Handsome Shadow models for National Black Cat Day

The UK charity Cats Protection created National Black Cat Day on October 27, 2011, to celebrate black cats’ majesty and combat low adoption rates and negative stereotypes. According to its website, the campaign has been successful, with black cats now spending less time in its care than when they launched it!

At Zee and Zoey’s, we love hearing news like that and are happy to share an image of our handsome black cat rescue, Shadow, who showed up at our garage door as an abandoned (and likely abused) kitten early on the morning of November 8, 2019. His journey had some ups and downs, but I can truthfully say he is now completely comfortable with his other cat mates and us and is thriving.

Happy Black Cat Day to all the beautiful house panthers out there, and we hope this day inspires even more adoptions worldwide. There is also a related holiday, Black Cat Appreciation Day, celebrated earlier in the year on August 17. Animal rescue advocate Wayne H. Morris created it in 2011 to memorialize his 33-year-old sister and Sinbad, her twenty-year-old black cat. Furthermore, October is also known as Black Cat Awareness Month. We think any opportunity to celebrate black cats is worth taking!

Shadow on the backyard pavers surrounded by stunning greenery

Kizmet, a few days after we adopted him. How could anyone resist him?

Fourteen years ago, a tiny tabby kitten who had been found abandoned on the streets was given a birthday of July 4, 2012. A few months later, while stopping at Pet Supermarket during my lunch break to buy cat food, I walked past the cat adoption cages as I had done countless times before. My survival rule was simple: say hello without lingering too long.

Then I looked into his eyes.

In that instant, nothing else mattered. I picked him up, and he curled against my chest, a perfect fit, purring as though he’d been waiting for me all along. I tried to reason with myself. We already had a hectic household of seven cats. Dan was out of town. I was only supposed to buy cat food.

I handed the store clerk my business card and asked if they could hold him for a couple of hours while I talked it over with Dan. I sent him a photo of the kitten, secretly hoping he’d talk some sense into me.

Instead, he simply said, “Get the cat.”

And just like that, Kizmet came home.

I named him Kizmet—a play on kismet, meaning fate or destiny, with the “z” that had become a tradition in our Zee & Zoey feline family. Looking back now, I can’t imagine him by any other name.

Today, America celebrates its 250th birthday. Kizmet celebrates his 14th.

For fourteen years, he has quietly reported for duty every single day.

He is a kind, intuitive, happy, sweet, silly, and compassionate cat. He comforted Jazz, Harley, Zee, and Zoey through their end-of-life journeys, quietly staying by their side, then comforting me through the inevitable heartbreak that followed. He was also the first to welcome Jazmine and, years later, Shadow into our family.

We first learned of Kizmet’s healing powers in 2013, when Jazz was transitioning to his journey to the afterlife. Kizmet lay at my feet the whole time, offering love and comfort.

Kizmet was the first to welcome Jazmine when we adopted her in 2014. He has been her faithful protector ever since.

Kizmet likes treats, but he doesn’t demand them like the others. He loves attention but doesn’t try to steal the spotlight. Rather, he’s patient. He sleeps in my office during the day just to be near me. Then, every evening after dinner, once I settle onto the couch to watch television, he knows it’s our time. Without fail, he reports for snuggle duty. It’s one assignment he has never missed.

Kizmet loves the kitchen counter. Not so much for treats as for the chance to be close to his beloved humans during mealtimes.

Kizmet has a playful and athletic side. He loves to have these fuzzy pom pom balls tossed up for him to catch in mid-air!

He’s also my shoulder warmer, my overnight head pillow, and the quiet heart of our family. Never the loudest. Never the most dramatic. Just endlessly loyal, loving, and present.

Kizmet, in his ever-present quest to be as close to me as possible, is sitting between my back and the back of my chair!

Since I work remotely from home, Kizmet spends most of his day on the couch in my office with me.

Kizmet likes to lay his head on mine and wrap his paws around my head, hugging me.

Happy 14th Birthday to my faithful little guardian.

Thank you for fourteen years of unwavering love, quiet devotion, and faithful service.

Still Reporting for Duty Since 2012.

Happy Birthday, Kizmet!

