Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 335

Give Me a Star!

If you like my page on Facebook, chances are you rarely see any of my posts. Maybe three percent of my Facebook fans see any of my posts! Often I have to post a second time, complaining that nobody saw my post to get a few more people to see it. It’s frustrating for both you and me!

But there’s a way around it! If you want to see all my posts, you just need to give me a Blue Star. I will tell you how to do that.

How to See Me In Your News Feed Always

1. Go to my Facebook page and hover over where you said you Liked my page so that you get a dropdown menu.

2. Under where it says “In Your News Feed,” change from Default to See First. That’s it! When I post something, it will show up in your news feed, and you will get told! It’s called a “Blue Star” because that’s how it shows up on smartphones. It’s also called “See First.” I like the Star name better.

I usually post two to four times a day. One is my blog post for the day, and for the rest, I always try to make it something fun or useful or meaningful for humans who love cats. I’d probably post fewer times if more people saw me regularly in their news feeds. If you don’t want to give me the “See First” option, you can see me more often by regularly visiting my page, liking my posts, commenting on them and sharing. If you really like something and do all three, I’d be really grateful!

Giving me the Blue Star option if you’re on a smartphone takes a couple of extra steps, but I can show them to you! These instructions are for iPhones — I’m not sure if this is available on Android yet, but if it is, it should be a similar process.

How to See Me First on a Smartphone

1. Go to your Facebook app and open up the little menu in the lower right hand corner. You don’t have to be on my Page, but I thought I made a nice backdrop.

2. Scroll down to the bottom and press Settings.

3. Press “News Feed Preferences.”

4. See? There’s the Blue Star! Press “Prioritize who to see first.”

5. Find me and give me the Blue Star! You can give the Blue Star to up to 30 people and pages. My human has only done it for four, and if you know anything about Simone Giertz or JP Sears, you know that she gave them Blue Stars so she knows there will be something in her newsfeed that will make her laugh! The other page that has the Blue Star is the Therapy Pet organization I belong to. She wants to know as soon as they post something so she can like it and be supportive.

That’s it! Facebook is down on Pages because they want them to pay for exposure. That makes sense if you are a company or a brand that is trying to sell something. It does not make sense for a kitty like me who usually isn’t trying to sell anything and just wants to share feline fun and knowledge.
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post Give Me a Star! appeared first on SparkleCat.

How to Make ME Happy for Happy Cat Month

Did you know that September is Happy Cat Month? I do remind you every year, but you humans seem to forget a lot of things. Happy Cat Month was created by the CATalyst Council, an organization that works to build a society that really cares about cats. So for Happy Cat Month, I thought I would list five things that make me happy!

1. Wearing nice outfits

I think pretty dresses are fun to wear! And I like costumes sometimes too. Dressing up is one of my favorite things to do, and if you’ve ever met me and I’m in a dress, it’s pretty obvious I’m enjoying it.

2. Going out on my harness and leash

I liked being on a harness and leash pretty much from the beginning. What’s really cool is how big it makes my world! I’ve been so many places because I’m leash trained, and I love to go walking on my leash too.

3. Staying in hotel rooms

Staying in hotels is one of my most favorite things! I love exploring when my human and I check into a new room and taking in the new smells. I especially love the nicer hotels with indoor hallways, so I can go walking down them on my leash.

4. Going to cat shows

I don’t need to be entered in competition to enjoy myself at a cat show! In fact, I like it lots better when I just get to wear dresses and hang out with the spectators. I like that humans make a big deal out of me.

5. Learning to do tricks

Learning tricks is fun, plus I get treats! There is always something new and fun to learn. You saw me learning to ring a bell the other day — I am also learning to jump through a hoop! I’m actually much better at hoop jumping. My human is trying to figure out how to show you on video.

Okay, I have to admit that while all these things make me happy, they are probably not what makes most kitties happy. But think about the real meaning of Happy Cat Month — it’s all about having a healthy cat, whose mind and body are engaged, who has an awesome relationship with her human and the other members of her family. Everything I’ve listed does that for me, and some of it may even be good for other kitties. Maybe your cat would hate wearing clothes or being dragged to strange places. But other things, like learning tricks, are great for enrichment and building a good bond with your human. And being leash trained really can expand a cat’s horizons, even if that expansion only goes as far as the backyard.

Every cat has her own way of being happy. I think that Happy Cat Month is a great time for humans to think about what can make their cats even happier than they already are.
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post How to Make ME Happy for Happy Cat Month appeared first on SparkleCat.

Which Witch Hat Works Best?

