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).

So, it’s St. Patrick’s Day…or in my world, St. Catrick’s Day. I had hoped to put together a fun new graphic for the day, but unfortunately, life has stepped in with different plans. You may recall I had emergency retina surgery for my left eye back in January. Well, things have been a bit blurry lately and I might need additional surgery to take care of a wrinkle that has developed in the retina.

I’m trying to stay positive. My eye doctor is fantastic, so paws crossed it’s just a minor blip and I won’t need surgery. I’ll know within the next few weeks, but until then, it’s me at my computer, squinting as I type, hoping I’m not making too many typos!

Have a great St. Catty’s Day all!! Enjoy some of my favorite pictures from years past and have a wonderful, green day!

My brother is visiting from Connecticut so I didn’t have time to put a post together for today. Luckily Jazmine came to my rescue with this sweet image for Sunday-Selfie! She’s sitting inside the top box of a stack of cubes we have by the front door with her face peeking out of the circular entrance. With the color of the box and the color of her fur, you’d think it was designed with her in mind!

Just so you get an idea of what the cat cubes are all about, this was them during the assembly process before we put them by the front door!

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone – peace and love to you all!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, my brother loves cats, too! This was him a few years ago being a good sport donning a pair of my cat ears and leopard cat glasses!!

I always love a guy that’s comfortable in cat ears!

Like a lot of people across the world, I’ve been enjoying the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Turns out I’m not the only one in my house who feels the same way! As you can see from this short video montage, my Zoey is absolutely mesmerized by the athletes and has been watching via a front row seat since the games began. She’s so enthralled by the event that sometimes I’ll catch her watching the TV with no one else in the room! The other cats…not a single one of them could care at all!

Hope you enjoy – Happy Sunday to all and go team USA – thank you for all the memories! P.S. – sorry for the video quality. Since the events I’ve been watching don’t even air until 10:00 p.m, EST, my living room is practically pitch dark and I keep the volume low so I suggest you turn your volume up if you want to hear the video! And as a disclaimer, I’m not really a fan of Zoey watching TV so close to her precious little face. But since she only seems to have a proclivity toward the Olympics, I’m making this exception for her and not requesting she get down!

It’s a Blog Hop!

Editors Note: While this is a cat-related blog, the post to follow is not about cats. I respect your decision if you chose not to read on, but I truly hope you will. The recent shootings at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida affect all of us and it’s imperative we open lines of communication talk about it in order to help prevent tragedies like this from happening in the future.

Saturday, February 10, was a beautiful South Florida day. We were gifted with a deep blue sky, puffy clouds, and a delightful breeze. Dan’s a photography enthusiast and he wanted to take advantage of the exquisite day by visiting the equestrian center located in the city neighboring us to take pictures of horses competing at an agility event. I decided to join him, looking forward to a peaceful and relaxing day. Read more