Confessions From a Cat Lady – The Consequences of Blogging and Branding

by Deb at 5:50 AM • Cat Humor35 Comments

Deb

It really is a mystery why people think of me as the leopard lady…

I meet a lot of people when I attend blogging and writing conferences and I also have a circle of friends via social networking channels like Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter. Some of them actually know who I am, as in Deb Barnes, but the vast majority of them know me as a visual image they associate with “The Leopard Lady” or Zee and Zoey’s human. Not sure how THAT happened says the lady in cat ears, but this is called branding and because so many people think of me in those terms, I get a lot of fun emails and Facebook shares sent to me with stuff that instantly reminds people of me, the brand!

Now mind you, I truly love that people think of me in this way and I certainly can’t deny my obsession love for all things related to Bengal cats, leopard print, or big leopard cats, but it can get me into a bit of trouble and I need an enormous amount of self-control to avoid potential bankruptcy. It all started when I found my name tagged in a post Karen Nichols of Mousebreath did on her blog. Apparently someone else shares my love of leopard and they painted their house in leopard print… somehow Karen thought perhaps I would want to do the same… which I actually would, but the ordinances in my city don’t allow that, otherwise I’m sure I would have a leopard print house by now…

061011LeopardHouse

Okay, so maybe this house is a tad over the top. I think perhaps if the leopard pattern were a bit smaller and there were a few more shades of color, then it would be perfectly acceptable and completely tasteful! SOLD!

I get oodles of images of shoes, dresses, pajamas, purses, jewelry, ottomans, chaise lounges, blankets, boots, and just about anything else you can think of sent to me. Just a couple days ago, Caren of Cat Chat along with another friend of mine sent me a link to the Catteemission site posting about an organization called Animal Works who are raffling off a hand painted leopard spots scooter with proceeds going towards the purchase of a mobile veterinary service vehicle for the Wildlife Trust of India to save and transport leopards and tigers that have been injured in the wild (snares, traps etc) and need urgent medical attention. I don’t know how to ride a scooter, but  for a cause as great as this one, I would be willing to learn!

SCOOTER

Purr… Mine…

But, for the most part, I do my best to remain strong (unless you count going to the mall or catalog shopping) and live vicariously through the photos sent to me. That is until I got one email in particular that rendered me powerless and I found myself calling Dan who was traveling at the time, knowing he would not, hoping he would talk me out of the purchase I was about to make. Oh, who am I kidding, I already had my credit card out and was about to hit submit, but I did call him as a courtesy, as I knew he would be the one that would have to assemble this amazing, must have item.

So, 7 short days and one heavy package later look at what I got!!! I will let the pictures tell the story, but I can tell you paws down that this is one of the best purchases I have ever made.

Deb-and-box

In case you don’t recognize me sans leopard, that is actually me in the pink top as the kitties investigate the mystery box soon to be unveiled…

l-1

What do we have here?

l-2

Hey! Whatever this stuff is, it sure is wobbly!

l-3

Well, what do you know!? It’s a cat condo for us and not another leopard outfit for the human….

l-4

Discussions ensue and deals are made as the cats debate which level belongs to each cat…

l-5

Everyone starts to settle in!

l-6

Rolz says “Ah…. Home Sweet Home!”


I got this cat condo from Overstock.com as a result of an email sent to me from Julia Williams of the Responsible Pet Ownership blog. Apparently she also felt I could not live without this leopard patterned item and she was right. I can tell you in all honesty that not a single day goes by that this cat condo isn’t use in one form or another by one or more of my eight kitties –whether it is used for napping, scratching, hiding, bird watching, or as a springboard for a marathon of jumping, climbing, chasing, and stretching. They LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this condo and it gives me enormous pleasure to know how happy it makes them. I’m sure it all has to do with the condo being in leopard print and that if we ordered it in a neutral pattern, they would not love it anywhere near as much as they do…

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Dan, I, and the kitties put it together in less than an hour, no tools are necessary, and it is very easy to keep clean with the vacuum. Next on my list? My ultimate branding dream would be a leopard inspired sports car… if anyone comes across something like that, please be sure to think of me and share!!

P.S. Not like it really matters, but I would like to formally state for the record that I have always been the Leopard Lady and even had the role cornered before Peg Bundy of Married With Children made leopard print so popular… So there…

Loved this article? Share it with your friends!
spread the love!

Click to join the conversation

  1. da tabbies o trout towne says:

    Eye noe this commint haz nothing ta due with this post, but eye wanted ta stop bye N say thanx…. & if eye said thanx a bazillion timez…it wood still knot bee enuff…
    thanx for stoppin by… N leevin condolences messagez for me….. N me mom….eye trooly appreciates this…N me mom doez two…
    sendin de blessings oh St Francis two all…..
    love frum
    sauce of fishbone: 2-6-03 ~~~~ 3-17-13

    • Deb says:

      da tabbies – you do not need to thank us, but we do appreciate you taking the time to do so and we are so, so sorry that Sauce has passed to the Rainbow Bridge. There are never the right words to make the heartache go away, but we hope you can take comfort in the memories of Sauce and just how much people and kitties across the world care about you…