Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 481

New Nekoflies Critter Review and Giveaway!

I wish my human would put down that camera and get this box open! I saw the return address and I have a good idea what’s inside.

And Binga does too. Obviously.

It’s two Neko Flies critters! These are new to the line: a Kattipede and a Kiticatterfly!

My human started by opening up the Kiticatterfly — can you tell Binga is jealous that I got first dibs?

And Boodie got second dibs!

But Binga did not mind too much because she got to play with the Kattipede. I want to let you kitties know that we all worked very hard testing out these two toys. It was exhausting! But after much effort, the three of us concluded that the new Neko Flies critters are totally awesome!

And what is even more awesome is that one of you will win your very own Kattipede and rod! To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment and then say you did on the Rafflecopter widget below. Since this giveaway is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada (apologies to my international readers!), you will also have to name the state or province you live in. You can Tweet about the giveaway for extra credit. The giveaway ends Sunday night, January 20 and I will announce the winner on Monday! Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


* * *
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: Quiet Time

* * *
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!

Be the Change, One Cat at a Time

 

One of my human’s favorite stories — and I think it is pretty cool too — is the one about the boy walking along the beach, picking up starfish and throwing them back into the water. When a grown-up told him that he could not save all the starfish, and his efforts would not make any difference, the boy picked up another starfish and as he tossed it into the sea, he said, “It made a difference to that one.” When you make the effort to Be the Change for Animals, it does not have to a sweeping, all-encompassing gesture. In fact, trying to do something too big can intimidate you into non-action. Sometimes it is better to work on saving one cat. Not only will it make a big difference in that cat’s life, it will strengthen your resolve to help the next cat that comes your way.

So in that spirit I am going to talk about one cat today, in the hopes that someone out there can be the change in his life. It is quite possible he is related to my blogging friend Selina because he is located at the same Greenville, SC area country club, near the dumpster and golf cart house, where she was found. This guy, along with several other cats, is part of a small colony a nice human has been tending to for quite a long time now.

This handsome black kitty is maybe a year old, and he is actually pretty friendly — in fact, his caretaker can pick him up and hold him. He has even given him a temporary name — Gomez. It should be pretty easy to socialize him so he can be adopted. Which leads me to his dilemma. He needs a home to go to before his caretaker can take him in and start working with him. And this situation is getting urgent because the country club is beginning to tire of having a feral colony on their property.

So is there someone out there who can give Gomez a helping hand? If you think you can do something to help, please leave a comment on Selina’s original blog post. And please spread the word through your social media channels, especially if you know people around the Greenville, SC area. You never know when you will be the link that gets a kitty rescued.

Come to think of it, is there a kitty in your area who could use a little help finding a home? There are a lot of homeless cats out there… maybe as many as there are starfish stranded on the beach.

* * *
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!

Shocking Human Announcement!

For nearly nine and a half years (starting September 2003), I have been offering cat-to-cat advice — no humans allowed! That is because there are so many “cat experts” out there who are not actually cats, and I felt that we kitties could only get authentic tips and useable advice from one of our own. But after scrutinizing the columns in my two books and my monthly advice column — quite a large body of work indeed! — it has come to my attention that a good 80-85% of the problems are caused by… humans! And the problem is, we cats can only do so much on our own to change a human’s behavior. After all, they are willful creatures and not very bright.

So after a decade of catering to cats only, I have decided to open things up and invite humans to ask me questions! Maybe if I talk to you people directly and plainly, it will be easier to make you understand what we cats require of you. I know I will have to dumb things down a bit since, not being cats, humans cannot see through a cat’s eyes. Things that are obvious to us cats are as clear as mud to you humans, so it may take more explanation than I am used to. But I am willing to give it a try and see if it helps kitties have better lives with their humans.

Don’t worry, kitties, I will not be giving away any secrets or proprietary information. I am only opening my blog to human questions for your benefit. I do have the Kitty Code of Silence to uphold.

There are just a few rules for you humans to follow:

I am not a vet. In fact, I hate vets. So I can’t answer questions about health, or medical treatment — or answer questions about issues that require veterinary intervention, other than to tell you that veterinary intervention is required.

