Can you guess who is who after reading this post?

 Despite the nature of the title, “The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey – a Journey of the Extraordinarily Ordinary” and Zee and Zoey’s impression, there actually are other very important members of my household that I would briefly like to introduce you to that also are important to the book and part of the story.

So as not to show any favoritism (Zoey, are you listening) I will list everyone in order of age (sorry Dan). Dan is my fiancé, the human love of my life and the brilliant photographer of most of the pictures you will see featured in the book and on this blog. When he first came into my life, I had an unusually low number of critters living with me – four dogs and three cats. Rather than run in horrified shock, he actually embraced them all and might even be crazier than me when it comes to loving and spoiling them. He has learned many a valuable lesson from our current crew of seven felines – for example – curtains and furniture are not meant to stay new and fresh looking – they are meant exclusively for scratching. Once that was understood, life became a lot smoother for all of us.

Two irrefutable facts about me. Due the visible evidence on my kitchen counter of birthday cards with checks in them, I am officially over the hill at 50 and number two, since I am the one on the blog wearing cat ears, I guess I am also officially the crazy cat lady. This will be the last of the birthday subject. I have removed the numbers 4 and 5 from my computer keyboard, thus forcing me to remain 30 something from this point forward. I will allow myself to remain the crazy cat lady, as I really can’t change something so obvious. I have been an animal lover my whole life and have always had an endless parade of strays, giveaways, adoptions, and purchases in my life. I greatly appreciate the amazing gift of love, devotion, and personality that these creatures share with us and I hope to spend many more years writing about them in one way or another.

So, without further ado, here are the real stars of the story, my cats, also in order of age (maybe). Jazz is our distinguished elder Ragdoll that we affectionately call “Mr. Jazz.” He is a beautiful cat that was given to me as a Mother’s Day gift (that I picked out, paid for, and drove to get). You will soon find out that is a habit of mine… Anyhow, in his old age, he prefers to be a snuggle bear on the couch with Dan and I and reserves playtime for very special occasions, such as when a wadded ball of paper is thrown on the floor.

Harley would be next in line and she “picked” my youngest son, Joe, and I when we went to a local cat shelter looking for a new addition to our home. She was tiny, sweet, and shy but enjoyed playing jump and leap with feathered toys. Now. Not so much. Harley lives the good life – primarily on a 3 foot square cushion on the couch. Sleeping is her primary habit followed by an insistent need to be petted if you so much make eye contact with her. As she sits either directly on me, or squeezed between Dan and I on the couch, it is all but impossible not to make eye contact which can be a bit challenging. Play time consists of her living vicariously through the others as she watches on the sidelines, but, even that is giving her too much credit for physical effort!

Drum roll for our reigning King and co-star of the book – our beloved “little” Zee who was my gift to Dan and a daily blessing to the household. Anyone who knows Zee knows that he can do no wrong in our eyes (trust me, he has tried plenty of times). He is the father of his four beautiful children – Mia, Peanut, Rolz, and Zeuss and chooses to spend a good portion of the day napping on top of the hamper.

Madonna. Cher. Zoey. You know how that goes for all the deserving divas of the world – they do not need an introduction, as they are renowned icons in and of themselves. Zoey is the Queen of our household and unequivocally rules the roost. Just ask anyone, especially Zee, this will be confirmed in a split second. She is our sleek, exotic wild girl whose heritage descends from the Asian Leopard Cat and is a very loud and opinionated young lady. Despite always being on the prowl and looking like she is ready to leap on innocent pray at any moment, she really is a good girl with very sweet and endearing moments.

So, what happens when two anything but ordinary cats have kittens? They are born extremely extra-extraordinary. Despite having the honor of having Zoey actually giving birth to her kittens right next to me, I could not possibly tell you what order of birth they were born. I still mix them up to this day and it took us a good 8 weeks before we really had a solid clue as to who was who!  So, in no particular order, here is a brief description of the famous Zee/Zeoy clan:

Peanut.  Peanut, hence the name, started out as what we thought would be the runt of the litter. That lasted for about a month as Mia, her sister, soon became the runt and Peanut grew in leaps and bounds. Peanut is quite the lovable girl and we do not know where she came from – Zee was quite aloof as a kitten and has just recently become affectionate and Zoey clearly is not outwardly affectionate unless she is in one of her bi-polar moods, in which case she is quite endearing and will not leave you alone. Peanut will seek you out in the afternoon and obsessively pester you with loud meows and rubbing to be loved and patted.  This can go on for hours. If you are reading, she will be in front of your book, if you are on the computer, she will be on the keyboard clamoring for attention. She is not shy with strangers and will demand loving from them as well. Peanut has spots that look like pebbles on her fur and has a much darker coat like Zee. She also has a remarkable distinction that I will disclose at a later time.

Mia was a petite, pretty little thing that was extremely sweet and shy. She looks and acts most like Mama and has a beautiful swirling pattern on her fur. Mia is all grown up now and is no longer a runt – she is bigger than her Mama and remains a bit shy and aloof. She has her moments of attention seeking, but for the most part would prefer to remain on her own. She has the sweetest little face with large round eyes that just make your heart melt. She is a proud little thing and will walk with her tail held up high as if to say, “Look at me, aren’t I just so smart and beautiful.” She adores her Papa Zee more than anyone and will rub up against him showing her love and devotion to him. They will also wrestle together and Zee makes sure to be very gentle with her.

Rolz – my goodness, how to describe Rolz. Rolz is the brother to Peanut and Mia and was the only kitten we could distinguish from day one. For whatever reason, he took to rolling on his back at an early age and continues to do so, hence the name which combines his tendency to roll with the clever “z” for Zee and Zoey at the end of his name. It also signifies his attitude and upbringing – he is clearly the Rolls-Royce of the family and lives as a spoiled son who does not have to work, but will inherit everything. He is inherently lazy and will spend most of the day napping on the highest shelf of our cat perch. Rolz does not want you to pet him – you may admire him and talk to him, but if you pet him, his body sort of melts to the floor, as he is not sure how to react and tries to slink away without you noticing. Rolz has a much lighter coat than his siblings and his markings are much more lose and sporadic in design.

Zeuss is the last sibling and has moved to Boston with his human owner Sean. Because he is a writer in his own right, I will be letting him share his own story on a weekly basis. Suffice it to say, he has done Zee and Zoey proud – he is a gorgeous boy with an amazing amount of talent and athletic ability.

So that is it, 28 furry feet and 4 human feet later, our household in a nutshell. It can be quite a bit overwhelming at times – dinner time, play time, outside time when they all get wound up in a collective frenzy. Then, sometimes they are so engrossed in naptime, that you wouldn’t even know we have one cat, let alone seven in the house. One thing is for sure, they are a trip and worth the price of admission.