Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 16

Funny Sunday Photo Fails

It’s time for this weeks photo fails! And I’ve dug up the funniest ones from this week’s sessions. Can you believe I didn’t have any for my Dolly Parton outfit shoot? But don’t worry, I still had lots.

I have no idea why my human took this photo. I think her thumb just accidentally hit the photo button.

Since the photo session in the turret involved playtime, we got quite a few outtakes then. As you can see here, I was waiting for my human to toss me that treat. And getting a little impatient.

And…I was still waiting!

I don’t know why I was making an Elvis face, but here you go.

And yes, we’ve reached the end of this week’s photo fails! I hope you liked them. If you have a favorite, let me know in the comments.

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Dolly Parton’s Discount Pet Outfit on Video

Of course there was video shot when I was modeling my new Dolly Parton pet fashion. Did you even doubt it?

It took a couple of days for my human to get around to editing it, but she finally did!

And of course we included the hat! You can see the video below. Let me know what you think!

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Playful Turret Photos

Did you like the photo I used for yesterday’s blog post? My human shot it at the last minute. She knew she needed a photo of me but wasn’t sure what to do. But when she saw how nice the light was in the turret, she thought she take some photos of me there.

To get up my energy, she decided to throw some treats around for me to chase. I was up the stairs in a flash!

She encouraged me to use the railing as a perch for some photos.

She also changed the angle a bit so the camera was pointing up at me.

And of course she had to take some portraits of me too. I think having so much energy from chasing the treats helped me pose better.

And here’s a rare turret profile!

I hope you liked them. I sure had fun posing for them! Let me know in the comments if you have a favorite.

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Expecting Your Cat to Obey? Ha! Why You Are Not the Boss of Them

A YouTuber my human likes was explaining how she raised kids in a non-authoritarian household. She thought she’d give it a listen, even though she doesn’t have kids herself…and realized the same approach applied to cats!

It also explains why a lot of people have trouble establishing relationships and boundaries with their cats. I know it all sounds kind of crazy, but let me explain.

Raising kids by making them obey authority is very common in many households, especially in the US. So that’s what a lot of people are used to. And when they bring a cat home, they see themselves as the authority figure, and expect the cat to obey. The thing is, cats don’t work that way!

No Dominance Hierarchy With Cats

Cats don’t acknowledge a single authority figure the way that dogs (and, I guess, humans) do. The cat social structure is much more fluid, and has more to do with protection of resources than with one cat claiming to be boss. What some people may see as a dominant cat in a multi-cat family boils down to them claiming resources they perceive as valuable or scarce.

If you do have a cat in your family that acts out against other cats, you’ll observe it’s often over certain areas of the house, or things like the litter box or a cat tree. It’s a fear of scarcity, of wanting to keep the privilege to that thing, more than anything else. And admit it, that doesn’t create the kind of happy atmosphere you want in your house anyway.

Cats Are Social, But Not Submissive

Many people think cats are anti-social, but that’s not true. Cats actually enjoy the company of others (cats, humans, other animals that make up the family). They just don’t acknowledge any of them as their boss, and they have no impulse to obey them. While they like company, they are also independent and not rule-based.

Cats only understand doing things they want. They don’t understand why they shouldn’t be allowed to do certain things, like jump on a China cabinet, or use a sofa as a scratching surface. You can’t set rules for them and expect them to obey. But a lot of people do, and they think they can use authority, threats and fear to make their point. And this just does not work longterm. And even when it does temporarily work, it is causing emotional damage at the same time.

Cats and Toddlers Are Soul Siblings

The YouTuber my human likes explained that using force and fear with toddlers is the wrong approach. That’s because a child that young has cognitive limitations that make them unable to understand why you are behaving that way. All they see is someone they rely on being mean and scaring them. It’s scarring and doesn’t help them later on when they’re old enough to understand how to reason.

Well, guess what? Mentally, cats are on the same level as toddlers! And they will never have the emotional maturity to understand reason. So cats are pretty much stuck at the two-year-old level for their whole lives.

If you yell at a cat, bully them or try to punish them for what you perceive as a wrongdoing, it’s the same as being mean to a toddler and expecting them to understand what is going on. And your cat will see you as someone who, no matter how much they love you, has a scary streak that endangers them. It doesn’t foster trust, and it doesn’t inspire a deep and loving relationship between you and your cat.

What to Do Instead

The YouTuber my human watched explained that instead of obeying, she looked for cooperation with her kids when they were very young. She figured out ways to team up with them on necessary things. Could they be in it together somehow? Could it be turned into a game? Was there a way to make it fun or silly? Were there hugs at the end?

With young children, play is a love language, and the same goes for cats. Instead of using anger and punishment, cats can be reached with play, treats and affection. Distraction from unwanted behavior, and redirection to a preferred behavior is more effective in the long run. And it strengthens instead of weakens your human-feline bond.

