Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 354

Yogi Cats and Tortitude Giveaway Winners

I am so thrilled that the winners of my two book giveaways are popular blogging pals of mine!

Concatulations to Melissa and Mudpie of Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries and Meows — you won the copy of Yogi Cats!

And Binga says concatulations to Cathy Keisha who won the copy of Tortitude!

I’m so happy for both of you!

If you didn’t win, you can get a copy of Yogi cats here, and you can get a copy of Tortitude here.
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My 2016 calendars are here!

A Benefit, Community Cat Style

When I heard that my human was going to the Architects for Animals “Giving Shelter” exhibit to benefit Fixnation, I offered to donate my Valentine scratcher house. I don’t mind giving up things I love (or that Boodie loves) for a worthy cause. But my human said that they already had everything they needed.

Architects for Animals creates events in which architects and designers create shelters for animals, and the proceeds from these events go to different causes. This event in Los Angeles benefitted one of my favorite organizations, Fixnation, which offers free spay and neuter services for TNR’d community and feral cats. They also offer low cost veterinary services for pet cats.

If you’ve seen the designs at Architect for Animal’s New York events, the first thing you might notice is that these shelters are more open than those back east, to better match our more temperate southern California climate.

They were all shapes and sizes!

Some of them were really stylish.

And speaking of style, Hauspanther was there with a style lounge, featuring some of the coolest cat products on the market.

There were loads of cool cat towers, cubes and scratchers! I wish I had been there.

There were super cool cat bowls and beds.

Plus a cool grouping of Sleepypods.

There were also one-of-a-kind cat food bowls, personally decorated by a bunch of celebrities including Bill Nye, Clint Eastwood, Jackson Galaxy — and Elvira!

The best part is that there is an ongoing eBay auction for these items — the bowls and the Hauspanther Style Lounge products, and you can bid on them until March 20! So if you want to give to a good cause, and get something really awesome in return, check it out!
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My 2016 calendars are here!

New Easter Card in My Zazzle Shop!

Remember last year, when my human got me this bunny costume? And how it wound up in this year’s calendar? (In fact, if you got the calendar, it’s this month’s photo!)

Well, it is now a card in my Zazzle shop!

So far, no more bunny costumes this year for me.
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Will Your Cat Hate You If You Put Him on a Diet?

Feline obesity is no laughing matter. In 2012, it was estimated that nearly 60 percent of cats in the United States were either overweight or downright obese. Cats that carry too many pounds are at risk for a variety of diseases, including diabetes, arthritis, skin disorders, heart problems and ultimately, a shortened lifespan. All this is very concerning, but what do humans worry about the most when it comes to overweight kitties? Whether their cats will hate them if they put them on a diet.

According to a recent study, you humans need not be concerned about that! At the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, researchers had 48 humans put their cats on diets for eight weeks. The result? The cats didn’t vocalize before mealtimes any longer than usual, although they were more intense about it. But after mealtime, they were actually more affectionate! There was lots of purring and curling up in laps once the cats had finished their dinners.

Oh, and at the end of the eight weeks, the cats had also lost weight. I would say that’s a double win.

The truth is that we cats don’t see food the same way humans do. For many humans there is an emotional element to food — it symbolizes family and affection. Humans often reach for the snacks or comfort food when they are depressed or upset. Cats don’t have emotions about food. We eat because we’re hungry, and because it’s part of our routine. Petting and spending time together? That means affection to a cat. Food? Not so much. Food for us is more a means to an end.

Cats that overeat usually do so because:

It’s offered to us. Most kitties don’t get the idea of portion control.
We’re bored. Boredom isn’t an emotion. It’s doing something because there’s nothing else to do.
Perceived scarcity — we don’t think there is enough food to go around. (Whether that is actually true or not is another thing altogether.) If we believe we won’t be able to sustain ourselves, our survival instinct kicks in and we chow down.

If your cat is overweight, you can feel safe working with your vet on a diet program for him — and you won’t have to worry about your cat loving you any less. In fact, normal weight cats avoid a variety of health problems, and they are happier overall. And what human wouldn’t want that for their kitty?

