November is Adopt a Senior Pet month, and with five of our seven cats officially seniors, it’s hard not to dwell on their age. International Cat Care states, “Feline ages and life stages have been redefined. Cats are elderly once they reach 11 years, with senior cats defined as those aged between 11 and 14 and geriatric cats 15 years and upwards.”

That means my Zoey, who was just a tiny kitten a mere fraction of a minute ago in my mind, is now geriatric at 15 years of age. It’s tough to wrap my head around the notion, as she looks and acts as young as ever. Age is but a number to her. Her most recent checkup came back with great results, and she’s as spry, alert, and overly vocal as ever. The only thing the vet recommended was some B-12 to help support her metabolic processes, and thankfully, she happily eats her Cobalequin chewable tablets with no fuss. Her eyes remain bright and clear, and her fur is as soft as silk, too, with no grooming issues. Read more

My lap on any typical evening.

It was around 8:00 p.m., and Dan and I were finally settled on the couch for the evening. I think I had at least two cats sleeping on me and Dan one or two. Dan’s phone rang – it was a co-worker. He had found an abandoned neonatal kitten (neonatal is a kitten defined as newborn to four weeks old) at the facility where they work, outside in the rain, and he needed help. The mother cat was nowhere to be found, nor were there littermates. It was clear if he didn’t intervene, the kitten would not survive. Read more

This photo from 2020 sums me up. Anywhere I am, there will be a cat, or two, or three…

My cats, no matter what point in the journey of my life, have always been bonded to me. Some more than others, ranging from degrees of “Yes, please make sure to pat me when you walk by, but then go your merry way,” to “Oh my God, no! Please don’t ever let me out of your sight, my life as I know it will be over if I don’t know where you are at all times!” In early March of this year, that dynamic shifted, with nearly all of my current gang of seven consumed with the need to be near me. Read more

It’s happened again. Time has passed at a crazy pace, and in what seems like seconds later, my precious Zoey is now 15 years old. It’s been an interesting year with my girl since her birthday last year, as it marks the first time sharing the day without her true love, Zee, our sweet boy we had to say goodbye to on March 18, 2022. They had a unique bond – not only did they share a home with a family they created, but they were snuggle buddies and nearly inseparable. Read more

It’s okay for kitties to be friends, but only if precautions have been taken!

It’s February, that time of year when love is in the air. That’s why February is nationally recognized as Spay/Neuter Awareness Month, as a means to educate and encourage people to have their pets sterilized before the spring and summer months when there is a rampant overproduction of puppies and kittens and when most animal shelters experience an unmanageable increase in animal intake. Today is also World Spay Day and honestly, the best gift of love you can give your pet is to have them spayed or neutered. In our case, since we’re cat educators, here are some basic facts as to how and why spay/neuter equates to love:

1. It improves your cat’s health and quality of life. The overall health and emotional benefits to your cat from spay/neuter will result in them having a longer and happier life. Spaying your female prior to her first heat nearly eliminates the risk of mammary cancer, uterine infections, and uterine cancer, which is fatal to approximately 90% of cats according to the ASPCA. Neutering your male before he is 6 months of age prevents testicular and prostate cancer and greatly reduces his risk for perianal tumors.
2. It lowers a cat’s dangerous desire to roam. Even with the best intentions to keep your cat indoors, escapes can happen. If your female is not spayed and she comes across an unaltered male, she might accidentally become impregnated. Even worse, in looking for a mate, your cat could become lost, injured, or even fatally hit by a car.
3.  Behavioral Benefits. Spaying stops a female’s heat cycle and the annoying vocalization and inappropriate urination that can often come with it. Until she is spayed, this cycle will repeat and continue for weeks at a time until she finds a mate. Neutering a male reduces aggressive behavior and his need to mark the house or outdoors with strong-smelling urine. Spay/neuter will virtually eliminate these behavioral issues whether for an indoor pet cat, or outdoor colonies.

There are numerous other reasons to encourage and promote spay/neuter. If you’d like to read further articles, please consider the following:

Zee & Zoey’s Spay/Neuter Series – The Facts of Life: The 101’s of Kittens and Conception

Zee & Zoey’s Spay/Neuter Series – The Overall Health, Behavioral, and Emotional Benefits for Cats and Society at Large

Zee & Zoey’s Spay/Neuter Series – Debunking the Misconceptions, Excuses, and Reasons Why People Don’t Spay or Neuter Their Cat

Zee & Zoey’s Spay/Neuter Series – Cat Overpopulation and the Moral Ethics of Time

Zee & Zoey’s Spay/Neuter Series – Making Sense of Cat Overpopulation When the Numbers Don’t Add Up