Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 388

Outtakes and Good Takes

It’s been a while, so here are some random outtakes — and some good takes that just didn’t wind up in the blog. The above photo is clearly an outtake. As you know, we kitties don’t blink much… but my human managed to snap a photo just as I shut my eyes.

Here’s a better picture! I don’t post a lot of profiles of me here — I figure you’d rather see my whole face — but I do have a nice profile, don’t you think?

There are usually a few outtakes from my cat shows. Like this one — I look like somebody just tossed me back into my Sturdi enclosure! Look at my back feet. At least I got a belly rub once my human put down the camera.

This was from the Palm Springs show, where they were handing out toys along with the cardboard finalist ribbons. This was the one wand toy my human picked for me. I had a lot of fun playing with it… but I look really weird here!

Here, I’m trying to get ready to be judged, and my human is insisting that she do the grooming, not me.

Speaking of grooming, don’t try to do it in the middle of a photo shoot unless your human has put down the camera.

The turret can be a great place for photos, though, as you can see here.

Unless you follow me on Instagram, you didn’t see this shot.

Finally, here is an outtake from Tuesday’s shoot… if you look really closely, you can see I’m sticking my tongue out. Oh, and if you were wondering, my human’s CatChannel.com story finally came out — here it is.
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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!

An Earth Day Message for Humans

As you can tell, I love the earth! I am one of those fortunate kitties who can go outside and enjoy nature… and not worry about any of the dangers. And it is dangerous out here for kitties. Because the drought in California is impacting a lot of resources for wild critters, many of them are invading our neighborhoods more and more frequently — including coyotes, who would eagerly make a meal of me! They are desperate and bold and have been known to snatch pets right in front of their humans! Because of that, my human and I never go out at dusk, only in bright daylight, and she always keeps my leash wrapped around her wrist.

I hadn’t intended to go off on a tangent about coyotes, but it’s important for humans to think about 1) living alongside nature, and 2) their own impact on planet earth. Humans have a long history of trying to make nature conform to what they want, and I think by now we can see that things don’t work that way. Whether or not you believe global warming is manmade (and my human is one of the believers), it’s obvious something is going on, and no matter the cause, humans must learn to adapt — or perish. And I really want humans to adapt because, well, they make pretty good servants for us felines!

I don’t have to tell you about all the cool ways to recycle, compost and conserve — there are a bunch of websites and blogs out there that have already done that. But I do think humans need to look at even bigger ways to reduce their footprints, carbon and otherwise, on the earth. Sparkle said many times that we are losing songbirds not because of feral cat predation, but because humans are encroaching on their environment. Humans, please learn to respect the other creatures who live here — this is their home too, and they all serve a purpose. And I’m talking about all creatures, including the ones you don’t love so much, like bugs, snakes and bats (although my human happens to love snakes and bats… bugs not so much!). Humans need to understand their place on earth, and stop destroying so much of it — the conveniences created by doing that will not be so convenient if the ecosystem is damaged.

I know this is a lot to think about, and this is a very serious post for a little cat like me. But if enough of us small voices join together, and take action, perhaps we can make a difference.
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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!

Tortie in the Way Tuesday

My human was writing a CatChannel.com post about how Binga and Boodie react when I go on my trips, and she wanted some more photographs to go along with it. But getting them was easier said than done. Anything involving Binga is easier said than done!

So she set the carrier up all nice, and I was ready to pose. Boodie was almost ready to pose. But… that is not a shark fin you see in the foreground. It is a Binga ear!

My human tried to get Binga to pose nicely with us. This is her version of “nicely.”

But even “nicely” didn’t last very long.

I’m surprised my human got anything for her story! But eventually she did. Her story wasn’t up in time for my blog post, but if you go here, the story will be the top link sometime today.
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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!

A Suite Stay

You are probably getting tired of hearing about the cat shows I do and ribbons and stuff, so this trip, I thought I’d tell you more about the hotel my human and I stayed in… mainly because I loved it! We had a bright, sunny window and our room was on the fourth floor.

