Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 344

Box Selfies

After playing around in all the boxes yesterday, I thought I this would be a good opportunity to take some selfies.

It was just a matter of setting up the timer to take the photo while I was in the box.

Sorry about that — I moved!

Well! I look awfully serious in this one. I think this calls for a redo.

It’s a little bit fuzzier than the other photo, but I think I have a much nicer expression here! So that’s it for my box selfies.

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

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International Box Day (on Caturday)

To help us celebrate International Box Day (which is actually tomorrow), my human gathered some boxes for us cats to have fun with… except for one problem: we don’t really care that much for boxes! Can you believe it? I know it’s very uncatlike of us. So these boxes sat around for a couple of weeks and barely got any use until my human did the one thing that was guaranteed to get us excited.

She started throwing treats into the boxes! Now, that got our attention.

I could have jumped from one box to the next all day, as long as the treats kept coming!

What I thought was going to be a really boring photo shoot became a whole lot of fun!

When my human put the treats away, I went off to do something else, but Binga wouldn’t leave. She didn’t want the treats to end!

Maybe there should be an International Treat Day.
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

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What Was Yelling at Me Yesterday

Several of you were curious about what was yelling at me yesterday when I was out by my catnip garden, so I thought I would tell you!

In fact, they yelled at me two days in a row! They were screaming so loudly that my human and I went back inside the first day, and hoped they wouldn’t be around the next day… but they were there again when we went out the second time.

Can you see them up in the tree branches? It was a pair of crows! And they kept yelling at us and would not leave us alone.

My human tried to get photos of them as they flew from tree to tree, but she couldn’t get any that were very good. She wonders if they have a nest nearby. That might explain why they were giving us a hard time.

I was bummed they were being pests. I really wanted to stay outside.

Before I went back inside, I figured I’d at least check out the catnip garden. There are a lot of blooms, which means they need to be cut back very badly! I tried looking at the flowers more closely…

But there were bees flying around them!

You know, sometimes this adventure cat thing is not all it’s cracked up to be!
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post What Was Yelling at Me Yesterday appeared first on SparkleCat.

Random and Not So Random Outtakes

Usually, when I share outtakes, they are pretty random, but today I have some not so random outtakes. Some sort of go together!

I may have been licking my nose here because I was a little nervous! I was being yelled at — not by my human, of course. In fact, it was not a human (or a kitty) that was yelling at me! I may blog about that later.

My tongue was out for a far more pleasant reason in this photo — I’d just gotten a treat!

Remember when my human came home with the voting sticker? Somebody thought it should be hers.

During last week’s cat show, someone was celebrating their Siamese cat earning the title of Grand by handing out these really cute cake pops. My human tried really hard to get me to pose with one, but I just wouldn’t do it. They all came out like this. Finally my human gave up and just ate the cake pop.

When we finish setting up at a cat show, my human and I always start off with a shot of me in my Sturdi enclosure. Sometimes she gets me at just the wrong time and I have my eyes shut.

She did it again here… but with the sun so bright, I had my eyes shut in a lot of pictures.

My eyes were shut here for a good reason — I was asleep! And that’s it for my latest round of outtakes!
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post Random and Not So Random Outtakes appeared first on SparkleCat.

How an Adventure Cat Trains Her Human

Did you know that today is National Take Your Cat on an Adventure Day? As you might imagine, I think this is a great day. I think more kitties should get a chance to go out and see the world beyond their homes. I do and I have seen lots of fun and exciting things! But before you start planning your great adventure, there’s one big thing you need to think about: your human. Because you can’t go out on an adventure unless your human is prepared for it. If you want to be an adventure cat, you need to have an adventure human. So here are my suggestions for getting your human ready for adventure.

Seven Tips for Your Humans If You Are an Adventure Cat

Know that humans have different adventure styles. Some humans are outdoorsy, and some aren’t. Take my human — she thinks roughing it is staying in a hotel that’s not near a Target or Whole Foods! So taking her on an outdoor adventure would not be a good idea. We fly places and have urban and indoor adventures. If your human thinks hiking or sailing is more her style, then you should probably do that instead. Whatever your human is most comfortable with is what you should do. If your human is unhappy on an adventure, you probably won’t have a great time either.
Humans must be properly harness and leash trained. That means they need to find the most secure harness and walking vest for you, and give you lots of treats for wearing it, and for walking on a leash with it. It there is a sudden noise that startles you, you can pull yourself out of an ill-fitting harness so fast that you’ll get lost before you know what happened. My best harness is actually a really simple one, but my human has tested it by pulling me every which way with it and I really can’t get loose! I had to work with her a little to find the best harness and leash setup, but I got lots of treats for all my help.

