The three little kittens – Peanut, Mia, and Rolz – all grown up now…

You know that saying about someone’s “bark being worse than their bite.” Well in Zoey’s case, her bark (growl) really was worse than her bite. Zoey does not bite – but after week 8 with the kittens, she did growl… A LOT. As mentioned, Zeuss had the courtesy to pack his little kitten bags and head for Boston to live his new life. Peanut, Mia, and Rolz – all of whom Dan and I had fallen madly in love with and decided to keep, became freeloading hooligans in Zoey’s mind. Her natural instinct kicking into high gear, rather than feel a sense of loss when Zeuss left like we thought she would, she felt that she had done her part raising these babies and that it was time for them to leave the nest and fend for themselves, so to speak.

She was no longer a loving, nurturing parent, but a Jekyll and Hyde paradox of pure resentment of these precious little babies. If they so much as looked her way or breathed the same air space as her, she would growl menacingly at them, challenging them to run off. Zoey never hurt them, her growl actually was worse than her bite in that sense, but she really did not want them in the house with her anymore. And bless them, they were so confused. They loved their Mama so much and the urge to snuggle and nurse had not completely gone away, which caused her even more anger. And most amazing of all, her anger was directed exclusively at the kittens – she could distinguish in a split second her off-spring versus Zee, Harley, or Jazz who were all safe from her wrath. So, we did what we do best, we loved all of them as best we could in light of the circumstances and remained ever vigilant and patient. Surely she could not resent them forever. Please, fingers-crossed, we hoped. 

Well, merely a year later, all was well and Zoey finally resigned herself to the fact the kittens weren’t going anywhere, and, in fact, when no one was looking, she actually began to enjoy them again. We would catch a flash of a leopard blur of fur zoom past us – it would be Zoey thoroughly enjoying a game of tag with them, often instigating the chase. Frequently on the couch, we would find her deeply asleep next to one of them, hugging them lovingly and protectively to her body. She still gives them baths with her tongue, whether they like it or not and she still clearly understands she is Mama. They understand her role as well and they continue to respect her for that which is absolutely amazing to me. Actually the entire social dynamic of all the cats is quite fascinating – they all interact in relation to their unique roles and Zoey, as the Queen, remains at the top of the pecking order. Zee continues his role as King, but he has long since handed his crown over to Zoey, preferring the word to be a title only and not an actual responsibility.

Right now, as the family approaches nearly two years old, all the kittens are bigger than Zoey and everyone gets along very well. They favor Mama in looks but tend to have more of Zee’s laid back personality. Zee and Zoey remain a loving and devoted couple and Zee adores the role of father now and dotes on them hand and paw. Mia, in particular, is madly in love with her Papa and will love and nuzzle up to him all the time. Mia remains our sweet, shy little girl and looks and acts most like Mama. She prefers you not pet her, but will allow it on occasion. Peanut is the lover of the house and will not only follow you around like a dog looking for loving, petting, and attention, she will actually reach up on her hind legs and pat you with her paw, reminding you she wants some loving, lest you could possibly forget someone as adorable as her! Rolz is the most laid back out of all of them and prefers to spend his time napping in a solitary spot. He is quite a regal young man and will allow you to admire his beauty from a distance. Petting is not allowed. They tend to nap most of the day, with random spurts of energy, then back to napping until it is time for dinner, which is absolute chaos in our house with 7 cats! Right now, besides going out into the fenced backyard for some lizard chasing time, their favorite treat is the laser pen. We try to take it out each night so they can have some fun – they hear the jingle of the chain and come running to play and catch that elusive red dot. Even Harley, our lazy Tortoiseshell will wake from a nap to play. Has any of them captured it yet? Nope… but they’ve been very close. Any day now, I’m quite sure!

To follow you will find some pictures of the gang as they are all grown up now!

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