Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 445

A New Mission for Tabby’s Place

Rosemary – from feral to adoptable

As you know, I’ve been a longtime supporter of Tabby’s Place in Ringoes, NJ. In the decade of its existence, this rescue and sanctuary has grown into a world-renowned, first class facility that takes in many special needs kitties — and gives them amazing treatment! And those kitties get adopted too: Dot with spina bifida and paraplegic kitties D’Art and Tashi are just three of the miracles who have found homes. But as this organization approached its tenth year anniversary, its members decided that they had to do even more to help kitties in need. Hence Tabby’s Place has made the decision to expand its focus to include feral cats.

Blanche is now at Tabby’s Place and adoptable

Tabby’s Place is using a method called “Targeted-Trap-Neuter-Return (T2NR). This sophisticated approach:

Proactively locates free-roaming cat colonies
Spays, neuters and provides medical care for these cats
Works with the community in collaborative relationships
Relocates cats who cannot remain where they were trapped, and
Arranges ongoing care and monitoring for the colonies.

Fixing a feral kitty

The humans from Tabby’s Place have estimated that about 1,000 feral cats call the five surrounding townships their home. Their plan is to use a vacant wing of their building to expand their veterinary operations. This will help them attain their first goal of reaching all 1,000 cats in the next three years. To accomplish this, they are currently staging a $400,000 fundraising drive. This will include construction, medical equipment and operating expenses. So far, they are over halfway there, so there is still quite a ways to go!

All fixed and ready to return to the colony!

Several big organizations have given generous donations to Tabby’s Place’s expanding mission, including the Paws and Claws Society, the Circle of Compassion for Animals, the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States. But individual donors are very important too, and the only way they will reach their goal is if enough of you step up to help!

Winky now has a better life as a barn cat, thanks to Tabby’s Place

It is smart, localized movements like the one Tabby’s Place is working on that will make a real difference for feral cats. And with their impressive medical facilities and devoted volunteers, Tabby’s Place is bound to set a standard and forge new ground for these wild and beautiful kitties. This is the time of year when a lot of humans make decisions about donating money, and it would be awesome if you gave some of your donations to Tabby’s Place!

All photos courtesy of Tabby’s Place.
* * *
Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” I have answers to many annoying problems in my two award-winning books! Visit my author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of my awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Great Big CWA Swag Bag Giveaway!

Look at all this swag from the Cat Writers Association conference a couple of weeks ago! Every year my human comes home from this conference with all this awesome cat stuff — and then we only get to keep one or two things. So I put my paw down this time and said for once I want to stop being gypped would like to share just a little bit more in this amazing bounty. So we went through everything so we could pick what we thought we should keep, and what should be in the giveaway.

I am a big fan of Greenies! Everykitty knows this… but we already have some here. So I said we could include this bag in the giveaway.

I love Pawbreakers too, but yeah, there are probably about four of them rolling around the house (including one my human put in the Play Circuit). So I reluctantly gave this one up too.

I think Binga was a little traumatized by her experience with the DIY treat toy, because she practically begged my human to put these puzzle feeders in the giveaway.

Giving up the toys was the hardest part! I decided I could do without these two since I have similar toys in my toy chest. Now if only my human would pull those toys out a little more often…

This is what I decided to give away keep! It’s actually a respectable assortment of treats and toys. I got to keep the Stella and Chewy’s coupon because I let the sample bag go into the giveaway. I don’t know why my human kept the Febreze Pet Odor Eliminator… it must be because of the dog since we kitties always smell awesome!

So here is what is left — lots of great treats, toys and some surprises! There is even a CD of music for kitties! If the winners have a kitten in their family, I will include the kitten collar we got along with the adult cat collar.

To enter this giveaway, comment below and say you did on the Rafflecopter widget. Because of the weight of this package and shipping cost, I will have to limit my entries to US readers only — or you international readers can enter and give me the name of a US friend or rescue if you win! If you are having a problem with the Rafflecopter widget, say so and I will enter you manually. The giveaway ends at midnight November 25 — good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And yes, Boodie got to keep her favorite toy.
* * *
Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” I have answers to many annoying problems in my two award-winning books! Visit my author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of my awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Sunday Catinee: Curtain-Climbing SpiderCats

It’s really nice to see humans who treasure their cats’ funtime more than their curtains! Check out Ava — she has been climbing curtains since she was a kitten and in this video she is four years old. Do you hear the word “No!” Neither do I:

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

This human is chuckling with glee as his two kittens make a tag-team race for the red dot… right up the red curtains! The kitten on the right is especially gifted at curtain (and curtain rod) climbing:

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

And I thought I would include this eHow video in which a vet explains how to keep your cat from climbing curtains. Normally I think humans are just full of fun-killing “advice,” but in this case I like how she sternly lectures about interactive play and taking part in your cat’s playtime. ‘Cause if you don’t want us kitties climbing the curtains, then come up with other ways for us to have fun:

If you can’t see the above video, click here to watch it on YouTube!
* * *
Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” I have answers to many annoying problems in my two award-winning books! Visit my author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of my awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Kitty Christmas and Holiday Cards From My Shop!

