Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 372

Tongue Lashing

Yes, tongue-lashing because that is just what I should give my human! When we were doing the photo shoot the other day for the Instinct Raw Bites blog post, she really wanted to get a photo of me licking my lips, and you should see some of the terrible photos she took. Well, actually, you are going to see them, because I’ve posted them below!

I’d barely begun eating when she started trying to get “the shot.” I was not pleased.

When I was done, she got serious about getting her photo.

She didn’t even get my tongue here, just me with a look of horror on my face.

Yeah, well, there are a lot of things I could be saying here!

It was getting pretty annoying. I mean, I was done with my food and I just wanted to leave and get on with my day!

This one was so close… but nope, she kept shooting.

By the end, my tongue and I were both pretty exhausted.

This was all so embarrassing for both me and my human!
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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Extra-Added Kitty Value

The Catalyst Council’s Happy Cat Month is nearing its end, and for the last days they are focusing on your “Happy Valued Cat.” They want humans to find ways to show their cats they are valued, so I thought I would create a list of my own. Let’s see…

Bring home more organic chicken hearts!
Pull out the Neko Birbug every time I ask!
Buy me that cool cat tree I was asking for at PetSmart!

Oh, wait a minute… I guess those are all just about me! You kitties were probably hoping I would come up with a list you could give your humans so they can show you how much they value you! But you know what? I can’t write that list because it is different for every cat and every kitty family. We all have our own likes, dislikes and relationships with our humans, and if your human is going to give you something from the heart (like, um, a new cat tree…), it has to be something she knows is special to you.

One thing all humans can give their cats to show how valued they are is time. Too often, humans take cats for granted. Cats are just there and they don’t pay anywhere near enough attention to them, much less spend quality time playing with them, petting them, or just hanging out together. If every human would make it a routine to spend just ten more minutes a day with their cat, it would create miracles in their relationships. And I am not exaggerating.

I also want to say that more kitties have adventure in their souls than their humans realize. I’m fortunate to have the chance to go places and have fun, but unless you have made the effort to see if your cat would enjoy doing the same thing, you can’t say for sure she wouldn’t! Sometimes even an older cat can learn that new experiences are something awesome. You won’t know unless you give it a try.

Every month, really, is Happy Cat Month! So kitties, tell me, in your wildest dreams what could your human do to really make you happy? Let’s all share!
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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Raw and Unfiltered – We Taste Test #InstinctRaw Cat Food

This post is sponsored by Instinct® and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Instinct Raw but I only share information I feel is relevant to sparklecat.com readers. Instinct is not responsible for the content of this article.

As you know, I went crazy over the raw chicken hearts my human brought home a few weeks ago. So my human and I were very excited to be one of the bloggers chosen to give Instinct Raw Bites for cats a try! The main reason my human doesn’t feed us cats raw is time — buying whole birds and grinding them up, then preparing a week’s worth of meals is not something she would do. She doesn’t even spend much time on her own food. She is the queen of to-go. That’s the reason that the Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw is so appealing to her. It’s totally convenient — and good for us kitties!

So my human and I went to our nearest PetSmart, and the freezer containing the Instinct Raw Bites was right there! For us kitties, they had the Chicken and Rabbit bites (there are also Duck and Tuna available, but they weren’t in stock). Since we cats are most familiar with — and love — chicken, that’s what she got.

I couldn’t wait to give the Instinct Raw Bites a try! Even though I am a breed cat, I have a wild soul… and metabolism. We cats are obligate carnivores, and a raw diet is as close to what we would eat in nature as we can get as housecats. The Instinct Raw Bites are 95% meat, organs and bones, 5% fruits and vegetables (sort of like what you would find in the stomach of caught prey), and 100% grain FREE.

My human started us off with a snack, and put about 1/4 cup in each dish. That’s about the same amount as a light breakfast for us.

Because the Raw Bites are so small, they only take a few minutes to defrost. Since they are raw, you are not supposed to let them sit around and get too warm — just enough to take off the chill and become palatable to us kitties.

I thought a few minutes was too long to wait! I wanted to try them right away.

Ideally, humans should gradually transition their cats to a raw diet over a period of a few weeks by mixing it with their regular food. This makes it easier for their taste buds and digestive system to adjust. I just wanted the Raw Bites and since it was a snack, that’s what I got. Binga and Boodie got some canned food mixed with theirs. They weren’t 100% sure about the Raw Bites plain, but once it was combined with some canned food, they chowed down.

Binga had to make sure I wasn’t getting something better first! But she went back to her own food and finished it.

It turned out that Boodie liked the Raw Bites as much as the mixed-in raw food.

All of us were members of the clean plate club!

Instinct Raw Bites for cats is a great solution for humans who want to give their cats a raw diet, but don’t have the time or tools to make it from scratch. If you want to give it a try, you can get a $3 off coupon here: http://www.instinctpetfood.com/getraw

You can find out more about Instinct’s Raw food on their website.

Or you can get social: Visit Instinct on Facebook
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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Purring in Spite of It All Selfies

My human and I were back at PetSmart this week for tomorrow’s blog post, and I took a side trip to the best aisle in the store: cat tree row! I tried to convince my human we cats need a new one (which we do).

I really liked this one a lot, with its different scratching surfaces!

But no matter how cute I looked, I couldn’t convince her to buy one and put it in her Mini Cooper to bring home.

She wouldn’t even consider getting us a new jumbo-sized litter box. We just got what we were there for and went back to the car, where I took a couple of quick selfies before taking off.

