Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 411

How to Rock a Harness Like a Pro (and How NOT to!)

Most of you know that part of being a therapy cat involves wearing a harness. When I am ready to go visiting, I will have to be on a leash, and a harness is the most comfortable way for a cat to be on a leash. Even if you are not a therapy cat in training, being on a leash is cool because you can go outside with your humans and still be safe. So if you think you would enjoy going outside, maybe you can talk your human into harness and leash training you.

This is my first, and current harness. In case you are wondering, it is a Puppia Flame Harness, size small. My human was originally going to get a vest style harness like the one Charlie Rascal is wearing in this blog post, but when she saw this one, she decided it would be better to start me off with something a little more lightweight.

It slips over my head easily and closes with a heavy-duty, secure plastic snap.

Doesn’t it look nice on me? I like posing with my harness on. I will confess it is just a little big around the neck, but I will grow into it in a few months, if not sooner.

My human can securely fasten me into my carrier when we go out shopping. I like how the harness makes me look professional and stylish!

Every time I wear my harness I get treats and skritches! Since I don’t mind wearing it, it’s kind of like getting bribed for something I already like to do.

Oh yeah, I am also supposed to show you how not to wear a harness!

Like I said, the neck is a little big on me right now. I am taking advantage of that because I know there will be a day that I won’t be able to do this!

Disclosure: Link to Amazon is an affiliate link, although my human actually purchased the harness at a local — gasp! — dog boutique.
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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!

Copycat by David Yow – Review and Giveaway

Here is another giveaway Sparkle didn’t get a chance to do, and it is another very special one! It’s a cool cat art book called Copycat: and a Litter of Other Cats by David Yow. My human got very excited when she found out about it because she is familiar with David Yow’s work — not as an artist but for his legendary punk rock presence in Scratch Acid, The Jesus Lizard and Qui! Little did she know, he was also a trained and very talented painter and digital artist. She was so excited, in fact, that word spread all the way to Yow’s publicist, who asked her to be moderator for his appearance at Stories Books and Cafe in Echo Park, just a few minutes from where we live.

Art from the book was on display at the store that evening.

My human really enjoyed being moderator for David Yow’s appearance, although she felt like he could totally have done it without her. He’s smart and funny and answered questions about cats, art, acting (yet another talent of his) and, of course, his bands.

For the art in Copycat, Yow put together photographs, textures, artistic skills and wit to create a neat coffee table book! This one, as you may have guessed, is called Bobcat.

Sometimes, like with Catacomb here, it’s a little macabre.

Or it’s cool and pop art-like.

The only thing I did not like about Copycat is that, according to my human, kitties are not supposed to eat it.

The great thing is, I got one copy to keep and one to give away! To enter, leave a comment on this blog post and say you did on the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway is open to everyone in the world, but I have a special bonus for anyone who lives in Los Angeles or the San Fernando Valley — if you win, my human and I will deliver the book in person! That’s right, you will get a chance to meet me in person! I am even giving extra entry points to all you L.A. residents if you tell me your zip code. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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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: Kittens Vanquish Big Guys

What do you think happens when some non-cat guys are introduced to ridiculously cute kittens? The kittens win, of course! Even better, the introductions are made at the awesome L.A. rescue, Kitty Bungalow!

Note: There is an HBO word at the beginning, but I don’t think there are any after that.

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: Silly and Serious Edition

Cat news around the internet is both funny and functional this week!

You’ll see what I mean below:

Did you know that more U.S. households own cats than own individual stocks? Not that this is anything new, if you scrutinize the statistics in this CNN Money story.
This isn’t about cats directly, but I felt it was timely and important — when Joan Rivers was planning her estate, she made sure her dogs were covered… and there’s a lesson in that for all humans with pets, wealthy or (mostly) not.
This high school student wants to include his cat in his senior portrait — and it is amazing!
Cat Wisdom 101 has some great tips on making sure your cats are prepared in case of an emergency. You will want to bookmark this!
I thought this post from the Pawesome Cats blog, about hydrotherapy for cats, was fascinating! Check it out.

It’s been quite a week here too!

I put together a list of 10 useful cat tips for humans!
I also got to enjoy my first box!
I had a guest post from Smoky the kitten about preparing your home for a new feline youngster (like me!), tips courtesy of the RSPCA.
This is just a series of photos of me looking cute and playing with my favorite toy.
Binga is the only cat here who was around for 9-11, and she told me what it was like.
I am giving away a copy of my friend Bailey the Boat Cat’s book! Enter here. And here’s a head’s up: I’m reviewing another book on Monday that I’ll be giving away too! Make sure you come back and find out what it is.

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!

Bailey Boat Cat Giveaway!

