We used the new booster seat on the way to and from Agility class last night. Stan was a little confused about why he couldn’t get to my lap, but once he figured it out, he snuggled right in to the new bed! It is so plush and cozy!
The inside clip attaches right to his harness and keeps him in the bed. I love that the side facing the dashboard is taller to give him a bit of cushion if something did happen. Stanley isn’t a big fan of the AC vents, so the taller front also blocks him from that a bit which is nice. Having the side facing me a bit lower gives him a chance to sit up like this, and makes it easy for me to reach in and pat him.
And on the way home, tired after his agility runs, the side makes a nice pillow, and he can still keep an eye on me.
I think this is going to be a fantastic addition to my dog care items. So nice to not have him loose in the car, and to know he has a super cozy spot to call his own.
I’m going to try to be better about updating my Instagram, so feel free to check me out there as well at petmomma.co
I recently bought the ZOMISIA Dog Car Seat for Small Dogs, and after a bit of a bumpy start, I’m officially a fan.
At $29.99, the price was hard to beat, and right out of the box the outer covering felt well-made — rugged, durable, strong stitching, and not at all cheap-feeling. My only hiccup: the listing says the cushions need 24-72 hours to fully fluff up after being vacuum-packed, but mine just weren’t puffing up no matter how long I waited. I decided to take a chance and exchange it for a new one. Amazon customer service was great as usual. I had a new booster the day after I requested it.
Best decision ever. The replacement arrived and the cushions started fluffing up almost immediately — a totally different experience from the first one. So glad I gave it a second shot! I will say a review I read said to put the cushions in the booster when they have started plumping up, but not gotten to full size to make it easier, and that was really helpful when putting it together.
Size-wise, this thing is not small, but it will be great for Stan to have a little stretch room. It takes up the entire passenger seat, which is perfectly fine when it’s just me and Stan riding together. Now that the cushions have puffed up properly, it’s incredibly plush and looks so cozy.
One thing I really dug into before buying: safety. I’ve learned there are very few dog car seats on the market that are actually crash/safety tested (I found exactly one), so for this purchase I mostly had to go with my gut — and I really like how this one attaches. There are three points of attachment: canvas straps on the back of the booster for the seatbelt to run through, a strap that loops around the headrest and buckles back to the booster, and another strap that clips to two rings on the back of the booster and wraps around the back of the seat. There’s also a buckle inside the seat that clips right to Stanley’s harness, so he stays secured in his little bed even once he’s settled in.
I love that the two exterior straps have an easy-release buckle in the middle, which makes it simple to attach each side to the booster and then clip it behind the car seat or headrest. The buckles also make it easy to cinch the straps snug so everything stays put.
Installation was genuinely fast — about 3 minutes. I set it in place, buckled the two straps around the back, and ran the seatbelt through the loops on the booster. Done.
Oh, and I almost forgot — there’s a giant pocket on the front that’s perfect for stashing a leash, treats, and other essentials. It also has two handles so that it could be used as a pet carrier.
Stanley is trying it out for the first time tonight, so I’ll be back to update once I see how he takes to it. He had a booster seat as a tiny puppy, but once he outgrew it, he’s mostly just ridden in my lap or on a blanket on the passenger seat. He’s a pretty good passenger already, but if this booster is a hit — and we start taking more road trips — it’ll be great for him to have his own safe, cozy spot in the car.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Stan celebrated the day with a Starbucks Pup Cup! On the way home, with the windows open, I remembered why it has been a long time since he’s had one!
Remember how I mentioned Puck has extra claws on each front foot? Well, let me tell you about the battle that nail trimming has been in this house.
For years — and I mean years — it’s been a two-person job. One person restrains Puck, the other attempts to trim. And somehow, no matter how careful we are, we end up needing bandaids. For us, not him. Those extra claws are his secret weapons, and he is NOT a fan of having them touched.
So when I saw this Cat Grooming Wrap on Amazon, I added it to Puck’s Christmas list. Best. Decision. Ever.