Did you know that I have a half-dozen different greeting cards for the holidays in my Designer Cat Zazzle shop? Here they are — and you should get some now because Zazzle is having one of their special deep-discount card sales: 75% off with the code 75OFFCARDS13. This offer is only good until November 17, 2013 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time, so shop now!

Naughty Kitty Christmas Card

Santa Kitty Christmas Card

Sparkle’s Happy Holidays Card

Tortie Seasons Greetings Card, featuring Binga

Sparkle’s Thoughtful Holiday Gift Card

Mousey Catmas Christmas Card

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

Big Box Caturday

My human’s six-year-old printer finally stopped talking to her laptop (they’ve been on poor terms for a while) so it got dumped! Literally, at an electronics recycling day they were having in my town. Which meant she had to buy a new all-in-one printer. Which meant (and this is the important part) I got a new box! A really, really big box.

But even though it is a big box, that does not mean that there is room for more than one kitty! Binga wants in, but I told her she needed to give me the password.

Sorry, but the password is not “naughty tortie.”

I love my new box and think my human got the raw end of the deal, being stuck with just a dumb, heavy printer! While she is trying to figure out why she can’t link her iPhone to the printer, I can relax in here and take a nap.

Although I confess, like the printer, the box sometimes has a malfunction or two.
* * *
Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” I have answers to many annoying problems in my two award-winning books! Visit my author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of my awesome Dear Sparkle books!

A Mug of Merit

I am really excited about what came in the mail for me! It’s a symbol of my high professional standing!

It’s a Cat Writers’ Association mug! I am a cat and a writer, so it was clearly meant for me.

Because of my prominence as both a cat and a writer, I am pleased to call this mug my own.

This is the logo for the Cat Writers’ Association. You might be able to tell that it was designed by my friend Katie’s human, Glogirly.

Glogirly put the mug design together on a whim, so you might say I got the prototype. I just want to add that it is an honor to be a member of such an awesome organization. We cats who write should have our own group so we can support and learn from each other!

Wait a minute! You mean the Cat Writers’ Association isn’t run by cats? It’s made up of humans who write about cats? And the mug belongs to my human, not me? But that is so wrong! All these humans in the Cat Writers’ Association would be nothing if not for us kitties! Nothing, I tell you!

And all this time I thought my human was going to their conferences as my representative.

By the way, my swag giveaway from the most recent CWA conference will start Monday!
* * *
Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” I have answers to many annoying problems in my two award-winning books! Visit my author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of my awesome Dear Sparkle books!

I Get Halo Liv-a-Littles Treats!

I was happy to see I got a new shipment from Chewy.com! I was not happy to see Binga horning her way into my photo shoot.

It is a container of one of my favorite treats, Halo Liv-a-Littles Chicken Breast treats! These were the first freeze-dried chicken treats I ever had, years ago! So you can imagine how excited I was when Chewy.com offered to send me some to try out! I immediately said yes because I already knew I was going to like them!

They are even tasty right out of the jar!

Unfortunately Binga agrees.

Yes, there was a little mishap. Can you see Binga? She stole some treats and she is trying to hide.

I will totally sit up for these Liv-a-Littles chicken treats! They are that good. I should probably mention that they have a marinade that includes sodium phosphate, salt and carrageenan — those are the only other ingredients besides the chicken. Particular, label-reading humans may not be happy with these extra ingredients. But I am a picky eater, so any treat that makes me happy, my human will let me have. Considering her addiction to red velvet cupcakes, she really can’t say anything!

Note: Yes, I got these treats for free from Chewy.com, but I would have eaten them even if my human had paid for them.
* * *
Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” I have answers to many annoying problems in my two award-winning books! Visit my author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of my awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Wordless Wednesday: Choices, Choices

I’m not sure which I like better — the shot of me through the shutters or my Batgirl picture. What do you think?
* * *
Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” I have answers to many annoying problems in my two award-winning books! Visit my author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of my awesome Dear Sparkle books!

Five Kinds of Guests, and How to Treat Them

I don’t know about the rest of you kitties, but I’m not a big fan of guests. They disrupt my schedule and always seem to linger when I’d prefer some privacy. Plus they tend to be noisy with all their chattering, making it hard to nap. Binga, on the other hand, loves visitors and every time some human walks in the door, she is anxious to play hostess, no matter how annoying the guest is. I think she is crazy.

If you are more like me, and you view guests with suspicion, if not out-and-out disdain, you will appreciate this list of the five different kinds of guests, and how to cope with them. Use my suggestions the next time your humans invite someone over without asking your permission.

