We interrupt this blogging break to bring you a very special Caturday, featuring the fabulous Monster LeKiwi! Monster LeKiwi Erika writes:
Monster LeKiwi is a very special kitten. She was born to a barn cat - a gray tabby - and came from a litter full of orange and gray tabbies.
She was the only different one - cream colored and she later developed her beautiful seal points, snowshoes, and kept her blue eyes. I think her father might have been a Ragdoll because she goes limp in the typical Ragdoll way when she is picked up.
Monster's uniqueness comes from more than just her beauty though. Monster loves to wear clothes. She wears t-shirts and sweatshirts all the time, and it's clear that she loves them the way she walks around showing them off and is very helpful when you put them on her!
Another unique thing about Monster is that she loves car rides. She watches out the window, sits on your lap, and often sits on the storage compartment between the front seats of the car just observing. She also loves going in the pet stores. She walks on her leash, gets carried, or sits in the cart. She does very well with people petting her and I am always complimented on how well-behaved she is and people always say they can't believe it because their cat would be freaking out.
The other thing Monster loves to do is go outside and go on walks in her harness. We started her doing that as a kitten and she loves it. She likes to just explore and is good at keeping up. Monster also is very protective of me - almost like a dog. I only found that out a couple of days ago. I was play-fighting over something with someone and yelling stop and such and Monster must have thought I was hurt because next thing I know I see her try to get between me and my friend, and she began biting up and down my friend's arm and attacking them! I have never heard of a cat acting so protective and it was so sweet to me to know she would try to protect me if I were hurt! Monster is my best friend, and those are just a few of the things that make her unique and the things that I love about her! Special thanks to Erika for sharing the inimitable Monster LeKiwi with us this week! You can follow her on Twitter @monsterlekiwi. I hope everyone is having a great Caturday, and I will be back with more updates soon!
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! As I mentioned last week, on Sunday I officially moved to St. Louis! I've been busy trying to get settled in before I start work on Monday, and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my stuff from NJ. I am loving STL so far, although I know I will love it even more once I get my bed (and cable)!! I'm on a bit of a blogging break while I get settled in, but I did manage to hit the local coffee shop and put up a new giveaway this week. Enter to win your choice of a 2014 I Can Has Cheezburger wall calendar or a 2014 Garfield wall calendar. Click here for details! Milo This week's featured feline is a darling rescue kitty who turned his mama into a cat lover for life! Anna writes: Hello, my name is Anna, and I'm from Mexico City. I thought I was a dog person until I found my cat... Better say, he found me! First day home. Sleeping Milo This is Milo, he is adopted. I found him in an animal hospital. He was wounded, and lost two vertebras of the tail and half of his left ear. He was barely 2 months old. I just can't believe someone can hurt an animal this way. Musical Milo Playful Milo Close-up Milo Now he is two years old. He has given me so much love!!! Beautiful Milo Peek-a-boo Milo Rola is adopted also, she loves Milo too and is quite a handful!
Loving Milo & Rola Special thanks to Anna for sharing Milo's story with us this week! It's very sad to hear about his rough start in life, but I'm so glad they found each other! Hopefully his early memories have been replaced with nothing but love. ♥
Cat Superhero Tote Thanks to all who entered the Messy My Superhero Cat Tote Bag Giveaway! I used Random.org to determine the winner, and it selected comment #78 belonging to pookasnake who wrote: "I love this art!! Brings a smile to my face. :)" Con-catulations! Be sure to visit Messy My on Etsy to check out even more of Daphne's adorable cat art, including her custom cat portraits!
Black Ugly Christmas Pullover
Thanks to all who entered The Sweater Store Vintage Cat Christmas Sweater Giveaway! I used Random.org to determine the winner, and it selected comment #142 belonging to Laura who wrote: "So Beautiful, just needs a touch of cat hair!"
Congrats, Laura! The Sweater Store is home to the world’s largest selection of vintage ugly Christmas sweaters and holiday accessories. Check out their cat sweaters here, and their ~*Christmas cat sweaters*~ here!
Christmas Presence - Simon's Cat "A festive feline goes looking for a Christmas treat"...and boy does he find one! I'm still riding high from my encounter with Simon's Cat creator Simon Tofield last week, and finding a new Simon's Cat film in my inbox this morning was an unexpected snow day treat. It just goes to show that Santa has love for naughty kitties, too!
