Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 397
January 25, 2015
Sunday Catinee: Blind Cat Hiking
Sometimes you look at the term “special needs,” and you just want to tear away the “needs” part. Honey Bee is special, period. A rescue from the island of Fiji, she now lives with her family in Seattle. Although Honey Bee is blind, it does not stop her from joining her humans on hikes in nature, as this video shows. She may not see the beauty around her, but she can smell it and hear it… and appreciate it just as much as a sighted creature. Watch this video and see for yourself.
If you can’t see the above video, click here to watch it on YouTube!
You can follow Honey Bee 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!
January 24, 2015
The Caturday Report: Random Feline Miscellany
Some weeks I find news items that suggest a theme, and other weeks just seem random; this week is one of the latter!
So let’s see what feline randomness I have for you!
From the DUH department: a new study shows that cats (like dogs and babies) judge their surroundings by the reactions of their humans. Who woulda thunk?
We don’t watch sports around here but those of you who tune into the Super Bowl “just for the commercials” will enjoy this: Friskies will feature an exclusive new episode of their “Dear Kitten” series, made by those cat-friendly folks at Buzzfeed!
Los Angeles has been trying to come up with ways to deal with its stray cat population and keep cats from being euthanized in shelters. Will this new proposal, raising the limit of owned cats from three to five make a difference, or is it just another indicator that L.A.’s thinking towards felines is still behind the times?
Feline diabetes is still scary for many cat lovers, but JaneA from the Paws and Effect blog has done a lot to demystify this condition. Here she explains how she got her own diabetic cat, Bella, into remission, and offers helpful tips.
Most of you already know that we kitties do our best to never, ever let you know when we’re in pain (we feel safer that way), which makes this post about pain management from The Conscious Cat even more important.
This has been quite the busy and random week for me too!
My human has been under the weather (she is still recovering), and I learned a lot about caring for her! I thought other kittens would benefit from a primer, so I put one together.
Did you know that once a cat hits the big 1-5, the vets call her “geriatric?” Since that is Binga’s next birthday, I looked at just how “geriatric” she is.
There are a bunch of tongue shots in my outtakes, so I posted some of them.
Thursday was Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day — and I had some questions for my human!
I’m really excited about Rescued, the anthology of cat stories coming out on my human’s indie publishing imprint! Each cat has a rescue he or she is supporting — I tell you a little bit about the first six cats, and which rescues they have chosen! I will tell you the rest of the cats and rescues on Monday.
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! 
January 23, 2015
About the Rescued Cats, and Their Causes, Part 1
If all goes according to plan, Rescued, the anthology of rescue cat stories that’s coming out on my human’s indie publishing imprint, FitCat, will be coming out next week. But she isn’t planning a big, blowout book launch party like most publishers. She is having a year-long book launch!
Here is why: each author chose a rescue to receive a portion of the profits from the book’s sales, so there are 12 rescues. And each author has been assigned a month to promote the book, with a third of the profits from that month going to the rescue. The book’s expenses (short print runs, contest entries, etc.) will be evenly divided over the promotion months for donation purposes to make sure everyone has an equal playing field.
So you are probably wondering which cats got which months, and which rescues they are supporting… in case you want to help them out during their month. Well, that is the purpose of today and Monday’s blog post! Here are the first six:
Crepes’ month is February 2015 and she is supporting Tree House Humane. You probably know Crepes from her blog, Cat In the Fridge, and the cool CATastrophes videos her humans make! But she started off life at a clear disadvantage — she was missing a foot, a congental defect. She’s come a long way!
Ryker’s month is March 2015 and he is supporting Great Plains SPCA. If you were on Twitter in the old days, you remember Ryker, and if you weren’t, you still probably know those who came after: Allie, Faraday and Maxwell of A Tonk’s Tail. Ryker was one special guy, but apparently his breeder didn’t agree. She thought he was defective and almost had him euthanized! But he was saved and lived to make his mark on the internet.
Nerissa’s month is April 2015 and he is supporting Anjellicle Cats Rescue. Nerissa is the teller of tall tales on his blog, Nerissa’s Life, but before that, he and his young siblings and their feral parents showed up at his Peeps’ house, needing to be tamed and corralled. This is where Nerissa first showed his leadership skills — and his love for nip.
Lucky’s month is May 2015 and he supports Homeless Animals Rescue Team (HART) of Fairfax Station. Lucky was a victim of cruelty but his warmth and spirit showed through the terrible wounds he suffered when someone poured a caustic substance on him. Now healed and happily adopted, he uses his Facebook page to lend a helping paw to other animals in need.
Rama’s month is June 2015 and he is supporting Pope Memorial Frontier Animal Shelter. Rama was abandoned by his former human and survived alone in an apartment for several weeks before he was discovered. Brought to a shelter, he was depressed and refused to trust anyone, not even the couple who adopted him. His mistrust almost cost him his life.
Browser’s month is July 2015 and he is supporting Paws and Claws Animal Shelter. Like many of the cats in Rescued, Browser came from rough beginnings. But when he wanted to escape his hard life on the streets, the friendly place he happened to enter turned out to be a library. Becoming a library cat has brought Browser worldwide fame. He has his own blog, with news about his home, Pine River Library in Minnesota.