And look how big it was! If you are wondering why the lamp in the background is crooked… I did that.

Plus there was this really nice cabinet, with the refrigerator on the bottom and the coffee machine and microwave (and me) on the top! This was a much nicer hotel than the place we stayed in last time we were in Ontario, and it was only a few dollars more a night. We are definitely coming back here.

At the cat show, I had impressive Somali competition! This big, handsome boy is BJ and he was a Grand Champion, Regional Winner and Breed Winner when he was an intact cat. Then he left the ring and had a breeding career, but he is retired now, so he is showing in the Premier Class (the altered kitties, like me). That does not mean he is old — he is less than 3-1/2. As you can see, he is lighter than I am. My color (in Somalis and Abyssinians) is called “ruddy,” and BJ’s color is a dilute version of ruddy called “blue.” I was next to him in every ring, and honestly, I kind of liked him. He is an affectionate, friendly cat and I know I will be seeing more of him in the future.

It was a two-day cat show, so on the evening of the first day, my human put my harness and leash on me and took me on a little adventure! Sometimes, after the day’s show, she changes clothes and disappears for an hour, and I finally found out where she goes! It’s this room, with all these big pieces of equipment! The room even has its own Mirror Kitty.

Most of the time when she is in here, my human is on one of these things. She did not turn it on while I was there, though — she was worried the noise would scare me. Is it really that bad?

I’m just glad I don’t have to play on these machines. I already have a good figure, and so does the Mirror Kitty.

You are probably wondering how I did at this show… there were 10 rings and I finaled in five of them! It was a very competitive show, so I was surprised at my accomplishment! I have just one more cat show this season, next weekend, and then I get to take a break for three weeks.
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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!

Sunday Catinee: The Cantaloupe Caper

Many of you already know how much I love cantaloupe! My human’s boyfriend usually cuts up a few pieces for me when he has some, but one night he and my human went out to eat, and they came back with a nice, ripe slice for me to chomp on!

My human wanted to get it on video, so she filmed it on her phone… and an intruder tried to steal it! Then complained loudly about it! If you turn up the video, you can hear the humans talking… but your ears will also get blasted by the thief. Just warning you.

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!

The Caturday Report: Helpful Kitty Edition

This week’s news items each shows a different way we kitties are helpful!

Plus I have some helpful info from my fellow cat bloggers. Check it all out!

You’ve probably seen this story, about the Polish cat who recovered from a serious illness, and who now plays nurse for other patients in a veterinary hospital… but it was too awesome not to share!
Many of you know kitties help authors — but we help artists too! Here is a photo series of famous artists and their cats.
Well… I have to confess that the cats weren’t very helpful in dealing with a burglary — but their cat cam caught the perp on video!
The Pawesome Cats blog had a nice, brief primer on why a cat may develop litter box issues.
Did you know that medical marijuana can help cats? The Conscious Cat tells the story of how one cat with lymphoma benefitted.

Just wait ’til you see what I’ve been up to this week!

I had a three-day cat show last weekend at the Pet Expo!
I gave you kitties four surprising facts about humans. I even surprised myself!
In spite of all my hard work, dinner was late.
I was having fun with a favorite toy… until I made a bad mistake.
After this crazy week, I tried to relax — but not before making an awesome announcement!

If you see a good cat-oriented news item around the internet, send me a link and I may include it next week!
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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!

Frazzled Friday

This photo is from about six weeks ago and it’s how I look a couple of days after coming home from a one-day cat show only minutes from my home!

As you can see, I still looked well groomed, pristine and relaxed!

Well, this is how I look after competing in a three-day cat show, the day before I have to get groomed again for another two-day show:

I am glad this show season is almost over! I will get to take it a lot easier for a while after April — so far, I only have one show scheduled in May and one in June.

