Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 26

Mental Health Therapy Cat

My therapy cat visit at the big hospital today was a little different from most. When my human and I walked into Pediatrics there were a pair of uniformed officers sitting in the hallway. We’ve seen that before, and my human knew it meant that there was a young patient having a mental crisis.

Fortunately it was a quiet day in Pediatrics — there were just three patients, and one was in isolation, so we were able to spend a lot of time with the patient who needed the officers. She was a teenaged girl and very sweet. She was an animal lover and so excited to see me! My human had me give her paw shakes and I even let her snuggle me. My human let her know I might squirm, but she was very sensitive to my reactions and let go of me before I had to tell her.

Eventually I laid down next to her in her chair while she chatted with my human and one of the nurses. Of course the topic was her pets. She has a dog, and also rabbits. My human knew that this fragile girl needed to have a normal conversation and we stayed with her until it was time for us to go to Behavioral Medicine. It’s a required visit on Thursdays.

Getting there was a problem, though! Towards the end of our visit with the girl, a Code Red was announced. That means there was a fire or smoke of some sort in the building. It couldn’t have been too serious because they didn’t evacuate anyone. They did keep closing down parts of the hospital, including the area we needed to get to for our Behavioral Medicine visit. But we were finally able to make it there.

In Behavioral Medicine we had three patients visiting at first. All three of them were women, two younger, and one old enough to be their mother or maybe even grandmother. Later on we were joined by a gray haired man. Two of the women had pets, and the man had cats. So talking about them was a big part of our visit. It was a very chatty visit, and we wound up running a lot longer than normal. I’m always glad when patients get to spend extra time away from other, less pleasant parts of their stay.

Of course part of my job as a therapy cat is to lift the mood of any patients I’m visiting. But when I’m seeing the patients who are going through a bad time psychologically, it’s especially important.

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Mini Mirror Kitty

While we were doing the photo session for my copycat post, my human tried to come up with a unique visual image. One idea was having me look in a mirror (“mirroring” behavior — get it?). The problem was the only mirror she had handy was this tiny compact mirror.

She kept waving the mirror around, trying to get my attention so I’d look at it.

The biggest issue was that holding the mirror close to me only captured part of my face. She had to hold it really far back to get most of my face. Oh, and for most of these attempts, she never did remove the powder side of the compact.

I never could quite figure out what she was trying to accomplish with these photos.

Finally I was done, and we wound up finishing the session without the mirror.

Now, was that a silly idea or what?

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Are Cats Copycats? Yes, They Are!

Everybody knows what a copycat is…but do we cats actually copy each other (and perhaps other family members we live with, including humans?). The answer is yes! And you can use this penchant for cats’ mimicry in variety of different, helpful ways.

The Origins of the Term Copycat

Copycat as a phrase has origins that date back less than 150 years. Author Constance Cary Harrison used it in her semi-autobiographical short story collection, Bar Harbor Days. In fact, the definition is right there: “Our boys say you are a copy cat, if you write in anything that’s been already printed.” A few years later, another Maine based author, Sarah Orne Jewett, also used the phrase in her books, thus copycatting Harrison.

The truth, however, is that they weren’t thinking of cats at all when using this phrase! Until sometime in the mid-20th century, “cat” was often used as a derogatory term. (In the early jazz era, musicians began to use it to refer to their fellow players.) While people now have other derogatory phrases for each other, copycat has stuck.

Are Cats Really Copycats?

Imitation, or mirroring, is how many species learn as youngsters. So it is with kittens, who learn by imitating their mothers. And as they reach adulthood, the desire to mimic helps with social bonding and emotional connections — to other cats, and also to humans.

The most well-known example of copycatting is that house cats tend to meow more often than feral cats. That’s because humans communicate with speech, and cats discover that vocalizing helps them interact with their people. Feral cats have other, usually nonverbal cues that they use for communication. (Interestingly, the peach kitty does both because he interacts with both humans and with his feral family.)

Your cat will also imitate what you do because they want to share their time with you. If you’re curled up in front of the TV, they may come and curl up with you. But it’s not always positive. If you’re scared, anxious, or stressed out, your cat will be too.

Anyone who lives with cats should keep in mind that the things you do and the way you react will affect your cat’s behavior.

