Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 405

Announcing the Santa Kitty Toy Hop!

Remember my blog post where I said I was going to announce something I am doing this year to help less fortunate kitties? Well, I actually had no idea what I was going to do — I just knew it was going to be good! But the next day, my human was talking with some other humans of blogging kitties on Facebook and they came up with an awesome brainstorm! Let me explain a little about its origins.

Everyone was wondering if there was going to be a Santa Paws Drive this year, and it turned out there wasn’t — as much as they wanted it to happen, Dorian and the elves couldn’t carve out enough time to make it happen for 2014. But instead of just sitting around being bummed about it, the cat blogger humans wondered what would happen if we all tried to so something similar, but for cats in our own communities? And that’s how the Santa Kitty Toy Hop got started.

To participate in the Santa Kitty Toy Hop, all you have to do is play Santa Kitty to a rescue in your area. Bring the kitties cat toys, treats, or other gifts to brighten their holidays. Take photos of your visit, and then write a blog post about the rescue and what you did. There will be a blog hop that I will host starting on December 12 and going through December 19. It will be a linky you will be able to share on your own blog if you so desire. We cat bloggers are everywhere, so we are hoping to bring the spirit of Santa Kitty to cats worldwide!

If there aren’t any rescues in your immediate area, you can still participate by giving gifts to a favorite rescue in another area and blogging about what you are doing. And if you don’t have a blog, feel free to spread cheer at your local rescue anyway, because it is a nice thing to do! You can even tell me in the comments about your experience on the blog hop day!

So let’s all join together to make the holidays a little happier for kitties who don’t have homes yet. Grab the graphic above (the one without me!) and get started! Here is a smaller graphic if you want to put it in your sidebar:

I hope you have lots of fun bringing cheer to rescue kitties near you!
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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!

Wacky (Paws) Post

When my human saw Sophie of Kitty Cat Chronicles being carried around in this Wacky Paws Pet Sling, she wanted to get one for me. She thought it would be fun to carry me around in it and maybe I would like it better than being cooped up in a carrier. My sling, of course, is pink.

It has a hook inside that latches onto my harness to keep me secure.

It was easy enough zipping me up in the pouch, but then we had a problem — we weren’t going anywhere! So for lack of a better idea, my human hung me on the shutters in the master bathroom. She said at least the light was good.

I was very nice and stayed in the sling. The skritches helped.

Well, look who’s here — the photobomber. Right when I’m incapacitated.

Maybe she’s glad she is not hanging off the shutters… but she could, because the small size Wacky Paws Pet Sling has a maximum load of 10 lbs. — and she is 9-1/2 lbs.

So far, my human has taken me out once in the sling, to PetCo, but I just wanted to get out and wander around on my leash! Same as any other carrier I have ever been in. I would much rather explore than be safe! So my human says that from now on, as long as we are going somewhere where I am not going to be in danger, once we have arrived and she has checked everything out, I can come out of whatever carrier I happen to be in and be on the leash. I think that sounds like a fair deal.
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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!

Human Infractions

Although I am way less critical of my human than Sparkle was (I give her points for trying, even when she fails miserably), she still sometimes does things that don’t measure up to the Kitty Code of Acceptability. I don’t hold these against her, but they do need to be pointed out because she should be aware there is room for improvement! And how could she ever improve without knowing where she is lacking?

Here are some areas in which she is falling short. I hope she is taking notes!