Consider your human your bodyguard. This is important human training. The world out there offers lots of fun, but there are also dangers — cars, mean dogs, coyotes and other wild predators. You human needs to be hyper aware to keep you safe from all of them. There are also plants that are not good for you to sniff or take a bite out of, and your human should know about what grows locally that you should steer clear of. Even insects can be dangerous — not all of them are edible, and some are poisonous! You human needs to know the dangerous ones in the area you are visiting.
Speaking of insects, remember, there are fleas and ticks out there. You need to make sure your human examines you for these every time you return from an outdoor adventure. Even if that outdoors is just around your house. You should have flea and tick protection if you are going to be an adventure cat, but that doesn’t mean those nasty little critters won’t latch onto you — the flea and tick applications do wear off after a while.
Gradually acclimate your human to adventures. She needs to master the harness and leash thing, and get used to being your bodyguard close to home before taking you any farther than that. She needs to understand your comfort zone, and when to judge that you’ve had enough for the day. This takes some practice.

If your human is not very adventurous, and you aren’t either, you can still have adventures close to home. Binga enjoys just being on a harness and leash around the patio of our house, and I do too between my bigger adventures. Your human can even make adventures for you by putting together a catio, or creating a fun place for birds and other critters to visit right outside your favorite window so you can watch them from the comfort of your favorite perch.
Remember that life is an adventure in itself! Tell your human not to be afraid to try something new and different with you — she may be surprised that both your boundaries are a lot bigger than you thought they were!

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

The post How an Adventure Cat Trains Her Human appeared first on SparkleCat.

What About the Orlando Victims’ Pets? And What About Yours?

I had planned to post something completely different today, but the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando changed everything. While everyone has been affected by this horrible event, the ones who are truly suffering are the families of the victims. And it may not have occurred to a lot of humans at first, but that includes the pets of those who died or are in the hospital. It turns out that there is a rescue organization that is looking out for the Orlando victims’ pets: the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando.

It’s likely that many of the people injured or killed have beloved pets at home — some will need someone to care for them while their humans heal, and others will need new homes altogether. The mission of the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando is to educate, shelter, place, and heal pets and their families “with compassionate, responsible care maintained to the highest professional standards.” And they have stepped up to offer short-term care for those hospitalized after the Orlando massacre, and to help families find alternative permanent arrangements for the pets, as necessary. You can read more in the brief press release on their website.

My heart goes out to all the victims and their families, human and animal.

And what about you? You may never be the victim of such an attack, but what if you were in a car accident, or suddenly fell ill while you were away from home? Is there anyone who would know you have pets at home, and how to take care of them? Please use this opportunity to make sure things are in order for your kitties in case the unexpected happens.

Talk to your friends, family and neighbors and find a couple of responsible people that will help care for your pets in an emergency. Make sure they have a copy of your house keys, the name and phone number of your veterinarian, feeding and care instructions… and know the provisions you have made if it turns out you are never coming home to your pets. (If you have a will, you should make arrangements for your pets in case they outlive you. If you don’t have a will… you should have one.)
Keep these people updated if you bring in new four-legged family members, or lose one.
Fill out an “alert card” that includes the phone numbers of these people, and also include photos of your pets. Keep these in your wallet at all times.
Also leave notes at home with up to date info on your pets’ needs, plus phone numbers of both your regular and emergency vet. Post them somewhere obvious, like inside the front and back doors of your house.

It’s not that complicated to make sure your pets are looked after if something happens to you, and it may save your pet’s life, if you aren’t there for them. Please use this as a reminder to take care of it now.
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post What About the Orlando Victims’ Pets? And What About Yours? appeared first on SparkleCat.

Life Is a Banquet (CFA Regional Awards Banquet, That Is!)