Even though my human didn’t buy me anything extra, I will say that I was happy to go on an outing. I was purring lots in the car. This is actually my purr face!

But no matter how much I purred, I failed to convince her that I didn’t need to be put back in the carrier for the ride home.

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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Saturday Catinee: Cat Masseuses

I just have a short video today, but it’s guaranteed to make you feel relaxed! These kitties worked hard, massaging their humans… I hope they were tipped well.

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

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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!

My 2016 Calendar Is Here… and I Have Surprises Coming!

I can finally announce the release of my 2016 calendar! I’m doing a couple of things different this year, though.

I’m selling it first on Lulu.com! I decided to do that when I found out that you could add special holidays — so I added just a few, like Cat World Domination Day, Black Cat Appreciation Day and such. Oh, and my birthday!

Some of the photos are from regular photo shoots.

And some of them are from the photo sessions I’ve been showing you over the past several weeks!

The other reason I’m selling my 2016 calendar on Lulu.com other than adding the dates is that I can sell it for a lower retail price there. The only thing is that you can’t print anything on the back on the Lulu.com calendars, but you can on the Zazzle ones. So I will be offering the calendar on Zazzle.com too in a few days with thumbnail copies of all the photos on the back, but it won’t have the special dates. If you don’t care about the dates, maybe you can wait for Zazzle to have one of their big 50% off calendar sales — then it will be less than the Lulu.com calendar!

Oh, and my other surprise — I told you we were thinking of doing an outtake calendar, and that will be available on Zazzle only! It’s not ready yet, but here is a sneak peek of the cover:

Most of the photos are outtakes from the very same photo shoots as the regular calendar, with a couple of exceptions. I think you will really like it!

If you want to get my regular calendar, you can order it right now at Lulu.com!
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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Throwback Thursday, with Boodie Feet Tossed In

These photos are from last November when I was goofing around on the scratch lounger… and Boodie was goofing off in the background.

I’m not sure what I was thinking!

Maybe nip had something to do with it. And maybe that’s why Boodie was passed out in the background.

In fact, I am pretty sure nip had something to do with it. You might remember this photo from my November 7 blog post.

November was also the month the furnace got replaced. The furnace humans put in a fancy new wifi thermostat that had an add-your-own-photo screensaver… and the picture my human used came from this same photo shoot.

And yes, there are Boodie’s feet again.
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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Happy Multi-Cat Week… or Something

As I mentioned last time, Happy Cat Month is divided into weeks this year. This week, it is all about having a multi-cat household! The Catalyst Council thinks that most cats would be happier having a roommate to hang out with.

Of course, there are right and wrong ways to introduce a new cat into your home. It needs to be done gradually, with lots of scent swapping, feeding meals on either side of a closed door, quick, supervised introductions and lots of treats. Sadly, this still does not guarantee that one cat won’t photo bomb another.

Plus, you need to make sure your home can comfortably fit more than one cat. Adding vertical space with cat trees and platforms is good. Also making sure there are quiet hiding spots in case one cat is having a bad day and the other wants to avoid her. So can I get permission to leave now?

I am not so sure I should be talking about multi-cat households.
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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Are You Ready for the Kitty Revolution… and Giveaway?

You know we kitties are ready for the revolution, but how about your humans? You may have noticed that one of my sponsors this month is the one and only Chairman Meow. Don’t worry, he does not believe in violent takeover — he promotes peaceful feline world domination through cultural revolution. The posts on his website and blog, Obey the Kitty, may make humans smile, but that’s the point: Chairman Meow is accomplishing our takeover with smiles and commerce. Humans will never know what happened!

Which brings me to the giveaway… Chairman Meow has generously offered to give away one of his awesome t-shirts to a lucky reader! And because he is after world domination, everyone is eligible to enter! You pick the size.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment and then say you did on the Rafflecopter widget below! There are more options once you do that.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you ready for the Kitty Revolution?

Disclosure: Chairman Meow is one of my sponsors this month… but I already did say that. Long live kitty domination!
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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Cat Show Success!

Since you saw me having a show bath yesterday, I imagine most of you guessed I competed in a cat show this weekend… and you are right! It was a one-day, six ring show in Hemet, CA.

The trip out there was not one of my favorites. Mostly because my human stopped for a fish sandwich — and would not let me have any! This is the look I gave her while she was eating.

The hotel room was nice, if a bit small — except it smelled like cigarettes! My human assumed that since she brought me with her, they gave her a stinkier room. As if! I am very clean, and if you look under the sink you can see how nicely she set up my litter box. Even if I scatter litter, it is easy to clean up with the pads

I loved the bed! It was one of my favorites.

At the show the next day, I groomed myself so I could look my best! My human thought she could do better and kept fixing all my hard work.

The great thing about this particular cat show is that it is also a fundraiser for S.C.A.R. — Southern California Abyssinian Rescue. They rescue Abys and Somalis, some of whom wound up in desperate situations! In fact, they have a couple of older Somalis looking for homes right now, in case you would like to have a kitty like me and Sparkle. Anyhow, my breeder donated a nice little Sturdi carrier for the silent auction.

I bet you recognize this book! Yes, my human donated it for the raffle.

You are probably wondering how I did. Yes, I got some ribbons.

In fact, I finaled in all six rings! I think that is a first. I didn’t get Best Cat in any of them, but in four out of the six, I was in the Top Five (they had Top Ten cats this show). That was pretty amazing!

So even though my human misbehaved a little bit, I thought she deserved a high five.
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Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” Sparkle had answers to many annoying problems in her two award-winning books! Visit her author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of her awesome Dear Sparkle books!