The Solo Nail Trim Victory 🏆
This morning I trimmed Puck’s nails. All by myself.
Do you understand what a HUGE win this is? Let me say it again: I trimmed all of Puck’s nails — including those evil extra claws he hates having messed with — completely alone.
He purred through most of it.
I know. I’m as shocked as you are.
How It Works (AKA: The Magic Burrito)
The wrap is super soft, but here’s the magic: it sticks to itself using some kind of gentle grip material. No velcro, no buckles, nothing harsh. You literally wrap your cat up like a little burrito, and they feel secure.
Here’s what I did:
Wrapped Puck up snugly (think baby swaddle, but cat-sized)
Pulled out one paw at a time as I needed it
Trimmed the nails on that paw
Tucked the paw back in and moved to the next one
Did Puck love every second? No. He hissed a couple of times when I got to those extra claws — he’s made it clear throughout his life that those are off-limits in his opinion. But he stayed calm, he purred for most of the process, and most importantly: nobody bled.
That’s a win in my book.
Why I Wish I’d Bought This Years Ago
I’ve spent literal years thinking nail trims just HAD to be a wrestling match. I thought that’s just how it was with difficult cats. Turns out, sometimes the answer is simpler than you think.
The wrap makes Puck feel secure rather than restrained. There’s a difference. It’s soft enough that he’s comfortable, but snug enough that he can’t flail around or scratch me to pieces while I’m trying to work.
For anyone else dealing with a cat who acts like nail trimming is the end of the world — or in Puck’s case, a cat with bonus murder mittens — I cannot recommend this enough. It’s under $10. It’s washable. It takes up almost no space.
I now consider this a cat essential. Right up there with food bowls and litter boxes.
The Bottom Line
If you have a cat that’s difficult to handle for grooming — whether it’s nails, brushing, or even giving medication — this wrap is worth every penny. It’s gentle but effective, and it might just save you from needing a second person (and a first aid kit).
Opinion: Sometimes the best pet products are the simple ones. Not every solution needs to be high-tech or expensive. Sometimes you just need a well-designed burrito wrap and a little patience.
Product Review: Voyager Step-In Air Harness (Size Small)
I didn’t expect to go through multiple harnesses with a tiny pup like Stanley, but here we are — harness number three, and finally a winner!
We just upgraded to the Voyager Step-In Air Harness (Size Small), and I’m really impressed. Use their size chart. I found it very accurate. I was shocked to get a harness that fit first try!
Quick Backstory:
Harness #1: Total fail — Stanley could back out of it, which is super dangerous with a nervous, young dog.
Harness #2: Worked well for a while, but as Stanley grew and I had to lengthen the straps, it started sitting sideways on him because of where the buckles hit. It looked uncomfortable and didn’t feel secure.
Why I Love the Voyager Harness:
Step-In Design: So much easier than wrestling it over his head.
Cushioned, breathable mesh straps: Thick and soft — they don’t dig in, and they feel durable.
Secure fit: It sits nicely on his body and feels much more stable than our previous harnesses.
The harness Velcros on the top and then has a buckle over it, so very secure. Velcro can be adjusted snugly, so less chance of escape.
Velcro and Buckle Closure
Color options: I went with teal (even though I wanted purple) because it was $3 cheaper — and it looks great on him! Pro tip: always check the price for each color when shopping on Amazon.
The Adjustment Period:
Stanley was super nervous the first time I put it on — ran into his crate and hid. So we took it slow: I’d only put it on when we were heading out, then remove it inside. After a day or so, I started leaving it on for short periods indoors. Now? He’s totally fine wearing it around the house. It’s a little bulky under his coat, but I’m planning to get him a warmer, better-fitting coat anyway.
💬 Final Verdict: Highly recommend the Voyager Step-In Air Harness for small dogs. Just give your pup time to adjust if they’re sensitive to new gear like Stanley.
And if anyone has a favorite warm, water-resistant dog coat, drop me a recommendation — Stanley’s winter wardrobe needs an upgrade!