Do I really have to pose with this goofy thing? It’s supposed to be an orange Halloween kitty, and it’s supposed to be wearing a witch hat. The only problem is that the hat isn’t very sturdy and it’s fallen over. I think this thing looks more like a hobo than a witch.

Where’s a stylist when you need one?

Oh great, now we’re both wearing witch hats!

I might as well make the best of it. Here’s my cagey “I’m going to cast an evil spell on you” look. As you can see, the Halloween stuffie is starting to lose it.

Here’s another pose. The stuffie has gone back to being a Halloween hobo.

There’s a reason that nothing from this photo series is making it into my 2017 calendar, and I think it is obvious.
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post Which Witch Hat Works Best? appeared first on SparkleCat.

Ring My Bell Redux

Remember, oh, six months ago, when I was trying to learn how to ring a desk bell? I should probably be embarrassed to admit this, but I am still trying to learn it!

The biggest problem is that Somali and Abyssinian cats have grabby hands, not whappy paws (like some kitties I know). So I keep trying to grab the knob that rings the bell instead of hitting it. A couple of times I even tried to pull the whole bell closer to me.

My human heard that holding up the bell makes it easier for me to ring it, so she does that sometimes, to help me get the idea.

Don’t worry, there has been progress! I definitely know that when I ring the bell I get a treat! And that when my human accidentally rings it herself, I don’t. I’m just not that consistent yet with the ringing part. I really do want to learn this because there are desk bells at some of the places where I do therapy visits. Wouldn’t it be fun to ring the bells there?

Hey, I just rang it again!
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post Ring My Bell Redux appeared first on SparkleCat.

The Kitten Show

I had fun at Saturday’s cat show! I got to hang out in my enclosure and relax and meet friendly humans. I left the work of competing to my young half-siblings. All three of them were entered — Riser, and Sizzle, and my half-sister, Vana.

Sizzle’s human does needlepoint and she made me this hanging name plate to go with my Sturdi enclosure! Isn’t it awesome! I can’t thank her enough for this — I’ve really needed one.

The kittens had six rings to compete in. My human wanted to get a photo of all of them looking nice in their judging cages. For these three, that was a tall order!

Riser is number 50, Sizzle is 51, and Vana is 52. Either Riser or Sizzle was judged Best Somali Kitten in each of the six rings, but a couple of times, Vana got second best! My human spent a lot of the show helping with Vana, since it was only her second show, and she is starting to come out of her shell.

The judges are generally very patient with the kittens. The main reason the kittens are in the ring is to get them used to the show atmosphere, and the judges try to be supportive. Kittens can be shown beginning at four months, and the youngest ones are often confused and a little scared in the beginning.

A couple of the judges were especially nice to Vana, since she is the youngest of the Somali kittens, and she responded to them.

The boys are more experienced. They’ve even traveled for shows! So they are more comfortable on the judging table. In fact, Sizzle wanted to explore a little. He’s lucky the judge let him. It was pretty clear he wasn’t going anywhere, although you can see the judge is keeping an eye on him.

While the kittens were off being judged, I changed dresses a couple of times.

I also worked the spectators! I think somebody from the local paper may have taken photos of me. How could they not?

The show humans served ice cream in the afternoon, but I didn’t get any! My human said that it had chocolate in it. It was a cat show — they should have served vanilla so the kitties could share.

It was a tough show for Somali kittens, and the only one who got a final was Riser — he was Eighth Best Kitten in one of the rings. My human wanted to get a photo of him with the ribbon, but he didn’t make it easy.

Lucky for my human, it was the end of the day, and he paused before getting a second wind.
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post The Kitten Show appeared first on SparkleCat.

Skull Head Selfies

First I was talking about ghost kitties, and now I have a skull head outfit at my feet. You’d think it was Halloween already!

I got this from my breeder at the cat show yesterday.

It even lights up — I don’t know if you can see. She saw this, and another outfit, and thought of me. You will have to wait to see the other outfit, but I thought I would put on the skull head for this week’s selfie.

I’m ready now, so hand over the iPhone!

It’s taking me extra long to get it right. Hang on a minute.

I need to fix the angle on this. Hold on another minute.

Much better!

And I’m tilting my head down here so you can see the skull head better. I hope you liked my selfies today!

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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post Skull Head Selfies appeared first on SparkleCat.

Hotel Ghost Kitty

Here I am in a hotel room in Hemet, and I am so happy! Okay, maybe I don’t look happy right now, but that’s because I just got told not to chew on the plant behind me. I don’t know why I can’t — it’s not even real. Anyhow, I’m here for a cat show today. I’m not competing, but my half-brothers are! My human and I are here to support them.

