Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 466

BlogPaws 2013: The Not-So-Good

Since my human went to BlogPaws as a representative of my cat blog, and she was assigned the task of reporting about things that mostly concerned cats, you may not have noticed something about the conference that was pretty obvious if you were actually there: we cats were shrugged off as second-class citizens!

I will start off with the swag bag. Swag bags are supposed to be the highlight of any conference of this type. My human did not bring the BlogPaws swag bag home because it had nothing but dog junk in it! She opened it up, saw what was in there, and marched it right back to the registration booth and returned it! The BlogPaws humans claim they had a hard time getting cat swag for us kitties… maybe they should talk with the Cat Writers Association humans. There was enough cat swag left over at their conference last year to make generous donations to four or five different rescues.

The Cat Lounge this year was — I am sorry, there is no other word for it — pathetic. Sadly, Kate Benjamin of Hauspanther was not able to attend this year — last year, she created a fun, lively space for the blogging cats’ humans to hang out. This year, the only bright spot there were the toys she sent over.

As for the rest of it, here is what BlogPaws apparently thinks are important to cats and their humans: litter boxes.

It was kind of insulting. One of the staff (a cat blogger, of course), went out and bought some toys and scratchers to supplement the paltry selection in the Cat Lounge.

The whole weekend, my human got the impression that a lot of people there really did not get cats at all. Take the slide from this talk for example — they thought they would be cute and use Grumpy Cat:

Hello! They aren’t called FURballs — they are called HAIRballs! They could not even get the jargon right.

I was really hoping my human was going to come home with a fun package of swag — a bunch of toys, treats and other items of feline enrichment that I could share with my readers. I wanted to have a giveaway that included my international readers, since they are so often overlooked when a company sponsors a giveaway and does the shipping themselves. So I nearly wept when my human opened up the backpack and I saw this lame selection:

Okay, I confess — I’m not a weeper. I was mostly annoyed. Some cans of Friskies, a couple packages of treats and a plastic promotional brush. Oh, and a litter scoop, as if anyone needs another one. I would not insult my readers by making this a giveaway.

The only bright spot that came out of that half-full backpack was the little goodie bag that the Curlz and Swirlz blog human gave out to her fellow cat assistants.

It was full of fun and delightful scents! And even a couple of things for the humans.

BlogPaws humans, I hope you are reading this because I want to say that this little bag of treats and toys was ten times more awesome than anything you guys had to offer us cats!

So does this mean my human was so unhappy with BlogPaws that she would not go back? No! Not at all — in fact, she is already signed up for next year in Las Vegas! She does think they need to understand that we cat bloggers are a very big and important force, and that cats in general are more popular on the internet than dogs! They need to understand cat culture and enrichment way better than they do now. And it is up to us cat bloggers to teach them, the same way we teach our own humans.

Besides, my human had loads of fun hanging out with all the other cat blogging assistants, running around and having drinks with funny decorations.

And the last night, at the party after the awards when many of the cat blogger humans were gathered together, there was a camaraderie that is worth treasuring. Plus there were tiny tiaras. Which brings me to my last gripe about BlogPaws:

I was hoping it was going to get lost in the hotel room.
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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!

BlogPaws 2013: The Good Part

My human and I were a bit (well, more than a bit) exasperated with this year’s BlogPaws conference. But instead of starting off with my gripes, I felt it was better to start off with the good stuff BlogPaws had to offer. It did get my human out of the house for a few days, giving me a break from her incessant kissing and handling of me. And while she was at the conference in Tysons Corner, VA, she did make some connections that will benefit you, my readers. Plus she got to connect with other cat bloggers’ humans. Even staff needs an opportunity to cut loose sometimes!

But even better than networking with other humans, she got to network with some prominent cats!

Brighton, Disco and Coco from the Curlz and Swirlz blog were very fashion forward and had several wardrobe changes throughout the weekend. Above is Brighton’s punk rock look.

And Brighton and Coco weren’t the only stylish Cornish Rexes in attendance.

Most blogging cats, however, showed up in “flat” form, like Katie and Waffles from Glogirly. I don’t do flat because I think it gives me an air of mystery.

There were other critters at BlogPaws too, aside from cats and dogs. This bunny, for example. He weighed 34 pounds — he was huge! That is 7 times more than I weigh!

This guinea pig got a catered lunch!

I made sure my human stopped by the Greenies booth to refresh my store of treats!

But I was very disappointed that she did not bring home this treat!