I have to give a shoutout to my new DogID bag—The Schitty Kit! This thing is a total game changer for walks with Stanley. It has a smell-proof compartment for used poop bags (yes, really!), which means I no longer have to awkwardly carry around a tied-up bag in my hand. It’s super versatile with a fully adjustable strap so I can wear it cross-body, or switch to the included waist strap. It even has belt clips if I just want to attach it to my waistband.
The bag is well-made and holds everything I need—treats, poop bags, phone, keys—whether we’re heading out for a quick walk or a longer adventure. I originally bought the small version thinking it would be perfect for little Stanley, but ended up exchanging it for the larger size so I’d have extra room. (Shoutout to their fantastic customer service for making the swap easy and painless.) Now I kind of wish I’d kept the small one too—it’d be ideal for shorter outings.
Rubber smell-proof section
Also: I LOVE the bright pink color, but they do offer neutral options if that’s more your vibe. The bag dispenser on the back makes grabbing a poop bag effortless, and the mesh pouch on the front is perfect for treats. The washable, sealable rubber pouch for storing full bags is hands down my favorite feature. I seriously haven’t found another bag that checks all these boxes. To be honest, I also LOVE saying “Schitty Kit” and may say it a bit too often because it’s fun!
Cali is doing OK. She is slowly learning to get around a bit better, but I still have to carry her around a lot. I’m not letting her do stairs at all, so lots of carrying her in and out when she needs to go outside. The pen above is her night time set up for now. That’s in our bedroom, so she gets to stay close, but I don’t have to worry about her attempting stairs in the middle of the night. So far it is working out really well.
The Treat Planet goodies have been a life saver with Cali being hurt. The other night we were all in the living room and she was a bit restless so I pulled out a giant treat for her.
This was the Etta Says Mega Chew, Elk recipe. It’s huge! It’s about an inch around, and about 14″ long. It must smell really good to all meat eaters, because not only does Cali love it, but I’ve seen the cats chewing on it! This has been another great, long lasting chew. Cali worked on it for a couple of hours the other night and didn’t even chew up a quarter of it. Keep in mind, Cali is a 10 lb dog, so I’m guessing a bigger dog would go through it faster, but they do last. I love that Treat Planet is very careful about getting quality ingredients. Everything comes from the United States. I read that the elk is sourced from Texas.
I also read that Treat Planet has partnered with Goodwill Industries since 2010:
“Everyday, a dedicated team of adults with intellectual and /or physical disabilities, work to label our extensive chew line with the support of a supervisory team.
At Treat Planet, we’re proud to partner with our community and continually seek new ways to make a helpful impact.”
Cali was so excited when I gave her this chew. She sniffed it and then looked at me like, she just couldn’t believe her good luck! Once I told her it was OK for her to have it, she wasted no time at all getting to work on it.
Bean was also very interested in this chew and worked on it for a few minutes when Cali put it down! As with the other Etta Says chews I’ve tried, there haven’t been any stains on the carpet which I love!
Who wouldn’t want a Yumm stick?
I had to go out for a couple of hours this morning, so Cali got an Etta Says Chicken Yumm stick. This one smelled so good! These treats have no additives, they are all natural chicken, no hormones, no nitrates or nitrites, no MSG, and they are soy and gluten free. They really smell like something human-grade.
Cali has been hanging out in the little house above quite a bit since she got hurt. I had put the treat down just in front of the house, and she grabbed it before I could even pick up my phone for a picture.
As the cats smelled the treat and came to check it out, Cali managed to stand herself up to growl at them and explain it was her treat. When I got home, this treat was gone!
This morning I spent a couple of hours volunteering at a local shelter. Such nice people! I loved spending a couple of hours there with all the other animal lovers. I probably won’t foster again for a while , so it’s another way to help out and get some more animal time.
Does anyone else do any volunteer work with animals? What do you like to do? Share in the comments.
