Ahhhh…. just gotta love the old “pulling the heartstrings” marketing employed by those who make products for our pets.  I mean, who could possibly resist the dinner mat I just HAD to order for my little Ian kitten?  I actually found my eyes misting up and that burst of love emotion flooding my chest the minute I laid eyes on it.  All reason went out the window, and then nothing but justification after justification for my decision to make the purchase.  In case you have to see a picture of this to understand where I’m coming from, here it is – have a look.  I dare you not to buy one for your own kitty.  Oh, and for all you doggy parents out there – there is no pup left behind.  They make one for dogs too, so there’s no getting out of it for any of us!

It all happened because I wanted to give him better water.  I realized that he tends to turn up his nose and walk away from the water I give him in a bowl.  Any bowl, doesn’t matter what bowl.  He only wants to drink from the faucet.  Or he gets curious about the water in the toilet, especially while it’s flushing.  So I decided that I’d find him a water bowl that circulates and filters the water at all times, and settled on the Pioneer Pet Stainless Steel Fountain Raindrop Design water bowl.  Knowing how kittens are, I then decided that he would need a mat underneath the water bowl, because he will most likely try to play with the water and splash it all over the place.  So off I went in my browser, searching Amazon for the best place mat.

Well, perhaps you can guess what happened next.  I found the mat that grabbed my heart and pulled it out of my chest and into Amazon’s shopping cart, but then I realized that I couldn’t possibly cover up this mat at all!  The water bowl would completely cover it up, and then little Ian wouldn’t see the “Good Kitty!” and “I love you!” messages written out on the mat… as if he can read.  So the next thing I knew, I was searching for new food dishes for him, remembering how difficult it had been for my late kitties to eat out of food bowls at the end of their lives, and I reasoned that it would be better for my kitten to have his food bowls on a stand.  So… click, click, and click! – I also added the Ethical Mediterranean Double Diner to my order.  Of course!  This way, he’ll get to eat with his head held high, and the stand won’t cover up the message of the mat!  Perfect!

Well, I did realize that my reasoning was just a little bit ridiculous about the mat.  So I decided to just allow the ridiculousness and ask myself how I might justify it after all, seeing as my kitten can’t read… that I know of…  And guess what?  There’s energy behind words!  That’s right!  By putting his food right on top of a mat that reads “Good Kitty!” and “I love you!” Ian’s food will always be energetically charged with goodness and Love.  Just look at Dr. Emoto’s water experiments for proof on that point!  Living beings don’t have to be able to read at all to benefit from the energy of Love and goodness.  Of course, they don’t really need a place mat that holds messages of Love and goodness… simply blessing the food and water with our intent for Love and goodness is enough to do the trick – and it doesn’t cost a dime.  But for all the Love and Joy my little Ian brings to this life, well, I suppose a place mat is just the smallest way I can give him my thanks.

Awww, now this is one happy kitty.  <3