January is here and that means you made it through last year in one piece. Congratulations, seriously.
Since a lot of you probably have gift cards burning a hole in your pocket, or inbox, we thought we would take a minute to let everyone know about some great deals.
We fully endorse interspecies friendships. For some, a pet is merely a nice life-accent or a buddy-pal, while others are dumbfounded by their ability to love anything, let alone a fuzzy friend, so much. At the end of the day, there are many benefits to having a pet, including:
- Increase in exercise
- Increase in socializing
- Higher cognitive function for older adults
- Teaching children about humility and compassion
Like a friend or family member that you want to feel appreciated, treating your pet to something fun, calming, or interactive will be great for all parties involved. It can be tempting to use gift cards to purchase some much-needed utilitarian items, but this perpetuates the “no-spending challenge” mindset, which everyone deserves to take a break from. Making purchases that turn your much-deserved “me-time” into you and your animals “us-time,” is beneficial for countless reasons.
Using our Price History Charts to make sure camelcamelcamel users are always saving, here are some suggestions for items that are useful, fun, and ridiculously awesome.
Felt Cat Cave
This one is for the person who wants their pet to feel special but does not want the living room to become the cat's playroom. These fun felt bubbles fit perfectly next to you on the couch. So pour a glass of Pinot, in a fun stemless glass of course, put on some Fraser, and live Tweet your favorite episode.
Ripple Rug
One look at this perfect product and you can understand why it is one of the best-selling cat items out there. Anyone who has ever watched as their cat becomes mesmerized by a rolled-up rug cannot help but think, "of course," when they first see a Ripple Rug either online or in a friend's home. It is basically two rugs: one that doubles as a velcro base, and a top rug that has cat-sized holes and velcro hoops in order to make ripples and tunnels for your cat to lose their mind in. There are a ton of amazing cat tunnels out there if space is limited, but the Ripple Rug hit the target so dead center, the genius can't be denied.
A pro move that will boggle your cat's mind in a good way is to combine the Ripple Rug with an array of integrations. Thinking past the obligatory catnip mice, and cat wand, consider inventive toys like these floppy fish, or get wild by taking a retractable toy and positioning it just above the rug to all but ensure pure playtime insanity.
DNA Tests
For those of us who have rescues, there is always that question of what exactly the genetic makeup is of your beloved fur child. It can be fun to compare other pets on walks and at dog parks, surmising that Charly might have a bit of Aussie Healer in her and maybe even a little Coyote. Many would never have known why Rocky likes to hoard garden stones, or why Molly tries to herd anything with legs until at-home DNA Tests came around.
Another fun idea is to gift it to a family member or friend. Or even send in the test for them secretly when you're dog-sitting. Dog-genetic-makeup reveal party anyone?
Talking-Pet Starter Kit
For the overachievers out there looking to push the boundaries of interspecies communication. If you have not heard of Stella the Talking Dog, look it up sometime and prepare to have your mind blown. Then take on the fun and cutting edge challenge of teaching your dog how to communicate using human language. No joke.
DJ Scratch-A-Lot
And now for some (more) ridiculousness. Imagine putting together a video shoot with some background music and this cat scratcher. Also, if you are like everyone else on earth and have a million Aquarian friends, putting together a cat-themed playlist and sticking the Tabby behind the ones and twos is pretty much a must for the next birthday party.
Portable Water Dispenser
The other side of pet ownership is that they can often get you out of the house when you otherwise would’ve been at home feeling guilty about binge eating and Netflixing. Getting a little bottle like this that also serves as a drinking bowl reduces some of the friction of getting up and out. The product is cleverly designed so you won't have to waste water, or deal with leaks in your backpack.
Looking across the living room at your favorite fluff ball dosing off or acting goofy, we hope you feel lucky to have a pet to break up the monotony of days. Even if they have elevator music playing in their heads at all times, a chill companion is often hard to come by. We hope 2022 brings all the pet parents out there plenty of opportunities to spend some quality time at home, and out and about, with their favorite fur babies.
