Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 359

My Pet Me Debut and a Grand Devja Vu

This was my second year at the San Diego Cat Show. Last year, I attained Grand Premier status there. This year, instead of running back and forth to judging rings, I was a Pet Me Cat. Since the cats who are competing can’t be handled by the public, and their humans are too busy to answer a lot of questions about their breeds, the Pet Me Cats and their humans are there to do all that.

It’s not required that a Pet Me cat have a breed booth but my human set one up anyway, and used some photos from my breeder, and the breeder who has BJ, the blue Somali that I sometimes compete against at shows.

My human brought the sign she made for me for BlogPaws and my breeder brought a table for me to greet my public.

There was also an official “Pet Me Cat” sign I got to have for the weekend.

Although I had lots of fun meeting people at the cat show, it took a lot of energy! Plus I didn’t have much privacy. Whenever I wanted to redo my groom, it seemed like someone was pointing a camera at me!

If I was too hyper (like I was on Sunday morning after a good night’s sleep), my human put a dress on me. Wearing a dress calms me down and I actually enjoy it. I also got to go on a brief walk on my leash and that was lots of fun! After that, I was really excited to meet more people! My human says next time we do this, I’m going for a walk again because it made me so cheerful.

The only downside about the weekend was the area I was benched faced a big bunch of cat trees — and I wasn’t allowed to climb any of them! My human said there wasn’t room in her Mini Cooper to take one home.

Lots of people took photos, but so far I haven’t been able to find any on Instagram or Facebook. When I do, I’ll repost them!

While I was meeting and greeting, my half-brother Chilly was competing. It was a huge show, with a bunch of cats in his class. Our breeder didn’t think he would do much, as far as finals, and he needed a bunch of points to get his Grand Champion status. Intact cats like him are Champions and they need 200 points to Grand, while neutered and spayed cats like me are Premiers, and we only need 75. But he started charming the judges.

He actually put his head in this judge’s hand, just like that, when got a final in his ring!

And this wasn’t the only judge who liked Chilly — three others did too… and he got enough points to Grand and then some! Isn’t that exciting? Here he is posing with the ribbons that earned him the final points he needed. So he Granded at the very same show I did last year. We both had a great weekend!

Although by the end, I was ready to go home to my own bed!
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My 2016 calendars are here! Find my regular calendar on Lulu.com — OR get my calendar of outtakes from Zazzle!

Another Hotel Selfie

Instead of doing it at the show hall, I decided to take my selfie for the week in the hotel room. I figured that I would be busy with cat show people taking my photo and might not have time for my own there!

I just need to set the timer. I am also facing the window so I can get some natural light.

Oops! That was a total misfire. I think I want to change the angle slightly anyhow.

That is a whole lot better!

I was on a roll so I decided to do another one! I know I couldn’t have done this well at the show hall.

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My 2016 calendars are here! Find my regular calendar on Lulu.com — OR get my calendar of outtakes from Zazzle!

Caturday Walk

The hotel my human and I are staying at for this weekend’s cat show is the same one we were at last year. In fact, this is my human’s third time at this hotel! (The first time I wasn’t even born yet.) After we checked in and my human and I both had dinner, she said I could go for a walk in the hotel. I got really excited when she pulled out the harness and leash.

So let’s go! I already know the way.

I went down, and back up the stairs several times. And the elevator once. The elevator is kind of noisy and I didn’t like it, but my human wants me to get used to it. She says that someday, if I get to be a therapy cat, I may have to cope with other noisy elevators.

I could see the parking lot from the first floor side doors.

The side door upstairs wasn’t nearly as interesting.

This was new! Our room is opposite from the laundry room, so I checked it out. I thought it was the housekeeping laundry and we weren’t allowed in there — once I found out it was for guests and I wasn’t actually sneaking around, I lost interest.

So that’s it! Now, where are my treats?
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My 2016 calendars are here! Find my regular calendar on Lulu.com — OR get my calendar of outtakes from Zazzle!

My Human Answers YOUR Kitty Questions!