Tune in on Monday for the remaining cats and their rescues!
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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! 
January 22, 2015
My Human Answers My Questions Today
In advance of Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day, I’ve been making a list! Let’s see how my human does….
1. What did you do to Binga to make her so cranky? Are you guilty of tortie abuse or something?
Since there’s no such thing as a tortie Somali, I guess you haven’t been around them much. Um, no, she was not abused. Torties come that way, at least some of them. Especially her.
2. How come I’m the only one who competes in cat shows? I know they have Household Pet categories for non-pedigreed cats. I’d love it if Binga and Boodie entered too, then we could all hang out together all day and it’d be lots of fun!
Fun? I don’t think so! A lot of cats, both pedigreed and not, are fine at home, but then you take them to a show and they behave very differently. In fact, in the world of cat shows, there’s a highly scientific, technical term for this: they are called “spook cats.” Binga and Boodie would be spook cats at a show, and no judge wants to handle a cat like that, especially in the Household Pet category. They like friendly, happy cats like you.
3. I love staying in hotels and going to cat shows, but really, do we have to go there in the car? Isn’t there a better way to get there?
Well, I could snap the leash on you and walk you there, but that might take a while. Sorry, there’s no other option — except maybe flying in a plane. We’ll give that a try, maybe in March, and see what you think about that. At least I’ll be able to pet you inside your carrier and give you treats while we’re traveling.
4. Would it be the end of the world if we skipped the bath before a cat show sometimes?
No, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but you would look messy and poorly groomed and lose points and not bring home any ribbons. Plus you would be a bad example of your breed and embarrass your breeder. So there are still a lot of downsides.
5. Was Sparkle like me?
She looked a little like you — in fact, in some ways, she looked a lot like you! But the two of you have very different personalities. Sparkle was snarky and a little cynical, and you are neither of these. Plus she hated going anywhere, especially the vet, and when Binga whapped her, she whapped Binga right back. You are different in that way too. She did like to sit on my office chair and supervise me… but she was smart enough not to walk on my keyboard, even when I wasn’t looking.
6. How come your boyfriend gives me treats without my having to do anything, but you make me do stuff to get treats from you?
There are two reasons: 1) I’m using the treats to help you learn stuff, and 2) he’s a pushover.
7. Am I really as gorgeous as people keep telling me I am?
Yes.
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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! 
January 21, 2015
Tons O’ Tongues
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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! 
January 20, 2015
Geriatric Tortie Tuesday
Binga is going to be 15 later this year, and you know what that means, right? It means, according to the vet humans, that she goes from being a senior cat to a geriatric cat! So she will officially be older than dirt!
Binga does not think she is old, but maybe she is in denial. There are certain signs of being a geriatric cat. Let’s see how many fit her!
Geriatric cats dress funny and don’t even realize they are embarrassing their friends! You remember the photo shoot the above picture came from, right?
Geriatric cats often suffer from arthritis and decreased mobility. In fact, my human even got a flyer from the vet clinic about getting this checked, with Binga’s name added by a computer! I guess they did not see our cat tree wars.
Geriatric cats can develop dental disease. Well, she lost a couple of teeth during a dental cleaning a couple of years ago, but at her latest annual checkup, the vet said that overall, her teeth are okay.
Geriatric cats can have decreased lung capacity. When I hear Binga meowing nonstop at dinner and treat times, her lungs sound pretty durable to me.
Geriatric cats often decrease their activity level. From what I gather, Binga’s activity level has increased since I came to live here!
Geriatric cats can become senile, just like some humans do. I thought there might be some truth to this one, but my human tells me she has always behaved like this.
So what do you think? Is Binga headed for the rocking chair and a quiet retirement?
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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! 
January 19, 2015
A Kitten’s Guide to Caring for a Sick Human
Most humans assume that a kitten’s life is fun and carefree, full of cat toys and play. But sometimes things happen and kittens wind up with their paws full of grown up cat jobs. My life has certainly been like that, with all the traveling I’ve had to do and shows I’ve competed in. Then last week, my human got sick and I had another grown-up cat thing to learn! And it wasn’t easy — Sparkle didn’t leave any notes about caring for sick humans (my human says she was usually conspicuous by her absence whenever she fell ill), and Binga and Boodie weren’t exactly the best examples of feline nurses. So I sort of had to make it up as I went along… but from what I hear, I did a great job! So I thought I would offer some tips, in case any kittens out there wind up in the same position I did.
Tip #1: Keep an eye on your human, but you don’t have to be on top of her 24/7.
Humans can be needy when they are sick, but you don’t have to nurse them one-on-one throughout their whole illness. In fact, sometimes they don’t even want you hovering over them. If they are in extreme pain, or very feverish and sweaty, it may even be uncomfortable for them when a kitty’s on top of them. This is one lesson, by the way, that Binga has never gotten. She thinks she should lie on humans all the time and lick them nonstop. If my human is crying in pain, she has even been known to bite her! Don’t be like Binga, give your sick human space if she needs it (and no biting at all).
