Dear Sparkle: Advice From One Cat to Another

by Sparkle the Designer Cat

If you think you're having problems with your cat, well, how do you think your cat feels about you? That's why Sparkle, a sharp Somali kitty, started her advice column-to help distressed felines deal with the problems that their humans couldn't solve (or perhaps caused in the first place). Whether it's food stealing, territorial disputes, or toy trouble, Dear Sparkle: Advice from One Cat to Another answers each meow for help in true cat-to-cat fashion...but if a human wants to read it, we won't tell!

Winner, Hollywood Book Festival, Wild Card Category
Honorable Mention, New York Book Festival

"Sparkle is most definitely the Dear Abby of the feline world."
-Quasi, author of The World Is Your Litter Box

Genres: Cats, Animals

174 pages, paperback

First published June 24, 2009

About the author

Sparkle the Designer Cat is a ruddy Somali of grand champion lineage: her father, GC Tajhara’s Miles Davis, was a show winner and cover cat for the May 2001 issue of Cat Fancy magazine. Sparkle was one of 4 siblings born on June 24, 2002. In October of that year, at the age of four months, Sparkle moved from her hometown of Temecula, California to glitzy, glittery Los Angeles. Her good looks were noticed almost from the start and before long she became a supermodel. Not satisfied to skate by merely on her lean, elegant appearance, she has also earned fame as a prominent online diarist and advice columnist. Her website is read by cat and human fans from all over the world. Sparkle resides in a fashionable district of Los Angeles with two humans, two feline roommates and, unfortunately, a dog. Dear Sparkle is her first book and so far it has won the Wild Card category at the Hollywood Book Festival and Honorable Mention at the New York Book Festival. A second volume of advice, tentatively titled Dear Sparkle: Cat-to-Cat Advice for Dealing With Dogs, Handling Your Humans, and Other Feline Frustrations, will be published by Adams Media in summer, 2010.

Reviews

[Penelope Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

For all cat owners!

This isn't a story or novel, it's exactly what the title implies... Advice from one cat to another. I gave 4 stars because it's not a book u "can't put down." U can come back to this many times before finishing, & never be lost. It's simply a cat advice column --very cleverly written with great advice for new owners, & some fun giggles along the way-- that's been turned into a book. Of course, by the time I finished, I had to start following Sparkle's daily advice column online!

[Sane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have two very special guests joining me today to help me write this review. I know that my cats Lilly and Sabrina have been sneaking glances at the book whenever I leave the house, so I figure why not let them participate today. Dear Sparkle is after all a book written by a cat for other cats to read. However, before I let Lilly and Sabrina take over I would like to briefly share some of my own thoughts on the book. This is still my blog regardless of whatever my cats might think.

Move over Dewy: The Library Cat, there is a newer and tougher cat in town. Dear Sparkle is one of the cutest, silliest, and funniest cat books I have ever read. Sparkle Cat probably wouldn’t want to hear her book described using those adjectives, but I cannot deny the truth. There were so many laugh out loud moments for me when I was reading this book. I got some strange looks when I was reading this book in public let me tell you.

The advice columns in Dear Sparkle are divided into different sections based on topics. There were two sections of the book that stood out from the rest for me. The two sections are titled: Human Foibles and Culinary Delights & Disappointments. I could relate to many of the problems faced by cats in the Human Foibles section. I am one of those annoying humans who loves to pick up her cats and shower them with kisses. I must be particularly dense, because even after reading Sparkle Cat’s advice I am still convinced that my cats loved being kissed. Sparkle Cat dispenses advice to this poor cat the same way she does through the book, with a little bit of wit and a whole lot of attitude.

My favorite advice column in the entire book is in the Culinary Delights & Disappointments section. This particular advice column is titled, Catch of the Day. Sparkle Cat’s advice to a cat who wants his owner’s to eat healthier was absolutely hilarious:

“Whenever you see that your humans are about to eat something really bad, like a piece of pie or a cheese Danish, leap up on the table and bat it into the floor.”

Overall, Dear Sparkle: Advice from One Cat to Another was a fun and hilarious book to read. I would recommend this book to all cat lovers.

Without further delay I would like to welcome my guest reviewers for today:

Sabrina: I have to say that at first I was rather annoyed with Sparkle Cat. I happen to be one of those “people pleasing” cats that Sparkle Cat seems to detest. I love my human and I want nothing more than for her to be happy. However, after a while I started to see the usefulness of some of her advice. My human is rather lazy and cheap when it comes to getting us toys. I’ve decided to put some of Sparkle Cat’s advice to use in the hopes that my human will catch on and get us some fun new toys. I also enjoyed looking at the modeling pictures of Sparkle Cat that are scattered throughout the book. I envy her good looks and wish that I could pose for the camera half as well as Sparkle does.

Lilly: I loved Dear Sparkle from beginning to end. I have noticed for some time now that my human refuses to allow us cats to be in charge. I was not sure what to do about this problem until I started taking peaks at Dear Sparkle when my human wasn’t around. I have already started putting her advice to good use. Just the other day, I knocked over my human’s tea cup when she would not feed us right away. At first there was a bit of shouting, but we got our food soon after! I cannot thank Sparkle Cat enough!

For more information on Sparkle The Designer Cat:

http://www.sparklecat.com/

http://twitter.com/sparklecat

[Karen & Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Sparkle: Advice From One Cat to Another (No Humans!) by Sparkle the Designer Cat is not only a fun read but also insightful and informative. There are all kinds of different problems that cats have, most involving their humans. The advice is given in such a way that humans can benefit from it as well. I highly recommend this cute book to any cat owner. The cat letters may be fictional; however, the tip part for humans is really non-fiction. Sparkle says what a smart cat owner should do. I found it both amusing and interesting.
(Karen's review)

[Ellen Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun! Sparkle is full of wonderful advice for cats dealing with difficult servants on the subjects of toys, treats, diets, dogs and more. If you are a cat and you're having problems scratching the sofa or scoring extra meals, check this out - or buy this for your servant and make them do the reading.

[Dzizielia Coronado · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read

I really liked the format of a cat column sprinkled with good advice. I have been in a tough spot regarding books about cats, instead of fun or heart warming stories I ended up reading sad stories about dead cats, bit not with this book. This book was a fun read and gave a me a few new insights into my favorite pet.

[Melissa Bailor]

Too cute, I wonder if this is what they really think of us.