Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 34

My Cold Weather Wardrobe

You didn’t think I was going to show up in Boulder this weekend only wearing a knit hat, right? Of course not! I’m bringing a variety of warm cat clothes for the cold weather. And I’m showing them to you today.

I rarely wear this purple sweater, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to show it off.

This pink patterned sweater with the bow is another one I don’t wear often. (Let’s face it, I don’t wear any sweaters very often!) And it’s really pretty.

Here’s one outfit I’m sure you have seen before! But it’s been a while. The last time I wore it, I think, was in Portland for a cat show a few years ago. It’s a fan favorite, so I’m bringing it out again.

Unless I’m going anywhere at night, I don’t think I’ll need a parka, but I figured I’d better be prepared, just in case!

Honestly, if it was going to be cold enough to bring this parka, I think I’d need snow booties too!

This leopard print coat may be too Breakfast at Tiffany‘s for Boulder. But I wanted to include at least one dressy item.

I’m only going to be there for two and a half days, so I really don’t need to bring everything! What do you think I should prioritize? Let me know in the comments.

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Tiny Knit Hat Try On

I’m so excited! I’m going to BlogPaws Live at the end of the week! It’s in Boulder, and since it’ll be a little chilly up there, I’m going to bring some knit hats. Let’s see which of these I should pack.

This one actually came from Southern California Aby Rescue. My human bought it to support them. I like it because it matches my eyes and coloring.

This one was knitted by a patient at the big hospital. She was there for quite a while, and she knitted a bunch of these tiny hats for Josie, me, and I guess any small dogs that visited. It was very sweet of her.

The lady knitted this one too. It’s a little big on me.

My human found this one at a pet store years and years ago. In spite of how it looks here, it usually doesn’t sit quite right on my head.

This one has an interesting history. I got it many years ago from the Bionic Basil blog, which is based in the U.K. I believe I was a prize winner, and it came with several other items, none of which I can recall off the top of my head.

And finally, there’s this one, another pet store find from long ago. It’s the only one with no ear holes. And although it came by itself, I have a sweater that kind of goes with it. Maybe I’ll show that off at another time.

So what did you think? Which ones should I bring? Should I bring any of them? Let me know in the comments!

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Where’s the Peach Kitty Been

After last week’s visit with the peach kitty, a lot of people were wondering where he has been.

The truth is he hasn’t gone anywhere! He’s been around all along. It’s just that either our visits have been really short because my human was busy when he showed up. Or because she had a setting on her phone camera in the wrong place and most of the video was unusable. Or she just didn’t get a lot of video or photos at all. So I’m sharing a little of what was salvageable from those visits.

This is from one morning where my human had to make me go back inside so she could go back to work.

He showed up by the glass doors a couple of times — once before I came out, and once after I had to come inside.

The time where my human’s camera setting was wrong was especially unfortunate. That was the time she didn’t want to go outside because it was cold, and she somehow convinced him to come at least part way into the enclosed patio. He even ate a treat from her hand there.

So now you know! And my human put together a video of our most recent visit, that you saw last week. I hope you enjoy it!

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Random Ridiculous Outtakes

It’s time for my weekly outtakes! And they couldn’t come a moment too soon.

Here’s a hat of mine you never see! And there’s probably a reason for that.

When I went with my human to the voting center, at first she wanted me to pose with the sticker outside. She thought this bench would be a good place. The only problem was that the “I Voted” sticker kept blowing off.

For those of you who enjoy my tiny tongue photos. At least the “I Voted” sticker was in place.

And finally, here’s a post therapy cat visit photo in which I’m looking pretty sketchy. Not therapy-like at all!

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

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Dramatic Turret Photos

I know I said a while back that we were most likely done taking photos in the turret for the season. And actually we are because it’s too dark, really, for a normal photo session. But then my human saw how dramatic the light was coming through the little leaded glass windows. And she decided to have me pose for some photos. Window light only, no enhancements.

The crazy thing about this huge lighting effect? The leaded glass windows creating this design are actually quite small.

There was just enough light from the windows to highlight my face, and maybe a little more of me.

We tried a few different angles and a few different poses.

And then the window light surprised us, and created a second reflection behind me.

Did you like these? Let me know in the comments if you have a favorite!

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My Awesome Therapy Cat Hospital Visit

I love doing therapy cat visits at the big hospital! The security person at the front desk knows me by name. And I started working the moment I arrived. A couple of visitors were looking over at me while my human was signing in. So she set me on the counter in front of them. They were delighted!

After a brief stop at the Cancer Center (the patients were sleeping, but I visited with the nurse), we went up to Pediatrics. I got to see three different girls.

The first one was in bed, groggy, but she wanted to see me. My human set me on her bed, and she petted me a little while her mom hovered around, petting me. She admitted that she was probably enjoying the visit more than her daughter! But that’s okay, I’m there for the parents too. They really need stress relief.