This is my first giveaway on the blog and I’m so excited! A couple of months ago, Sparkle wound up with an extra copy of her friend Bailey’s book, Bailey Boat Cat. She never got the chance to give it away, so now I get to. But first I’m going to sneak up on it!

I’m almost ready to strike!

Oh. According to Binga, this isn’t the way giveaways are supposed to go.

I hope this is better! Anyway, maybe you remember Sparkle’s review of Bailey’s book. Bailey’s now my friend too and both he and his book are really cool! His book is all about his life on the boat he shares with his humans. The photos are beautiful, and he also teaches you a little bit about how living on a boat works, for both cats and humans! I think you will love it as much as Sparkle did and I do, so I want one of you to have this copy! You can enter by leaving a comment on this blog post, and then say you did on the Rafflecopter widget below! If you have a problem with the Rafflecopter widget, let me know and I will enter you manually. Everyone, including my international readers can enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! Now I can go back to having fun!

Disclosure: Link to Amazon is an affiliate link. I received Bailey’s book for free from the publisher, but my human is paying to ship it to the winner.
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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!

Learning About 9-11

I was born on March 19, 2014 — many, many cat years after the events of September 11, 2001. That was even before my great-grandparents were born. The only cat here who was living with my human that day was Binga. Boodie was alive, but she was only four months old and had not yet been dumped at the veterinary clinic parking lot from which she was rescued. On 9-11, Binga was just a little over a year old — old enough to remember that day. So even though she often says bad words to me and tries to steal my food, I decided to ask her about it.

Binga does recall 9-11 very well. It started off like normal, with my human’s boyfriend going off to the job he had at the time, and my human waking up later, around 9 AM. At the time, she was living in the house she had before this one. In fact, she had just bought it, and escrow had closed only a few weeks earlier. She gave Binga and Harlot their second breakfast (her boyfriend always gave them a little something in the morning when he got up), and then went back upstairs to her office, which was in the second bedroom. We live on the West Coast, so everything had already happened, but my human didn’t know yet.

One thing you have to realize about my human: New York is her soul city, like Harlot was her soul cat. Although she has never actually lived there, every time she visits it, it feels like she has come home. In 2001, she hadn’t been to New York in about 6 years and she was a little homesick. So when she turned on the computer and saw something about the World Trade Center collapsing, she thought it was a joke because she couldn’t even comprehend that happening for real. She knew the World Trade Center well — she had been there for music conferences and had lots of fun memories. But when she logged into the employee and freelancer community area of About.com (she was their Yoga Guide at the time), she found out it really did happen. The About.com offices were in New York, so some of the people online there even witnessed it.

After getting everything she could out of the internet news, my human did something that apparently she never, ever does: she went into the living room and turned on the television. She switched from news station to news station, looking at all the footage and the interviews and the horror, and watched over and over again as the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, and the two towers as they collapsed. She had to watch these scenes over and over again because that was the only way she could make it real.

In between watching the devastation of the city she loved, and seeing the heroic efforts of the New York City police and fire departments, she listened to newscasters and people talking and she heard a lot of anger and hatred and blind desire for revenge. Watching the towers fall was awful, but listening to these people was worse. My human knew the world had changed, and not for the better. Finally she left the house and went out for a walk. Binga says that when she came back, she could tell she had been crying.

Something about the events of 9-11, and seeing what so many people went through, changed my human forever, Binga told me. It made her more compassionate and opened her heart. It also made her lonelier because it seemed to her like she was the only person who felt that way. There was so much anger, and people calling out for retaliation, and she knew actions that came out of that only played into what the terrorists wanted. All my human wanted, really, was healing and for everyone to rise above the evil that was behind this awful event. But she knew that for a long, long time, just the opposite was going to happen.

Lots has gone on in the years since. Harlot died in February, 2002. Sparkle was born the same year, and now she’s gone too. In 2006, my human sold that house she was living in and bought the house where we all live now. Her boyfriend returned to working full time as a musician again. But even though her life has gone on and in some ways gotten better, every 9-11, she looks at the world around her and thinks about this sad, sad anniversary.
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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!

Just Playing Around!

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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!

Top Tips to Avoid Kitten Catastrophes When Bringing a New Pet Into the Family Home

By Smoky the Kitten, Guest Blogger

Though we try to be as good as possible, the world is a big, exciting and sometimes overwhelming place for us cats. For kittens, it is even bigger, with everything from shoelaces to computer wires a constant source of distraction.

To help kittens settle in quickly and avoid young, over-zealous cats from causing you humans too much trouble, here are some tips for avoiding any kitten-based catastrophes when you bring us into your home.

Cat Proof Your House Before You Bring Us Home

Before you bring home a feline bundle of joy, make sure that you kitten-proof every room in the house to avoid unnecessary disasters.