When it comes to calendars, you know I'm always picking a kitty one. The folks at Andrews McMeel Publishing know this too, so they sent me a I Can Has Cheezburger 2014 calendar and Garfield 2014 calendar to review! Charlie can has cheezburger? Before I got my paws on them though, Charlie decided to adopt them as his own. I'm not sure why a cat needs a calendar (as far as he's concerned, every day is Caturday), but I just didn't have the heart to tell him that. Aww, they're not so bad! Seriously though, the wall calendars are super cool and cute. The ICHC calendar is colorful and features collages of clever kitty captions, while the Garfield "I Hate Mondays" calendar is purrfect for the real life grumpy cat in your life! Enter To Win! Don't worry Charlie, we're not giving away your copies!
Andrews McMeel Publishing has generously offered two lucky Catsparella readers the chance to win! One winner will receive the I Can Has Cheezburger? 2014 Wall Calendar, and another will receive the Garfield 2014 Wall Calendar, so make sure to leave your preference in the comments! To enter, leave a comment on this post with your name, calendar choice, and some way for me to contact you if you win (email, link back to your blog or profile, Twitter, etc.). The winner be will chosen in a random drawing next Wednesday, December 11 at 5:00PM CST. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. One entry per person, please. Good luck, and be sure to check out these awesome kitty calendars online, and at a store near you! (If you have trouble leaving a comment, please email me at catsparella@gmail.com) Disclosure: The publisher provided me with copies of the calendars to review and giveaway, but all thoughts and cheeseburger loving cats contained in this post are my own.
La Laa Laaa - Cat Art Print
Thanks to all who entered the Megan Lynn Kott Cat Art Poster Giveaway! Megan herself picked her three favorite kitten captions to win the "La Laa Laaa" posters, and she painted them too! "Pssst...you have litter on your paws!" submitted by bluesurly. "I can see your soul." submitted by Christina T. "Psst, human..Even though I may ignore you sometimes...I'm thankful you're my mom & you picked me." submitted by Kelly S. Congrats to the lucky winners!
Be sure to visit the Decisions & Revisions Etsy shop, Big Cartel, and Megan's Tumblr to check out all of her latest and greatest feline-inspired art!
Order one of her custom pet portraits now through December 6th, and save $25 (plus the cost of shipping). You'll receive a 9x12" watercolor on high-quality Arches Hot Press paper or a 12x12" acrylic painting on stretched canvas of the kitty portrait of your choice!
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, Charlie celebrated turkey day and Black Friday, I moderated an event with Simon's Cat creator Simon Tofield at the Min-Manhattan Branch of the New York Public Library, and the holidays = giveaway mania! There's still time to enter to win the following fabulous prizes: Your choice of a vintage cat Christmas sweater from The Sweater Store A Superhero Cat Tote from Messy My Also, don't forget to visit the Catsparella shop for the lowest prices of the year! Score the latest in feline finery for just $14.95 or less! And finally, a bit of personal news: Tomorrow I am moving over 900 miles away to St. Louis, MO for a new job! I plan to write more about this, but I'll need to take some time to settle in first. Posting is probably going to get a lot lighter for a bit, but I hope you'll still check in and follow me as I begin this new adventure!
Tucker This week's featured feline is a snuggly ginger sweetheart with a heart of gold! Kristine writes: I wanted to share some pictures of my orange kitty. His name is Tucker but he goes by many other names such as "luvvie", "boobie" and "bubba" just to name a few. He loves his mommy, loves to be talked to. He has a luvvie of his own which is a pink ballet slipper cat toy. I initially bought this girly cat toy for my other cat Emma, but she didn't like it. Tucker loved it right away so every night when I "tuck" him in, I make sure he has his luvvie to keep him safe. He's very smart and mischievous. He likes to knock items over just because he can and to let me know he wants something. He's my world and I don't know what I'd do without him. He is my best friend.
He is 10 years old and I got him from a colleague at work. Her car had a bunch of kittens and when I saw this picture of a little orange kitty, I knew he was mine. I asked my work colleague for the photo she used to advertise her attempts to find homes for these kittens because Tucker was in it and he had his arm around one of his sisters. Attached are a few photos of my "luvvie". I hope you like.
