with my cats even coming close to sniffing her. You never know if a found cat has some sort of contagious illness and erring with caution is always the rule of thumb.

She was extremely friendly, so my gut feeling was that she was a neighborhood cat. She also bore a striking resemblance to Harley, which I must admit shook me to the core. I went to work with my head filled with crazy thoughts. I knew I would have to bring her to the vet to see if she had a microchip. If she didn’t, there would be the long process of making signs, knocking on doors, contacting local shelters, etc. and none of this was something I had loads of time for.

Harley had a head that was much rounder than Rose’s and shorter ears, but despite that, the similarities were uncanny.

But, of course, the bigger question looming was, if I could not find her guardian, were Dan and I about to adopt another cat? Let’s just say that gratefully, I will never have to answer that question. The following day after finding her, I took her to the vet and she did have a microchip. I reunited her with her guardian – a grateful woman who lives a couple blocks away. The cat’s name is Rose and she came from a Pet Supermarket adoption. She also has an adopted sister cat as well.

Nobody was happier than Jazmine that Rose had a microchip. She did not take to her new guest at all and was on edge the entire 30 or so hours Rose was in the house. The boys – Rolz and Kizmet – truthfully they seemed excited at the prospect of a new young lady in the house, but alas, it was not meant to be…

Apparently the neighbor is temporarily watching a cat that Rose DOES NOT LIKE. She got out and I was the one that found her. Lucky girl – she was pampered for over 30 hours and lived a life of doted luxury for that time. I do miss her, but somehow I truly feel it was God’s way of giving me one more day with Harley. Almost like I was able to give her a proper goodbye instead of the unexpected and brutal one she had when I had to say goodbye to her last year.

So, that was my week. To wrap things up, in case you missed my giveaway post, it was for an opportunity to win (2) Katris cat scratching blocks and designer covers of your choice. Please click here for details – the giveaway has a retail value of approximately $150 and I just know you and your cat(s) will love it!

Please make sure to read Wednesday’s post with the details on how you can win 2 Katris blocks and designer covers of your choice!

I am also thrilled to announce for the month of August, I will be conducting a fundraising campaign with a dear friend of mine – Sierra Koester of Fur Everywhere. She recently approached me to ask if she could review Purr Prints of the Heart and I said yes without realizing she and I had a shared connection – she had to say goodbye to her beloved Jewel on August 28, 2014 and I had to say goodbye to Jazz on August 28, 2013. Please click here to read her touching review as well as to find out how buying Purr Prints can help the cats of Cat Care Society – a shelter that is near and dear to Sierra’s heart.

Any format – electronic, paperback, or ordering from me directly – a percentage of all proceeds of the sales of Purr Prints for the month of August will go to Cat Care Society. On behalf of myself, Sierra, Mr. Jazz, and Jewel – we’d all be grateful if you take advantage of this pawsome opportunity to help the kitties of Cat Care Society.

I also have something else exciting planned for Purr Prints this month and will fill you in soon! Stay tuned everyone and have a great weekend!