In this current COVID era in which time doesn’t seem to evolve, but drifts endlessly from one day to the next with nary a distinction between what day of the week it is, let alone what month, the same does not hold with my beloved senior cat, Zee. With him, I’m painstakingly conscious of every fast-paced tick of the clock that passes within this slow-motion world.

Every meow he greets me with, every meal I feed him, every scoop of litter I clean, every time he jumps up on the counter, making me a nervous wreck due to his frail bones and I tell him to get down, every time he swats at one of his catmates, all milestone markers in my mind of our time together.

I’m not trying to be morose, but today is Zee’s 15th birthday and it’s hard not to be reflective. I see my time with him no longer measured in infinite possibilities of days ahead, but of finite moments that are coming closer to an end. Despite my tone, I’m not being maudlin, rather I’ve trained myself to be appreciative and to live in the now, seeing each breath of his as a beautiful gift.

Happy Birthday sweet Zee!

I don’t know what the future holds. For now, his fur is thinning, as is his body. His once bright, alert eyes are glossy and dull, and he spends most of his days conked out on our bed napping. But don’t let that fool you – Zee is a cat very much young at heart and with age, he has assumed a delightful new arsenal of quirkiness for a cat that already had that covered in spades since kittenhood. His current repertoire includes his love-affair with technology, paper bags, and puffy white clouds.

The technology? A digital mouse zooming randomly around a computer screen from a video called Catching Mice! Dan found it by searching on YouTube for cat videos and Zee is so mesmerized with this, along with another video he found called String String Thing, that he’ll stare at the screen for as long as Dan will let him, batting at the mice and the strings. And now when Dan sits down at his computer, Zee comes running from wherever he is and jumps on his lap, waiting for the show to begin. The paper bags and puffy white clouds were the results of a surprise I received a couple of weeks after hosting the virtual awards ceremony for the Cat Writers’ Association. One of the guest presenters, Dr. Lynn Bahr, sent some cat toys from her Dezi and Roo online store my way to show her appreciation.

Honestly, while I was grateful for the gesture, I wasn’t prepared for the reaction I would get from my feline gang. One of the items, a Hide and Sneak Unique Cat Toy Tunnel, looked like nothing more to me than two paper bags joined, with holes at either end for easy entrance or exit for kitties. Ingenious, sure, but would my cats really find it all that appealing? In short, yes, they did. Especially Zee. It quickly became his playland castle, he was king of it, with him promptly letting his much younger, other seven catmates know by possessively napping and sitting on it nearly 24/7 that it was his, despite how much they loved the contraption, too.

Jazmine loved the tunnel, too, but Zee had other plans in store.

Ironically, as is sometimes the case in a multicat household in which marking territory can be a normal reaction, Zee peed on the bag to further demonstrate it was his. Nonplused and proud of his liquid achievement, I, on the other hand, was not, and the tunnel found itself a new home in the trash bin in our garage. Oh well, tis lovely to be a king, if only for a few days.

Among the other gifts was a 3-pack of Little Puffs cloud toys. Again, nothing special on the surface – tiny little toys in the shape of clouds made from an Eco-fil plush felt fabric with fibers made from 100% post-consumer recycled and BPA-free plastic bottles, lightly dusted with Cloud Nine Silver Vine – but they were a game-changer for Zee. Zee is already prone to plush toy hunting and over the years he has regaled Dan and me with his nightly ritual of bringing a parade of plush kills into our bedroom as gifts. He’s had his favorites – stuffed kitty, stuffed carrot, stuffed ferret, and more but over the past year or so, he has not brought toys to us with his previous militant regularity.

Meet the Little Puff Cloud Family. A bit worse for wear with time, but loved nonetheless by Zee.

Until now. Little Puffs are all over the house – near the water dish, at our bedroom door, and most recently, all three Little Puffs together at the foot of the couch like a nomad cloud family taking refuge for the night. This fills my heart with absolute joy because I know these new toys have contributed to Zee’s physical and cognitive well-being, something very important as cats age. I find it fascinating, too, considering the mountain of toys we have – baskets overflowing with mice, balls, and every other configuration you can think of. That Zee can single out his favorite toys, or now, these three Little Puffs out of the dozens of other toys never ceases to amaze me.

As always, Zee remains beloved in our household – by Dan and me and by his catmates. To this day, his true love, Zoey, is still enamored of him, spending her naptime snuggled next to him. We pray for many more happy birthdays but until then, we appreciate each day with Zee for the treasured gift it is.

Zee & Zoey – aging gracefully together.

All cats need proper nutrition, exercise, mental stimulation, environmental enrichment, veterinary care, and more, but especially so as they age. If you have a senior or aging cat, please consider reading my article, “Stairs, Safety, and Senior Cats – 10 Tips to Help Ease Your Cat Into His Golden Years,” winner of the Cat Writers’ Association 2018 Senior Well-Being Cat Award as judged by Briony Scott, pet-sitting entrepreneur and certified cat behaviorist.