My Fire Hydrant

I’ve just been informed that Friday (April 24) is National Hairball Awareness Day! So I wondered, who came up with the brilliant idea to recognize Hairballs? Near as I can tell, it was the National Museum of Health & Medicine.

In fact, I came across their press release that says “…From April 25 – May 4, the Museum will offer a temporary exhibition of nine hairballs (also called “trichobezoars”) from the Museum’s collection of 24 veterinary and 3 human specimens. The exhibition will inform the visitor about the myths and realities of these medical curiosities…”

You can even visit their virtual hairball exhibit!

I think my favorite hairbal from the virtual exhibit is this trichobezoar from a human which is courtesy of the Department of Radiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

Can you say EUWWWWWWWW!!??!

If you are anywhere near Washington D.C., I think this is one of those “must see” exhibits. (Or, maybe not.)

If you’re not near D.C., you can still have a great time celebrating National Hairball Awareness Day, and do a good deed for kitties. My buddy Romeo and his buddy FURminator, Inc are sponsoring the “Who’s Your Favorite Furball?” contest.

The winner of the contest gets a free FURminator DeShedding Tool (Romeo demonstrates on our left) and will also see their beloved furball featured on People Pets and many popular pet blogs across the Internet (including this one!).

Everyone who enters also gets the satisfaction of doing a good deed for Romeo’s April FURPOWER beneficiary, Kitten Rescue of Los Angeles.

Here’s what you do:

1. Visit Romeo The Cat and click on the FirstGiving link to donate $1 (or more if you choose!) to Romeo’s FURPOWER beneficiary of the month, Kitten Rescue of Los Angeles.

2. Submit your favorite, funniest, furriest furball photo (cats only, please!) via email to Romeo at RomeoTheCat dot com and tell Romeo how winning a FURminator deShedding Tool will change your life (and your furball’s life!). Make sure to include the following information:

~ Your Favorite Furball’s name
~ How winning a FURminator deShedding Tool will change your life (and your furball’s life!)
~ Your name
~ Your email address
~ What name you used with your FirstGiving donation

Entries must be submitted by 9 p.m. EST Thursday, April 23, 2009.

3. A Favorite Furball gallery will be posted on Romeo The Cat leading up to the big announcement.

4. The winner will be selected via a random drawing.

5. The winner will be announced on Romeo The Cat, People Pets, and participating blogs at 12 p.m. EST Friday, April 24, 2009.

Contest parameters:
~ Contest is only open to cats (sorry doggies!)
~ Entrants must be located in the U.S. or Canada
~ Entries must be submitted by 9:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, April 23, 2009
~ Entrants agree to allow their photo to be posted on participating blogs

If you have additional questions, please contact Romeo at RomeoTheCat dot com.

Good luck! And let the coughing begin!