Taking photos of any animal—let alone the highly enthusiastic Cornish Rex—can be tremendously difficult, but Lithuania-based artist Lina Gavenaite makes it seem like a breeze with these photographs of her kitten, Nagri Muri. 

I'm pretty speechless over how captivating these shots are—and how ah-dorable Nagri Muri is. Enjoy! 

More of Lina's work can be found on her portfolio at http://be.net/linagavenaite. 

Last week I received a copy of Lowe's Creative Ideas for Home and Garden containing instructions for this do-it-yourself cat lounge, and fell in love. The first photo is the Lowe's version, followed by my step-by-step attempt at recreating it.

The Lowe's method leaves parts of the interior without carpet. I decided to tweak this design.

But first, the tools.

Materials needed: A 12-inch concrete form tube, two bottles of Liquid Nails adhesive, 2 ft. 5/8-inch nylon rope, an eyebolt, 12 ft. of carpet runner,  a tape measure, a handsaw, a carpet knife, four clamps, a caulk gun and painter's tape.

I sectioned the concrete tube in thirds, marked off the sections with painter's tape, and cut the tubing. Then I sectioned off pieces of carpet to fit the outside of the tubing.

I then applied plenty of adhesive (this is the fun part!).

Adhesive was then applied between the bottom two rolls and on the top roll, and the whole thing was clamped together and left to dry overnight.

Ta-da! The tri-rise grows into its name.

I decided that Olive needed more comfort than just a strip of carpet in each tube, so I carpeted the entire interior. Being a perfectionist, I didn't love the jagged cardboard edges showing, so I sliced some plumbing tube down the middle and fixed it around each cylinder.

Presto! Add blankets, a swat toy and your kitten—and call it a day.

Overall, it was a cute experiment that didn't cause too much frustration. Should you take the same crafty journey, consider the below.

Pros
• A fun little project
• Olive loves it
• Not as ugly as classic pet furniture

Cons
• Price says less than $40. My total was $49.
• Time says two hours. It took me about five.
• Edges look really jagged. If you're a perfectionist, it's going to drive you crazy.

If it wouldn't throw the whole ecosystem out of whack, I'm pretty sure I'd support an effort to rid the world of all existing insects and replace them with HEXBUG Nanos—because robot bugs take the creepy out of crawlies.

I decided to test Olive's hunting instinct with this battery powered toy programmed to behave like a real bug.  It was eight bucks, so I figured I'd give it a whirl.

I'd say she attacked that thing like a lion on injured prey. An extremely cuddly lion, that is!

See the results for yourself in the below video. Try to Ignore the video quality. Sorry iPhone; looks like it's time for me to invest in a video camera!

Thanks to my Twitter pal, CHo Meir, who sent me pics of her Jake, a male tabby Cornish Rex; and Maus, a blue/cream female. They are such a pretty pair! This is further evidence of why Olive needs me to get her a friend. Hint, hint people!

If you want to see more pictures of these guys, CHo Meir has a super-cute and witty blog, Coffee, Cats n' Yarn. Check it out!

Check out the other members of the growing C-Rexpert family in our photo gallery.

Yep, it's true. Now there's an iPad app for cats. 

While little creativity was put into the name, simply titled "iPad Game for Cats," this app is pretty clever. There are two levels; a laser, which is free, and a more graphically appealing mousetrap for $1.99.  I didn't spring for the mousetrap level, so I can't comment on it. It's hard for me to justify buying apps for myself, let alone my cat.

Still, the laser level is pretty neat. It works the same as any old laser pointer that cats go bonkers for, only it does the work for you. Plus, it's on the iPad, so it looks like your cat is a little human playing with technology. The equation is simple: Animals + Technology = Hilarious-ness.

Of course, Olive loved it. Warning: I would not let a cat near an iPad with bare nails. Olive is currently rocking her pink 
Soft Paws--essentially press-on nails for cats that serve as an alternative to declawing--making it safe for her to touch the screen. 

Check out the video above to see Olive in action. The verdict? It's a winner; and since cats love the free laser, the mousetrap level is pretty much a money-trap. Don't get caught.

I'm the type that thinks my everyday problems are so important until something happens to shake me out of my own head and back into reality. This ABC news visualization of the Japan earthquake and tsunami says it all. One day you could be happily chugging along and the next, everything you have come to know has vanished.

BlogPaws Be The Change for Pets is dedicating March 17 to help relief efforts for animals in Japan. Blogpaws community member Cathy King, founder and executive director of World Vets, is headed to Japan to meet up with a coalition of Japanese animal welfare groups.

To assist World Vets, Be the Change for Pets is asking the online pet community to help raise funds and awareness for the World Vets efforts. You can grab a badge for your site here, or donate using the Chip In widget below.

In times of crisis, animals are usually low on the relief list. And I'm always one to help the underdog—or, in my case, cat. :)

Here's your Tuesday pick-me-up! Rachel Ross of Chicago sent in pictures of her C-Rex kitten, Huey, and I think you'll agree that he's fantastic!

Look at him all cuddled up, with snow draping the buildings in the background. A beautiful kitty in a beautiful city.

Last month I featured fashion-forward collars from Sweet Pickles' Designs. Recently, I took my own advice and ordered Olive the preppy, stripe-y, purple-y Second Honeymoon collar.

It was custom made for Olive's tiny neck at no extra charge. If you have a C-Rex, you know how hard it is to find a collar that fits, let alone one that's cute. 

These pictures don't do the collar justice! It's shiny and sturdy with a big twinkly bell. And the seller offers every print from robot to polka dot—all for less than ten dollars. I'm in love!

Oh, my. After seeing pictures of these two cuties sent to me by blogger MummyTips, I desperately want to get a friend for Olive. I have a feeling my boyfriend won't like this idea, but he'll get over it, right?

Here's big sister Cheryl, 15 months. She's gorgeous and I adore the vintage feel of these photos.

Meet her new baby brother, Rex, who's just 13 weeks. Look at those eyes! I want one just like him. My birthday's coming up, if anyone's looking for gift ideas...

If you watch Ellen at all, you know she's always giving away free stuff. Now she's hooking up our cats! Oh, how I love her.

Ellen's part-owner of holistic pet care company Halo, and they're currently offering a coupon for two free cans of Spot's Stew cat food when you sign up for their free newsletter.

And they're HUGE! Tip: Go for the bigger size; the coupon covers it. Olive's so small that one can lasts two days. Woo! Also, PetSmart doesn't carry it, so be sure to go to PETCO. If you're in Gainesville, you can also hit up Earth Pets.

Get your coupons at http://www.halopets.com. Let me know what you think!