Other than not being able to chew the plant, I’m thrilled to be here! I love hotel rooms, and even though this one is modest, I’ve been making happy feet ever since we got here. In fact, I even did a Facebook Live video to show how much I’m enjoying myself.

Admittedly the view isn’t that great. It’s just the parking lot.

But here’s the cool part: I get to see my friend, the ghost kitty! Can you see her? I don’t always get to visit with her every time I’m at a hotel. But she was here today.

She’s very pretty, and what a surprise — she’s a Somali cat, just like me!

I wonder where she comes from, but she never tells me.
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post Hotel Ghost Kitty appeared first on SparkleCat.

Crown Me

I knew the day would come, when my human came home with an outfit that befits royalty.

I guess I can’t be crowned without witnessnes, right?

…or a potential usurper.

I promise to rule benevolently, and make sure everyone is treated fairly!

Hmmm… shouldn’t being treated fairly include me?

This has gone on for too long — at least two minutes! I am ready to give up my crown.

Now she can deal with everyone’s complaints.
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post Crown Me appeared first on SparkleCat.

20 Awesome Years of Pet Adoption #MetOnPetfinder

Can you believe Petfinder is celebrating its 20th anniversary? And in those 20 years, they’ve helped 25 million pets find homes? That is amazing.

This post is sponsored by Petfinder and I am being compensated as a Purina Partner. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own… or Binga’s.

To help with the celebration, I thought I would let Binga talk about her rescue from the Lacy Street branch of the Los Angeles City Animal Control in 2000. I heard that she wound up there because she was incorrigible and wound up in juvie!

Okay, that is not quite right (and somebody is going to get whapped later). I don’t know if the L.A. ACC was signed up with Petfinder back then. At the time, Petfinder was just four years old and still getting known. In fact, the internet was still new to a lot of humans. And maybe it is a good thing because if the L.A. ACC had put my photo on Petfinder, there would have been a line out the door to come get me! It was October, 2000 and I was just 8 weeks old, and who can resist a tortoiseshell kitten?

My human saw me and even though she was not looking for a kitten (she was searching for a neighborhood cat who had gone missing), she thought I needed out of there. The fact that I was screaming and poking my paws through the bars of my tiny jail cell may have been a clue. Her boyfriend worked at a vet clinic back then, and originally I was going to go there to get adopted, but eventually I wound up here and the rest is history.

Petfinder makes it so easy for you to find the perfect tortie! You can do a search in your area for tortoiseshell cats and I bet you will come up with a bunch! So it may be hard to decide. Maybe you will want more than one. Oh, if you want another kind of cat, or a dog or rabbit or something, you can find lots of those too.

I am going to interrupt Binga to remind you that you can even find breed cats on Petfinder! Yes, bad things happen and we purebred cats sometimes wind up in shelters. It is harder for us too, because we usually aren’t streetwise delinquents like some other kitties, and we aren’t used to that kind of rough atmosphere.

Anyhow, this is a roundabout way to tell you about the great thing the Petfinder Foundation is doing to celebrate 20 years of pet adoption. They are inviting all of you to help reach its goal of donating $200,000 to benefit 20 shelters and rescue members. They have created an anniversary video, and you can see it below or watch it here.

When this video reaches one million views, Petfinder will give $10,000 to each of 20 shelters, so share the video far and wide between now and October 24!

Did you find your family member on Petfinder? Then share the story on social media with the tag #MetOnPetfinder. Make sure everyone knows how awesome Petfinder is when they are looking for a pet to join their family!

You can find Petfinder on social media here:

Facebook: Petfinder

Twitter: @Petfinder

Instagram: @Petfinder
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post 20 Awesome Years of Pet Adoption #MetOnPetfinder appeared first on SparkleCat.

September Outtakes

I realized it has been nearly a month since I had a post of random outtakes for you! So here are a few. Most of them are from calendar photo shoots, but won’t be in the outtake calendar. They are just that bad!

If you were thinking I didn’t like being wrapped up in that ratty feather boa, you were right!

I look pretty disgusted here, and I probably was! Did I mention that my catnip garden seems to be a gathering place for the neighborhood feline hooligans? One of them must have left his calling card.

Wow. I didn’t even know my ears could do that!

You might call this a “prequel” outtake — this is from a photo shoot you haven’t seen yet! Don’t worry, most of the photos my human downloaded are better than this one.

I don’t think you’ve seen this photo shoot either! I tried a few different outfits, so I’m not sure what’s going to end up in the calendar.

I hope you liked the outtakes today!
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post September Outtakes appeared first on SparkleCat.