If you have a complicated question, like if you have 10 cats and they have all been fighting for years and peeing all over the place and each one has a different problem with a different cat, I can’t help you there either. You need a cat behaviorist to come to your house and give you a complex solution to your complex problem. Don’t try to take the easy way out. A lot of things can’t be solved over the internet, so don’t try.

Don’t expect me to give you easy answers that will make your life more comfortable. Easy or not, the answers I give you will make your cats’ lives more comfortable. Hello, I’m a cat! I care about other cats. Humans? Not so much. Although I will make an effort to find a happy medium.

You can ask me dumb questions. Like if you are wondering why your cat is doing something that puzzles you but isn’t a behavior problem — you are just curious. In fact, those are my favorite questions because if I don’t know the answer, I may make something up (this has to do with the Kitty Code of Silence — there are some things we don’t want you to know).

While I do hope what I have to say helps cats, this is all in fun and not meant to be a replacement for advice from a vet or behaviorist. Seriously, if you are at your wit’s end, go to Google and search for an expert near your home. I know I said this before, but it bears repeating.

There you have it! If you have any questions, use my contact page on my blog or email me at sparkle at sparklecat dot com.

Heh. This should be interesting!
* * *
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: Bike Kitty

[Note: I almost did not feature today's video because I was worried it might upset some humans who would worry that the kitty, MJ, wasn't secured. So I ran it by the readers of my Facebook page and asked them what they thought. Out of 23 individual comments, only two had issues with it — and one human pointed out that MJ was probably safer unsecured because if an accident happened, he could jump free and was less likely to be crushed. Most humans enjoyed it. So I am letting it stay.]

Rudi Salida rides his bicycle around Philadelphia… and he is sometimes accompanied by his cat, MJ. Rudi captured these clips of him and MJ with the help of a GoPro camera, and you can tell the two of them have an amazing relationship, one filled with trust and lots of love. But before you watch this beautiful and hypnotic video, let me warn you: do not try this at home!

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!

Caturday Cuteness

As you can see, I am feeling a bit crabilated, not cute! That is because I wanted to enter Eric and Flynn’s competition… and my human sent in a photo of Binga! She said that I look more beautiful than cute, which would usually be a compliment, except when there is a competition to enter!

But I can do cute too! Really! See?

And how about this one, with my little brick-colored nose and dark Goth lips?

I can even look cute when I am hiding my ears!

Wow, all this cute stuff is exhausting!
* * *
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!

Love Saves the Day: The Book, the Tour, the Contest!

Gwen Cooper, author of Homer’s Odyssey, the best-selling book about her extraordinary blind cat, Homer, has a new book coming out: a novel called Love Saves the Day! There are three special reasons you will want to buy this book.

1. It sounds like a great read. It is written through the eyes of Prudence, a cat with a nice life in Manhattan… until one day, her human does not come home. She is taken in by her human’s daughter, Laura, and has to adjust to a new life, with new people to train. But Prudence comes to realize that training a human is about more than setting an acceptable feeding routine — there are also lessons in healing to be had. And Laura learns that love, like one’s past, never dies.

2. Gwen is doing an amazing 15-city tour for her book. Why is it amazing? Because she is not doing a bookstore tour — she is making her appearances at no-kill shelters! She will be announcing details on her website as soon as they are available. Paws up to Arm & Hammer Ultra Last litter, which is making the tour possible — and is also donating litter to each shelter visited.

3. There is a contest for anyone who buys the book the first week it comes out (and yes, pre-sells count)! The grand prize is Gwen herself — she will come to your town to lead a discussion or give a reading anywhere you want to set it up… even if it is just in your living room, and give a $500 donation to the animal charity of your choice! Second prize is a portrait of your special animal friend, done by artist Sue Hains. Third prize is autographed copies of Love Saves the Day and Homer’s Odyssey, plus one of the original photographs of Homer, used to create the cover art of Homer’s book. And the photograph will be autographed too! The book comes out January 15, and the contest closes at 12:01 AM Pacific Time on Monday, January 21 — the rest of the details can be found on Gwen’s blog post here.

These are all great reasons to buy Love Saves the Day, but did I say there are only three? I was wrong — there are actually four! Because if you buy a copy from my website links to Amazon, I get an affiliate referral from them — and I am donating all my Love Saves the Day referrals for the month of January to Blind Cat Rescue!

