The 40 Pink Cats Project

Ethel recently shared a unique idea that she came up with to celebrate her 40th birthday, called The 40 Pink Cats Project. The project is a synthesis of all of her favorite things, including cats, the color pink, photography, and writing. It's also a way for her to share her birthday with some very special kitties in her life from the East Coast (where she's originally from) and Portland (her current home).

She writes: "For my 40th birthday, I’ve hand sewn 40 pink felt cats and filled them with organic catnip and will be sharing them with my kitty friends and photographing each of them with the felt cat. (I have to admit, I didn't start to feel my age until I realized I was sewing 40 cats by hand... But each one was made with cat love!) I will begin distributing the birthday favors today and this weekend and posting the photos as I meet the cats. They have all been approved by my kitty, Ikki."

This isn't the first time Ethel has had the idea to share a welcome treat with the neighborhood kitties. For Valentine's day she handed out catnip hearts, and for Easter she distributed catnip-filled peeps and eggs.

She says, "There's something so sweet about walking away from a cat rolling around deliriously with a pink felt cat, and looking back and watching the two of them getting smaller and smaller until that pink cat is just a pink dot... knowing that you brought some joy to his or her life that day."

Ethel has started a blog to document each of the cats who receive one of her catnip kitties. Check out a few below, and catch up on all of the rest at 40pinkcats.ethelmanibo.com.

Cat #1

Since Ikki is my kitty, she always gets to *help* me make any cat treats. She approved all 40 of them, but liked this one best.

Cat #4

Sasha loved her pink cat so much, she ended up rolling around in freshly cut grass clippings until she was covered in it. She didn’t mind one bit.

Cat #14

White tabby was one of the friendliest kitties we’ve ever met. When we ran into him on a different street, he remembered us, meowed and did a rollie before continuing on his way.

Cat #20

This is Bolemy (also known as Ptolemy). He is the sweetest, most popular and brownest tabby in all of NJ. The lady cats adore him. He loved his pink cat.

Cat #29

This little dude was SOOOOOOOO excited about his pink cat. When his Mom came along, he took it in his mouth and ran away, always cautiously looking over to make sure no one would come over and take away his new treasure.

Nominations can be made once a day through June 29th!

The 40 Pink Cats Project

Follow Along As I Head To L.A. To Cover Wolfie's 20th Birthday Party For Fancy Feast!

Charlie celebrating his 7th birthday back in May

As anyone who know me in real life can attest, I'm an easily excitable person, which is why I've been bursting at the seams to share this bit of wonderful news!

Nearly a year after my trip to the West Coast to report from the set of the Fancy Feast "Storybook Wedding" commercial, the brand is sending me back to California to report on another once-in-a-lifetime event!

Tomorrow, I'll be boarding a plane for Los Angeles to attend the 20th birthday party of a very special cat named Wolfie. You see, Wolfie has been a Fancy Feast enthusiast for her entire life, and her mama, Elena, contacted the brand to let them know and see if maybe they could send over some goodies for her bash. Well, they heeded her call, and not only is she getting some swag, but she also ended up with her very own cat blogger (ME) who will be reporting live from her living room!

I'll be posting updates from the party on Saturday afternoon, and will also be writing a more detailed piece about the celebration (along with tips on throwing a cat party of your own), which will be shared with the Fancy Feast online community within the coming weeks. If you'd like to follow along on my adventure, follow me on Twitter (@catsparella), Facebook (facebook.com/catsparella), and Instagram (catsparella), where I'll be posting updates with the hashtag #CatBirthdays.

Words cannot express how grateful I am to have been given this opportunity, and how honored I am that Elena is allowing me to share in such a special family event. Believe it or not, this will be the first birthday party I am attending for a cat who does not belong to me, and will also be my first time meeting a kitty who has lived through two decades! I'm looking forward to finally getting the chance to meet Wolfie and Elena in person, and am equally excited about coming back and sharing their story with all of you!

Disclosure: Fancy Feast is covering my expenses for this trip, but all thoughts, opinions, and sheer joy expressed in this post are my own.

Follow Along As I Head To L.A. To Cover Wolfie's 20th Birthday Party For Fancy Feast!

A Feline Affair To Remember: Petunia Turns One!

Priscilla's 11th birthday is coming up this Sunday, which has left me frantically planning on how we are going to celebrate.

As luck would have it, our friend Maggie recently sent over some pictures of her cat Petunia's first birthday gathering for inspiration. If you remember, Petunia (or "Tuny" for short), is a Maine Coon who was featured in a recent Caturday post. Maggie rescued her from a family who didn't want her anymore and left the poor girl in solitary confinement, where her only means of human contact was during meals and litter box cleanings. Naturally, Tuny's first birthday in her new home inspired a very special celebration, and Maggie was more than happy to share the details of the wonderful day.

