Rosie

Tabs never passed on an opportunity to get dressed up, and it’s funny…the more elaborate and more time consuming a Halloween costume was, the more he was into it.

He constantly made fun of my need to be comfortable. I think one year there was a costume that involved eight separate fittings, a special suit engineered by Spanx just for him, and 13 different types of bird feathers…

😮

I told him many times that dressing down can be chic. Did he ever listen?

No.

Case in point — the year he dressed up as The Queen of Hearts.

Yes, I said queen. He was forward thinking like that. 😊

Rosie

As you know, Rosie takes a more minimalist approach. She was content to wear a Halloween-inspired bow tie today during our weekly Sunday walk.

I offered to take her to Dolce or Dior, or any of the major houses that we still have connections with because of Tabs’s legacy, but she absolutely refused.

She said something akin to “I am a cat of the people” and left it at that.

It’s not like she didn’t participate in our Halloween adventures, though. She was surprisingly insistent upon doing the art direction for the pumpkins. I think she recently read an article in Scientific Cat Journal about expanding your neural capacity through creative activities, which is why she was so invested in the pumpkin projects here.

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻😄

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

When Tabs famously arrived to his annual Fierce Feline Costume Ball in 2015 wearing nothing but a black candy corn-themed bow tie, it was fire. 🔥

“Fearless,” Anna Wintour wrote at the time. “Pure, unadulterated genius. Tabs is without equal. With a simple necktie, he has shaken the feline fashion world to its core and created a seismic shift in the way cats dress themselves.”

Rosie

Like most cats, Rosie has heard about that pivotal moment. I mean, what cat hasn’t? They teach it in most universities.

It has long inspired her fashion choices, but never as clearly as it did this year.

This year, Rosie decided to go all out as it pertains to candy corn.

This will be her official Halloween 2022 costume, inspired, of course, by her fashion mentor Tabs.

What are you wearing for Halloween?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Fierce, fine fabulousness. Fabulosity. Furr-ocious feline phantasmagoria. Foine. Phenom. Fantastique.

His majesty, the king of feline fashion, Tabs the cat. Mrow!

Today was a classic fall day here in Novato, California, and it was days like this — partly cloudy with a chance of greatness — that Tabs did some of his best kitty modeling work.

The crisp, cool air must have fired him up, along with firing up the other animals in the neighborhood, like the robins, woodpeckers, wild turkeys, cats and squirrels, all of who were also out in force this morning.

A typical mid-October Sunday morning back when Tabs ran the company would have gone something like this: get up, get gravy, get a fur treatment, get dressed and get outside, where he would head directly for the company zinnia patch.

After a quick snack, we’d walk around the circle until inspiration hit him. Then he’d strike pose after pose after pose.

BAM!

Rosie

Rosie’s October Sunday morning ritual is a little different…

There’s way less cattitude, but still a good amount of modeling…

All I can say is the cats in this company have major kitty modeling game. 😊

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Back when Tabs was the ruling force in the neighborhood, all of the felines knew that once fall arrived, it was time to turn up their fashion game. Inevitably, hats, jewelry, various accessories and the occasional tuxedo would all show up amongst the gang of felines parading around the circle.

Tabs’s most audacious outfit happened during the fall of 2011 when he showed up for a walk wearing a vegan leather moto getup from head to tail. Yes, they still talk about that around these parts…

One day a couple years ago, in a fit of heartbreak, I donated most of his fall couture to the Smithsonian, but sometimes I wish I could hug one of his old feather boas…

While a little said, I’m comforted by the fact that his legacy will live on through fashion posterity.

Rosie

Trust me, I tried to get Rosie-Pose to dress up today, but no matter how much I explained that this was the thing to do amongst the cats of the neighborhood, she absolutely refused. She looked up at me and went “MROW!” which, according to Google Translate, meant “NO THANK YOU! I dance to the beat of my own drum!”

So it was a simple collar and her favorite leash today.

Instead of parading around with the other local cats (I could have sworn I saw Harris sneaking around with a red bow tie.), she and Connor Claire spent their morning checking the perimeter for paranormal activity.

Rosie recently watched a documentary about ghost hunting, and is now fixated on proving the existence of paranormal cat activity. 👻🐈‍⬛

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The following first appeared in Fortune magazine…

“When I’m at work,” Tabs says, “I’m going to bring it, so I expect everyone on my team to bring it too. No dead weight.”

This was the quote that they led with in Fortune magazine’s profile of the “5 most influential cats in business.”

Was he a demanding boss?

Um, yeah? It was the hardest job I’ve ever had, but I loved every minute.

Well…maybe I didn’t love being tasked with finding chicken gravy pâté at midnight on a stormy Sunday night in Paris, but c’est la vie.

Basically, Tabs managed with an iron paw. He didn’t tolerate tardiness, wrinkled clothing or food between your front teeth, and he had no patience for slackers or people who wore low-heeled shoes.

Flip-flops? Don’t even think about it.

Rosie

Rosie-pose is less outwardly aggressive and more on the psychological games side. This cat is always playing career chess with me! For instance, I’ll ask her, “Rosie, do you want a snack?” and I’ll receive a sharp stare in reply, which could mean any number of things — Yes? No? Go to Whole Foods and purchase a poached salmon ASAP before I scratch your eyes out?

Or, some combination of all three?

She’s the type of manager who likes to keep you on your feet/paws. Like, when you think you’re just lounging around outside enjoying an early fall day, she’ll be casually lying down on the grass looking disinterested, but underneath that calm exterior, she’s planning her next 25 tasks, all of which must be completed in the next hour.

It’s definitely a management style I’ve had to learn to love.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

My goodness, first rain of the season! This was the first rain of the season. Earlier than usual, and it wasn’t a lot of rain, but it came down for real there for a while. It started late last night, and of course Rosie was on fired up. She was pacing around the house, checking all of the windows. There was a some wind with it too, so the branches and leaves were swaying.

You know how cats are. All that movement outside gets their spider senses tingling, so she was on full alert!

Back when Tabs was the King of the House, he was the same way. He always got fired up during a rainstorm. In fact, he always demanded that I take him outside when it rained.

It was like a special occasion, but of course, as soon as he actually got out there and got wet, well, diva mode inevitably kicked in.

Rosie

Rosie handled it in much the same way.

She demanded that Connor and I take her outside only to quite quickly realize — Ew! My paws are wet! This is not good!

She eventually got it over it, though, and started exploring.

One thing both Tabs and Rosie wholeheartedly agree on is this: rain means rainbows, which means that rain isn’t bad. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen