Meet Bowie, The Cerebellar Hypoplasia Kitty

One of my favorite things about blogging is that I'm always meeting incredible cats with their own special stories. Through my kitty friend Lemon, I recently came across Bayleaf Buttons, an Etsy shop selling a rather unique "I Heart My CH Kitty" pin (CH stands for Cerebellar Hypoplasia).

I contacted the shop owner, and asked if she would share the story of Bowie, the beautiful cat behind the button, who suffers from the non-life threatening condition that appears at birth in cats and can cause jerky movements, tremors, and generally uncoordinated motion.

Megan & Bowie

Megan writes:

I’m Megan Isis the mind behind Bayleaf Buttons and an owner of a special cat named Bowie.

A friend of mine was moving and wasn’t able to take all their pets with them, so Bowie (formerly Louis) was free to a good home. We often joke that the cat is part dog (he was roommate to two other dogs) and he will sniff your shoes when you come inside. The first thing I did when I brought Bowie home was change his name because of his left pupil which when it contracts is deformed, although as far as we can tell, he sees perfectly fine. The name obviously was inspired by David Bowie (although technically his pupil is paralyzed not deformed).

CH stands for Cerebellar Hypoplasia; it is an avoidable birth defect. Basically the cerebellum is not completely mature at birth and as a result the he has twitchy movements, and is pretty uncoordinated. Let me make it clear that, although these cats look funny when they move around, they aren’t in any pain. Luckily my cat Bowie is not a severe of a case like some other cats (most popular being Gordon & Charley).

The second vet I took Bowie to see for some shot updates diagnosed him with CH, the vet was so excited about seeing a CH kitty he called in all of his staff to show off Bowie’s lack of co-ordination and how he walked.

Bowie has such a mild case of CH I don’t have a lot of extra care like some other owners do. I don’t have to have a special litter box, feeding area and my cat can live on both levels of the house although every so often you do hear a THUD or a CRASH (he falls down a step or two).

Bowie is extremely affectionate to those he knows, and a little shy to those he doesn’t. He also has an unnatural obsession to chewing on luggage tags & zippers. If anything, he has added a little bit of entertainment value to our lives, he will be walking by and just fall over, then strike a pose like he is saying ‘I meant to do that’.

The I Heart CH Kitty button came about because of Bowie, my family and I really do love this cat so I thought it would be a nice way of showing it. There are two versions of the button available, the one with the ‘fallen over kitty,’ which is my personal favourite, and one without.

I came across a very useful resource for anyone who finds out that their cat has CH or are thinking about adopting a CH kitty: http://www.chkittyclub.com/.

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Special thanks to Megan for sharing Bowie's story with us, and for schooling me on Cerebellar Hypoplasia! Please visit her shop Bayleaf Buttons to check out her cool designs, including the "I Heart My CH Kitty" pin. She was also kind enough to offer 5% off your purchase if you enter in coupon code CHKITTYLUV at checkout!

Thanks to Lemon the Cat for the tip! He is also a CH kitty, and you can check out his blog here!

Meet Bowie, The Cerebellar Hypoplasia Kitty

Print Your Own Kitty Shirt on a Budget Using Nothing but a Potato and Some Paint

How cute is this hand printed black kitty shirt? Would you believe it if I told you it was made from fabric paint...and potatoes?? Yup, that's right. The same starchy veg you mash up and eat with oodles of butter and sour cream also makes the purrfect printing tool!

Potato Power

The lovely Vanessa over at Take Only Memories had the ingenious idea after drawing inspiration from Leah Goren's Kitty Cat Tee on Etsy. While she was in love with the design, it was a little out of her price range, so she turned to a potato to get the job done. 8 Euros for the shirt, and 42 cents for the tater later, she had this awesome DIY, designer piece!

Imagine all of the possibilities for potato pussycat goods..tees, totes, moleskins. I definitely think I'd have to brush up on my potato carving skills, though. I was telling Vanessa that the last time I did potato art was when I was in the Girl Scouts, and we carved hearts out of them to make Valentine's Day cards! Oh, those were the days.

Want to learn how to make a spudly creation of your own? Check out Take Only Memories for complete instructions, and more great pics!

Via Craft, with big thanks to Yvette for the tip!

Print Your Own Kitty Shirt on a Budget Using Nothing but a Potato and Some Paint

Beautiful Hand Stitched Cat Greeting Cards by Boo-Teeq

How fabulous are these retro-inspired hand stitched greeting cards (set of 3 for $11.75) by Etsy seller Boo-Teeq? They're pretty enough to gift to a friend, or frame for yourself to admire!

Beautiful Hand Stitched Cat Greeting Cards by Boo-Teeq

VICE Presents Fashion Cats

FASHION CATS!

File under: Things I need in my life immediately! VICE Books has just announced the release of Fashion Cats, "Feline Couture from Japan's #1 Cat Tailor!" aka the greatest cat fashion photography book the world has ever seen, at least since Glamourpuss: The Enchanting World of Kitty Wigs was released back in 2009.

Is it just me, or is this cat throwing off a serious January Jones/Betty Draper vibe?

In the book, Takako Iwasa (aka Prin Mama) decks out her beloved cats in the latest Japanese feline fashions of her own design. We also get an inside look at Princess Prin and Prince Kotaro her "soul-cat-mates" turned muses, who reportedly "don't get out of bed for less than the best catnip and 10,000 American dollars a day."