It’s been tough dealing with Cali, trying to keep her from doing too much, carrying her around, medicating her, and constantly checking on her. This morning I woke up to her barking at 6:30AM and had to go find her. She made her way downstairs (I’m going to have to gate the stairs from now on), had an accident, and couldn’t get back up to the bedroom. I wish she had just woken me up to put her out!
Today, I have to give a huge thank you to Treat Planet. I discovered their treats in a local pet store recently, and reached out about getting some more products to review. They sent me an amazing variety of treats, and it has been a life saver with Cali being injured.
The chew sticks, bars, jerky and Yumm Sticks have been great for keeping Cali occupied while she can’t really move around.
This Etta Says bacon flavored chew kept Cali busy all day yesterday. I like that there were no messy crumbles, no stains on her bedding, no odor, and she worked on it all day and there is still about a third of it left.
The Etta Says brand focuses on meat-based treats and unique chews. They are easy to digest, and thankfully they aren’t smelly!
I’ll be writing more about Treat Planet in the coming weeks, but wanted to thank them for their perfect timing on these treats for Cali! I’ll be writing about some of their other brands in the coming weeks. Overall, they have 5 different brands with different focuses, surely something for every type of canine.
Do you have a favorite brand of treats? What do you look for in a treat? Let me know!
Happy Hiking Dog! Cali may be little, but she loves hiking through the woods. I was so thankful the weather warmed up a bit last weekend and we got out for a nice hike. Now I just need to find time to give her a Spring haircut!
Before I talk about my new eufy pet fountain, an update on the Catlink boxes now that they are a regular part of my life. I LOVE THEM! They aren’t cheap, but they are worth every single penny we spent on them. Scooping litter boxes has become (mostly) a thing of the past. If I didn’t have a sick cat*, I wouldn’t be scooping boxes at all!
We have two Catlink boxes now, one upstairs in our laundry room, and one all the way downstairs under the staircase. I check the boxes once a day, honestly, sometimes every other day. I check to make sure there aren’t any clumps stuck to the top of the box, if there are, I just scrape it off with a litter scoop, and push the button to run the clean cycle, so easy! Once every 5 days or so, I check the bottom compartment to make sure it isn’t too full. When it gets full, I remove the bag, close it up tight, throw it away, and add a new bag. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes. One of the Catlink boxes will tell me when the bottom is full, but I’ve found if I wait for it to tell me, it’s actually a bit over full. Easier to check it every few days and change as needed. All of the cats have adapted to the Catlink boxes. I will say that the “optional” step really isn’t optional. It makes a huge difference. Not only does it make the box much more accessible for the cats, but it also helps keep any litter mess in check. Speaking of litter, cheap, scoopable, clay litter is all I’m using, most often TidyCat. The Catlink needs a litter with a little weight. TidyCat is cheap and readily available.
The only negative about the automatic boxes, and I think this is true of Catlink or any of the other brands, is that they are large. I’m very lucky I was able to find space for them where they aren’t in the way.
One more word of advice on the Catlink box, for reliability, attach it to a UPS/battery back up unit. They don’t deal well with power flickers. We lose power a few times a year usually, and often before the power goes out, we get flickers. Unfortunately, the Catlink box doesn’t deal well with the flickers and it sometimes stops working. We were having to reset the box with every power flicker, but that problem has been solved by plugging the boxes into a battery backup.
Another product I’m super excited about is the eufy pet water fountain P940. I’ve been using this fountain for a couple of months now, enjoying the simplicity of it. It’s easy to clean, and easy to use.
The eufy fountain is super simple to put together. It’s got a water basin, a tube for the water fountain, a filter and filter base, a stainless steel drinking surface, and the fountain spout.
Water Basin
Water FilterWater Filter in PositionFountain Unit and BaseFunctioning Fountain
It’s super simple to set up, just stack the pieces together and it’s good to go. The filter should definitely be rinsed before use so that there isn’t extra charcoal in the drinking water.