It’s National Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day today, and I have to give you readers a high paw! I got so many questions. In fact, a kitty from Twitter asked a question too! A couple of humans broke the rules (humans are notorious rule breakers) and also asked questions. Reluctantly, I allowed my human to answer those. It’s a good thing Sparkle is not around for this — she would have said no!

Anyhow, here are your questions — and my human’s answers.

Ayla wants to know, “How do you get Summer’s whiskers so long and straight? Mine are curly and every which way.”

Summer’s whiskers are just that way naturally. Although they have gotten a little bendy a couple of times. She probably slept on them wrong.

Treasure and JJ, Hannah and Lucy, Mario and Katie Isabella all asked if Binga, Boodie and I get along. Katie also wanted to know if we all sleep together.

They do! They don’t cuddle together much (it’s just not something they do), but they are great pals and play together often, usually in the morning around the time I get up. In fact, my dad’s cat, Smokey, is still living upstairs here (yes, she is still in need of a home), and Summer was the first one to make friends with her. I bring her up to visit Smokey sometimes.

Summer has greatly enhanced the wellbeing of both Binga and Boodie. She wanted to be pals with them right away, and Binga and Boodie are both more playful than they were before Summer was here. The adjustment time was minimal — it just worked out that way.

Yes, everyone sleeps together, humans and cats. It’s the law around here!

Rose the (Grown-Up) Kitten asked, “Hows do you get your human to take you more places? I’s luv car rides… loves walks too, but my Giant human, says its not safe most places here, to many mean loose hunting dogs. I’s find that annoying.”

Well, Rose, you should be asking Summer that! She is trying to figure that out too. We don’t have hunting dogs here — we’re in the middle of a big city — but we do have some big, mean-looking dogs going out for walks with their owners, and they don’t look terribly kitty friendly. That, and the number of urban-dwelling coyotes that have been seen in our neighborhood, are the reasons that I don’t take Summer on walks more often. The coyotes here are very aggressive and have been known to try to snatch little dogs out for walks. It’s scary.

Mr. Chivers, Greyson, and Tabitha want to know, “Can your humom recommend a cat friendly hotel in CA to stay in while at Cat ConLA this year? And are you guys going?”

I actually don’t know any specific cat friendly hotels near downtown Los Angeles — since I live here, I usually don’t need a hotel room. That said, Motel 6 is a pet-friendly hotel chain, and so is La Quinta. I don’t know if there are any near CatCon, though. If you want something nicer, many Sheratons and Hiltons are pet friendly — just check with them about their policies. The Hotel Figueroa may allow cats — you need to ask — and that is pretty close to CatCon.

Unfortunately, BlogPaws is going on the exact same time as CatCon and we are already committed to being in Phoenix at BlogPaws.

Billy SweetFeets asked, “How can I get mine mom lady person to let me OUT.”

Get her to harness and leash train you. That’s how Summer (and sometimes Binga) get to go out. Hey, that’s what happens when you ask a human!

Connie (a human) asked, “What is her favorite food?”

Whose favorite food — mine or Summer’s? Summer will eat just about anything. As for me, I could live on avocado, coconut and pecans without ever getting bored.

Cassie and Mira asked, “How do YOU feel about torties? Would you ever adopt another one?”

Binga is awesome, and Harlot, the calico I had before Sparkle, was my soul cat. I love those multi-colored girls. If the right one comes along at the right time, of course I would adopt a tortie again.

Norville wanted to know, “I stare and stare at my human, yet she still doesn’t give me all the treats I want. Can’t humans speak cat? How do I get her to dispense treats more often?”

Actually, most humans can’t speak cat, but even if they can, they are not great treat givers. At least I’m not. From what I gather, I’m pretty stingy with the treats. So I can’t help you there.

Madi asked, “Mom and I would like to know how long it takes to acclimate a feline to travel so well in the air and on the ground?”

Honestly, I don’t know! Summer adapted really quickly. But she was trained from a young age to travel. She’s the only one I’ve done much traveling with.

Rascal and Rocco’s human asked, “Why do cats love me so much? I don’t go out of my way to pet them as I’m slightly allergic, but no matter if I’m at home or visiting, cats love to sit on me. Do they just know and want to torture me or can they sense that I am a gentle soul?”