When Cats Copycat Each Other

Even as adults, cats imitate and learn from each other. When you bring a new cat into the household, part of settling in usually involves watching the behavior of the cats already living there. And they will often imitate the behavior of those cats as a way of fitting in.

This goes for both good and bad behavior. If one cat figures out how to manipulate their human for extra treats or attention, there’s a good chance another cat observing it will give it a try too! This explains why Binga had no problem wearing dresses or wearing a harness. She saw me doing it (and getting rewarded), so she did it too. Except she did it in the most annoying way possible because, well, tortitude.

Using Copycatting as a Learning Tool

As you see, you can use a cat’s mimicry to your advantage, especially if you have two or more cats. If you are trying to teach one to, say, walk with a harness and leash, focus on that one cat, but let another cat watch. When the cat being taught starts catching on and getting rewarded, the other cat will figure out that this may be a good thing. So once you’ve trained one cat, teaching the other cat should be much easier. You can use this in any sort of training situation.

It even works with community cats, including friendly ferals. My human has used copycatting in relation to the peach kitty. Whenever she sees he’s outside, she immediately picks me up and starts petting and kissing me. That way he understands that human contact is safe and possibly even pleasurable. He learned to eat treats out of her hand by watching me do it.

The funniest thing the peach kitty has learned by imitation is that I’m led around on my leash! He’s seen my human do it, and every so often, he will try to grab the leash in his teeth and pull me away.

So there you have it, not only are cats copycats, it’s a good thing! Have your cats ever mimicked each other — or you? Let’s talk about it in the comments.

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The Hotel Room From Another Timeline

There’s a specific hotel my human and I stay at when we go to the San Diego cat show. It’s only a few minutes away and it’s reasonably priced but not cheap. In fact, she was able to get a suite both this year and last year without paying too much more than the cost of a single room.

But when we checked in, everything was different! The whole hotel was completely redecorated. Here’s a clip from last year that shows you how the hotel used to look. Nothing seemed familiar…or did it?

Look who showed up — Mirror Kitty! She seems to follow me around to all the hotels.

But even she seemed a little bit confused. My human didn’t figure it out until she came home and looked up the previous bill…this was the exact same room we stayed in last time! Yes, the very same one you saw in the clip.

I did one thing in this room I’d never done before — I drank out of the faucet! At home I usually don’t go near any of the sinks or faucets, but for some reason, I was interested in this one. But drinking from it took a bit of a learning curve, as you can see in the video below.

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My Busy San Diego Cat Show Weekend

I met so many people at the San Diego cat show this weekend. It was lots of fun.

I had crowds of people taking photos of me! And lots of people petting me. Because of all the news about the H5N1 virus, my human was super careful about having everyone sanitize their hands before touching me.

Amazingly, I wore every outfit I brought at one point or another!

In fact, my human got me some more accessories! Someone was selling them, and clothes too. Unfortunately, none of the dresses she liked were available in my size. But I did wind up with this pink bow tie.

Also this lavender bib and a few other things. I’ll have to do a full modeling session to show them all off.

I got petted by lots of kids, and I gave out lots of paw shakes and high fives. They are really easy tricks, but people are really impressed by them!

People liked it a lot when I wore ensembles. I’ll have to do that more often!

The weekend went by really fast! Both my human and I were exhausted by the end and we couldn’t wait to get home!

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Mostly Tongue-Out Outtakes

It’s time once again for outtakes! And I had a bunch this week with my tongue out. So that’s what you’re getting.

Well, except for this photo of me looking slightly awkward. I’m not sure why my human even snapped this.

There actually wasn’t a photo session behind this one. My human was doing one of this week’s Cameos and wound up taking a few photos while we were outside. In case you are wondering, it was a nice success and once I’ve finished the last order, I will have raised about $150 for Pasadena Humane.

Here’s another outtake from that session. And yes, the peach kitty showed up while we were busy.

Yes, here I am posing with the Valentine’s Day gift bag with my tongue out once again!

And once again during my cat show set up!

And there you have it, this week’s silliest photos! Do you think one is funnier than the others? Let me know in the comments.

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Setting Up for the San Diego Cat Show

My human and I stopped by the San Diego cat show hall the day before it started to set up. Well, she did all the set up. I supervised. I don’t do menial labor, unless it involves furniture.

The first thing she did was get my show enclosure in place. Did you know that she puts quilted material under the tablecloth so it’s softer on my paws?