Buy Love Saves the Day from Amazon here!

Paws up to Gwen for coming up with an incredible book launch — one that will help many kitties along the way!
* * *
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 10th Blog Anniversary and Pet Blogger Challenge!

I’ve never done the Pet Blogger Challenge before and thought it would be fun to answer these questions… although I did have to think hard about some of them! This is a good time because although I do not know the exact day, this month marks my 10 year blogging anniversary!

1. When did you begin your blog?

Official or non-official? My first post is dated October 2002, but I did not really go live until January 2003!

2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog?

It was mainly meant to be a diary of my activities and only updated once a month. There were just a handful of kitties doing this at the time, and I didn’t even know about them!

3. Is your current purpose the same?

Not at all!

If not, what’s different?

My Diary is only one section of my blog. I also give cat-to-cat advice, review books, promote cat rescue and write about cool kitty events and products. Plus I am an author and a model with my own calendar line.

If so, how do you feel you’ve met your goals?

I am not anywhere near the goal I wanted to reach, which was to be one of the most famous kitties on the internet! With cats like Sockington and Sparta the Mean Kitty from a few years back, and now Tard the Grumpy Cat, Henri and Oskar the Blind Kitten, I have to say the competition has always been tough! I also am nowhere near where I want to be with my book sales. I am perpetually dissatisfied and always trying to figure out how to be better, and do better.

4. How often do you post?

I post every day. Sometimes more than once if there is something good going on, or if I have a new item in my Zazzle store that I want to write about.

5. Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you?

Like most cats, I thrive on routine, so I stick to a schedule. Also, my human is an old-school journalist and editor (magazine and newspaper), and she is used to working on a deadline. So we are both very comfortable with having a schedule.

If you publish on a schedule, why? How strict are you about your publishing deadlines? What do you do for inspiration when it feels like you’ve covered every topic?

I believe if you want to be successful at any form of writing, including blogging (and I do!), it is important to have a schedule and a plan. I am very strict about deadlines — I do not let my human go to bed before my daily blog post is finished and uploaded! There is always a new topic, but if I am really stuck, there is usually a good photo or two of me or Binga or Boodie around somewhere.

6. How much time do you spend writing your blog per week? How much time visiting other blogs? Share your tips for staying on top of it all.

I am not really sure how much time I spend. I am actually trying to get better organized and do my non-time-driven or spontaneous posts one day a week. I do spend a lot of time visiting other blogs, as many kitties know… I seem to be famous for leaving comments everywhere! I try to schedule my visiting times too, and if I feel I am taking too long, my human sets a timer so I know when to stop!

7. How do you measure the success of a post and of your blog in general (comments, shares, traffic)?

I use all three criteria to gauge the success of my blog posts! And if a post does not hit two out of three of these (comments and traffic), I start thinking about what I can do that will bring more comments, traffic and sharing. Not every post can become viral, but I have a base number that I consider the minimum and it really bugs me to fall below that.

Do you look strictly at the numbers, or do you have a way of assessing the quality of those interactions?

Sharing is a good criteria of a blog post’s success — it’s important to have a post that is good enough to share. And if the comments are thought-out and passionate, that is also a good gauge of a blog post’s success. Usually if those two are there, the numbers follow.

8. If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one issue you’re having with your blog, what would it be?

I am always trying to figure out how to reach a bigger audience — it has been difficult for me to come up with a way to reach the next level!

9. What goals do you have for your blog in 2013?

I do want to break through my traffic plateau to reach more readers! And this is not wholly blog-oriented, but I am working on a new book: Cat Rules (for Humans to Live By). It is going to look a lot like my 2013 wall calendar, only with lots more rules! I also have something big planned, but it is in the early stages so I can’t really talk about it right now. Stay tuned!
* * *
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!

Travel Thursday

Look — my human’s boyfriend has the big suitcase out! That means he is going on a long tour. This time he is spending the rest of January and a lot of February away in Europe with one of his bands. It also means I get to sleep on his pillow while he is away! That is my favorite part.

I had better get out of here — he does not know I was in there, furring up his stuff!
* * *
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: Hanging Out

* * *
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!