At 5:15 a.m., the bedroom was dark, and when I put my foot on the floor to slide on my carefully laid sandals from the night before, I felt something soft and squishy. Yes, of course, there was a hairball in my right sandal, courtesy of my precious ginger cat, Jazmine, that was now embedded between my toes. Lovely. I was getting up, as I do 365 days a year, to feed my feline gang, including Jazmine and my six other cats – Zoey, Mia, Peanut, Rolz, Kizmet, and Shadow. It’s an ordeal. First, before I’ve even had coffee or the chance to wake up fully, I scoop three litter boxes. If I’m lucky, I don’t have to scoop again, but often as soon as I scoop, one of them will go again, meaning, back to scooping. Not to mention the litter that is kicked outside the box, which I have to sweep up…

Preparing breakfast is a foggy whirlwind. Each cat has specific dietary needs, and while I’m getting everything ready, they are meow-screaming at me the whole time. As the house is quiet, naturally, the sound level is amplified to a piercing level and on a continuous loop. One would think they’ve never been fed… After that, there’s cleanup, which is not just washing their feeding bowls and changing water, but typically one of them will throw up from eating too fast, which means more cleaning for me. Several of them will use the litter box again, so that means more scooping. Generally, when all is said and done, it takes between 30 and 45 minutes before I’m done with the process and can blessedly drink my first cup of coffee.

Click on the image to enlarge to see the cat math!

Rinse and repeat. They have a small lunch around noon, dinner around 5:00 p.m., and a smaller snack meal around 8:30 p.m. I find that feeding them several small meals throughout the day, rather than a big breakfast and dinner, works best for their digestion and well-being, but it does require a lot of effort from me, although these meals are slightly less complicated than breakfast. There are treats, too—usually at least twice a day. Then, aside from feeding and endless litter scooping, there is also grooming, administering meds, playtime, and more. I’m genuinely exhausted by the end of the day, but despite all this, I am not sharing my day because I’m complaining. I’m sharing because I’m grateful to be doing it. Today is Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, a day I founded in 2015 in tribute to my precious Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz, whom I had to say goodbye to on August 28, 2013.

The day was created for people to share memories of pets they loved and lost, but never forgotten. What wouldn’t I give to feed Mr. Jazz again, or scoop his litter, or brush his fur? I miss him dearly. I miss all my angels – especially those that were such a strong part of the Zee/Zoey gang – Mr. Jazz, Harley, and Zee. Remembering them gives me even more reason to be grateful for what I have in my life now, as I know my time with them is fleeting.

My beautiful angels – Zee, Harley, and Mr. Jazz

I give all of you who have loved and lost a beloved companion my deepest sympathy and support. Every day is a day to remember them, but consider today, and an extra-special hug from me to you.

xoxox

Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day is a special day dedicated to honoring the memories of those beloved pets in our lives we have loved and lost but never forgotten. Whether a pet with fur, fin, feathers, scales, or something else – one pet or many – this day was created for you to honor that pet in any way that feels most comfortable to you. Post a picture, write a poem, share a favorite memory, host a memorial event, upload a video, or write a special blog post and share the link.

ABOUT RAINBOW BRIDGE REMEMBRANCE DAY:
Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day was founded in 2015 by Deborah Barnes, award-winning author and blogger of Zee & Zoey’s Cat Chronicles, in tribute to her Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz, whom she had to say goodbyes to on August 28, 2013. She shared the journey of letting him go in her critically acclaimed book, Purr Prints of – A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond, and decided to create the day in his honor as a way for others across the world to share memories of their pets they had loved and lost.

Logo designed by Deborah Barnes

Kizmet is using my head as a pillow. He lives for these happy moments and so do I.

Kizmet is an “I’m happy if I can be sleeping on my beloved human’s head,” kind of cat. Politics is not his thing to pontificate, nor as his human, is it mine. However, with today the 4th of July, 248 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, it’s hard not to think of politics as America ponders its future.  Today is also Kizmet’s 12th birthday and the only wish he has, is the same one I have: regardless of where you stand, or what your beliefs are, we hope we can come together as a race, with compassion, empathy, tolerance, and fairness.

Happy 12th Birthday, Kizmet!

Take care everyone, and be safe. And don’t forget,  the 4th of July can be a rough, scary, and dangerous time for our feline friends. Please visit here for my previous post on how to keep our cats safe and secure during the 4th of July festivities and the hot, summer days.

Kizmet from November, 2012. This was a few days after we adopted him from Pet Supermarket (he had been found, abandoned on the side of the road as a kitten).

The model for our Thanksgiving card is the lovely Jazmine.

From all of us at Zee & Zoey’s Cat Chronicles, we wish you and yours a safe, peaceful, loving, and wonderful Thanksgiving. And, as always, we share these tips to keep our kitties safe and sound with all the treats that abound!