She locks me away while she is eating lunch, especially if it has chicken in it, and won’t let me on the dining table to share with her.
She also locks me away if I finish my meal before Binga and Boodie and won’t let me eat their food. Why? They don’t care if I eat their food in addition to mine, and vice versa.
She feeds me on paper plates and then won’t let me eat the paper, even though it tastes good!
She only plays with me in short, infrequent spurts. She needs to play with me for hours every day! I’m still a kitten, after all.
What’s with the playing with one hand and clutching a camera in the other? Especially holding the toy in her left hand when she is right-handed. It does not make for an optimum play experience.
I have to earn all my treats — I never get “just because” treats. Her boyfriend gives us kitties treats without us having to work for them. I don’t understand why she does not follow his good example.
When we go places, why, why, why does it have to be in the car? Why can’t we just magically appear at our destination? If humans were as awesome as they thought they were, they would have already had this issue solved.
Any why won’t she let me out of my carrier immediately when we go somewhere new so I can explore? What’s the use of looking at the world through mesh while hanging off her shoulder, when I can be on a leash and view and smell it all up close? Sometimes she is too paranoid.
Oh, and her desk is a mess. There is nowhere for me to sit and supervise. In her notes, Sparkle warned me that this was a chronic issue.

Those are my observations. In what areas does your human not measure up?
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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!

Honoring Our Veterans, Feline and Human

As humans salute their veterans today, I would like to give a tip of my tail to the brave cats who served our country. Although there are fewer famous military felines than dogs, we cats have some brave warriors in our ranks. Here are five of them:

Pooli: public domain photo

Princess Papule, or Pooli for short, was born in the Navy yard at Pearl Harbor late in the war, and served on the attack transport USS Fremont. The places Pooli saw action included the Marianas, the Palau group, the Philippines and Iwo Jima. She was profiled in the L.A. Times on her 15th birthday in 1959.
The VP-12 Squadron, based at Guadalcanal, was also known as “the Black Cats of VP-12” and their mascot was a real black kitty named Yardbird.
WWII flying ace Colonel Fred J Christensen was part of the 56th Fighter Group, known as the Wolfpack. He shot down 22 German fighter planes but always returned safely, and he claimed that his good luck came from a kitten he adopted while in Great Britain. The lively young kitty, named Sinbad, flew with the Colonel on many of his lower altitude missions and raised the morale of the other airmen. Col. Christensen returned to the States in September, 1944 with Sinbad, who became a member of his family… and had kittens, which was the first time Col. Christensen had any idea she was a female.
Another wartime Air Force mascot was Jinx, who served at a base in Texas. She did not fight abroad but earned her wings while helping train heavy-bombardment crews.

Pfc. Hammer with his human, Rick Bousfield: from defense.gov

And there are still felines serving the armed forces today. Pfc. Hammer was born on an Army base in Iraq and worked hard keeping the soldiers’ quarters and mess rodent-free. He also offered feline therapy to the soldiers as they braved battles and attacks. When Pfc. Hammer’s unit completed their deployment in 2004, Alley Cat Allies and Military Mascots helped get him transport to his new home in Colorado, where he joined Staff Sergeant Rick Bousfield’s family.

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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!

Prizes from Sammy… and an Announcement

Posing in this pirate costume totally paid off ’cause I won my friend Sammy’s Sam-O-Ween funniest costume contest!

I thought lots of the entries were great and I was really surprised to win!

I got my prize in the mail a few days ago… but I had no idea how amazing it was going to be!

Look at how much I got! And everything so neatly wrapped.

Plus a nice thank you note for entering.

I couldn’t wait to open up everything. Neither could Binga.

Look at all these toys! There was even an early Christmas duck!

Plus these stunning little silvery charms for my harness! I can’t wait to put them on!

My human said I could only play with a couple of the toys right now, and that she’d gradually let me have the rest of them, so I don’t go crazy all at once and then get bored of them right away. Don’t think I got gypped because she picked this little mouse as the first toy!

I love these little mousies! In fact I love them… to death!

My human also let us have the Play ‘n’ Squeak mouse. Binga couldn’t wait to get her paws on it!

Thank you so much, Sammy! This was a much, much better prize than I was expecting. It was like Christmas in… um, November! Which means Christmas actually is coming soon, and that leads me to my announcement. Between Sammy’s prizes and something else I get to share with you in a couple of days, I already have so much awesome stuff that I’ve decided to tell my human I don’t want anything for Christmas! And Binga and Boodie agree, since I have more than enough to share with them! Instead, we are going to do something to give to less fortunate kitties. I don’t know what the plan is yet — I am still working it out — but all of you who come visit my blog will have a say in it!
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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: Boodie Selfie

Since I have my Sunday Catinee every week, I never get to participate in The Cat on My Head’s Selfie Sundays. But I thought you might enjoy this video of Boodie being pals with her iPad selfie! It’s a little over three years old so I bet a lot of you haven’t seen it, and it’s definitely worth pulling out again.