Tip #2: Use your feline intuition to figure out when your human needs the most care.
The day my human required the most nursing was when she was the quietest. She had a bad reaction to the meds that the doctor gave her and she was nauseous most of the night. She was determined to get my blog post in, however, so she alternated between lying down and napping and spending the 20 minutes she could sit up at the computer, helping me with the post. And I was there for her for the whole night. When she was lying down on the couch, I would jump up on the pillow and curl up by her head, and when she would get up to go to our home office, I would follow her and jump on the office chair and hang out behind her. She must have gone back and forth something like 20 times, but I never left her side the whole time. It was a lot of work, but it was quite rewarding (plus I got a completed blog post).
Tip #3: Be generous with your healing purrs.
It’s a proven scientific fact that a cat’s purrs have healing powers, so use them liberally. In addition to physical healing, purrs are also emotionally healing for your human, and they will calm her and help her be in a positive frame of mind.
Tip #4: Remind your human that life is about more than just being sick.
Humans tend to lose themselves in their illnesses and act like whatever they came down with will never end. As a cat, it is your job to remind them that someday they will be active and have fun again! This is especially easy for us kittens, because we get the zoomies all the time. I spent a whole morning chasing Binga and Boodie down the hallway and up the cat tree in the bedroom, and we were all enjoying ourselves so much that it was infectious! All that activity from us kitties really helped my human to feel lots better. So just because your human is sick, don’t think you have to tiptoe quietly around her all the time. In fact, sometimes you should do just the opposite.
Tip #5: Don’t ease your human back into her normal routine — send her flying with all four paws!
Of course, you have to make sure she is mostly better before you do this, but do not let her nurse her illness. Sometimes humans cling to being sick longer than they need to, and this is very bad for them. So once you’ve sensed that she has mostly recovered, go back to knocking things off the table, breaking into cabinets and puking on the rug. When Binga did the latter and my human did not get totally upset, we all knew she was going to be okay.
I hope you’ve found these tips useful! Let me know if you have any nursing tips that another kitty might find useful.
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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! 
January 18, 2015
Sunday Catinee: Oh, Really? Estate
I frequently run episodes from the CATastrophes series because they’re so funny, and they’ve done it again with this video, in which an enterprising young kitty decides to liquidate some of his real estate, completely confounding his humans.
If you can’t see the above video, click here to watch it on YouTube!
If you have a YouTube account, do subscribe to CATastrophes — they come out with videos almost every week, and they are all winners!
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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! 
January 17, 2015
The Caturday Report: Hero Edition
The news items in this week’s Caturday Report each feature heroes, either human or feline.
Plus my blogging pals have posts about end-of-life issues. Let’s get started!
This was big news, so you may have heard about the Russian stray cat who saved a baby’s life.
These two heroes, a man and a firefighter, spent an hour rescuing a kitten from a jeep engine. (Thanks to Georgia, Julie,Treasure and JJ for this one!)
Can a politician be a hero? Yes! New York State Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal is a big advocate for cats (she was the one behind a bill that outlawed tattooing pets), and now she has proposed a bill outlawing declawing in New York state. This bill no doubt has a tough road ahead — keep fighting, Assemblywoman Rosenthal!
The Sometimes Cats Herd You Blog looks at how you can make a difference for hospice patients and their pets.
And the Pawesome Cats blog examines the things you can do to make sure your cat it taken care of after you are gone.
My week has been quite exciting!
I started off by introducing the cat rescue anthology my human’s publishing company is putting out at the end of the month! The crowdfunding campaign is going strong — maybe you’d like to join in?
I had a cat show last weekend and it was tough! The good news that I just found out is I only have 10 more points before I achieve the level of Grand Premier! Will I make it at the San Diego show next weekend? We’ll see!
Here is a fun series of outtakes — my human had a hard time getting a decent photo of me with the cat rescue anthology and silliness ensued.
I helped Blog the Change for Animals on Thursday by explaining how rescuing a cat gives humans an endorphin rush — and telling two tortie tales as examples.
Lastly, I shared some of my cool Instagram photos, since my human was too sick to help me with a detailed blog post.
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! 
January 16, 2015
The Instagram My-Human-Is-Sick Edition
My human has been sick this week, and I had my paws full playing nursemaid. That’s why yesterday’s blog post was so late — it’s a goodie, and has a couple of cool cat rescue stories, so check it out if you missed it! Anyhow, I decided to go easy on my human and share some of my recent Instagram photos today. I know a lot of you aren’t on Instagram, so you haven’t seen them yet! Enjoy.
A photo posted by Summer Samba (@summerstravels) on Jan 15, 2015 at 10:06pm PST
A photo posted by Summer Samba (@summerstravels) on Jan 14, 2015 at 1:30pm PST
A photo posted by Summer Samba (@summerstravels) on Jan 9, 2015 at 10:31am PST
A photo posted by Summer Samba (@summerstravels) on Jan 6, 2015 at 1:08pm PST
A photo posted by Summer Samba (@summerstravels) on Jan 12, 2015 at 3:58pm PST
A photo posted by Summer Samba (@summerstravels) on Jan 11, 2015 at 10:56am PST
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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! 
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