My human and I went to a cat show in Ontario, CA on Saturday. But it was more than just an everyday cat show — there was also the CFA Regional Awards banquet that night for our area, the Southwest Region!

We stayed at a fancier hotel than usual because that was where the banquet was held. For some reason, they gave us double beds. I don’t really need my own bed, although I did appreciate the gesture. If you look in the bed’s lower righthand corner, you’ll see that my human stuffed pillows in the space behind the bed platform to keep me from getting back there. Sometimes she does not do a very good job and I get in there anyhow. Sadly, this time, she really packed them in good.

The night before the show, I went on a walk all around the hotel. It is pretty large, so I got a lot of walking done! I also met lots of humans who enjoyed visiting with me and finding out more about me.

That was one of the fastest cat shows I’ve ever been part of! It started early and it was over before 3:30, even though there were six rings! The kitten benched next to me was a four-month-old silver shaded Persian and she was cute! I have to admit, I was more interested in her human’s donut, which I did not get to taste.

It was a tough show — there were three other Somalis entered, including the boy Somali, Zuri, who beats me in most rings. He got Best Somali in four rings, and I came in second… but in two rings, I got Best Somali and he was second! In the Top Ten overall, including all the breeds entered in Premiership (the altered cats), I wound up with three out of six ribbons, so it was a pretty good show, even though I had competition in my own breed. I was happy!

When we got back to the hotel my human showered and got dressed… and I got dressed too! I didn’t get to go to the banquet (like I will be doing at BlogPaws!), but my breeder stopped by with some champagne, and so did the breeder who has my blue Somali pal, BJ. She didn’t enter BJ in this show, but I will be seeing him at the end of August at another cat show.

I already knew what awards I had won, but it was still awesome when my human brought back the big ribbon, the plaque and the certificates. In Region 5 (our Southwest Region), I am 15th Best Cat in Premiership and also 2nd Best Somali Premier in the region! Oh, the champagne bottle? They served a bottle to each table for a toast… and there was some left over, so my human brought it back to the hotel room. Also she liked the bottle.

I like how they put my name on the ribbon this year!

But there was more! My breeder brought my human and I these beautiful gifts. My human got this cool mug and a split of champagne (can you tell my human likes champagne?). I got two wand toys from Ceylon’s Wand-erland, which has some of the prettiest and coolest wand-style cat toys!

The toy with the feathers was also personalized with my name! Isn’t that the best? As a kitty, I will take that over an award plaque any day!

Disclosure: Yep, the link to Ceylon’s Wand-erland is an Etsy affiliate link! So if you use my link to shop, I will get a small commission.
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post Life Is a Banquet (CFA Regional Awards Banquet, That Is!) appeared first on SparkleCat.

More On-The-Set Selfies

While I was modeling my two new discount dresses the other day, it got a little boring, waiting for my human to deal with technical stuff. So I figured why not take some selfies? I’ve done that before during photo sessions.

Well, I was going to set up the timer here, but I can see there’s a big glare in the background from one of the lights.

I think this needs just a little bit of tweaking!

There you go! Maybe I should fire the photographer and just do all these photo shoots myself.

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

The post More On-The-Set Selfies appeared first on SparkleCat.

Baker and Taylor Book Winner

We enjoyed this book lots!

I have a winner for my giveaway of The True Tails of Baker and Taylor! It is…

Phyllis M.!

I have to say, when the Rafflecopter widget randomly chose the winner, her name was not familiar to me. But when I emailed her to let her know she won, she emailed back and included this flyer:

It was only then that I realized that the perfect winner had been chosen.

If you’d like your own copy of The True Tails of Baker and Taylor, you can find it at Amazon.

Disclosure: The link to Amazon is an affiliate link, which means I get a small commission if you buy the book by clicking through.
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See Summer’s 2016 calendars and other awesome merch at her Zazzle Shop!

The post Baker and Taylor Book Winner appeared first on SparkleCat.

What My Human Saw When She Woke Up the Other Morning

My human woke up to Binga and Boodie looking at her the other morning (I was already up and about). Her iPhone was nearby, so she took some photos. Because a) it’s so rare to catch a photo of them together, and b) especially when Binga is not causing trouble, I thought I’d share this series, without comment.

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

The post What My Human Saw When She Woke Up the Other Morning appeared first on SparkleCat.