For most of my life, my cats came to me the same way – strays that either found me or I found them. I called it fate and rarely questioned the logic of it. The minute I brought them into my house, they became part of my heart and home. That changed in 1998 when I happened upon a new TV channel called “Animal Planet” and they were doing an hour long show about a breed of cat that I had never heard of before, the Ragdoll.  Read more

When you need an idea for a blog post, I highly recommend you reupholster your dining room chairs. Sure, it requires planning, time, money, tools, and the ability to know how to recover furniture, but once you have all those bases covered and throw in eight curious cats, well, the post practically writes itself…

It started several weeks ago when I had finally decided to stop ignoring the fact that our dining room chairs were covered with permanent stains and were practically disintegrating from age and looked absolutely atrocious. Since we don’t actually eat in the dining room more than a couple times a year and the chairs are only about 5 years old, it remains a mystery why they are in such bad shape, but I vaguely do recall a time when I was using the sewing machine at the table and an adult beverage that I had next to me in a pretty bright pink color got knocked over by Zoey and Peanut who felt compelled at that time to chase one another via the table top and the liquid spilled into my pin cushion that was next to my sewing machine (a  family heirloom with a needlepoint design that was made by my late Aunt), the fabric I was sewing to make some throw pillows (that had to be thrown into the washing machine), and all over the beige chair I was sitting on.  Read more

Much as it is hard for me to imagine, not all people like cats or the people who love them and Petfinder.com is trying to change that negative mindset with a campaign whereby cat parents proudly show the world just how real, funny, down-to-earth, inventive and diverse they are. They ask us to proclaim “I am a cat parent” through pictures, blog posts, tweets, or any other way we can think of to prove that everyone can love a cat like we do and that they are not second class pets. Read more

Today is a day of CELEBRATION as our sweet Zoey turns 5 years old!!!! Wow – time just flies and I can’t believe this little being that fit in the palm of my hands when I first got her in 2008 is now such a beautiful and graceful fully grown cat. Zoey has always amazed me with her intelligence and unique personality as she has grown, but this year she really showed me just how extraordinary she truly is with the addition of Kizmet to our family.

Zoey has the distinct honor of having 3 of her 4 kittens living with her and the loving mother-child relationship that they share is nothing less than amazing. When we got Kizmet, I worried how the perfectly balanced social dynamic in our house would be affected and I didn’t know how Zoey would react towards him. Well, her reaction was one of a warm, loving, and compassionate mother who had found her long lost son. She took Kizmet under her wings and instantly assumed the role of mother, which Kizmet desperately craved.

So, Happy Birthday my darling Zoey – you continue to amaze me and I love you so much!! I look forward to many more years together and promise you a day of extra loving, toys, and treats!!

Love also from the rest of the family who love you so much too – Human Dad, Jazz, Harley, Zee, Mia, Peanut, Rolz, and Kizmet.

When I am on the computer, I will have the TV on for some background noise. Normally I drown the chatter out while I am typing, but several weeks ago someone caught my attention when I heard her talking about why having a pet is so amazing and the unconditional love that they give to us. It happened to be Mariel Hemingway who is very close to my age and someone I had admired for many years as an actress, who is now an author and inspirational speaker.  She was a guest on the Jeff Probst Show talking about several projects she was working on, including her new book, The WillingWay, which is dedicated to personal empowerment and living life to its fullest. She was also sharing the love letters she had written to her beloved dogs, Tree and Bindu, that were published in the popular book, A Letter To My Dog. Read more