I could let Summer answer that one for you, but I know… and it has nothing to do with your gentle soul, or their possible desire to torture you — and everything to do with cat language. Cats like to get to know people on their own terms, and in their eyes, you are being really polite by not going out of your way to approach them. So they are happy to take the lead and check you out. It’s that simple. If you want them to stay away, chase after them and force yourself on them. They will want nothing to do with you. I’ve seen that happen often!

Silver, Miranda, Harvey, Phoebe and Dusty want to know if my human is bringing me to BlogPaws this year.

I already answered this incidentally above, but yes, Summer is coming with me to BlogPaws! She had such a great time last year that I wouldn’t dream of going without her. So your human will get to meet her!

Odin wanted to know my human’s thoughts on adopting a special needs cat.

First off, I don’t consider Odin a special needs cat in the least! He is quite the adventurer and having only one eye doesn’t seem to have slowed him down at all. There are cats that aren’t so-called “perfect,” like Odin, and then there are truly special needs cats that need adjustments in a home, routine, or lifestyle to thrive. Because I’m so busy and I travel fairly often, I probably wouldn’t be able to adopt a special needs cat that required daily care — a paraplegic cat that needed his bladder expressed daily, for example. But a cat with one eye or three legs I could handle. All that said, many cats towards the end of their lives wind up being special needs, because they must take meds regularly and have to be given fluids if their kidneys are failing, etc. And you just cope with it and do what you need to do. I know Sparkle needed a lot of care at the end of her life. So really, I think what constitutes a special needs cat is a more complex thing than appears on the surface.

Selina asked, “I would like to know what to tell MomKatt about the most important thing the pawrents can do to make our upcoming trip across the country easier for us felines?”

The farthest I’ve ever moved a cat permanently has been about 15 miles, so I’m not sure I’m one to answer this well. Summer, as I mentioned above, is pretty unique, and is a pretty good traveler. You might want to ask Chey’s human — she had to make nearly the same move — only in the opposite direction!

Siddhartha wanted to know if I really like going to cat shows.

Summer loves cat shows! She enjoys being the center of attention and having people make a big deal over her. That said, she’s growing less and less fond of going to the judging rings. Either she’s getting tired of that part, or she may just need a break from competition. This is why I’m giving her the opportunity to be a Pet Me cat at shows — she gets all the fun and none of the part that’s kind of a PITA for her.

Angel and Isabella asked, “We’d like to know how you will be transitioned from show cat to therapy cat or will you be doing both at the same time. Also, had she tried taking Binga outside on a leash before you came along?”

I’m sure Summer will be doing both therapy cat and show cat duties, although she’ll have less time for shows if and when she passes her therapy evaluation. When Binga was a kitten, I tried taking her out on a harness, but she didn’t seem that happy being taken places, and she was nervous outside, so I didn’t push it. I think she is interested now because she saw all the perks Summer got for doing it!

Tybee asks, “Since we have moved to a new apartment, my lady will not let me go out in the hallway. I just want to explore and smell. She will only let me out in the hallway with that durn nylon harness. I can’t stand up with that harness, it’s too heavy. All I want to do is explore and check out the smells. How can I get her just to open the door and let me go?”

Tybee, I bet that harness would feel a lot lighter if you were offered a treat for wearing it! That’s how I got Summer to walk on her harness and leash, and now she does it naturally.

Elliot asks, “I’m a younger boy cat. Why does my human yell at me when I chase the older girl cats?”

Well, they probably don’t want to be chased. Did you ever think of that? I bet not!

Lola says, “I would like to know if you kiss your kitties on the nose. Mommy kisses Lexy’s nose, but not mine. She says it’s because I usually have a runny nose. I don’t see what the big deal is. What are your thoughts on that?”

I don’t like kissing wet noses either, which is why I only kiss dry parts of my cats! I’m just fastidious like that.

Emma and Buster ask, “We are pretty much aware of how you got there Summer, we want to know the story of Binga and Boodie.”

I’ve answered this in my CatChannel.com column. You can read Binga’s story here, and Boodie’s story here.

Emily the Ragdoll wants to know, “Why does my owner get so upset when I swat at her when she is typing or doing other things with her hands?”

