No matter where he is or the circumstances, there is just something about Zee that implies a certain regalness about him. Just what is he pondering with that fully reclined body and outstretched paw? Is it world peace, a cure for the common cold, or perhaps just him wondering when someone will feed him next or rub his belly. With him, one never really knows… Any ideas?

Zee on the tiki deck railing

Zee on the top level of his cat condo

Zee relaxing on the cool pavers of our outside garden

Zee looking especially regal on the coffee table

Flawed. No, not the book or the story, but people in general. Whether we care to admit it or not, it is the one thing as human beings that we all have in common. None of us are perfect and most of us have our share of hardships, realities, hurts, pains, bad choices, and mistakes that hopefully we can learn from to make us better people. Some of us prefer to keep those moments buried deep inside, private, and some of us will tell our story to a stranger in line at the grocery store. I happen to be one of those people who prefer to keep my life private, and so does Jackson Galaxy, cat behaviorist and author of “Cat Daddy – What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean.“ That being said, ironically, both of us have written books that not only share our lives with the world, but in Jackson’s case, every raw, exposed, unadulterated, honest, and unhinged moment that brought him to the apex of where he is today. Read more

When I was asked to do an informative Q & A about living in a multi-cat household for the Cats the Boss site a couple weeks ago, it got me to thinking about one of the questions, “Do your cats sleep on the bed with you?” Is that really a question? I don’t think I’ve seen the top of my bed without a cat on top of it since, when, well, um… never! And whose fault is that? Well, mine, of course… But I would never consider shutting the door and keeping them out of the room. I will uncomfortably sleep at the edge of the bed each and every night and suffer unbearably, so long as the cats are completely undisturbed and content…

All seven cats are sound asleep... good luck to the humans when it is time for bed!

This got me to thinking about one of the funniest cat antidotes I shared in my book (for me anyhow), The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey, that broached this very subject. Written with what I like to call an Erma Bombeck style of wit and honesty, I thought I might as well share the excerpt with you so that you could fully understand the extent of “Do your cats sleep on the bed with you?”  Okay, from Chapter 24, entitled, “And So It Is,” I bring you my funny story of how my gynecologist unwittingly became a part of my book:

“… I went to my annual gynecological checkup and told my doctor I thought I was going through menopause because I was sometimes sweating profusely during the night and would wake up drenched. Clearly I was experiencing hot flashes, right? He flat out confirmed that it was physically impossible and asked about my sleeping patterns… turns out having a blanket made of assorted cats sleeping on, next, or near you in the same bed at night can cause the same symptoms as menopause… He also confirmed with all certainty, that he thought I was certifiably nuts. Apparently sharing a bed with seven cats and one human is not normal…”

Jazz is 14 years old and I think he really likes to feel the warmth of my body when he sleeps on top of me.

To be fair, typically all seven are not on the bed at the same time. Jazz and Harley are the only two that stick to me religiously like glue. And I mean they literally stick to me like glue. If I toss, they toss. If I turn, they turn. Both of them sleep on top of me and that is that, hence the hot flashes… Zee makes several appearances throughout the night, as he has a very important ritual that he rigidly adheres to every night. He will stay in bed with us for a while, then he leaves for what we call his “nightly ritual of homage.” He literally feels compelled to bring us gifts throughout the night. We will hear him enter the bedroom as he makes a loud and garbled meowing noise. We then hear a plunk, as a plush toy is dropped to the floor. He will meow loudly until we thank him for his gift. This happens between 5 to 7 times each night and I think he has even hit double digits on occasion! No wonder the dear boy naps all day long – he has to rest for his night-shift! The rest of the cats will randomly come in and out throughout the night. So, to answer the question, yes, our cats do sleep on the bed with us… Someone needs to use the bed for sleeping since it isn’t Dan or I!!

When you have seven cats like I do, you can be certain that I am all too familiar with that horrendous gagging sound a cat makes when it is about to hack up a hairball. You can also be certain that no matter where they coughed it up, I will step in it… it’s just the Murphy’s Law of humans and hairballs. So, when I was approached by Caroline Golon of the blog Romeo the Cat to try out the FURminator deShedding tool, I jumped at the chance. The only catch, I would be participating as part of a contest for National Hairball Awareness Day and would have to make a celebrity of my choice out of the fur I collected from brushing my cats after I received the FURminator they were going to send me…. Yawn, just another typical day in a life of an obsessed cat lover.

For those of you that are not hairball experts, I will give you a quick 101 on the subject. Basically, hairballs develop as a result of a cat’s common grooming routine. When the cat licks its fur, tiny hook-like structures on its tongue catch the loose and dead hair, which is then swallowed. The majority of this hair passes all the way through the digestive tract with no problems. But if some hair stays in the stomach, it can form a hairball. Typically the cat will hack up the hairball with no problems, but if you notice symptoms such as vomiting or gagging without producing a hairball, lack of appetite, lethargy, constipation, or diarrhea, be sure to contact your veterinarian, as this  could be an indication that a hairball has caused a potentially life-threatening blockage. Read more