You can see some of the show hall behind me. And if you think that looks big, that’s only half of it! There’s an equal amount of space, if not more, past the black booth partition.

Here’s the space beside my enclosure, where my Sleepypod, bell, and a few other things will be.

Everything looks good in here!

We’re done setting up! We don’t bring my wardrobe or any props until the morning.

So we’re off until the show starts! And it’s already past my dinnertime.

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Cat Themed Valentine Inspo, Courtesy of Etsy

Can you believe that January is almost over already? So it’s time to offer up some Valetine’s Day gift inspo, cat style! I found some really awesome ideas on Etsy. Here are the ones I liked the best.

(Note: We are Etsy affiliates and if you click through the links below and make a purchase, we will receive a small commission.)

Blue Sky Clayworks White Kitty On Red Heart Pillow
Here’s a unique vintage ceramic that’s lovely with a touch of both whimsy and nostalgia. This 7-1/4″ tall kitty is very limited in her availability, so if you really like her, you may want to snatch her up quickly.

Set Of 6 Cool Cat Fridge Magnets
Aren’t these kitties adorable? And you can order them as magnets or with pinbacks. They make a thoughtful little Valentine’s Day gift for a fond cat-loving friend.

Gloves with Cat and Heart
Sometimes people forget that Valentine’s Day is a cold weather holiday, and there are a lot of cute winter wear gift ideas. These cozy wool gloves have the cat and heart felt designs hand stitched on.

Cats Wrapped In Hearts Earrings
These enamel and metal earrings couldn’t be any cuter! They’re tiny and sweet and the seller even includes silicone stopper backs! If you frequently wear earrings, you know how helpful that is!

Handmade Crochet Cat Heart
This 8.5″x6″x5″ crocheted cat heart pillow pattern is made by a number of Etsy sellers. I chose this seller because the faces on her knit kitties were some of the sweetest. And as a bonus, she’s located in the U.S. The kitty comes in either pink or red. What a fun Valentine’s decor accent!

Valentine’s Cat Pen
Add a little Valentine kitty bling to your note taking! These playful pens contain black ink and are made of silicone and acrylic, with rhinestone spacers or silicone focal beads. Your choice of either white or black cat, and an ink refill is included.

And if you are doing Valentine’s Day shopping for your cat, here are a couple of ideas I loved:

Valentine’s Day Cat Necklace
This cat necklace is so lovely my human is tempted to get it for me! And I do think it would look really nice with a couple of my outfits. But your cat doesn’t have to dress up to wear it. It comes in a variety of sizes, so you’ll find one to fit bigger cats.

Valentines Day Catnip Kicker
And if your cat isn’t inclined to wear necklaces, then chances are they’d enjoy one of these Valentine’s Day catnip kickers! Select a pattern and color (or pick several!). I’m sure your cat will be happy with whichever one you choose.

I hope you enjoyed my picks! If you have a favorite, let me know in the comments.

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Getting Ready for the San Diego Cat Show

It’s time for the San Diego cat show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds — the biggest cat show on the West Coast! And I may have been a little ambitious in the number of outfits I’ve picked out. Let me show you all I’m packing

I thought it would be fun to bring this dress with the cerise skirt since I got it at this same show in 2023.

My 50s dress is one of my newer ensembles, so it hasn’t been seen that much.

It’s always a little chilly in the show hall, so I’m bringing a fan favorite sweater and hat combo.

And in case I’m feeling really fancy, I’m bringing one of my formal dresses. Although I really should save it for holidays and premiers.

And of course I have to bring a princess dress! I have a crown that matches this one, so that’s why I’m including it.

See? I told you it was a lot! Let me know what you think of my choices in the comments.

If you want to attend the show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, it’s Saturday and Sunday, January 25 and 26, and I’ll be there between 10:30 AM and 4:00 PM.

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Funny Catnip Photos, Courtesy of the Peach Kitty

During my visit with the peach kitty, once he got his paws on the catnip toy, he really went nuts! My human got so many silly photos of him that it would be criminal not to share a few of them. So here they are. I don’t think they need any secret messages so I haven’t included them.

If you want to see a video of our visit, my human finally edited one, and you can see it below.

 

By the way, my human and I were outside earlier shooting a Cameo, and he showed up to disrupt our session!

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