It's Caturday!

Welcome back for another edition of Caturday, where we catch up on the week's latest cat news and get to meet some of your amazing kitties!

This week, we said goodbye to Meow the 39 lb. cat, Carole King's classic kitty album art was explained, Azealia Banks purred for Prada, ModCloth created a cat cardigan that always has your back, and a talkative tabby comforted his heartbroken owner in a "Drunk" new music video. Elsewhere, we reviewed Two Cats Magazine, played a game of 'Who's Your Cat Mama (or Daddy!)', got a purrfect cat eye look with kitty shaped mascara, enjoyed some more delectable cat cupcakes, and went Around the World in 80 Cats to take a peek inside Vienna's first and only cat cafe!

Also, don't forget to enter for your chance to win a crazy awesome prize pack from Cathy Peng! At stake? A cute kitty tee, notebook, bookplates, and a "Keep Cats and Kitty On" greeting card! Interested? Get to it cat mamas, because I'm drawing the lucky winner this coming Tuesday, 5/15!

Zanda

This week's featured feline is dazzling blue-eyed fur-lebrity who comes to us all the way from Australia!

Zanda and his "Management Team" write:

Zanda’s Facebook Page was created as a bit of a joke – a cat wanting to be famous who would ever think that would work?!! However, Zanda’s following has grown steadily and he boasts fans from all over the world! Comments made on his page such as “we check every day for pictures of our favourite kitty” have inspired us to continue to share him with the world. Zanda has since extended his network to include Twitter where we are hoping that a shout out from a celebrity may ACTUALLY make him famous!

With his parents being a British Longhair and a Scottish Fold, he was bred to be a Scottish Fold cat, however his ears didn’t fold so he was labelled a “Scottish Longhair.” With the unique ginger points, startling blue eyes, and long fur, he resembles a red point Ragdoll cat, however he has the flat, almost grumpy face of his British Longhair/Shorthair heritage.

He was such a pretty little kitten that we found it very difficult to give him a masculine sounding name! After much deliberation we decided upon 'Zander' as in short for Alexander, as it was a male name but still soft enough to suit the pretty little ball of fluff. Over time the name morphed into "Zanda" mainly due to the nickname Zanda Panda by which he had become known to us!

When Zanda was adopted there was already one cat in the family, Chloe (she is now deceased). Chloe was full of energy and had a personality to match! The first moment she met baby Zanda, she hissed and snarled at him and then walked away ignoring him... Zanda followed. This went on for months! Chloe would either ignore him, or if he came too close she would hiss, slap him with her paw or growl and walk away. Zanda never fought back, he just followed her around as closely as she would allow him to. He accepted anything Chloe would do to him and he loved her no matter what. He would simply follow her around and always tried to sleep as close to her as she would allow. When food was put out he would let her eat first, waiting warily in case she snarled at him.

Concerned, we spoke to the vet who said not to worry... that Zanda would eventually win Chloe over. And that is exactly what happened! It took over six months, but gradually Chloe stopped her nastiness and accepted Zanda. She actually became a much more settled cat with him around! He never hissed at her or anyone else... actually he never complains about anything! He is a very gentle, trusting, “floppsy” cat that would allow you to do anything to him. The only noise he ever makes is meowing loudly which he only seems to like doing in empty rooms where there is an echo!

Since his sister Chloe passed away, his best friend has been Levi the Samoyed. Zanda loves to play with Levi and sleep alongside him. He is a very loving and loyal cat who loves nothing more than to be cuddled or be near you. He doesn’t seem to enjoy his own company and if left alone all day without at least Levi for company, he will be all over you when you get home!

His Facebook Page is designed to present pictures and light hearted moments of his life. Though he jokes about wanting to be a celebrity or supermodel, his main mission is to bring joy to others. Zanda, however, does want to use his new found fame for good and support causes he believes in. He has recently become an official ambassador for Help Homeless Cats of South Australia and hopes that as his celebrity grows he will put his name to other worthy causes. His Facebook Page is www.facebook.com/Zanda.thecat.

Special thanks to the gorgeous Zanda Panda for sharing his story with us this week! I love how he is using burgeoning fame for good, and hope he still remembers his old pal Catsparella once he hits it big!

Also, I'd like to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there (human, feline, or otherwise), and especially to my own Ma, who I love very much! xo

p.s. Looking for even more Catsparella? Check out my weekly columns over on Catster!

This week:

7 Fashion Designers with a Feline Fixation

Cat Tees by Deli Grocery: We Want Them Meow!

What We're Obsessed With: Glamorous Cat-Inspired Sleep Accessories by Naomilingerie

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Want to see your cat(s) on Catsparella? I'm always taking submissions for my weekly Caturday post! Just email your best kitty pics to catsparella@gmail.com, and include your cat's name and anything else you'd like to share! I can't wait to hear from you!

It's Caturday!