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: The Celeb and Censorship Edition

There’s really no running thread in this week’s Caturday Report — it runs the gamut from celebrity silliness to political protest to adorableness.

As usual, my blogging pals come up with the most worthwhile stories, as you will see.

Although my human does not consider Jon Hamm sexy, she almost changed her mind when she saw him in this cat crazy clip from Comedy Central’s @midnight.
A lot of you probably know that we cats can hear better than both dogs and humans… but who knew that this ability would be part of a campaign to fight internet censorship in Russia and China!
Buzzfeed says these 31 photos will “restore your faith in cats.” Well, if you are here, your faith has probably never been shaken, but check out these images anyway. Each one is awwwww worthy.
In case you didn’t know, November is Adopt A Senior Pet Month, and the Sometimes Cats Heard You blog gives you 10 reasons why senior cats make awesome companions.
You may have heard about how much something called the Assisi Loop helped Lil BUB cope with her rare disease. The Conscious Cat goes into detail about this fascinating loop!

This was quite an eventful week around here, as you shall see.

Since my human had just returned from MeowWorld, I started off the week with some very fun outtakes (and a few tips too).
Tuesday was the annual Blog Blast for Peace, and I had a few things to say about creating peace with Binga and Boodie.
I finally got to tell you all about MeowWorld — and show off the swag!
Our furnace died! So while it was getting replaced, my human and I spent a couple of nights at a friend’s house. Another fun adventure for me!
To end the week, I explained why we cats need lots of human companionship, and not to believe the myth that we are low maintenance pets.

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!

No Kitty Is an Island

Now that I’ve spent some time looking around the internet and even getting out of the house, I’ve noticed that some people have the wrong idea about kitties. They think that since we aren’t needy like dogs and we don’t have to go out on walks and stuff, that we are low maintenance pets. But nothing could be farther from the truth! Just because we don’t beg for it, and sometimes reject the way it is given to us, we cats need lots of companionship!

You can’t just toss a little mouse toy at your cat and expect her to keep herself entertained all day. She really does want to be part of your life and have fun with you! Besides, you know that toy mouse is going to eventually disappear under the sofa or refrigerator — and then what’s a kitty to do? At least humans are too big to disappear under things.

Interactive play is the best! A toy like the one above is not going to play itself. It needs a human to activate it. Do you know why kitties sometimes go crazy and destroy things? It is because they are bored and do not get enough stimulation! And I can guarantee you, a cat (and a kitten like me especially) needs way more interaction and play than you think we do!

And cats need more than just play. We actually like being around our humans! As cats, even young ones, we are natural supervisors and leaders, but that is pointless unless we have someone to supervise and lead. That is where you humans come in! It is important that you create special areas for us to watch you while you are at your laptop or on your tablet or phone, or while you are reading or watching TV. Only a kitty can let you know if you are doing it right — or if you need to take a play break. And above all else, do not mess around in the kitchen without feline supervision. Kitchens are dangerous areas and your cat will need to keep an eye on you. What if you dropped food and no kitty was there to help with the clean up? Wouldn’t that be tragic?

So if you have a cat, always make sure you actually share your life with her! Don’t just bring home a cat and expect her to sleep all day and look out the window. Yes, those are important to us, but believe it or not, you humans are just as important! Even when we are sitting there, doing nothing, we are doing nothing in the same room with you — and that really means something to a cat.

Besides, we want an audience to show off our best yoga poses.
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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!