Assembled Unit on the Base
The tiny dot in the center of the white base is actually an LED light. If it’s red, the water level is too low and it’s time to refill. The water tank and everything on top of it easily lift off the base to refill. I pick it up, remove the spout, drinking tray, and filter tray, rinse everything and refill. Once a week, I do a more through wash of the whole thing before I refill it. With three cats and a small dog in the house, I am refilling every day, so I do wish the water storage was a bit bigger, but it works.
The unit plugs into an AC outlet, so there aren’t any batteries to worry about. For me this works out great, but if you don’t have an outlet near where you want to keep the fountain, it might be an issue.
Following are some visual from the box so you can see the setup diagrams:
And features:
Overall I’ve been really happy with this eufy fountain. I like that there is a stainless surface for the pets to drink from, so they aren’t drinking directly from plastic. I have had issues in the past with one of the cats breaking out on his face and chin, and the vet said it could be from a bacteria that gets into plastic surfaces, so now I only use metal food and water dishes. Refilling and cleaning are easy and quick. The filters are available to purchase on Amazon, or directly from the eufy website.
If there is one thing I would fix, I’d like a larger water capacity. Filling the fountain every day is fine, but it would be nice to have a large enough capacity to fill every other day. For most people, the capacity would probably be fine, but when we have four cats and the dog in the house, it takes more refilling than normal.
Martin is here visiting again, and he approves of the Catlink litter box and the eufy fountain! Anyone else use a pet fountain? What type do you use? What features are your favorites? Leave a comment and let me know or just say Hello!
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*The reason I still have one litter box to scoop is that Logan, my old lady cat, is still living in her cat condo. She is lose for a few hours every day and uses the Catlink box, but she also has a regular box in her condo.
My new CatLink Pro arrived yesterday. First impression? It’s BIG! The footprint is probably only 6″ bigger than a “regular” litter box, but it’s tall. Set up was a little finicky. We had to play with it a little to get it on our Wifi, but it wasn’t that bad. I read that any type of clumping litter works in it, but I don’t think the OXO Cat litter that I prefer is going to work out. It seems a little too light weight. The box is supposed to say when the litter is full, but ours kept saying it needed more litter. Eventually I realized I had over filled it, had to empty out some litter, reset it, and eventually we got it set up properly. I think a clay-based scooping litter will work better, and I plan to try that.
It has only been set up for one night. So far the cats haven’t used it. Bean is curious and stuck his head in, but that’s about it so far. I may spray a little catnip spray in there to encourage them. I’ll keep you all posted.
In other news, I’ve been using Pretty Litter for about a month. It definitely different than the traditional clumping litters I have been using.
I like how lightweight it is. Easy to fill and dump the box.
I’m not sure how well the “health monitoring” really works. My litter was just brown/yellow all month, so I guess that means regular healthy cats which is great. I don’t think my cats have any health problems, and nothing showed up with the litter, so I can’t tell you how well the health monitoring works or not, but I like the idea of it.
The cats took to it right away. We went from OXO Cat wood clumping litter to the Pretty Litter in one box. The cats had no hesitation in using it at all. They actually seemed to prefer it. I’ve got two boxes upstairs and tried the Pretty Litter in one box. While they continued to use both boxes, the Pretty Litter box definitely had more frequent visits.
As far as tracking, I do think it tracks less than regular litter, but I think part of that is because it is such tiny grains so it isn’t as noticeable. It did track some for me, but definitely less than my regular clumping litter. There was a little worry about my wood floors. The tiny grains of litter feel really gritty, and I’m not sure if they would actually scratch the floor or not, but I was careful to sweep it up and not find out.
Martin and Bean enjoy hanging out on the new rug
Odor control is good. It dries out the poop quickly so the smell doesn’t last. I definitely noticed when the litter box needed to be changed. Urine should get mixed in when you scoop the poop. Those urine spots dry out when they are mixed in with the litter again.