If your cat is not overweight, keep her that way by:

Portion controlled, species appropriate meals. Cats are meant to eat a protein-rich diet. Get the highest quality you can afford, and at each meal, feed only what your cat will eat in 10 or 15 minutes, then take it away. Treats shouldn’t be given like an extra meal — just a few pieces will do!
If you have more than one cat, make sure they eat their own food and not each other’s, even if you have to separate them.
Keep your cat active with lots of playtime! Staying active will keep your cat both healthy and young at heart.

My human follows all this, and none of us has ever had a weight problem. If any of us seems to be gaining or losing a few ounces, she adjusts how much she feeds us, and if we were to ever lose or gain more than a few ounces, she’d have a vet check us out.

So if you ever need to put your cat on a diet, your cat will still like you just fine! Just make sure to do it under a veterinarian’s supervision because rapid weight loss can be dangerous for kitties. Slow and steady weight loss is best — and add in some play for extra bonding and calorie burning.

There! Don’t you humans feel better now?
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Ring My Bell (or Not)

My human saw this video and decided that for my next trick, I should learn how to ring this bell.

Apparently there is a bit of a learning curve because I was not sure what she wanted out of me at first.

After a few failed tries, my human took my paw and rang the bell with it, then gave me the treat.

So far, I’ve gotten the idea (sort of) that maybe I’m supposed to raise my paw when the bell is in front of me and my human says, “Treat time!” But I still don’t know what to do after that.

My human says that eventually a bell will go off in my head and I’ll figure out that I’m supposed to ring the bell in front of me for the treat.

This is harder than I thought it would be! How about if I just look cute for treats?

To be continued….
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My 2016 calendars are here!

San Jose Extras

I had some photos left over from my San Jose trip, some outtakes, some not, so I thought I’d share them with you before I move on to other things this week!

I don’t remember why I was making this face at the airport when we were getting ready to take off. Clearly something was up.

My human was trying to get a photo of me doing a high five while we were waiting for our plane, but none of the photos turned out. This is just one example of a whole string of very bad shots.

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw this photo. But if you don’t, you’re seeing it for the first time. Do you get the idea that I really, really love hotel rooms?

Can you tell I was totally not thrilled about posing here when I only had two Spectator’s Choice ribbons?

I did a lot of this on Sunday! I kind of overdid the being social bit on Saturday, so I was a lot more tired the next day.

And here I am at the San Jose airport, with a facial expression not too dissimilar to the first photo! What my human is thinking when she takes these, I don’t know.
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Getting Social in San Jose

This was my first time to the cat show in San Jose and I had so much fun! My human heard that it is very well attended every year, so she brought some of my favorite low calorie treats because she knew she’d be using them to reward me for all the handshaking and high fives I was going to do.

She tried hiding them from me in her laptop bag in the hotel room, but of course she forgot to zip it up while she was in the shower.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the bag open before she finished drying off.

A big part of the show is the Spectator’s Choice award. What happens is that the people who pay admission to the cat show get a program with a little blue ribbon and a form to fill out. The blue ribbon goes to their favorite cat at the show, and the filled-out form goes back to the people who count the votes. I thought I got a lot of Spectator’s Choice ribbons, but then my human saw some other cat’s area, and that cat had way more than me! So I didn’t win. Some kitten was the winner.

But that was okay — I got some wins from judges while I was there. My human saw a few people taking photos and videos of me while I was being judged, and in finals.

Plus I got to meet lots of new people — and meet humans I only knew online, like the human of 9, Chani and Sheamus Popoki. She is an artist, and gave my human some of her cards, which was really cool because my human really likes her work. She also took some photos of me.

Isn’t this a cool close up of me?

She also got a shot of me being judged.

I also got to meet my brother’s humans — not my half-brother Chilly, who I attend cat shows alongside sometimes, but my birth brother, who went to go live with an awesome family. When the little boy saw me, he thought I was my brother! We look a lot alike.

It was an exhausting weekend! But I still had enough energy at night to go for a walk along the hotel corridors. I even jumped in the hallway window and watched the rain for a while.

In fact, when we got back, I wanted to go out again… but my human was too busy.

So it was a very exciting weekend! Plus, out of eight rings, I got five finals! And it was a competitive show, with lots of top cats trying to get points at the end of the season. So I’m proud of how well I did.

