According to the most recent White House briefing (22MAR21), the United States is vaccinating about 2.5 million people per day. There are 81 million people — or nearly 1 in 3 adults — with at least one vaccine dose and 44 million who are fully vaccinated. Eligibility requirements are changing too, with each state providing its own plan for deciding who will be vaccinated first. Here in Florida where I live, vaccines are now available for persons 40 years of age and older; persons determined to be extremely vulnerable by a physician; health care workers with direct patient contact; and long-term care facility residents and staff. Read more

Photo credit: Sam Lion from Pexels

Rescue animals were TIME magazine’s 2020 Pet of the Year and with the new normal associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s really not a surprise. With stay-at-home orders issued across the U.S. in March 2020 and continuing nearly a year later for much of the population, people and families are hungry for the love and companionship a pet can bring. According to a survey published in January 2021 from Porch.com, Americans adopted 750,000 animals from shelters since the pandemic began, a 3% higher rate than the previous year, with 55% of the adoptions, cats. Read more

Just days before his trip to the vet, everything with Zee seemed fine. This is him with his beloved girls – daughter Peanut, “wife” Zoey, and daughter Mia.

Cats have always had the reputation of being mysterious. Egyptians believed them to be magical creatures, capable of bringing good luck to the people who housed them. They are also notorious masters of disguise, especially when it comes to hiding weakness or pain, including chronic conditions like dental, kidney, and heart disease. This goes back to their existence in the wild when trying to avoid attracting the attention of would-be predators, and even a purr, which humans consider a sign of contentment, can be a signal the cat is in pain. All this means pet guardians may not immediately see physical signs that something is wrong, bringing me to the story of Zee and his emergency trip to the vet. Read more

At 15-years-old our beautiful Zee is the purr-fect model to champion senior cat adoptions.

2020 will forever be known as the year of COVID, redefining life as we know it. Hardships, challenges, tragedies, and more became part of the landscape. Social distancing changed how we participated in milestone moments in life – births, deaths, and holidays to name a few. It changed how we worked, how we shopped, how we communicated and so much more, often making it difficult to find the silver lining in any of it. But silver linings did exist – one for me – my relationship with Zee, our 15-year-old Maine Coon cat. Working remotely from home since March I’m able to spend more time with him than I ever would have before and I’m grateful, especially as I’m painfully aware my time with him is no longer measured in infinite possibilities of days ahead, but of finite moments that are coming closer to an end. Read more

May this Thanksgiving bring you peace, love, safety, and reasons to reflect on what’s still good in this world and in your life. We’re grateful for all the friendships we’ve made on this blog and always appreciate your visits.

Love and purrs from Deb and her feline gang (as seated in order at the table, starting bottom left) Shadow, Peanut, Rolz, Mia, Zee, Zoey, Kizmet, and Jazmine.

And as we share every year, when it comes to our kitties, no matter how tempting it might be to give certain foods to our feline friends, please keep the tips to follow in mind for the health and safety of your cat.