It’s amazing how much trouble one little red dot can cause…

Last Friday at 3:54 p.m. while I was at work, I got a text from Dan informing me we had no internet, as someone had accidentally cut the cable wires in our neighborhood. He was told by AT&T, our provider, it would be fixed by 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Rather than get upset over something out of our control, I just took it with a grain of salt and resigned myself to a night of cable TV, as AT&T is our streaming provider and continuing to binge watch our new series of choice, Justified, would not be an option. Read more

As the Project Manager for the military department, I dig in – whether stepping in to help production on the floor – or managing tedious contracts and paperwork in my office to ensure all our orders get out on time.

I work for a manufacturing company, managing the shipment of products for our military department. It’s both a physically and mentally challenging job, with lots of critical deadlines that have to be met, and when I leave for the day I’m already exhausted. My drive home is stressful – the traffic crawls and the roads are not equipped for the heavy flow of drivers, meaning sometimes you have to wait for several light cycles to turn green before you can even move forward from one intersection to the next. My point being, I’m completely drained by the time I walk in the door and all I want to do is grab a glass of wine and put on my comfy sweatpants. Read more

It is her! How dare she leave us!

Doesn’t she know we need to be fed dinner in 8 hours? We might starve between now and then!

Guys. Seriously. No need to panic. I promise I’ll be home in plenty of time to feed you dinner. I’m just taking a break today to be with your human Grandma. As a Christmas gift, I promised her an early morning out for breakfast followed by a day at the beach. You do realize you nap all day long anyhow, so it’s not like much will change in your world with me gone for a few hours…

Hmmm….she does make a good point! Zzzzz….snore….zzzzz….

Hope everyone has a great Sunday and wonderful upcoming week!

Happy Easter from all of us at Zee & Zoey’s!

I’m feeling a bit nostalgic this Easter. I remember years ago, when my kids were young, how we’d have a house full of company. My brother, Dave, and his wife, Kathy, would visit from up North and they’d bring their 3 kids, as well as Kathy’s parents. My Mom lived nearby and we also had a revolving door of resident cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, and more. We’d spend the time coloring eggs, swimming, going for walks, going to the beach, grilling outside, and whatever else we could think of.

No matter the event, there was always one of my cats helping out. This was Jazz along with my youngest son, Joe, and my niece, Allison back in 2000.

It was hectic and crazy and all kinds of nutty, but it was also wonderful. It seems everyone is all grown up now – my kids are long since moved out, Dave and Kathy’s kids are all in college, and the extended family I now share with Dan are also all grown up and we normally don’t see them around Easter. I’ll still be celebrating the day – thankfully my boys both live near me, as well as my Mom, and they’ll be coming by for dinner, but it’s a much quieter time now.

My sons, Chris and Joe, back in 1998 when we were in the backyard preparing for an Easter egg hunt. Also with us is Bailey and Bandit – no matter what we were doing, we always had a parade of dogs following us!

The cats will probably be the only ones crazy – typically signified by jumping up on the counter while I’m trying to cook, or on the dining room table while we’re trying to eat (insert feigned shock that the cats do this – “oh my goodness, I’ve never seen them do that before!”). And of course, if Chris brings his dog, that will also cause some nutty behavior with my cats, along with a few nose swats, hisses, and general displeasure from one or two of them.

Cats on the table? I don’t see any cats on the table…

It doesn’t mean we won’t have a good time, or that I’m unhappy, it’s just different, that’s all. I guess I had imagined by this point in my life I’d have grandchildren as opposed to grandpets, but as long as I have love in my life, that’s all that matters, and I’m surrounded by lots of that – both in human and fur form!

Easter is a calmer time now and instead of a house full of kids, we celebrate with a house full of furbabies!

And much as my cats might appear to be annoyed by the company, deep down they’re not. Zee and Peanut revel in the attention (obsessively so) and Rolz and Jazmine have quite cleverly figured out that having a dog in the house increases the chances of treats and snacks happening more frequently.

Keep Easter safe for your cats by avoiding dangerous temptations such as curling ribbon, cellophane grass, chocolate, and Easter lilies.

What kind of day will you all be having? Whatever you’re doing, I hope it’s a day filled with blessings. And don’t forget how curious our feline friends can be  – Easter is a wonderful time but there can be many things dangerous to cats. Curling ribbons and cellophane grasses if ingested could become entangled in their intestines, causing them to twist and close off requiring dangerous surgery. Chocolate is highly toxic to cats and so are those beautiful Easter lilies we are all familiar with. And if a cat eats a small toy or decoration, they could possibly choke on it, so really the best thing to do is keep these types of temptations away from your cat. To be safe, keep both the phone number of your veterinarian and the pet poison helpline programmed on your phone in case of emergencies (poison helpline is 855-764-7661).

Peanut is more like a lamb than a lion in personality, but she gives it her all for this blog post!

Considering we’re not even two weeks into March yet and the northeast has already been hit with flooding, severe winds, brutal temperatures, and now a major snowstorm, this month has no doubt roared in as a lion. We’ve had chilly temperatures here in Florida, ranging from 50 – 70 degrees and when you’re a cat, that can mean only one thing:

It’s window whiffing season!!

Will today be our lucky day?

I don’t know about your house, but at ours, there’s not much better than an open window that allows for the intoxicating smells of the outdoors to come wafting indoors! As soon as the cats hear the window being opened, they are drawn to it like a magnet and if they’re lucky, they might happen upon a visiting bird or squirrel!

Score! It is our lucky day!! A squirrel sighting!

I love being able to open the windows because cats can easily get bored of the same old, same old routine, especially if they’ve been cooped up all winter with no open windows. If it’s safe for you to open your windows, it’s a great way to provide some stimulation and enrichment for your cat, as they are wild by nature and this gives them a wonderful opportunity to take in all the sights and smells around them.

And don’t forget, it’s Daylight Saving today, so our clocks need to be set one hour ahead, which means more time for window whiffing! Whoo Hoo! Have a great Sunday everyone and stay safe and warm! Hopefully, our friend the lamb will be here sooner than later!

More sunlight equals more window whiffing! Whoo Hoo indeed!