And the excitement didn’t end at the airport either! It turned out that because of all the rainstorms, our flight was delayed by an hour and a half, so my human treated herself to a sit down dinner. She got the fish and chips with “one” piece… and this is what she got! She couldn’t finish all that, so she gave me some tastes.

Then while we were waiting for our plane to arrive, we met a dance troupe of young girls and they all fell in love with me! I think this is the best time I ever had in an airport.
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Lazy Night Selfies

When you last saw me, I was relaxing on the hotel room bed, hoping to get a good night’s rest for the cat show… but then I realized I hadn’t taken care of this week’s selfie yet! So I had to get up again.

As quickly as I could, I set up the iPhone.

Okay, that one came out totally off-kilter. It looks kind of cool, but I had better give it another try.

Meh. You know what? I’ll just stick with the previous shot.

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My 2016 calendars are here!

Saturday Catinee: Hotel Happiness and Binga Ultrasound News

Just so you know, Binga had her ultrasound on Thursday and…

It showed absolutely nothing! Plus she hasn’t thrown up any meals since she went to the vet a week ago. So if anything is bothering her, it was only temporary or not very significant.

Anyhow, I’m off again to a cat show. My human and I flew up to San Jose for this one. I got lots of fans while waiting to board the plane, and also when it landed! If my human had been a little quicker about doling out the treats for my high fives, it would have been perfect. If I look a little annoyed, that is why.

But all that was forgotten when I got to the hotel! Hotels are some of my most favorite things! And I love the room in this one — it’s nice and big so I can chase after my sparkle ball, and there are hallways for me to go walking in tomorrow. If you want to see how much I love hotel rooms, in action, here’s a quick video.

If you can’t see the above video, click here to watch it on YouTube!
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My 2016 calendars are here!

8 Things You Should NEVER Let Your Human Do

I recently saw a post on PetMD called “8 Things You Should NEVER Do to Your Cat,” and I realized that we kitties could use some instruction too. It’s not like caring for humans is something we cats do instinctively. Well, it is, but there is always room for improvement. So here you go! I have 8 things too.

Never allow your human to…

Oversleep! Humans do best when they are on a regular schedule, and that includes getting up at a certain time every day. They are not always great judges at determining that time, so it is up to us kitties to let them know when it is. What a funny coincidence that this happens to coincide with our preferred breakfast time!
Leave the house without some sort of feline ID on her clothing. It is important that other cats know that your human belongs to you, and that they should keep their paws off. So always make sure there is some cat hair on your human’s outfit when she goes to work, goes shopping, and especially when she is volunteering at a cat rescue. If for some reason, this is difficult to do (for example, if she owns several dozen lint rollers), then at least rub all over her to make sure that every inch of her smells like you.
Make food in the kitchen unsupervised. Cooking is hard, and even putting together a sandwich can be complicated, so your human will probably need some help in order to do it right. Always stay close to them while they are preparing food of any sort. Besides, sometimes they are clumsy and you may wind up with a surprise treat!
Bring anything into your home without thoroughly inspecting it. For many humans, shopping is an enjoyable pastime, and sometimes they forget themselves and bring home something that’s frivolous at best or ridiculous at worst. So it is up to us kitties to examine any new purchases and decide whether they should stay, or go in the trash.
Eat alone. It is not healthy for humans to eat by themselves. In fact, it could make them depressed. So give them some kitty company to keep their spirits up! If you are part of a human family that eats together, it is still important to be part of mealtime — after all, as a family member, it would be rude of you to not be there.
Watch TV by themselves. You don’t want your human to become a hermit, do you? That’s just plain not healthy emotionally for a human, so you had better sit on the couch next to her while she watches her favorite shows — especially if she is snacking while she is watching. Then you can make sure she isn’t overeating by taking some of the food yourself.
Pack for a trip guilt free. If your human is going away and you have to stay at home, that is totally not fair and she needs to reminded of that. So climb into the suitcase, look sad and, if all else fails, run around the house and cause trouble (the latter is Binga’s favorite tactic). If you work hard enough at making her feel bad, maybe she will come home early!
Ever forget that kitties know best… because we do!

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My 2016 calendars are here!