Callie taking residence in one of our outdoor garden statues

I thought seven cats was enough, but apparently eight is enough… We have occasional cat sightings in our yard which really is not a surprise – the cat pheromone level that our house gives off must be astounding, so I assume our house is irresistible to a wandering cat. But, we had one little visitor in particular – a pretty little calico – that has become more of a regular, to the point now, that it appears she is now a permanent backyard house guest, causing our seven indoor cats much turmoil indeed.

I have nicknamed her “Callie” and assume she is a female, as most calico’s by some weird quirk of genetics are, and as you can see from the above picture, she has decided our garden statue is the perfect visual spot to keep an eye out for tempting birds, squirrels, and lizards. Despite that we have been seeing her for several months now, she is still a very timid little girl and does not come when you call her, but her moves towards our house and her length of stay in our yard are becoming longer and bolder. Thankfully she lives on the same side of the street as us, a few doors down, so she does not have to cross the street to come find us.  

It's a Callie sighting from Zee!

Needless to say, our cats are obsessed with her and can sense her presence long before Dan and I do. Even in the dark of night, we will see them dart from window to window, all seven of them in a chain reaction of communication, hoping for a glance at their glorified cat celebrity. She has become a true symbol of what Zee and Zoey preach – turning an ordinary moment into an extraordinary one. All they have to do is see her out the window and they go into a collective heightened tizzy of nerve wracking, quivering feline-induced excitement. Their little cat bodies tense in anticipation of her every move and they watch her intently, tracking her every step from each window in the house until she disappears from sight!

The birds, squirrels, and lizards… well, they are not quite as happy as our feline crew when Callie comes for a visit. You can hear the birds outside chirping and cawing in an angry chorus, asking her in a not so nice way, “to please vacate the premises.” The squirrels also join in the conversation with agitated chattering, telling Callie she is most certainly NOT WELCOME. The lizards… hmm, with the exception of the British/Australian Geico lizard we see on TV who would convince Callie that all she needs is 15 minutes of his time and he could help save her on her car insurance, I have no idea what they are saying, but I’m sure they scatter somewhere quickly to safety when she is around! I’ll keep you all updated with her budding friendship she is making with the Zee/Zoey clan – Dan even told me he spotted her peering in our dining room window one day – it’s a wonder our cats didn’t faint in a dizzying reaction!