But the scene stealers of the conference were the kittens! The Random Felines human brought along one of her fosters, Triscuit. She was very good the whole time she was there, allowing all the humans to hold her and coo over her. But by Saturday night she was exhausted! After the awards show (cat bloggers pretty much ruled the awards), she just wanted a nap.

Meanwhile, my human and a bunch of other cat bloggers’ humans headed up to the hotel room of Covered in Cat Hair’s Robin Olson, where a surprise birthday party for Allegra and Ruby’s human was going in full force! Disco and Coco were there, running around naked!

Disco, being a Sphynx, was about as naked as a kitty could get!

But the real star of the weekend was Odilia, a kitten being fostered by the Tails from the Foster Kittens human. She was born without eyes and has never had sight… but she is a fire cracker! She won the heart of every human she encountered with her sweet and spirited personality. Out of all the critters my human met, Odilia is the one she will always remember.

That was the best of BlogPaws. The rest I will report on Tuesday.
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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: Kitty Workout

I had mixed feelings about showing today’s Sunday Catinee video because I don’t want you to think I am endorsing this type of human behavior. Also, my human, who is sort of a fitness freak, has actually tried some of these moves with me (even before the appearance of this video!), and I can tell you firsthand that not every kitty enjoys this type of thing. But it does feature a couple of my favorite video stars, Shorty and Kodi, and they don’t seem to mind it, so here is a workout… with kitties.

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

Just tell your humans not to try this at 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,” 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!

Photo Hunt: Glass

Here I am, looking through the beveled glass doors into the should-be-catio. What is going on there? Boodie is getting brushed and FURminated! My human had not brushed her in a while and she was getting mats. Fortunately, she eats a fairly high-quality, grain-free diet, so they were easy to brush out.

Boodie does not mind getting brushed, which is a good thing! Usually, my human gets enough fur off of her to make another cat. This time, I think it was a two cat brushing!

I wanted to see this spectacle for myself!

It was amazing! And in addition to the big pile of fur, there was fur all over the should-be-catio — and my human’s leggings! She used dirty ones on purpose because she knew they would have to go in the wash when she was done.

The funniest thing is, Boodie barely looks like she was brushed at all!
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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!

Dear Sparkle: My Feline Roomies Still Whap Me After 7 Years!

This was an “Ask Me Anything” question, but I felt it was better dealt with in my advice column — and you will see why. Oskar from Pet Blogs United asked, “Why do the kitties that I live with still swat me on the nose for no reason sometimes? I’ve been here for 7 years and I never chase them. Shouldn’t they be nice to me by now?”

Well, Oskar, I hate to tell you, but some kitties never become best buds with the dogs they live with! I can tell you that for a fact because I am that kind of a kitty myself. When I came to live here over 10 years ago, the dog was already here, and I did not like her from the start. I was somewhere between two and three pounds, and this humungous, jumpy, loud thing was 20 times my size! She was quite frightening, and even though everyone assured me that she was harmless, and she and Binga were (and are) great pals, I never warmed up to her. If she is around and she is bothering me (and all she has to do is stand next to me to bother me sometimes), I will give her my patented machine-gun whaps on her nose! So she steers clear of me most of the time.

Part of the reason I do not like dogs is because by the time I saw one for the first time, I was over 4 months old (getting into the not-as-malleable, older kitten stage), plus I was already freaked out by being taken from my dog-free, all-kitty home and thrown into what seemed to be a chaotic life with strangers, human and cat alike. The dog made it even worse. The other reason is I do not speak dog at all, and the dog here does not speak cat very well. You see, cats and dogs speak very different languages and when we don’t understand each other, it causes frustration, annoyance and, sometimes, bad behavior.

I’ll give you a couple of examples about how cat and dog language differ. We kitties smile by blinking our eyes. You dogs smile with your mouth wide open, baring your big fangs and your lolling, salivating tongue! I think that is kind of scary. We cats greet friends with our tails high in the air and when we are angry, we swish our tails back and forth. You dogs greet friends with your tail swishing! That is just crazy to me. And dogs jump around unpredictably, and we kitties hate unexpected movements — it makes us nervous. And the barking — it hurts our ears. So yeah, when a cat like me is faced with a jumping, excitable dog showing his teeth, wagging his tail and making ear-splitting noise, I can’t exactly be expected to be glad to see him!