1. The human who “hates cats”

Why is this person even showing up at your door? Your humans should have banned them from the premises long ago! It’s possible they are relatives, and your human is forced to accept them, but otherwise there is no reason for a hater to be inside your house. Humans who hate cats fall into two categories: those who just haven’t met the right cat, and vile examples of humanity. Either way, I suggest you dole out the same treatment: give them your undivided attention. Stare at them from afar. Stare at them up close. Rub up against them. Jump in their laps. Chew on their hair or clothing. Make biscuits on them. Purr in their ears. If they have just not met the right cat, they may be intrigued, and it’s always a good idea to create a new cat fan. If the human is just a vile cat hater, this treatment will drive them crazy and with any luck, they will cut short their visit.

2. The “allergic” human

I don’t trust allergic humans. Sometimes I think “allergic” is just an excuse for a human to dislike cats. That is why I suggest that allergic humans get the very same treatment that cat-hating humans do. Crawl all over them and leave as much cat fur on them as possible. If they are allergic, why are they at your house anyway? If your human wants to be friends with someone who is allergic, she should be hanging out with them at a coffee shop, or go to their house, not bring them to your happy kitty abode.

3. The human who “loves cats and they love her”

This one is even worse than a human who hates cats! These women (and they are almost always female) just assume that all cats love them, and they come barreling into your domain acting like Bast’s gift to felinedom. Do not go near this human under any circumstances. She will annoy you beyond belief with her silly baby-talk and invasive behavior. This type of human has no sense of personal space and will stalk you if you so much as peep into the room where she is hanging out. Even if it’s a beautiful day and your favorite sun puddle is in there, do not enter the room. You will never get a chance to enjoy your sun puddle anyway — she will be too busy trying to grab you and manhandle you. The best thing you can do when this human is around is hide under the bed until she is gone.

4. The human who is “indifferent” to cats

I like these humans. They leave you alone. You can walk right past them and flop down on the furniture and they won’t care. You can come and go as you please and they won’t even look twice. Except for the talking, they are practically invisible. How you treat an indifferent human depends on your human. If your human has been well behaved, you are free to ignore the indifferent guest or be friendly, as you please. If your human has been misbehaving — serving your dinner late, yelling at you for jumping on the counter, etc. — then you can use this visit to show your human who is boss in your house! Act out, knock a few things over, do sprints through the house and make a racket. See if you can get a rise out of the indifferent guest. That should make for an entertaining visit.

5. The “authentic cat person”

This type of human is more rare than you would imagine. They are smart enough not to make a big deal out of your presence. They respect you, so if you are not in the mood for company, they will not force themselves on you. Someone who is an authentic cat person won’t approach you unless you invite them to (and they are smart enough to know the signals). And they will be polite and ask your human what you enjoy, whether it is play or treats or anything else — but they won’t force any of this on you. They allow you to take the lead. I think these guests are awesome because they are perfectly happy admiring me from afar (just the way I like it), and they are just as comfortable letting Binga walk all over them. In a perfect world, all guests would be authentic cat people. But since the world is anything but perfect… you have the above tactics at your clawtips.
* * *
Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” I have answers to many annoying problems in my two award-winning books! Visit my author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of my awesome Dear Sparkle books!

My New Advertising Space!

Up until now, I’ve been low key about advertising on my blog because I didn’t really have anything official in place. I did have an ad block up for a while, but I wasn’t that happy with the interface. Finally, I set up one I was happy with (it’s called OIO Publisher and it is a WordPress plugin), and when somebody wants to advertise on my blog now, it’s easy!

When somebody is interested in advertising, they just go to my ad bloc and click on me!

This takes them to an ad form that is very easy to fill out! All they need is a 125x125px graphic and their link and they can pay through PayPal. Best of all, if for some reason I need to reject the ad (like if it is for something spammy like weight loss crap or drugs or something that no cats or cat people would be interested in), they never get charged!

I already have my first ad! It is for an author named Judy Snider for her book Goldy’s Baby Socks! She even sent me a copy. Check out her ad and go visit her site if you are looking for a cute children’s book for a Christmas gift!

If you think you would like to advertise with me, you can find the details here (I have a special listed for bloggers and Etsy sellers there), or you can click directly on the “Advertise with Sparkle” badge in my sidebar.

And if you have a WordPress blog and would like to check out OIO Publisher, you can find out more here. It is a plugin you have to pay for, but if you use the code AUTUMN13-SPARKLE, you get $10 off through November 30 (and I get a commission!). With the discount it is only $37, and it does not take that long to make your money back in ad fees, so I think it is a pretty good deal!
* * *
Having problems with your human or the other cats in your house? As the internet’s “Dear Abby With Claws,” I have answers to many annoying problems in my two award-winning books! Visit my author’s page on Amazon to buy one or both of my awesome Dear Sparkle books!