Pretty Litter lasts like they say it does. I have to say that I was impressed the litter went a full month before I felt like I had to change it. I was using it in one of my four boxes, so I wasn’t sure how long it would last. There wasn’t any doubt when it was time to change the litter box. The Pretty Litter was no longer white, it was yellow, and it started to smell. The urine spots no longer mixed in and they started sticking to the bottom of the box.
Positives – it definitely makes the box easier to clean than regular clumping litter. I only had to scoop the poop, and the litter is small, so I didn’t have to shake out the litter scoop forever. I can honestly say it probably took me less than half the time to clean this box versus regular clumping litter. Other positives, good odor control, less tracking, easy to maintain the box. Another positive is that the cats took to it right away. No transition stress. It’s also lightweight and easy to refill and dump the litter box.
Negatives – it’s gritty. I worry about it scratching wood floors. And my only other negative was the price. Two cats the cost is $44 per month. You can’t buy it on Amazon, and it seems like the only way to buy it is with a recurring subscription.
My take? Overall I like it. If I only had one or two cats, I’d probably keep using it. For me with four cats it isn’t economical. I do have a couple of bags left, so I’ll keep using it in one box, but I can’t use it in my new automatic box because it doesn’t clump. Anyone else tried it? What did you think? Leave me a comment and let me know.
I finally found a pet fountain that I LOVE! Review soon…
I’ve been searching local pet stores and of course Amazon lately in my quest for the perfect litter box. During one of my Amazon searches, I came across the SiftEase.
Seems like a really interesting product. You don’t need to use any special litter box, but in theory, it should help save time scooping.
Here’s the idea, a big scooping tray, with a bin underneath so that you just pick up your litter box and pour the litter through the sifter. The sifter catches the clumps (clumping litter obviously required) and you throw them away. The bin underneath catches the clean litter and you can just pour that back in the box.
Here’s the giant sifter. It sits on top of the grey bin shown in the first photo. I have to say that I really like the idea of this product. I’ve tried litter boxes with built in sifting devices and I’ve never had much luck with them.
Unfortunately, this product just didn’t work for me. First of all, dumping a litter box into the strainer/sifter is much harder than it seems. I tried to be careful, but litter spilled onto the floor. While I tried to scrape clumps loose in the pan before I dumped it, there were still clumps in the box after I dumped it into the sifter.
Puck had to check it out
Next problem, the holes in the sifter didn’t let all the litter through. Maybe that’s my fault, and I’m sure there are other types of litter that might work better than the OxoCat litter that I prefer, but I have enough issues with litter boxes right now, and I’m not changing my litter.
So I have a sifter full of dirty cat litter. I tried shaking it, but it only helped a little. I had to get my litter scoop and push the litter around in the sifter until I could get most of the clean litter through the slats and dump the clumps. I ended up wasting a lot of litter between the spills on the floor, and the litter that was thrown out because it didn’t sift well.
Finally removed the sifter from the base and dumped the litter back into the box. Time to sweep up the giant mess before I was done. All this hassle, and I only cleaned one box. Four more to go? I don’t think so.
Once I finished sweeping, I cleaned out the SiftEase and folded it back up. I put it back in the box, and told Amazon to come pick it up. This is not a product for me. As much as I hate scooping. This product didn’t save me any time or hassle at all.
I’m going to continue my dreams of having a LitterRobot. There have been many times I’ve been tempted to just spend the money and try one out, but I know I would need at least two of them, and I’m not convinced it would work out for my big Maine Coon, or whichever cat likes to use two boxes to take care of business. I have heard they have a 90 day money back guarantee, so maybe I’ll give it a try one of these days. The joys of cat ownership do not include litter boxes!
I love that the two exterior straps have an easy-release buckle in the middle, which makes it simple to attach each side to the booster and then clip it behind the car seat or headrest. The buckles also make it easy to cinch the straps snug so everything stays put.
Oh, and I almost forgot — there’s a giant pocket on the front that’s perfect for stashing a leash, treats, and other essentials. It also has two handles so that it could be used as a pet carrier.
Super excited to see how tonight goes!
We just upgraded to the 
My new 
