Salem's First Birthday!

Moka

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My little one is growing up so fast! :bawling: Salem will be a year old on May 13th and I thought it would be kind of fun to share a little about her and get some suggestions for her birthday gifts. I can't spend a lot with my tight budget. But, it's her first birthday and I want to spoil her (more than she already is);). Salem's life started out pretty rough. Her mom was a 5 month old barn cat and Salem was part of her first litter. Mom ended up abandoning her babies at about 2 1/2 weeks old. Salem and her siblings were left alone and unfed for days. I honestly have no clue how she survived this at such a young age. But, once the kittens were found to be abandoned, they were put on formula. I took Salem when she was about 4 weeks old for some one on one care and have had her ever since. I love her so much and want to give her the world. Do you know what I mean? Anyways, she may not understand that it is her birthday, but I am still going to try to make it special. I think with her rough start, Salem turning 1 is something to really celebrate because it could have so easily gone the other way. So, any suggestions that go beyond toys and treat are welcome. What have you done for your fur babies on their birthdays? I might take a few pictures on the 13th and post them here.
:celebrate: :party3:
This is what I have picked out for her so far. I found the best prices on Amazon, but I have also been browsing Chewy, PetCo and PetSmart.

1. SmartyKat Crackle Chute = $8.78 (Amazon)
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2. Petlinks Catnip Caterpillars = $3.49 (Amazon)
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3. SmartyKat Fish Friends Crinkle Cat Toys = $2.99 (Amazon)
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Here some of the first pictures I took of Salem!
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Here are some recent photos of Salem. She has grown into such a beautiful little house panther!
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verna davies

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Salem has grown into a beautiful cat and a very lucky one. My three cats love their stinkies. I bought them 2 years ago and they still love to play with them. They are only small but are carried around and played with for ages. Dont forget to post in the birthday thread on 13th with a photo of course.
 
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Moka

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Salem has grown into a beautiful cat and a very lucky one. My three cats love their stinkies. I bought them 2 years ago and they still love to play with them. They are only small but are carried around and played with for ages. Dont forget to post in the birthday thread on 13th with a photo of course.
Thank you! Those little "stinkies" are definitely something Salem would like. Is there a thread specifically for birthdays that I should be posting on?
 

mazie

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She will love this "interactive toy" which can be ordered on Chewy. It takes 2 double or maybe triple A batteries, I cannot remember which. The feather goes round and round, has 4 different speeds, and she will chase that feather as it goes around and around. Will be fun for you to watch her have fun chasing after that feather.
It's not expensive either, less than $15.00 I believe.
 
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Moka

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Aw, Salem is a gorgeous cat! If I get a black male cat he'll be a Salem, too, after The Teenage Witch :)
I used to watch that show too and that was one of the reasons for Salem's name. To me, it did not really matter that she was female. The other reason was a reference to the Salem witch trials and not because just because black cats were considered evil or side kicks to witches. Supposedly, 90% of modern black cats have some sort of white marking on them because of an unintentional selective breeding. During the time of "witches", black cats were killed on site. But, if the cat had a speck of white, they were spared because the white mark was considered a sign that the cat was "touched by God". I don't know how true all this is, but when I first picked Salem up and realized she did not have a white mark, I thought it might be kind of cool to name her after the famous Salem witch trials.
 
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Moka

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View attachment 283262 She will love this "interactive toy" which can be ordered on Chewy. It takes 2 double or maybe triple A batteries, I cannot remember which. The feather goes round and round, has 4 different speeds, and she will chase that feather as it goes around and around. Will be fun for you to watch her have fun chasing after that feather.
It's not expensive either, less than $15.00 I believe.
I think that is just perfect! Thank you! I am going to put that on my list. Salem will have a blast with it!
 

will2002

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If she doesn't already have one, be sure she has a good new card board BOX. Maybe even more than one. All of the cats that I have ever cared for LOVE fresh boxes.
 
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Moka

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I ordered Salem's birthday presents and they came a little early. Since Salem is the official box checker, she had to "inspect" the contents of the strange smelling new box. As soon as she saw the toys, there was no way I could make her wait for her birthday. She barely let me get all the packaging off the toys before going crazy with them. lol I ended up getting her the SmartyKat Crackle Chute, the SmartyKat Fish Friends Crinkle Cat Toys and one SmartyKat Kicked Critter Kicker Plush Cat Toy Plush Cat Toy. The kicker seems to be Salem's favorite. She has been carrying it around in her mouth for the last hour, tossing it into the air, then tackling it and kangaroo kicking it to death! I think it is safe to say Salem likes her Birthday presents!
I took some pictures of Salem playing with her kicker, but they are a little blurry as she was having too much fun killing her toy to sit still.
It is so nice to see Salem so happy! I am glad I bought at least on thing she really likes.
I am still going to do some sort of mini kitty photo shoot on the 13th in celebration of Salem's first birthday. I will probably post those here, in Salem's gallery album and maybe one in the birthday thread.



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Lari

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For my cat's first birthday I made her a 'cake' out of some wet food/pate, with a chicken baby food icing and kibble in the shape of a 1. She ate it all up, after watching me make it and trying to figure out why I was taking so long with her food.

Salem looks like a very happy girl with her new toys!
 

Graceful-Lily

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That is super sweet! Happy birthday, Salem!

Felix, my cat, also had a rough start in life. I took him in when he was 4 weeks too. For his first birthday, I baked him a tuna cake. I put a party hat and this neck ruffle thingy on him. Sang happy birthday and took pictures.

I still have them but I'm not on my computer today.
 
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Moka

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For my cat's first birthday I made her a 'cake' out of some wet food/pate, with a chicken baby food icing and kibble in the shape of a 1. She ate it all up, after watching me make it and trying to figure out why I was taking so long with her food.

Salem looks like a very happy girl with her new toys!
Making a little cake out if wet food is pretty awesome and very cute! I am glad your little one enjoyed it!
 
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Moka

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That is super sweet! Happy birthday, Salem!

Felix, my cat, also had a rough start in life. I took him in when he was 4 weeks too. For his first birthday, I baked him a tuna cake. I put a party hat and this neck ruffle thingy on him. Sang happy birthday and took pictures.

I still have them but I'm not on my computer today.
What did you use to make the tuna cake? Maybe I will look for a recipe and do something similar. If it were any of my past cats, I would just buy an extra special gourmet wet food and that would be their birthday "cake". Salem has no interest in wet food at all, no matter how fancy it is. But, she might like a fresh tuna kitty cake!
You having a little birthday party photo shoot is just adorable! I am going to try something similar, just without the party hat. I don't think Salem would like that too much. lol
 

Graceful-Lily

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I can't remember what I used since it was 8+ years ago but there was definitely tuna and raw egg. I used his dry food and made an "F" in the cake. Baked it in the over for a while. I'm sure there are tons of recipes online.
 
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Moka

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Salem is 1 year old today!!! :celebrate: She has been loving her new toys. She dragged her new crinkle kicker under my bed a few nights ago and I spent most of the night listening to "Crinkle, Crinkle, Crinkle . . . Crinkle, Crinkle". I am just going to assume that that is Salem's way of saying thank you for her birthday gifts. :lol:
I can't even wrap my head around Salem being a year old. I am so grateful for her coming into my life, as sudden and unexpected as it was. I feel so lucky to be her mom and hope this is the start of many wonderful years together. :redheartpump:

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