There’s No Place Like Home

As you can see, I am not home in this photo! Remember how I casually mentioned that the heater was broken in Monday’s post? Well, it wasn’t just broken, the furnace died and needed to be replaced! Although it does not get all that cold where we live in the winter, if it is as cold at night in the house as it is outside, it is still unpleasant, at least if you are my human. She immediately got on the phone with an air conditioning and heating company she knew, made a few calls and was able to get the dead furnace replaced with a new, more efficient system within a couple of days! But she refused to sleep in the house until it was installed. Her boyfriend did not care because he is from the east coast, so she left him, Binga and Boodie and took me to her friend’s house for a couple of nights. You may remember this house from the ant disaster Sparkle told you about last July.

Unlike the other cats, I liked staying at my human’s friend’s house! There was an awesome view of the back deck. It’s prettier than what I have to look at in our backyard. Plus, her friend convinced her to let me hang out with the two of them and the two cats that live here. So my human put my harness and leash on me, to help keep me safe, but it was all okay. The other cats thought it was a little weird I was there, but I just hung out on the love seat and chilled while the humans talked.

When you are staying somewhere new, it is very important to have a comfortable bed to sleep in.

I loved this bed! It became my hangout spot when I wasn’t with the humans.

One of the things I really liked about this house was it has built in cat toys!

There was even a big hockey rink! My human called it a bathtub. It wasn’t, it was a kitty emporium.

We actually only spent evenings there. During the day it was warm enough for us to come home. We had to get up extra early on the day the heating workers came to install the new system. It was a really big project!

One worker even had to cut a couple of holes in the floor — one right where our cat tree is!

You can tell I was not pleased.

It totally did not meet with my approval! But the good news is that the worker humans got done in one day instead of two, so the heater is working and we are totally home now! I think Binga even kind of missed me. I enjoyed my couple of nights away, but really, there is no place like 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!

The Really Good Parts of MeowWorld, and the Swag!

The Cat Writers Conference, known this year as the MeowWorld side of the BarkWorld Expo, was all about humans who write about cats, networking and attending sessions. Blah, blah, blah. If you are a kitty, all you care about are the parties, right? And there was only one party at the conference that really mattered.

That’s right — the party Waffles threw to celebrate being on the Mike’s Harder Apple Firebomb Cocktail can! My human got drunk on one. She is a lightweight! She said it is tasty but just a little sweet, not overpowering.

Maybe the same could be said of Waffles. While nearly everyone tried out the drink, Waffles was really the draw of the evening.

Even though I could not be present in the fur, I was still able to say hello to Waffles! I rubbed all over my human’s bag before she left, and you can tell he got the message.

There were also people treats, some of them handmade by the human who helps Allie, Maxwell and Faraday with their blog.

And Waffles had his treats hand fed.

Okay, enough about the conference right now. Let’s get to the good stuff! Which means the humongous bag of kitty swag my human brought home! Sparkle left me notes telling me how awesome it would be, but I still could not believe my eyes!

This, I could believe.

It’s one thing to see a blog post with swag spread out like this — but it’s a whole ’nother thing to experience it yourself! I was truly amazed. It is going to take me a while to figure out what to keep and what to use for a giveaway!

Don’t worry, I was told not to take her input seriously.

What is not going into any giveaway is the nice gift bag my human got from the human of Sebastian. She very sweetly put these together for her blogging friends.

My human and I want to thank her lots. We loved everything she put in our bag!

My human’s favorite item was this black cat key chain that lights up and meows when you push a button.

My favorite was the plastic roach! It was so lifelike, I had to kill it.

Oh, and I almost forgot about the awards dinner the Cat Writers had the last night at the conference! If you remember, a few weeks ago, my human got seven Certificates of Excellence in the Cat Writers’ contest. If any of these entries got the most points out of all the entries, she earned a Muse Medallion, and… as you can see, she got four! One was for this blog (it tied with Crepes’ blog, Cat In the Fridge). So it was yet another nod to Sparkle’s legacy. And yes, one of the other Muse medallions was for Binga’s “Tortie” digital artwork!

This year, they were also giving out the winners’ choice of either a pin or a charm. My human chose charms, so she can link them together and put them on my harness! Isn’t that cool?
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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!