As notoriously curious animals, we’re likely to try and explore every nook and cranny, so remove any precious objects you’ve got around (even the ones up on shelves as we can jump super high), tidy up your tangled cables, and take a good look around for any other potential disaster areas.

Use a Starter Room

As you can imagine, coming into a brand new home full of strange humans can be disorientating for us felines, with a whole host of sights, sounds and smells to get used to.

To make the transition a little easier, choose a room in your home that’s relatively uncluttered, quiet and without any kitten-sized hazards and let us get used to that space first.

Once we’ve settled down and gotten to know you a bit, you can gradually let us out to explore the rest of the house.

Let Us Make the First Move

Though we appreciate all the love and attention that you bestow on us, when we first arrive in a new home it can be a little overwhelming, especially if there are small humans about, so be patient.

To make it all a bit easier on us, give kittens the time and space to explore. We’ll come to you when we’re feeling more settled and are ready to make friends.

Meeting Resident Household Pets

For a new kitten coming into a home, meeting the resident feline can be scary. Though they can be friendly, in general we cats are pretty territorial, so it may take a little while for everyone to get to know each other.

By being patient, thoughtful and kind, you can make any kitten feel safe and welcome in a new home, avoiding any kitten-shaped catastrophes and creating an environment where your feline friends can thrive.

For further advice and welfare for your kitten or cat to make sure you create the best life for you and them, head to the RSPCA cat information page.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, and I received compensation for running it. All sponsored stories meet with my strict approval, and I felt the information contained was valuable to my readers. Plus, as a relatively new kitten myself, I could totally relate!
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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 First Box!

The other day I got my first box here! I wasn’t sure what to do with it in the beginning.

But don’t worry, I learned really fast!

I think it’s the most fun plaything… especially when combined with other fun playthings!

Uh-oh, I think something may be wrong!

I didn’t know boxes had a toll fee!

In case you were wondering what was in the box — it was this!

To be continued….
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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!

10 Handy Cat Tips for Humans

I’m just a kitten and I can’t even begin to be as wise as Sparkle was, but I think I can come up with ways to help humans be better servants to kitties! Today I’ve compiled a list of handy tips, most of which humans can use starting right now!

The best way to serve a kitty her meals is on a plate. That gives her whiskers room to comfortably spread out, and ceramic or porcelain plates are less likely to cause acne than plastic bowls, or deep bowls.
Does your cat keep losing his toys under the sofa? Get a fishnet from the aquarium section of the pet store — it will help you “fish” them out! (I got this one from my friend Sasha.)
If you have a cabinet with cleaning supplies and other items that are potentially dangerous to cats, use a childproof lock to keep out your kitties. We are smart and can undo twist-ties, and we can also chew through twine and rubber bands (in fact, rubber bands can be dangerous if we swallow them, so never use them, period). But only use the child proof locks for that. Cats should be allowed in all the other cabinets.
The best way to put a cat into a carrier is to place her in backwards. If you try to put her in face-first, she can reach out and grab at the opening and make it really difficult for the both of you. Also, your cat will feed off of your energy, so if you are nervous, she will respond in kind. If you can be calm and matter-of-fact, it makes it less stressful for everyone.
If you have a non-plastic carrier, make accidents easier to clean up like this: cut up an old shower curtain to a size that’s a couple inches or so larger than the bottom of the carrier. Place it on the bottom of the carrier so that the extra material goes up the sides, and then put a plush towel over it. That way if the cat is sick in the carrier or goes to the bathroom, it keeps the mess from sinking into the carrier itself.
If one cat is mad at another cat who came home from the vet, put some baby powder on a towel and rub it on both their rear ends. That way they will smell alike and it should help end the hissing. (I found this one on Facebook from a smart human that my human knows.)
Let your cat tell you when he wants to be petted. Reach out with your arm and hand relaxed, fingers lightly extended. Let him sniff your fingers, and if he rubs against them, it is okay to proceed. This is a good way to approach cats you don’t know well too. If you are unsure of the cat, it’s best to lay your hand on a flat surface, palm up, to make your approach as passive and unthreatening as possible. If a cat is really shy, you can hold a pen for them to sniff, or the part of your glasses that go over your ears (like Jackson Galaxy does in My Cat From Hell). Remember: cats always prefer to be the ones in control when it comes to physical contact.
Don’t bother meowing to us kitties. You can just talk in your regular human language. Meowing isn’t actually a language with words. We do understand a few human words, like “food,” “treats,” and our name, but mostly we pay attention to your tone of voice and body language, and that’s what you should pay attention to if you want to better communicate with your cat.
If you play really active games with your cat and then feed him right before bedtime, there’s a better chance he will sleep through the night and not have the nighttime crazies.
Marinate cat toys in a tub of catnip so they always stay fresh. I hear many of you are already familiar with this one… but how many of you are actually doing 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!