Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 25

The Peach Kitty Came By

After being absent for a couple of weeks, the peach kitty came by for a visit!

Of course, he behaved like it was no big deal. But my human and I actually weren’t surprised he hadn’t been around. It’s been either cold or rainy, and none of the cat family has been around much. We don’t know where he goes when the weather’s like that. He considers the whole neighborhood his home, so it could be anywhere. Still, we were glad to see him.

And he was happy to see me. Maybe a little too happy.

And both of us were happy to get some treats!

He even took treats out of my human’s hand. My human always wonders if he’ll forget after being away for a while, but he never does. He still eats his treats from her hand and even lets her pet him a little, just like always.

He still won’t let her rub his face with her hand. Getting to touch a feral cat from face front is actually really difficult. If a stray cat lets you do that right away, it almost always means they are an abandoned house cat, and not feral.

What he did want to do was play with me! I don’t know why he keeps trying, since I never join in.

Mostly he just wanted to hang out and lay in the sun. Which was nice because it shows how relaxed he is around my human. He may even think he’s safer with her there because he can see how protective she is of me.

Eventually my human wanted to return to work and he wanted to go off and do whatever he does when he’s not here. So it was time to go back inside.

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Random Funny Photos

This week’s selection of funny photos is pretty random this week!

A typical misfire from my human’s camera.

My paw couldn’t have been in a more perfect spot to completely cover my face!

I think I was asking my human if we were done with the photo session yet.

Maybe there was a bug on the ceiling. I’ll never tell!

And once again, we’ve reached the end of the outtakes! I hope you enjoyed them. If you have a favorite, let me know in the comments.

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The Results of My Cameo Donation (And About the Cameos)

I had so much fun doing my Cameo donation drive for Pasadena Humane! They kept me pretty busy for a week. And I wound up raising $152! If you still would like to support Pasadena Humane, you can go here.

I thought you’d like to see photos of some of my Cameos. Most celebrities that do Cameos just talk into the camera. A musician may do a little riff (that’s what Kenny G does), but it’s really casual and non-fancy. I do things a little differently and put a little more imagination into mine where I can.

At the very least, I’ll do some sort of a trick.

Usually, though, I’ll dress up, like in this birthday hat and bib.

When I dress up, I try to match what I’m wearing to the request. The person this Cameo was for lived in a northern state that was having a cold snap.

The person who requested this Cameo remembered my sailor dress, and wanted me to wear it. In addition to the bell, we also added a prop that was specific to the message they wanted.

Although the requester didn’t specifically ask for this dress, we knew she loves it, so I made sure to wear it.

This Cameo was totally off the wall. Originally the requester wasn’t sure what she wanted, and she and my human messaged back and forth a few times before we came up with this.

Honestly, I should probably charge more for these, considering the work my human and I put into them. But for now, they’re still just $25. If you ever want to book me, you’ll find my Cameo profile here.

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My Date With the Valentine Lobster

You won’t believe what my human found for me during a recent visit to CVS.

That’s right — a Valentine lobster! Who knew such a thing even existed?

And of course you know I had to dress up for the occasion. Because I just happened to have a lobster outfit sitting around. Like any cat would.

Hey, we’re twinsies now! So I’m ready for a date with the Valentine lobster.

Oh no, he fainted because I said I wanted to have dinner at the Red Lobster! I was just joking, honest.

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Scent Glands: The Cat Language You’ll Never Understand

Every animal has scent glands, from humans to insects. Humans are the only ones who don’t use them as a form of communication. That is, unless it’s so subtle that it’s nearly undetectable. For cats, scent glands form a very complex and colorful (aromaful?) language — one that humans, with their limited ability to grasp their own pheromones, will never fully understand.

Human Scent Glands Versus a Cat’s

Both humans and cats have scent glands all over their body. The ones most recognized in humans are contained in their armpits, and around the groin and genitals, but you’ll find them in a lot of other places too. These glands produce sweat, but don’t begin working until you reach puberty.

A cat’s scent glands are also all over their body, but a surprising number are focused around the head. You’ll also find them at the base of the tail, between the paw pads, and around their fluffy behinds, among other areas.

Humans tend to view their own glands as a necessary inconvenience, something that creates sweat — smelly, and meant to be washed away. We cats, however, use our scent glands for all sorts of reasons, and frankly, we hate having our smells washed away!

The Language of Scent Glands Starts Very Young

Unlike with humans, cats use the pheromones created by their glands from the time they are born. They establish the relationship between the kitten and its mother. The mother-kitten pheromones also create a sense of bonding and calm within litters. This is how scent glands develop into lines of communication between cats.