To give you a better idea of what you're in for, check out this snippet from the book, where fashion cat Prin reveals, “My name is Princess Prin. I came from a distant planet called Planet Prin. The long flowing dress and the tiara on my head give fine testimony to my status as a princess. Now, why don’t you become a princess too?”

According to the publisher, "Takako Iwasa fatefully met her beloved cat Prin in 1999. Just one year later, she received a message from the universe telling her to “Do something this year!” So, naturally, she began making clothes for cats." Naturally!

Shortly thereafter, Iwasa launched the successful online cat fashion boutique Cat Prin - Tailor of a Cat, published two books in Japan, and taught cat-tailoring classes. However, it wasn't until an appearance on a VICE VBS.TV episode of The Cute Show in 2009 that she, Prin and Kotaro gained international celebrity status.

Yes, I'm a junkie for cats wearing clothing, and this book pretty much looks an like instant classic to me. For all of their efforts to bring me joy, I can only hope that Princess Prin and Prince Kotaro are afforded the luxury of getting high off the finest catnip before pooping in their rhinestone encrusted litter boxes.

Fashion Cats by Takako Iwasa, published by VICE Books and distributed by powerHouse books is available now on Amazon, and wherever fine books are sold.

VICE Presents Fashion Cats

U.S. Embassy in Kabul Has Gone to the Cats

Kabul U.S. Embassy Cat by squidpants

It's not unusual for me to feature international feline news from Europe or Japan...but Afghanistan? Not so much. Yet, thanks to my friend Khizra, I bring to your attention this fascinating story about a cat war that's been brewing at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

According to The Washington Post, the controversy erupted sometime earlier this year when, "at least one, if not two" staffers were bitten and/or scratched by one of the 20-30 "somewhat-feral" cats that call the embassy grounds home.

This unfortunate turn of events led to plans for the cats removal, that is until the emergence of the kitty committee, a delegation of cat lovers who argued their benefit in helping instill a sense of "normality" to their lives in the war torn capital (plus they're pretty good at catching mice, too).

A town hall was organized to discuss the issue, where the committee was given 60 days to remove the cats as they saw fit, before more extreme measures were taken. However, some of the more clever protestors were not content to sit back and watch their furry cohorts meet an untimely demise, and mysterious signs started appearing in support of their kitty brethren.

The Post reports:

"Taking a page from the Taliban’s book, someone taped a night letter on the wall of the Duck and Cover. “Warning,” it read, above an image of two insurgent cats toting AK-47s, “we will break out our fellow comrades from your compound.”

Another flier that popped up in USAID offices pictured a cat in a Guevaraesque beret: "Viva la revolucion," signed El Gato.

A more sensitive soul composed an ode under the nom de plume Bacon and the Katz. It began: "Why oh why must we die?"

“Most of you will return to the US where the living is easy and good / We apologize if our actions (purring and eating) have been misunderstood. / Please do not despise us nor wish for our demise / We cannot help it that we have cat’s eyes.”

While the issue has yet to be resolved, a "name-and-picture book cat census" is currently being assembled to help track the remaining kitties, while one committee member has even gone so far as to locate shelters in the U.S. willing to harbor what some are calling the "Afghan refugee cats."

Only time will tell what's in store for the Kabul kitties, but it's heartening to see that in the midst of such unrest, there are still some kind souls out there working diligently to do right by these cats, who otherwise would not be given a chance.

Read more: Cat fight at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul - The Washington Post

(Thanks for the tip, Khizra!)

U.S. Embassy in Kabul Has Gone to the Cats

Cat Cupcake Tuesdays

Emily Strange Cat Cupcakes

This week's cat cupcakes come to us courtesy of pinky momotaro who created these glamorous Emily Strange inspired creations for her daughter's 11th birthday. The glittery gothic treats were vanilla with cream cheese frosting, and red velvet with Nutella filling and buttercream frosting. Très yum!

And speaking of Emily Strange, back in September it was reported that a movie starring Chloe Moretz as the gothic tween was in the works, but not having heard anything about it since, I assumed the project was DOA.

However, I'm excited to update that The Hollywood Reporter recently revealed screenwriter Melisa Wallack has been appointed to write the script, and a brief description of the top secret story line has also been released:

"The story is being kept under wraps, although the aim is to tell the origin of the punk and gothic figure and how she comes to gain her abilities that fuse technology and imagination. The story will also focus on her relationship with four cats: troublemaker Sabbath, schemer Nee-Chee, imaginative Miles and leader Mystery."

No word yet on if the cats will be live or CG-animated, but if they need a real character, I have one black cat to spare. :)

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Have you created or spotted any kitty-themed baked goods (or other foods) lately? If so, please submit your sweet tips for Cat Cupcake Tuesdays to catsparella@gmail.com!

Cat Cupcake Tuesdays

Cat Steals Spotlight in Stunning Black & White Fashion Photo Shoot

(Click images to enlarge)

Sure, model Angela Lindvall is gorgeous, but it's her fluffy feline companion I can't take my eyes off of! These striking black and white images are part of the Fall 2011 campaign for French designer Georges Rech.

View the full size photos over at Fashion Gone Rogue.

Via Ology

Cat Steals Spotlight in Stunning Black & White Fashion Photo Shoot