The second girl was a teen who was by herself. I settled down with her on the bed and relaxed. The girl had a movie on the TV with a scene that involved soldiers and rogue killers chasing some women through a hellish cityscape. My human couldn’t stop looking at it, and I think it kind of disturbed her. (She does not enjoy that type of movie.) Meanwhile, I was almost dozing with my chin on the girl’s arm and making her happy. It’s a good thing one of us was working!

I only saw the third girl briefly. She was a very pretty child who was a little afraid of me, but who still petted me. Her mom was there and she really enjoyed my visit too.

By then, it was time to head over to Behavioral Medicine. They had two women and a man to visit with me. I had lots of fun hanging out with them and posing for photos. My human chatted with them and showed them a video of me in my Teddy bear costume, and one with the peach kitty. When they heard the story about my candy striper bow tie, one of the nurses said that she had been a candy striper! We were enjoying ourselves so much that we ran overtime. That means it was an especially good visit, one of my best.

Can you believe I’ve been doing visits at this hospital since 2016? It may be big, but it’s almost like a home away from home by now.

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Treat Time With the Peach Kitty

I got to have some treat time with the peach kitty! I’ve actually seen him a few times, but only briefly because it was in the morning and my human was working. This time it was late in the afternoon, and we had more time.

This is how he makes his entrance these days.

Of course, we were both waiting for the main attraction: the treats!

The peach kitty took treats out of my human’s hand several times. At least when I wasn’t trying to steal them!

Occasionally she tries to offer him her hand with no treats. But he doesn’t fall for it. He will let her pet him, as long as he’s not looking.

I actually gave him a kiss, since he let me take so many of his treats.

It was starting to get a little dark, so my human insisted I come inside. He accompanied us part of the way.

But he kept looking back at my human, like he wished she would make herself scarce.

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Fun in the Hotel Room

When my human and I went up to the Ventura cat show over the weekend, we got a hotel room. Since it wasn’t that far from our house, we only stayed overnight and came home right after the show. Which was a bummer because I love hotel rooms!

When I get really excited I start standing on my hind legs a lot! I have a hard time sitting still.

It was a nice room, and I had lots of things to see out the window.

I got to play some games, like jumping from the dresser to the bed for treats! Since our stay was so short, I didn’t get to go on any hotel hallway walks, unfortunately.

Whenever she can, my human takes some photos of me in the bathroom.

And if the front desk has shower caps, this happens.

All too soon, it was time to go to the cat show. We checked out on the the way there. I wanted to stay longer!

Some of you asked if I had a video from the cat show. I do! And you can see it below.

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My Busy, Fun Cat Show Day

I had so much fun appearing at the cat show in Ventura!

Even though I was surrounded by a few hangers-on the whole time, as you can see! I kept hoping my human would move La Suegra, but she didn’t. As a result she’s in a bunch of my photos.

At least Dr. Bones had a job to do — holding my tiara.

Anyhow, I was more interested in living, breathing beings. And met lots of them! Both old and young ones. Some of them knew me from social media, and some of them had seen me at other cat shows. I loved visiting with them all.

For some reason, every time my human is on the road, she eats terrible food. I don’t get it. And I certainly didn’t want to share.

This I did want to share! And yes, I did get a few bites of turkey.

And of course I got to dress up. My human never did bring the chin strap for my hat, so I only got to wear it briefly.

My 50s dress and beret was really popular!

And I got to wear my Day of the Dead dress too! It was a great show, and I was kind of sorry when it was over.

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Election Cat Therapy for the Poll Workers

When my human votes, she usually drops off her mail in ballot in person at a voting center. She does this so she can bring me along as an unofficial therapy cat for the poll workers. And she thought it was extra important to do that this year.

We have loads of nearby voting centers, but my human likes using the one at the college campus in our area. That’s because a former president attended it briefly.

I was so glad I went! When my human entered, she told the poll worker about my therapy work, and next thing I knew, I was surrounded by a bunch of poll workers petting me and taking photos. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, so they were able to spend some time with me. It was great.

I also have a short video for you below.

My human wanted to add a few words about the importance of voting this year, so I said she could:

I almost always bring Summer with me to my polling place. But I especially wanted to this November because I knew our poll workers could use the stress relief, and Summer is highly socialized since we work as a therapy cat team. Since we aren’t in a swing state, it’s not as bad, but let’s face it, this isn’t a normal election year.

Yes, this is a cute cat video about voting, but don’t think I don’t realize that this is probably the most consequential election of our lifetime. And this isn’t hyperbole — I’ve been voting for a few decades, since before 2000, so there have been several important ones in my past. But this one really determines the direction the U.S. goes in, not just for the next four years, but for many, many years afterwards.

Please vote with your heart, and with some deep introspection. And remember to vote down ballot — those local office holders will determine your day to day life in your city and state more than those people in Washington. Same with those propositions and measures. Vote for a world that will give your kids, or future kids the life they deserve. And encourage those close to you to do the same.

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