Petunia the party princess

Maggie writes:

We invited two close kitty cat friends, whom we knew would love the company. Petunia wore her birthday tutu. She's often referred to as the "Princess" of the house, so we thought her dress was perfect for the occasion. Since Petunia was dressed up, we brought out all of her dress up clothes and costumes for her other friends. Winston is the little guy in the grape costume. Sebastian, however, decided to have none of that and refused any clothing.

Winston

Sebastian

Some birthday treats were provided for the kitties and humans. I made some strawberry cupcakes and tubed some whipped frosting, and added strawberries and sprinkles for the humans. The kitty cats enjoyed their own kitty cat birthday cake, purchased from a pet treat store. We all sang (or meowed) "Happy Birthday" to the little birthday girl and munched on our goodies.

Kitty cake

Strawberry cupcakes for the humans, yum!

There are a few candid shots of the kitties in a few images. In one, Sebastian was feeling a little too close for comfort and attempted to protect himself against Mr. Winston. In another, Winston and Petunia share a sweet moment...

Unruly party guests

A tender moment...

Overall, the party went pretty well, the cats got along (mostly) and we distributed little goody bags filled with kitty and human goodies. Some of these included kitty treats, kitty catnip, kitty toys, and chocolates (for the humans, of course!). We also decorated the apartment in Hello Kitty items, taped pink crepe paper all over the living room, and ran "Garfield" on repeat...

Gimme that frosting!

Goody bags for all!

***

Special thanks to Maggie for sharing Petunia's first birthday party memories with us! Do you have any kitty party pics you'd like to share? Drop me a line at catsparella@gmail.com!

A Feline Affair To Remember: Petunia Turns One!

Planning Your Dream Cat Birthday Party, Part Two!

Let's cut to the chase here...it's my birthday! Last year I did a post with some ideas for planning your dream cat birthday party, and this year I've updated the list with all new guests, gifts, and more!

Also, if you're thinking about throwing an actual kitty birthday celebration, click here for tips on throwing a cat party on a dime!

The Festive Party Guests

Cat Tie - The Big Birthday Bash

Say Meow Party Masks for Kitties

(Smithsonian's National Zoo)

(lindsayloveshermac)

Refreshments

Cupcake Cake by Dulcie Blue Bakery

Lots and lots of CUPCAKES, of course.

The Greeting Cards

Everybody better stay the hell away from my cake

Bottoms up!

Cat Mask

The Gifts

Superheadz Necono Digital Camera

Angora Rainbow Kitty Sweater

Kitty Leggings

Black Cat Pullover

The Party Favors

Organic Cat Cupcake Toys

Birthday Walter Pin

Planning Your Dream Cat Birthday Party, Part Two!

Throwing a Cat Party on a Dime

I'm a thrifty gal, always looking for a way to save a buck, so when our friends at My Pet Savings offered to do a guest post about throwing a fabulous cat party without spending a ton, I couldn't refuse! I love all of these cute and easy ideas, and will definitely use some of these tips when planning my next cat soiree!

***

When your cats are like your children, it only seems right to throw them a little celebration for their birthday or for the holidays. Here are a few ideas on how to throw a cat-errific good time on a dime.

Avoid party-crashers

The Guests: Invite all of your cat lover friends and their felines to your fabulous cat party! It is best to keep the party relatively small and to only invite well-tempered cats and kittens. Of course, you can choose to just have your cat be the only cat there if having guest cats in your home makes you nervous.

Temptations treats and kibble provide the garnish on this cat food cake

The Food: A party is not a party without delicious food. There are several cat treat recipes online that are simple to make. For individual birthday cakes for cats, mix tuna and prawn together well. The mixture should be the consistency of mush. The mixture can then be layered thickly in a rectangular cake pan. Then take a water glass and use it to cut the mixture into perfect circle. Place the circle of tuna and prawn on a little plate and garnish with catnip or cat grass. Place a candle in the birthday cat’s cake. Also, if your town has a pet bakery, they may have several gourmet treats for your cat available for purchase.

Cupcakes decorated using M&M minis, mini Oreos, and pretzel stix

For the non-furry guest, delicious cupcakes can be decorated to look like your kitty’s face (Click here for more cat cupcake ideas). A litter box cake is a popular recipe that will be a hoot for all of the human guests. You can also serve goldfish crackers, tuna sandwiches, and Chex Mix labeled as “Cat Chow” or “Meow Mix”.