But that does not mean I will be stuck at home, being bored! My human called the airline to let them know I will be accompanying her to BlogPaws in Nashville at the end of May, so I am official now! I can’t wait to go and meet a bunch of new people and try out all sorts of new kitty items. I hope it is as fun as everyone tells me it will be!
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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!

Toy Trouble

You know those cats that like to dunk their toys into their water bowls? Well, apparently I am not one of them! This is how I found out.

I had been playing with this toy all day! First upstairs, and then I carried it downstairs to the kitchen and played with it some more!

You know how you just can’t get enough of a certain toy? This was one of them!

And then it occurred to me… somebody, like Binga or my human, might take my toy away! After all, my human kept following me around the house while I had this toy with me. Never mind her griping about all the photos being “out of focus” — I’m sure it was just a ruse.

So I picked up my toy and ran off to my human’s boyfriend’s music room and office.

But I still wasn’t able to play with my toy in peace! I had to figure out something… and I did.

I picked up my toy and carefully placed it in the dog’s water bowl! I knew no one would steal it from there.

I was proud of my accomplishment! For a minute.

Then I realized it was getting all soggy — and I didn’t want it either.

So I left it there. My human’s boyfriend eventually fished it out, but I haven’t touched it since.
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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!

Waiting for Dinner

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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!

Four Surprising Facts About Humans – for Cats

In the notes she left, Sparkle said that a lot of problems that cats have really come from human misunderstanding. She sure was right about that, but I’ve also noticed that sometimes cats misunderstand humans too, and that can cause unnecessary stress and confusion. So I’ve compiled a list of human facts that you may not know! I hope this helps you understand human behavior better.

1. Humans thrive on routine!

I know that humans are always saying how much we kitties need routine, and that is true… but humans appreciate it just as much! Except they don’t call it “routine” because they think that is a boring word. Instead they use a different word for routine to make it sound special, and even kind of mystical: ritual. Rituals, like the way a kitty sits next to her humans when they are watching TV, or curls up under the covers at bedtime during the winter are routines, or rituals, they look forward to. And they even treasure the routines they say they hate, like when you wake them up an hour ahead of time for breakfast. Try not doing that for a few days and they start to worry that you are sick! Routines, rituals, whatever they want to call it — humans use them to make sure all is right with the world.

2. For humans, complaining and bragging are sometimes one in the same!

Case in point: Binga misbehaves a lot and my human’s boyfriend often complains about the things she does. But sometimes it sounds more like he is bragging about her ability to steal the dog’s food or jump on the kitchen counter than making a legitimate complaint. So when your human spends a lot of time focusing on something supposedly bad that you are doing, it is possible that they are secretly proud of you!

3. Humans live in a world of make-believe!

This is true of even the most grounded humans. They act like the calories from the popcorn they eat in front of the TV don’t count. They think if they ignore that annoying chore they don’t want to do, it will magically take care of itself. They think we will stop scratching the couch just because they say no. Maybe some of this sounds like laziness, but it goes a lot deeper. Humans like to avoid unpleasant truths, and they think that if they pretend they don’t exist, they will go away. And of course, life does not work that way. It’s a big weak spot of theirs, and it causes them a lot of grief.

4. Humans are actually very fragile, both physically and emotionally!

We kitties can leap off of refrigerators and bookcases with ease, but if humans were to try it, they would break! They have no protective fur, so when they trip over themselves and fall on pavement (another thing that never happens to us cats), their skin gets all torn up. And while we cats prefer to suffer in silence when we are ill, humans usually make a big deal out of it, so it must mean that their illnesses hurt a lot worse than ours do. And they are just as fragile emotionally, if not more — sometimes the slightest criticism, even if meant well, can injure their feelings and make them depressed. If someone they care about forgets a birthday or anniversary, it is very painful for them. So when really big events happen, like natural disasters or death, it must be almost unbearable. It is very important for us kitties to remember this, because humans need our healing energy when they are in pain. It is one of our most important duties when we are living with humans, and one of the reasons they rely on us so much.
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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!