Hey Everyone! It’s me, Mr. Jazz from the Bridge, and I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for the overwhelming outpouring of support, love, and compassion you have given me and my fellow feline and human family since my passing last week. I am so touched by your kindness and mere words could not possibly express the gratitude I feel for the beautiful comments you left on our blog and other outlets to express your condolences. Read more

The thing with inevitability is that no matter how many wishes upon a star, you cannot stop what is meant to be and I now find myself, a born writer, in stunned silence with no words to adequately convey both the crushing loss, yet the sobering relief of letting my beloved Mr. Jazz finally pass to his place on the Rainbow Bridge this past Wednesday.  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

For whatever unfathomable reason, shelter workers will tell you that statistically black cats are often the last to be adopted and the first to be euthanized. The reasons vary, but the ill-conceived superstition that they bring bad luck is at the top of the list. Other reasons are more superficial, such as that their black fur is harder to see in shelter cages and they are difficult to photograph. People have a tendency to fall in love at first sight with pets, so the more colorful pets have a far better shot at getting adopted. To help create awareness about this plight, today is National Black Cat Appreciation Day and in honor of that, I would like to share a special post from a friend of mine I introduced you to a few weeks ago, Liz Wyman of Cats Love Naps who has made it her personal quest to help get me on the Ellen DeGeneres Show! Liz knows firsthand the unjustified prejudices black cats face in shelters and makes it her mission to help dispel the myths so that more black cats are adopted into loving homes. Read more

Zee and Zoey look wistfully out the window missing Crystal and Jackie. Harley lifts her head momentarily from her nap and says, “What? No one told me we had company… how long were the girls here?”

Saying goodbye to family is never easy and when Dan’s girls left yesterday to go back home to Boston, it left us with a swell of emotions. We were so blessed to have had their company, but we also lost a dear friend to cancer several days prior to their arrival, causing the visit to be bittersweet. We did our best to celebrate his memory and live in the moment, and rather say “goodbye” as they boarded the plane, we called it “we’ll see you soon.” But, no matter the words, we will miss them terribly and it only goes to serve the lesson once again how fragile life is and that you really need to embrace every precious minute you have with those you love when you can. Read more