The Decorations: Decorate with pictures of your cat in affordable frames. You can also hang faux yarn balls from the ceiling. Just take Styrofoam balls and wrap with inexpensive yarn. Glue the yarn to the ball to resemble a yarn ball. Hang from the ceiling or place on the table.

Little pots of cat grass can decorate the table, while also acting as place settings and take home favors.

Priscilla always enjoys a good game of Cat-opoly

The Games: Set up obstacle courses for the cats to explore and enjoy. Owners and cats can have relay races through the obstacle course by having the owner lead their cat through a series of obstacles (such as climbing up the cat tree or running down a ramp) with the help of three kitten treats. Whichever team has the fastest time will receive a cat-related prize. The book 50 Games to Play With Your Cat may have several more cat related games to play.

Without the cats, the owners can enjoy cat-related games, such as cat bingo or Cat-opoly – a cat version of Monopoly.

Throwing a party for your cat or just a cat-themed party can be a lot of fun. There is no need to spend a lot of money, though. Look for fun cat toys at a local dollar store and make the food and decorations from resources you all ready have in your home.

This article was provided by My Pet Savings, which provides cat (and dog) lovers with the latest cat food coupons, freebies, deals, giveaways and more.

Special thanks to Kristy from My Pet Savings for sharing these great tips! Images courtesy of Priscilla's 10th Birthday Party, which you can read more about here.

Have some more ideas, or want to share pictures from your own cat party? Email me at catsparella@gmail.com!

Throwing a Cat Party on a Dime

Happy Birthday, Priscilla!

Today's the day my cat Priscilla turns 10 years old, and I can hardly believe it! She's very important to me for many reasons, but the most important reason of all is that she was my first cat! Before she came into my life, I was just a sad, crazy cat lady without a kitty to call my own. However, once she came on the scene, my love for cats grew even deeper, and blossomed into what it is today. Prissy is the biggest inspiration of all behind Catsparella, and that's why I keep her picture right at the top of the page!

So, how did this little black and white ball of fur come into my life? Well, wandering around a flea market one sunny Sunday afternoon, my Dad spotted a cage full of kittens inside a small seafood stall. As fate would have it, I'd recently decided that I was ready to get a cat, and also had in my mind that I wanted it to be a black female.

I remember the cage being filled with gray striped kittens gathered around a tin food tray, while this tiny tuxie girl sat in the corner all by herself. The woman who owned the shop informed us that she was female, and that her brother had already been adopted. I immediately wanted to hold her, and as soon as she was in my arms, she started snuggling up to me. I don't usually make decisions about anything so quickly, but at that moment, I knew she was mine!

I've experienced a lot of personal changes in the past ten years since I got her; Namely, I graduated from college, began a career, and moved out on my own - But, Priscilla is, has always been, and will always be my sweet baby kitty. ♥

Last night we had a small birthday party for her, and I made cupcakes and a cat food cake to celebrate. She's a little camera shy, but I still managed to snag a few pics!

Make a wish!

Is this for me?

Charlie trying to crash the party, as usual

Cat cuppies! (Admittedly, they looked a little bear like, but were still cute and tasted delicious!)

I decorated the cupcakes with M&M's minis, bite-sized Oreos, and mini pretzel stix. All of the Hello Kitty party supplies came from Party City!

Just as a final reminder, it's your last chance to enter Priscilla's big birthday giveaway! I'll be drawing the winner today at 5 PM EST. Click here for all of the details, and be sure to check back later to see if you won!

Happy Birthday, Priscilla!

Mr. Humperdink's Birthday Party Gets Blown Up!

Who is Mr. Humperdink, and why is his party getting blown up?

Blow Up! is Claire and Kristin, a team of New York City based designers who have an infinite love for creating things. Their website features a gallery of some of their prop and event styling, including a photo shoot that immediately caught my eye, called Mr. Humperdink's Birthday.

The ladies say: "We blew up Mr. Humperdink's Birthday party within the tiniest details for our tiny, furry friends. All props were handmade and designed exclusively by us. Our cute little hand embroidered cat nip toys, milk mustaches, kitty party masks and birthday invite, all are custom designed along with all our paper products, garland, and kitty Cature."

Blow Up! also have a "prop shop" of sorts on Etsy, where they sell items to help you style your own special events, including several of the handmade elements used to create Mr. Humperdink's birthday bash.

Kitty Men's Wear Velvet Bow Tie - $15.00

"Say Meow" Party Masks - $10.00 (Set of 5)

Emoticats Catnips - $10.00 each

Kitty Cature Ruff Collar - $15.00

Check out more images from the fabulous feline birthday party at Blowing-Up.com, and visit the Blow Up! shop to browse all of the goodies featured in this post!

Mr. Humperdink's Birthday Party Gets Blown Up!