In our house, the stockings are not hung with care and the feline creatures are stirring with both terror and curiosity as the “kids” embark upon our usually organized and peaceful household. There will be a total of three of these big and overwhelming human creatures, ranging from 23 to 30, that will grace our home with their typical charming whirlwind of delightful chaos, leaving a trail of shoes, purses, keys, phone chargers, half full water bottles, an errant sock, iPhones, half eaten Christmas cookies, lights left on, unmade beds, toilet seats left up and on and on.

And guess what… that’s the best gift in the world – I love every bit of the upheaval and can’t wait to spend some time with the family. I miss them all so much throughout the year and when they come for the holidays, we gather round to do what everyone else in the country does –  we laugh, we joke, we eat, we drink, we play board games, we watch movies that we have seen a hundred times over, and we rejoice that we have one another in our lives.  Read more

I shared a post on Saturday about how incredible it was to see Zoey play and groom with Kizmet as if he were one of her own litter (if you missed it, please be sure to click here – it really was a very special and heartwarming story). She is a mother at heart and despite not immediately liking Kizmet when we first brought him home, her maternal instincts were so strong that she felt compelled a couple of short weeks later to interact, bond, and share important behavioral lessons and manners with him. On this Wordless Wednesday, I am thrilled to let you know that Dan was able to capture one of those moments on video as Zoey turns an overly aggressive playtime with Kizmet into a loving and nurturing grooming session.

We love to decorate for the holidays, but when it comes to our kitties, the less help from them, the better. Kitties can be extremely curious and want to nibble on everything from curling ribbon to plastic bags to tree tinsel. The best advice, keep the ribbon off the gifts and forgo the tinsel altogether to be safe. When it comes to live plants, we need to be especially careful –  mistletoe, poinsettia, holly berries, and amaryllis blooms can all be toxic to one degree or another if they are ingested by your cat. The two general types of poisonous mistletoe’s are the European variety, Viscum Album, and in the US, the Phoradendron Serotinum. Read more

To see full beauty of image, please click to enlarge.

While this lovely image of Mia is actually our couch and not an armchair, the premise of this quote from Brian Carter still rings true for me. There is just something so wonderful about the comfort and security a familiar object can provide to us. For my cats, our couch is a cozy spot for endless napping. Sometimes the napping is solo, and sometimes two or three of them at a time will be cuddled up together.

The highlight of each and every night for me is when I finally turn the computer off for the day and seek out the couch for my bonding and retreat with Dan and the kitties. We watch TV, get caught up on the day, and that is when my sweet Zoey will come and find me and snuggle in the crook of my legs with a collective sigh of love and appreciation which makes every night a “good old day!” Read more

With each day that passes, our feline model Mia, becomes more and more like her wild Mama Zoey – her gait is unmistakably strong and confident, perfect to accompany this popular quote by Rosanne Amberson.

I try with each Feline Quotable Photo that I share with you, to include a bit of history on the author of the quote. Much as I tried, I could not find anything on Ms. Amberson, other than that she was the author of a couple pet books, including “Raising Your Cat a Complete Illustrated Guide,” that was first published in 1971 by Crown Publishers. I also managed to find this image of the hardcover book – whoever previously owned it sure did seem to refer to it often based on how dog-eared the cover is!