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Does anyone else spend November willing time to hurry up so we can get to December?  Then, it finally comes and you spend the month wanting it to SLOW DOWN because it goes by so quickly?  I can’t believe Christmas is in less than three weeks!  We are in full blown celebration mode in my house right now and I love it!  Every night we watch another holiday movie.  We are decorating and wrapping and baking.  It’s amazing!

We finally got to put up our tree this past weekend!  I have been itching to get it set up since Thanksgiving but we get a real one and I don’t like to get it too early for fear of it drying out.  This was our second year with cats.  Last year was our first but we only had Jeter. 

Just to give a small recap for the newbies in the audience – I have two beautiful Lilac Point Balinese cats.  They are brothers but they did not come from the same litter.  They are one year apart.  If I did not know that (and they did not look almost identical) I would have no idea though.  Their personalities could not be more different.

Jeter is my older guy at two and he is this mellow, fluffy ball of fur.  He eats, sleeps the day away and is perfectly content to do his own thing and nap in a corner by himself somewhere.  He is not needy but he will meander over to allow you to pet him sporadically.

Nico is a year old and he is a total maniac.  He is always running around, loves to play, wants constant attention and if something is broken I know which cat did it.  Even though he is rambunctious, he is still the sweetest.  He sleeps next to me every night and snuggles up like a baby.  I cant stay mad at him.

While putting up our tree and decorating the house, the thought struck me that I should create a Christmas-themed cat toy for my boys!  My cats are part of the family.  I love them and I want to treat them to a Merry Christmas season.

I made them ribbon wands last Winter and they still go crazy over them so I decided to use some of the supplies from that DIY to make them this holiday treat.

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 Materials Needed:

• 12 Inch Wooden Dowel
• 2 Screw Eye Hooks (I used 15/16 Inch)
• Duct Tape or Washi Tape
• Ribbons
• Bells

Step 1: Screw one screw eye hook into each side of the wooden dowel.  

Step 2:  Starting on one side of your dowel thread a ribbon through your screw eye and tie securely.

Step 3:  Cut your ribbon to desired length and attach a bell by threading the ribbon through the hole and tying securely.

Step 4:  Add as many ribbons and bells as you wish.  (I did three of varying lengths.)

Step 5:  Repeat the process on the other side of your dowel.  

Step 5: Cover your dowel with washi tape/duck tape and play with your kitties!  I used gold tape for this project but any holiday pattern or color would be fun.  I also considered doing this with shatterproof ornaments instead of bells but my cats love noise.

(Please note – this toy is for supervised play.  I would not leave my cats alone with it for fear of the ribbons getting wrapped around their necks.)

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Now that my boys are busy chasing their DIY Christmas Cat Toy they have been leaving our Christmas tree alone!  It’s only been a few days but I am hopeful that they will continue to stay away from it.  Since they are behaving like such little angels they have definitely earned some of their favorite treats!

My cats are OBSESSED with Temptations® cat treats.  If they in a different room I can say, “Hey boys!  Do you guys want some treats?” and they will THUNDER down the hallway to get to me.  I usually give them a few pieces each night when I get home from work and if I am in the house for more than five seconds without handing out their Temptations® they just sit by the cabinet where I keep them and meow at me.

I stock up on them at my local Walmart.  It has a fantastic pet aisle that has everything I need for my cats (including a wall of Temptations® treats).  

Last time I went I picked up a package of Temptations® Classics Tantalizing Turkey Flavor Cat Care & Treats, Temptations® Classics Mega Beef flavor, Temptations® Seafood Medley and a fun new addition, the Temptations® Snacky Mouse!  They were so excited by this thing!

Were your pets naughty or nice this year?