Humans, when we are busy doing stuff, don’t like to be disturbed. Think about it – how would you feel if your human kept waving her hand in front of your face when you were trying to watch birds through the window? And we generally are not good at playing smacky-paws anyway. That’s more of a kitty-to-kitty game.

Raven wants to know, “How come Boodie is not on the blog very often?”

Boodie stays in the background much of the time, and she is often napping when I do photo sessions with Summer. Because she is so shy, I never try to make her do anything she doesn’t want to do. When she does appear on the blog, it’s completely her choice. She just shows up when she wants. Binga, on the other hand, wants so badly to be in the middle of everything that sometimes I need to put her in another room to get a photo session with Summer done!

Cathy Keisha asks, “If I was your cat, would you let me eat Chinese food?”

No.

Punapippuri asks, “Why are Aila, Mesi and Jaava so annoying, deliberately staring at me and teasing me?”

I wasn’t going to say anything… but maybe you aren’t totally the Big Cat on the Prowl that you think you are? Usually cats that get picked on are not the dominant cats. Hey, you asked, I’m just being honest!

Sydney, a cat belonging to Twitter follower @ClaxtonOkajima asks a couple of questions: “Why do I enjoy kneading my human on his neck, of all places?” and “Why do I seem to be able to figure out THE family member who I can wake up for a 3 AM meal?”

It sounds to me like you are a very smart and intuitive kitty, Sydney! I’m not sure why you knead on your human’s neck, though. I’m just glad none of mine do it!
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My 2016 calendars are here! Find my regular calendar on Lulu.com — OR get my calendar of outtakes from Zazzle!

Getting Ready for My Meet and Greet!

I am getting my signs and wardrobe ready for my big weekend at the San Diego Cat Show! It’s my first time as a “Pet Me” cat, and instead of competing in rings with other cats, I get to hang out with the public. When a kitty is competing, usually her human does not want anyone else to touch her — it can mess up the grooming, and usually if the cat is out of her enclosure, she is getting ready to go to a ring. I don’t have to worry about that — I am meant to be touched and petted this weekend! Mostly, I will be showing off my pretty fur au naturel, but I thought it would be fun to slip on a dress every so often. As you can see, Boodie is helping me pick out some clothes.

I am also brushing up on my tricks, and learning a new one: Shake Hands!

I look more like royalty on a receiving line here! That is not the impression I want to make — I think I need to work on my form.

I think these dresses are all fun and casual enough! I didn’t want anything too formal or fancy since it’s a daytime event.

So if you live in the south part of Southern California, please come down and say hi! Not only will you get to see and pet me, you might get to see my half brother Chilly or my pal BJ compete in a ring, since they will be here too! Plus there is a Meow Mall where you can shop for all sorts of cool cat things for humans and kitties, most of which you won’t find anywhere else! The San Diego Cat Show is this Saturday and Sunday at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and you can get a $2 off coupon at this link!
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My 2016 calendars are here! Find my regular calendar on Lulu.com — OR get my calendar of outtakes from Zazzle!

Cats Only – Ask My Human!

As many of you know, Friday is National Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day! Last year, I had some questions for my human, so I figured this year I would have her answer some questions from my feline readers. Sparkle did this a couple of years ago, and it was pretty successful. I’ve noticed that I have some different readers from Sparkle, so I thought I would give them a chance to ask some questions.

So if you have a question for my human (and you’re a cat), just ask in the comments below, and I will make her answer them on Friday! Just know that my human is not a philosopher, does not have any advanced degrees, and she can’t give you veterinary advice because she’s pretty clueless about that type of stuff. The questions will close at midnight tonight (Wednesday), Pacific Time.
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My 2016 calendars are here! Find my regular calendar on Lulu.com — OR get my calendar of outtakes from Zazzle!

My Very Own Airplane!

When my human cleared out the corner of the living room for the Christmas tree, look what she found! Those of you who followed Sparkle may remember this airplane. I never really noticed it until now, but I guess it is mine!

I checked it out thoroughly.

I hope there is room for my tail!

I’m ready for takeoff!