Of course, it is possible for cats and dogs to be friends, like Binga and the dog here. It helps if the cat and dog have both lived with other cats and dogs previously or if one of them is still in the puppy or kitten stage, so for those who are looking to adopt into a multi-species family, this is a good thing to keep in mind. And no matter what, when a cat and dog are meeting for the first few times, it should be done very carefully for both their sakes. Dogs should either be on leash or in a crate at first, and it might be a good idea to take the dog for a long walk first, or set up a meeting right after he has woken up — that way his energy will be lower, and he might be less inclined to upset the cat with hyperactive behavior. It helps the cat if you give her treats or catnip or something else she likes, so she associates good things with the dog. Dogs are naturally predators, and they chase their prey, so a dog should never be allowed to chase a cat, even in fun (the fact that Oskar does not chase the cats in his house shows he knows that already). It is also a good idea to make sure the cat has high surfaces he can climb or jump up to — “safe” spaces — where the dog can’t reach her. The Upper Midwest Great Dane Rescue has a great PDF file on how to manage a cat-dog relationship, even one that is less than optimal.

Oskar, if the cats in your family are still whapping you after seven years, I have to say, you must be doing something to annoy them! Kitties generally have a reason for doing that, even if you can’t figure out what it is. Maybe they whap you because they want you to know you can’t mess with them. Maybe they just don’t like your dog energy, or your version of fun isn’t the same as theirs. Or… you know, they could just be bullies. If your human understands Cat better than you do, then maybe she can observe you all and figure out what is being lost in the translation.
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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!

Yeowww Catnip Toy Winners

I have two awesome winners for my Awesome Yeowww Catnip Toy Giveaway! The Yeowww! Hearrrt Attacks Heart goes to:

Amy O.!

And the tin of Yeowww! Stinkies Catnip Sardines goes to:

Scamp, Chef and Nibs — The Three Catketeers!

Concatulations to 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,” 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!

Toes and Nose Thursday

Since my human is off to the BlogPaws conference today, I thought you might enjoy seeing my toes and nose close up!

I will be getting lots of peace while my human is away — no picking me up against my will, no kissing… and no annoying photo sessions! I consider this a mini vacation. I will still be posting, however.
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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: Me and My Pipe Cleaner

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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!

Fatty Liver Syndrome Kills – Help Save Leo!

Leo is a handsome yellow-orange tabby who has fallen on some very rough times. He was an owner surrender at a kill shelter, who was dumped because he was “too affectionate!” Are you as horrified by that as I am? Fortunately, the nice humans at Kitty Corner sprung the 8-year-old cat and brought him to their facilities. Kitty Corner is associated with Contra Costa Humane Society and Contra Costa County Animal Services, and its purpose is to provide rescue and seek out homes for adult, senior and special needs kitties. Once, there, they found out what an utter treasure Leo is — sweet natured, passive and yes, awesomely affectionate and gentle. But all the stress of losing his home and all the changes he had to face got to this sweet, sensitive soul, and he stopped eating and developed a deadly disease called hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver disease.

Some of you may know what fatty liver disease is and some of you don’t, so let me explain. We kitties need an almost 100% protein diet, and our livers help us metabolize all that meat. The liver also metabolizes fat, among other complicated processes. Now, when you humans diet or stop eating, your body is able to live on your fat stores fairly easily. It doesn’t work this way with us cats. When we stop eating and our bodies go into starvation mode, the liver has to work overtime to metabolize all the fat that is suddenly flooding its system. All that fat builds up, swelling the liver and turning it yellow. If a cat does not immediately receive veterinary care for this condition, it can kill him.

That is what started happening to Leo — because of stress, he stopped eating, and began to develop fatty liver disease. You can see how yellow his lips and gums are here.

In an attempt to give Leo a quieter, more stable living situation, and to encourage him to eat, he was handed over to a very nice foster couple. You may even know these humans through their lovely blogging cat, Savannah! Savannah has been blogging about Leo for the past week. He has had a very rough time. Savannah’s humans took him to a clinic to have a feeding tube inserted, since he still was not eating on his own. The clinic did not give Leo the best treatment (to put it politely), and they weren’t able to adequately explain how to care for Leo (Savannah’s humans are novices at this sort of medical care). So Savannah’s humans and the Contra Costa Humane Society mapped out a different plan of action for him. Savannah’s personal vet took Leo under her wing and he is currently at the Civic Feline Clinic, getting the best care he could possibly have. You can read more about Leo at Savannah’s blog here.

