Meowloween Saftey (Halloween 2014)

Piper says Happy Halloween witchees!

With Halloween just hours away, it is important to remember you should put away  your kitties when you are opening the front door for trick-or-treaters. That way, they can't scurry out the door while you are handing out candy to cute little ghosts, witches and the occasional cat.

At Sandpiper Cat Blog,  we take opening the front door very seriously. We rarely ever use the front door because we are worried about our cats getting outside, as they are strictly indoor cats. We even get into our house by going through the garage and laundry room. We call this the "air lock" because we wait for the garage door to be completely down before opening the door into the laundry room. Just like our cat May, Piper is able to jimmy open the laundry room door. Naughty girl!

Bobby says: Make sure all your black cats are put away safely!

For my family, it is crucial that we make sure our black cats, Henry, Bobby and PHolly, are away in the basement with the others. It would be really hard to see a black cat dart out the front door at nighttime, just as it would be hard for them to see a car going down the street.

Black cats have a connotation of bad luck, especially when one crosses your path. If we believed this myth, we wouldn't have three black cats. It is extremely important that all cats, especially black cats,  are firmly planted far away from the front door.

Halloween brings a lot of strange noises and strange people, and even the calmest cat can become frightened and disoriented if they get out. Just in case, make sure she has a collar and ID tag on at all times.

PicMonkey #FrankenPet Halloween Contest & Coupon

Piper and I are excited to share with our readers a contest that anyone can enter. Pic Monkey, a photo editing website, is having a seriously cool contest where you can share your photograph with Halloween edits like so (and read below to find out how to enter)...

Halloween’s rough for pets. They can’t trick-or-treat, they can’t throw parties, and their costume selection is seriously lacking. To fight The Man Pic Monkey has partnered with fellow Seattle startup Rover.com—a nationwide network of dog lovers that connects pet owners with local, loving dog sitters—to put together a spectacular Halloween contest. It’s called #FrankenPet and you could be one of the winners.

How’s all this work?Simply don your photogenic pet in a costume (or not, it’s optional) snap a photo, and jazz ‘em up with our Halloween features.

Once your masterpiece is complete, share it. As long as you use #FrankenPet, we’ll see it on our Twitter, Facebook*, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Flickr. You gotta share by 11:59pm on Halloween, and the winners will be announced on the 5th of November (remember remember).

Who wins?Three winners. Three runner-ups. One for each category: Creepy Canines, Scaredy Cats, and Other Beasts (birds, lizards, monkeys, you name it). We’re looking for creatures with the most creative photos. Scare us, delight us, or make us say d’aawwwww!

Is there a method to this madness?!Photos will be judged by an independent panel of photographers and pet owners, based on the following criteria:

• 40% creativity
• 30% use of PicMonkey Halloween effects
• 20% embodiment of contest theme
• 10% photo quality

What’s in it for me?Grand prize winners will win one year of PicMonkey Royale and one of the following (depending on your category):

• Creepy Canines: GoPro Hero3 with a Fetch Harness
• Scaredy Cats: GoPro Hero3 with a 3-Way Mount
• Other Beasts: GoPro Hero3 with a 3-Way Mount

Runners-up will win a year of PicMonkey Royale and a $25 giftcard to Petco.

Wait a minute! Where’s your obligatory legal stuff?Contest Submission Agreement: By submitting to the #FrankenPet contest, you give PicMonkey and Rover permission to reuse your photos in future branded content and promotions. Neither Rover nor PicMonkey employees are eligible to win. Everyone is welcome to participate, but due to legal mumbo jumbo, prize eligibility is limited to the United States.

*If you’re posting to Facebook, your privacy settings will affect whether or not we can find your image. If your profile is set so only your friends can see your photos, we definitely won’t be able to find it. So you can either post your photo directly to our Facebook page, choose one of the other social media options to share your photo, or change your privacy settings for the duration of the contest (if you’re so inclined).

And visit Rover.com to find a dog sitter. You can use code "sandpiper20" to receive $20 off a dog sitting service.

I was not compensated for this review, though I will receive a free month of Royale services for sharing the contest. Coupon code void where prohibited.