Or I would be, if I hadn’t gotten rudely interrupted.

I don’t know what she is fiddling around with in there. I don’t think she is really a mechanic like she says.

I hope I get it back in one piece.
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My 2016 calendars are here! Find my regular calendar on Lulu.com — OR get my calendar of outtakes from Zazzle!

The Red Sparkle Ball

Most of you are thinking that the big news of the weekend is the cat show I went to in Roseville, California. But you would be wrong! The really big news is that my human packed my blue sparkle ball for the trip… and I lost it in the hotel room! I was very unhappy about that, so the moment we got to the cat show, even before the judges started looking at us cats, my human hunted around the vendor booths and replaced my lost toy with a red sparkle ball. So tragedy was averted.

I also had visitors! Christy Paws’ human stopped by again (I also saw her in Livermore), this time with a friend, and so did Gidget’s human! That was a fun surprise because we weren’t expecting her. Christy Paws’ human found a couple of new cat toys, one of them made out of real fur! My human waved it over my nose to see my reaction, and it woke me from a dead sleep! I thought a critter had made its way into my show enclosure!

For this show, I had another Somali to compete against, and it was something very different for me! I’m number 161, and Mischief is number 162 on the far right. She is a little older, and was a Grand Champion (unaltered cat) before becoming a Grand Premier (the altered cats, like me). We look a lot alike! She is just a little heavier, and her fur is more reddish, like Sparkle’s was, whereas mine is a little more mahogany. But the special thing about Mischief is that the woman showing her is a trainee judge! Part of the training for a cat show judge is to show different breeds of cats, and she got to borrow Mischief for four shows. Both Mischief and the judge trainee were very nice and fun to show with. Mischief was very flirty, and I was a little bit cranky in some of the rings… so she got some brownie points for that.

Even though I was not in my best temper in the rings, I still had fun entertaining my guests and hanging out. I’m really excited about next weekend’s cat show, when entertaining and visiting is all I have to do!

In the end, I got Best Somali in half the rings, and Mischief got it in the other half. Two of the times Mischief got Best Somali, we both wound up in the final because, well, we are both really good cats! Having two of the same breed in a final only happens when the judge really likes both cats. I wound up with four finals altogether.

Going home was fun! The Sacramento airport was pretty quiet, and I got to relax and hang out. My human even brought out my new red sparkle ball.

Between visiting people and making new friends (not “bothering” them, like my human claims), I played with my toy.

There was also an awesome window ledge from which I could watch the planes come and go! I’m looking forward to my next plane trip, which I hear is happening in just a couple of weeks.
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My 2016 calendars are here! Find my regular calendar on Lulu.com — OR get my calendar of outtakes from Zazzle!

Airport Selfie and a Video

My human and I flew up to Sacramento for a cat show this weekend. Instead of going all the way over to Los Angeles International Airport (which my human tells me is the worst airport ever), we flew out of a smaller airport in Burbank. I liked it a lot! It was much quieter and I could tell the humans there were less stressed out.

I only got the chance to take one selfie though.

I hope you like it! You are probably wondering what I was doing while waiting to board instead of taking selfies. Well, I was doing a lot of this:

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

People were amazed to see a kitty so relaxed at an airport, and I have to agree, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed myself so much at LAX!

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My 2016 calendars are here! Find my regular calendar on Lulu.com — OR get my calendar of outtakes from Zazzle!

More Caturday Outtakes

I know I just showed you some outtakes recently, but I had some really fun ones from a couple of my photo shoots this week, and I wanted to share them with you today!

Since we weren’t generating a lot of action with this automated cheese toy, my human threw a pipe cleaner into the mix! That thing took on a life of its own.

And then Binga showed up and no one was pleased.

Here I am, waiting impatiently for my human to open up that package from Tabby James.

Binga wasn’t supposed to be here, but she just plopped herself down. I am questioning her motives. She is questioning my questioning.

When burying your face in catnip, make sure none of it goes up your nose!

And… once again, it’s the end! And it’s my end — I can’t believe my human took this photo behind my back.
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My 2016 calendars are here! Find my regular calendar on Lulu.com — OR get my calendar of outtakes from Zazzle!