Although Leo is receiving lots of love (which he greatly appreciates), and is getting fed through a tube, he is still in danger of succumbing to this awful disease! Only when he begins to eat on his own will they know he is really beginning to recover. Meanwhile vet bills are adding up! Savannah’s humans spent over $2,300 themselves, and Contra Costa Humane Society needs funds to continue Leo’s care. The good news is that you can donate to Leo’s medical expenses right on their website — just go to their donation page, and where it says, “Please select the program or fundraiser to which your donation should be applied,” use the drop-down menu to pick “Leo’s Medical Care.” Your donation is tax deductible.

I do hope you can give something to help out this amazing guy! But I am not just asking you for money, I am also asking you for lots of purrs for Leo! He is going to make a wonderful companion for some human who really appreciates a cat’s affection… but he needs your help first.
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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!

Seven Things Humans Do That Really Annoy Cats

I am sure by now it is no secret that you humans do things that get on a kitty’s nerves. I don’t think you do it intentionally, so I figured I would be helpful by pointing out some of your most glaringly awful gaffes. Hey, don’t kill the messenger! I just want you to have a better relationship with your cats. So here are seven of the most annoying things you humans do, at least in a cat’s opinion:

1. Laugh. It is not that we kitties don’t want you to enjoy yourselves, but when you start loudly guffawing, it really hurts our ears! My human loves to watch comedies, but when she does, I head for another room. Seriously, can’t you have fun without making such a racket?

2. Wear perfume or highly scented lotion. Well, some scents you wear are perfectly acceptable, but more often than not, the perfumes you like are really offensive to us kitties! Even worse, it disguises your own natural scent and makes you not smell like yourself anymore. If you are going to cover up your own human smell, why don’t you do it with something more pleasant, like eau de catnip or chicken?

3. Kiss us against our will! Most cats I know really don’t like being kissed. The more polite ones tolerate it without too much complaint, but others (like me) will behave like we can’t wait to escape your clingy grasp. How can that possibly be gratifying to you? Don’t you feel like a rejected suitor or something? Look, if we want affection or attention, we will solicit it. And we would usually prefer pets, skritches, or a good butt slap over a kiss. Here is a clue: if you have to hold us kitties tightly to bestow your version of affection on us, you are probably being annoying.

4. Do something unexpected. We cats generally don’t intend to act skittish, but trip over your two clumsy feet or drop a pan on the floor, and it will send us flying! Sudden movements, especially noisy ones, really freak us out. So could you please go about your day in a more conscious manner so you don’t give us so many unpleasant surprises?

5. Play with us for three minutes and then stop. How would you like it if you were playing Monopoly with someone and you were winning and they suddenly decided to pack up the game board? Or if the blackjack dealer suddenly decided to take back all the cards he just dealt and closed the table? That would be really un-fun, unnatural, and wouldn’t it make you mad? It’s frustrating to have playtime interrupted! All games, human or cat, have a beginning, middle and end, and need to follow the logical course of events before they are over. We kitties like to play until we are tired out, and we know the game is over when we have killed the prey (because for us, play and prey are synonymous — all play involves hunting pretend prey). So when you pull out Da Bird or the catnip mice or the twist tie, do it with a game plan; invest the time to make it gratifying and make sure we have “killed” our toy at the end of the playtime. A treat at the end would be nice too — we can pretend we are eating the spoils of our hunting.

6. Put clothes on us. Unless your cat is Daisy the Curly Cat or Jacoby, Boston’s famous Abyssinian Stroller Cat, he or she probably does not like wearing clothes. What really gets me is that humans know this but they still keep doing it! Why, I ask you, why?

7. Make fun of us. I confess: we cats only have a sense of humor when it involves anyone else but ourselves. In fact, most humans don’t like being the butt of jokes either, so why would you want to do that to your cat? You humans may laugh it off when someone makes you look foolish, but doesn’t it kind of hurt inside? Well, when it comes to us cats, our feelings don’t get hurt (we do not work that way psychologically), but we do get awfully annoyed at you. And our opinion of you, not to mention our trust, goes down a couple of notches. So save the practical jokes for the dog — dogs don’t care if you laugh at them just so long as you shower them with affection afterwards. On second thought, it would probably make the dog pretty neurotic, so maybe you should just can the practical jokes altogether.

These are not the only things humans do that are annoying, so I will throw the question out to my readers — what does your human do that you just can’t stand?
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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!