In the presence of cat celebrity

At first it was just whispers overheard in the halls; “He’s here.”

Then I heard he was accepting visitors at a designated time and place–a closely guarded secret held among those already in the know.

A chance encounter with the One in Charge left me with access information scrawled across the back of a photograph in black sharpie:  Room 524. 6:00. I tucked it carefully in my pocket.

At the appointed time,  I performed the secret knock–a series of very soft taps. A silent presence opened the door and looked me in the eye. She allowed me to pass, with a quiet warning delivered under her breath as I entered, “Please speak quietly. We don’t want to upset him.”

Once inside, I joined other acolytes and admirers–many of whom were softly sipping an intoxicating elixir. Some had consumed enough to begin to feel its effects.

There was a hushed, respectful tone to the room. Somebody–I forget who, so dazzled was I by the moment–touched my arm gently and asked, “Did you see him?”

Suddenly, from the corner of the room, the whir-click-flash of paparazzi cut through the hush.

“There he is!”

“He’s beautiful!”

“I think he’s coming this way!”

I knelt down, and, keeping my eyes downcast, I held my hand out–index finger extended in the time-honored greeting–hoping to be noticed, to be acknowledged.

And then, I felt it: a soft touch on my finger tip, like a gentle breath of air.

I looked up and caught his gaze. “Hi Waffles,” I whispered.

Meeting Waffles

That was my first encounter with Waffles, celebrity cat of Debbie Glovatsky of Glogirly.com, whose visage appears on the limited edition cans of Mike’s Harder Apple Firebomb Mad Kitty Cocktail.

I was at the MeowWorld Presented by Cat Writers Association/BarkWorld conference, and Waffles and his person Debbie were also in attendance. The cat held court in Debbie’s hotel room, and the kind folks at Mike’s provided beverages for the humans who came to visit.

While I was seated on the floor, Debbie handed me a bag of kitty kibble, and I offered some to Waffles. Recognizing the sound of food in a bag, the cat climbed up onto my lap and took a few bits. Impressed that he was out and about with more than a dozen people crammed inside a tiny hotel room, I was also honored that he felt comfortable enough to come up onto my lap and accept my offered treats.

Waffles the cat says hello to Susan C. Willett.

A visit from Waffles.

Waffles posed for the cameras, and even let some people pet him.

Waffles the cat in his Sleepypod posing by a can of Mike's Harder Mad Kitty Cocktail.

Waffles in his Sleepypod, posing with a sample of his namesake Mike’s.

Waffles the cat in front of his Sleepypod.

Waffles allowed some of his admirers to stroke his soft fur.

Waffles the cat surrounded by paparazzi.

He didn’t make it easy for the paparazzi.

The tail of Waffles the cat next to his inspired drink, Mike's Harder Mad Kitty Cocktail.

Waffles doesn’t drink hard cider, but he heard it’s good.

Debbie and Waffles from Glogirly

Debbie and Waffles

Debbie and Waffles graciously invited me to come back to their room the next day, so I could spend a little more time with the inspiration for Mad Kitty–and take a few photos.

Susan C. Willett gets to spend some time with Waffles the cat.

Eating out of my hand!

Waffles the cat admires his chariot, otherwise known as the Waffles Wagon.

Admiring his name emblazoned on the Waffles Wagon, the cat’s normal mode of conveyance.

The camera loves Waffles the Cat.

Striking a pose; the camera loves Waffles.

 

Waffles did remarkably well with so many people in his space, thanks to Debbie’s protective care. How does your pet do in situations where there are a lot of unknown people?

Today, we’re participating in the Monday Mischief blog hop. Take a look at some of the other great blogs below:

MondayMischief



42 Comments on "In the presence of cat celebrity"

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  1. slimdoggy says:

    What an honor…

    Waffles may be a super star, but he’s awful cute too – he sure knows how to talk to that camera doesn’t he.

  2. We heard that the mom was snuggling with Waffles. Totally unacceptable! but she made up for her cheating by bringing us back lots of cool swag. 🙂

  3. Our mom came home SMELLING OF ORANGE CAT! Seriouslies, what an embarrassment – cheated on in front of our fellow bloggers!
    (But we do admit to slobbering over a few pawesome items in a rather LARGE pink bag. Score!)

    Our mom said it was so great to see you and she was sorry not to be able to spend more time with you while there.

  4. We also heard rumors of Mom Paula snuggling up to Waffles. We know he’s a cool mancat, but she needs to save all of her loving for us ladycats. We didn’t get any swag, but we did get lots of loving when she got back home.

    P.S. Mom Paula said she was amazed how calm Waffles was with all of the strangers in the room.

  5. (oh, and we LOVED your retelling of the “EVENT”!)

  6. Marg says:

    That was such a good report about the big meeting in the Hotel room with Waffles. None of us here would have been able to do that. We run at the sight of one person. Have a great day.

  7. What a Cool-Cat experience for you all

  8. Oh my gosh! This is such an awesome post!!!!
    …though I think after reading it, Waffles head may double in size!!!

    It was SUCH a pleasure meeting you, Susan. And Waffles was more than happy to nibble his favorite kitty-crack right out of your hands. Thanks for such an awesome article and fabulous pictures!

    Can’t wait to meet up again!
    xo

    Debbie (Glogirly) and the orange boy

  9. Brian Frum says:

    It sure is exciting that you actually got to meet the famous Waffles!!!

  10. Waffles looks so sweet. Hailey does not do well with strangers but Phod loves everyone.

  11. da tabbies o trout towne says:

    guys…way awesum yur mom getted ta meet waffles in de furz….

    had that been uz we wooda kneaded a waffles hard cider…ore 42….spesh a lee daiz coz her iz knot a peepulz purrson…at all

    sounds like yur mom hada fun fun time !!

  12. Waffles is adorable and he seems to be handling his fame pretty well.

  13. Emma says:

    We saw Waffles in his Waffle Mobile at BlogPaws, but didn’t actually get to sniff him. He lives in our area too. Pretty cool for a cat!

  14. That must have been a fun time. Waffles must be a very calm kitty.

  15. Wow, what fun to meet Waffles. (Except for my allergies…) Rita would NOT enjoy being a celebrity. She would not do so well like Waffles did. What a good, brave kitty.

  16. What a great writeup, and wonderful photos! We were quite put out at how much the head peep came home smelling like orange cat *and* kittens, too. Talk about two timing. We think she was three or four timing us!

    The head peep wanted you to know how much she enjoyed visiting with you in Atlanta, and that she’s looking forward to seeing you at BlogPaws. That will be here before we know it.

    Oh, and she says you sent us some fun gifts, which we haven’t gotten our paws on yet. Thank you for being so thoughtful. We’ll be sure to get photos of how much we enjoy them when she finally lets us break into the colorful bags she brought back.

  17. Sandy says:

    I love it that you got to meet Waffles and have pictures to prove it. What a handsome and self assured cat he is!

  18. Kitties Blue says:

    Mom got to feed Waffles as well, so we hear. She brought home a couple dozen photos of him, but doesn’t have one of her with him unless someone snapped one she does’t know about. She’s sad, but we are happy. We think she doesn’t need to hob-nob with other kitties, and we hear he was not the only one she had her hands on. Pffft! We will admit, however, that he is darn cute! XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

  19. How lucky that you got to visit the celebricat twice! Love the article!!

  20. SO cool you got to meet the famous Waffles! I love that kitty!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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