Special thanks to Kristine for sharing her handsome boy with us this week! I can't help but fall in love with her little luvvie too! ♥
Happy Holidays Greeting Card I've long admired the work of artist Daphne Sivetidis of Messy My. Her whimsical feline illustrations always bring a smile to my face, and I love how she has her kitties cozied up in hats and sweaters for the holidays! Her Etsy shop is currently filled with goodies like adorable cards, wrapping paper, and brooches, purrfect for holiday gift giving. Christmas Cat Gift Wrap
If you're looking for a more personalized present, she recently started offering customized cat portraits, done in her signature style. In addition to receiving a mini print shipped in the mail, you'll also get a digital copy of the drawing, which can be printed out anywhere (bags, cards, t-shirts, invitations, mugs, etc.) for an unlimited amount of times! How cool is that? Custom Cat Portrait Messy My is having a Black Friday sale to celebrate the season! Use coupon code "BLACK" today at checkout for 15% off everything in the shop!
Enter To Win! Cat Superhero Tote
Daphne has generously offered one lucky Catsparella reader the chance to win a Messy My Cat Superhero tote bag!
To enter, leave a comment on this post with your name, and some way for me to contact you if you win (email, link back to your blog or profile, Twitter, etc.). The winner be will chosen in a random drawing next Friday, December 6 at 5:00PM EST. This giveaway is open to everyone, so our international friends can participate, too! One entry per person, please.
Good luck, and be sure to visit Messy My on Etsy to check out even more of Daphne's adorable cat art! (If you have trouble leaving a comment, please email me at catsparella@gmail.com) [Comments are now closed. Thanks for entering!]
Meowy Christmas Gift Wrap Thanks to all who entered the Giftskins Customized Cat Wrapping Paper Giveaway! I used Random.org to determine the winner, and it selected comment #6 belonging to Laila and Minchie who wrote: "How cool is that! We love everything with a kitty on it, including our gift wrap!"
Congrats, kitty friends! They chose the Meowy Christmas gift wrap design, and are purrrsonalizing it with these adorable pics:
Be sure to visit Giftskins.com to order customized cat gift wrap of your own this holiday season!
Ahh, there's nothing quite like the tradition of the Ugly Christmas Sweater, especially when there are cats involved! I was first introduced to The Sweater Store a few months back, when I caught wind that they raided the closets of some of the world's most ~*fashionable cat ladies*~ to add a whole new category to their site dedicated exclusively to feline inspired designs. The best part is, all proceeds from sales of these cat sweaters go the ASPCA! Enter To Win! Now, just in time for the holidays, they have once again generously offered a lucky Catsparella reader the chance to win the vintage cat Christmas sweater of their choice! I've posted just a few of my favorites, but you can choose from any sweater available here. To enter, leave a comment on this post with your name and some way for me to contact you if you win (email, link back to your blog or profile, Twitter, etc.) The winner be will chosen in a random drawing next Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 5:00PM EST. This giveaway is open to everyone, so our international friends can participate too! One entry per person, please. Good luck, and be sure to check out The Sweater Store and follow them on Facebook for all of your ugly(ish) sweater needs! (If you have trouble leaving a comment, email me at catsparella@gmail.com) [Comments are now closed. Thanks for entering!]
Kathy is a longtime Catsparella reader with a cat loving daughter, and her family often takes feline-centric vacations around the globe. In the past, she has shared their adventures in Cornwall, Belgium, and Japan. Around this time last year, they took a trip to Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. The family recently revisited the island on holiday, and sent along some more beautiful photos of the well cared for street kitties they encountered during their stay. Kathy writes: We went for a two week holiday to Fuerteventura again last month and you’ll never guess…. we saw more cats! The lady who managed the villa we were staying at still has the same five cats (Ting-Tong, Scary, Dracula, Bitey & Raymond) and they are all still happy and well. She continues to be involved with the Twinkle Trust that looks after stray cats on the island. Once again, all of the ‘random’ cats we saw were in good health and some even held still long enough for a photo! Our girl (aside from being in cat-heaven again) kept checking out the cats' ears to see if they had been clipped which indicates that they had been neutered. Ting-Tong
Scary (who isn’t scary at all, he is a sweetie) Ray (not the friendliest, but very handsome) This black cat was at the sea-side. I don’t think they appreciate the view. He saw something interesting. These two had their eye on a dog. This white one was chillin’ in the black sand (makes him easy to spot). This one was eating at one of the Twinkle Trust feeding stations. This one was waiting his turn.
Ones we saw in the vicinity of the feeding station.
Beautiful restaurant cat. Very tame. On the rocks! Kathy's daughter is a feline fashionista! Special thanks to Kathy for giving us yet another glimpse into one of her wonderful family trips. I'm still holding out hope that one day I will be able to visit a few of these fabulous feline travel destinations myself!