My human has learned from experience that the more a cat trusts the world, and trusts you (and you are generally their world), the easier it is to work with them. And you get that by soliciting cooperation, not forcing authority.

Let’s Get Real

With kids and cats, you need to set realistic expectations about what they can and can’t do and understand. And you need to set expectations for yourself too, and what you can do as the main person looking out for them. Learn your cat’s behavior, level of understanding, and boundaries, and go from there.

I hope this gives you some insight into the best way to interact with us kitties! And the YouTuber? Two of her children are grown, and two are still teenagers. She’s very close with them all, and they seem like pretty smart, amazing people. So she must be doing something right!

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Dressing Up in Dolly Parton’s Bargain Bin Cat Clothes

Look what my human found at Ross Dress for Less! This two-piece outfit from the Dolly Parton line of pet clothes!

As you can see, it’s come down quite a bit in price. If you recall from a while back, my human brought home a couple of Dolly Parton dresses for me, and they were actually extremely pricey!

The skirt part was just a little bit big on me. Too bad they never sell cat clothes with the tops and bottoms in separate sizes.

The top fit fine.

Here it is from a different angle so you can see the bow better.

In case you didn’t click on the link above to see the original dresses my human got, here’s one of them. They really were huge and not that flattering, so she returned them. She got enough store credit to keep me in cat food for quite a while.

She did keep one thing…the hat.

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A Warm Therapy Cat on an Overcast Morning

I wasn’t sure how my visit to the children’s hospital was going to go this week. The lobby was quiet, and the kids were pretty indifferent. My human tried to liven things up by sitting me on the tables and having me ring my bell. The patients and their parents thought it was amusing but I didn’t get a lot of interaction.

And then my human and I saw this little girl sitting in a stroller who had the biggest smile ever when she saw me. So my human brought me over for a visit. I sat on the sofa, and the girl’s mother pulled her stroller close so she could pet me. One arm was in a cast, and her free arm had a bend in it, but she was still able to pet me easily. She was so sweet that I kept giving her headbutts and rubbing her hand with my face.

It was not too busy in the exam rooms. So my human was able to pull out my bell so I could show the patients a few tricks. Of course, I also gave a few paw shakes. One boy was sitting with his dad who mostly spoke Spanish. The boy kept translating his questions about me into English for my human. When she could, she replied in Spanish. They both liked me a lot!

Then we went up to the second floor to the surgery area. A couple of parents were sleeping in the waiting room, but the pre and post op areas were empty. The child was having an hours-long surgery so I visited with the nurses instead. They love me up there, and my human even had me ring the bell for them!

Finally, we stopped by rehab, but it was quiet there too. The whole area was empty until we went all the way to the back room. A PT was sitting there with a teen girl and her mom. So we visited with them, and my human gave the PT some advice on getting his overweight cat some exercise.

It was a low key day, but it really warmed up the overcast morning.

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My Most Boring Cat Trick (and the Most Useful)

I’m going to show you my most boring trick ever! And it’s something my human uses every time she picks up a camera and points it at me.

It’s the command Stay.

Not only have I learned to stay when asked, I can do it in awkward poses. For example, this one where I’m half in and half out of this Pounce House toy.

And the trick where I stand with one or two paws in a bucket or a cat bed (like you see here). That started with the Stay command.

This is actually a trick that would be helpful for all cats! It helps if they are treat motivated, like me. Here’s one example, for if you have a cat that tries to dash out the door. You could train them to stay while you’re opening the door, and then reward them by tossing a treat away from the door for them to chase. Adding the extra step of staying instead of just tossing the treat gives it an element of routine that cats will like.

Here’s the video — I hope you don’t think it’s too boring!

Are there any situations where you wish your cat would stay put? Let me know in the comments!

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My Awesome April – in a Video Compilation!

What an exciting and fun April! So you’ll really enjoy this month’s video compilation.

Of course there was the cat show in Norco, which was a full weekend of fun and meeting lots of people.

And I had the annual Easter photo and video session. To be honest, this time around was kind of a disorganized mess!

Plus a shopping day, a watch party for a Shark Tank episode with me in it, and lots of visits with the peach kitty! I think you’ll really like this one, and you can see it below. It’s broken up into chapters so you can skip around to the videos you want to see most.

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Caturday Silliness

It’s time for outtakes! And I have lots of fun photos for you this week.

Here’s your classic tongue-out shot.

I look like my human just asked me to put the dress on by myself!

Although the peach kitty didn’t walk in on my modeling session after the beginning, he was never very far off! I think at that moment, he was sharpening his claws on a tree.

My human was on top of it for this photo session, which is why she caught me with my mouth open…

Twice!

And that’s the end of this week’s outtakes! I hope you enjoyed them. If you have a favorite, let me know in the comments.

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Spring Cat Dress Modeling (and Interruption!) on Video

If you recall my modeling session the other day, I had some interruptions in the middle of my session!

While she was shooting the video, my human managed to include him too.

And you can see him in action, and me modeling in the video below.

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