I was given the opportunity to share a guest post about Purr Prints of the Heart – A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond as written in the voice of my dearly departed cat, Mr. Jazz, on the Kitties in the City blog site. Kitties in the City is a beautiful and informative blog that was created by the talented, award-winning author and pet expert, Stacey Ritz, who is also my dear friend and the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Advocates 4 Animals, Inc. – a 501(c)3 feline welfare organization based in Greene County, OH. Advocates 4 Animals (A4A) is one of my favorite rescues and Stacey gave me the option of having the post go up in late May or early June. Being that June is Adopt a Shelter/Rescue Cat Month and it also marks the one year anniversary month of the unexpected passing of my beloved rescue cat, Harley, (June 24), I knew I had to pick the June date. Read more

Ah… Memories… I remember it like it was yesterday… Or like it was 6 days ago… Which it was… Yes, that’s right, for one brief moment in time last Sunday, October 5th, Dan and I were treated to one of those glorious South Florida mornings where the temperature was a blessed 68 degrees. No humidity, no scorching 90 plus degree temperatures that are now back with a vengeance, just a wonderfully beautiful morning. Read more

Advocates 4 Animals, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Greene County, OH. Their mission is to help animals through a variety of programs such as the Pet Food Pantry, Spay It Forward Program, Feral Cat Program and the Rescue/Adoption Program.

One of the greatest pleasures of being an animal lover is getting to know other animal lovers and one such of these people is Stacey Ritz, the co-founder and Executive Director of Advocates 4 Animals, Inc. I have known Stacey for several years – primarily through our affiliation with the Cat Writer’s Association, but also because my beloved angel cat Harley was chosen as the cover cat for the Advocates 4 Animals 2013 calendar. Even though 2013 has come and gone, I proudly keep the calendar hung on my office wall so I can see my beautiful girl and I will forever be grateful to Stacey for giving me that keepsake. Read more

The lovely Jackie…

Editors Note: As you know, my beautiful 15 year old step-daughter, Jackie, has been visiting us for the summer. She has already been with us for two weeks and we are blessed to have her company for another two before she has to head back home to Boston. While it’s been wonderful having her around, not all is fun and games… I decided I may as well put her to work while she is here and take advantage of her many talents, one of which includes writing! That’s right… why should I write a Caturday post when I can get someone else to do it for me!! So, without further ado, please enjoy Jackie’s take on what it is like visiting the Zee and Zoey household! I love her perspective on my feline gang and I think you will as well! Read more

Editors Note: I shared a special guest post this past Wednesday from my youngest step-daughter, Jackie, and today I have one more special guest post to share from my other step-daughter, Crystal. Crystal is a 3rd grade teacher and like me, she often measures the moments in time by the lessons we learn along the way. While she is very much familiar with the Zee/Zoey feline gang, this particular visit last week brought with it the unexpected lessons of love, companionship, and understanding that only a cat can teach…

Lesson Number One: If you open it… they will come.

As a guest entering Deb and Dad’s home, other than the fact that there is more cat furniture than people furniture, and there are bins busting to the brim with more cat toys than any pet store would possibly carry, you might not even realize they have cats. The moment you enter, you might see a blur from the corner of your eye, but would probably shake it off as jet lag. You’d never suspect that eight felines were lurking… sniffing out the unsuspecting guest… Read more