Cat Family Conversations

Cats most often use the scent glands in their heads as friendly gestures to other cats — and to their human family too. It’s more than an affectionate touch. It’s an intermingling of scents. As in litters of kittens, your cat feels more secure when their family members, and their homes, smell like them.

But no matter how much cats intermingle scents, they each still have their own distinctive scent. And cats can tell a lot by smelling each other. It’s not just a form of ID — they can also sense the other cat’s health, where they’ve been, and what they’ve been up to. It’s really a whole head-to-tail conversion.

Boundaries Through Scent

The glands in a cat’s paws are more often used to set boundaries. When a cat scratches something, whether it’s a cat tree or the sofa, they are claiming it as part of their territory. Yes, cats scratch because it feels good and keeps their paws and limbs flexible, but the scratch marks are also a secondary territorial marker.

This is why discouraging a cat from scratching a piece of furniture can be so difficult. You don’t just offer them an alternate scratching surface — you also need to offer them something that they prefer to claim as territory.

Sex and Territory

Scent glands in intact cats are also communication tools. They can tell males when a female cat is in heat, and are part of their “love” language. Intact males aggressively mark their territory through their scent and urine. But hopefully you’ve spayed and neutered your cats so you don’t need to be concerned with any of this.

I hope this brief explanation has given you a little better idea of why scent is such a big part of cat communication. Humans are at a disadvantage, having lost the ability to use their scent glands to know others better. But you go ahead and keep spraying on perfume and applying antiperspirant. We cats will keep headbutting you to at least keep up our part of the conversation.

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My Polite Shopping Day

I got to have a fun shopping day! I’ve been on a couple of other shopping trips recently, but my human wasn’t that happy with the photos or video, so we haven’t posted them. Fortunately, this one worked out!

I’m often told how polite I am when I visit the pet shop…and pretty much everywhere I go.

And it’s true. I really am pretty well behaved. I usually don’t meow and I like looking at everything, but I don’t often mess around with the merchandise.

Mostly I just enjoy browsing. You can see my shopping day in the video below.

I will tell you a little secret. While my human was checking out, I did bury my face in the catnip toys! But nobody’s perfect, right?

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Pretty Winter Afternoon Portraits on the Bridge

The weather’s been really pleasant, so my human took me outside for a while in the afternoon. It was one of the rare occasions the peach kitty didn’t show up, so she took some pretty portraits of me on the bridge. You can see them below. No secret messages because I don’t think they’re needed!

I hope you liked them! Let me know what you thought in the comments.

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My New Cat Fashion Accessories

Remember the fashion accessories my human got me at the San Diego cat show? I wore a few of them while I was there, but now I’m modeling them here in my studio!

This bowtie may be my favorite, and I can add it to my selection of therapy cat neck wear.

Is lavender my color? After seeing me in this bib, a lot of people seem to think so!

This straw hat has such pretty details!

My human fell in love with this little red hat, and it does look cute on me…but when you see the video, you can tell I wasn’t that fond of it!

And finally, this pretty crystal necklace with the pink heart is a winner!

Check them all out in the video below, and let me know which ones you think are the best.

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My Crazy January Video Compilation

January was a crazy month for everybody! Fortunately, being a kitty, I was able to take a lot of it in stride. Although leaving my house for a couple of days during the L.A. wildfires was an adventure my human would have rather not had with me!

At least I got to model some outfits while we were evacuated. And that’s one of a couple modeling videos you’ll find here.

I got to see the peach kitty several times, and you’ll find those visits in the compilation too.

And of course there’s a video recap of my appearance at the San Diego cat show! And so much more! You can see it all below. As always, the videos are divided into chapters so you can find the ones you may have missed. I hope you enjoy it!

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Cat Show and Other Outtakes

After the tragic week we’ve had, I almost didn’t feel like posting outtakes. But I think it’s necessary. If we don’t take a moment to lighten the mood, I don’t think it’s healthy for either humans or kitties.

It wasn’t the bowtie that caused my ears to go flat! It was probably a sudden noise at the show hall.

I don’t remember what I was looking at! But it was definitely not where my human wanted me to look for this photo.

Somebody was getting the side eye here!

I think this was a misfire on my human’s part. I mean, that’s the only reason for this photo existing at all.

This one was a misfire on my part. My human was taking photos and I decided to stand up without warning.

And that’s the end of this week’s outtakes! I needed a break, didn’t you?

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