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.  Read more

TO:          The Cats – Jazz, Harley, Zee, Zoey, Mia, Peanut and Rolz 

FROM:    The Residing Human Tenants 

DATE:     February 26, 2011

REF:       Getting Under Foot

Dear Cats:

It’s your human tenants here (i.e., slaves) who just have the tiniest, itsy bitsy request of a favor from you, if you don’t mind. When we come in from outdoors – whether it be after a long and grueling day at work, or a quick trip to the grocery store – can you please refrain from standing by, and blocking the other side of the door, waiting for us to open it, rendering it virtually IMPOSSIBLE to get in the house without either worrying about one of you escaping to the outdoors, or stepping on you. Read more

Advice for cats from a diva feline princess

Since Mia has already posted twice, she has deemed herself an accredited expert in all things cat related and is pleased to introduce a segment written exclusively by her as a service to all you cats in need of advice. She was tired of reading  endless articles from clueless humans who dare to think they understand the inner workings of a cat, so, she took it upon herself, despite her busy preening and napping schedule, to offer practical advice to cats that is actually from a cat. Entitled “Dear Mia,” she answers all the questions you cats direct to her with as much honesty and helpfulness as possible. However, because Mia is a bit stuck up and quite the little diva, this advice is only based on how she perceives life and might not actually offer you the guidance you really need. If you do not agree with her opinion, she will not care, because in her mind, she is ALWAYS right. If you want to contact Mia with any of your personal cat questions or concerns, please email her at info@zeezoey.com and she will do her best to post a reply to you. Maybe. If she’s in the mood…

Her first letter is ironically a question from her brother Rolz, as translated by her sister Peanut, because Rolz does not know how to write. It goes like this:

Dear Mia,

Our humans insist on rubbing my belly, causing me not only awkward displeasure, but it gives me a funny feeling that makes my body tense up and my legs react by rabbit kicking. Is it okay to bite my humans to make them stop?

Sincerely,

Rolz

Dear Rolz,

Yes, by all means, please feel free to bite your humans. Humans by nature are not always bright and often overlook the very obvious signs you are giving them to stop the uninvited behavior. One of two things will then happen. Your humans will either yell at you for biting or they will actually comprehend that you really DON’T like to have your belly rubbed. If they do yell at you, the next step is to leave an unexpected hair ball in a place certain to be stepped on by said humans as retaliation. They will never connect the dots but you will feel better for doing it.

Meows and hugs,

Mia

By now we have all heard of the California cat, Dusty, aka Klepto, who goes on nightly stealing binges taking anything from old sneakers to bathing suits hanging on the clothesline from his assorted neighbors. Dusty has brought his human owners over 600 items in the past three years and has brought himself renowned fame for his addictive habit.   

Nothing against Dusty, we do applaud his crafty efforts, but our beloved Zee has been going on his own stealing spree for many years as well, he just prefers to keep it a bit under raps. This is probably due to the fact that his stealing is limited to items within our own home and is limited to small plush toys. Not nearly as newsworthy I suppose. But, in Zee’s defense, he is not an outdoor cat – we don’t allow our cats run of the neighborhood, plus Zee is scared of his own shadow and would not have the sensibility required to be a street cat. Poor dear, Zee barely has the sensibility to be an indoor cat, he is such the sweet and sensitive fellow! Read more

I’m a lot older today than I was when my last blog was published.  As you may already know, my sisters, brother and I all turned 2 years old on February 12.  Here is a picture of some of my birthday gifts:

They’re called super-balls, but I’m not sure why.  What these animals do is bounce around on the floor for awhile, followed by a slow, meandering roll… While I truly appreciate and love my gift (and my human gift-givers), I’m not sure how I feel about the super-balls themselves.  They are fun to play with for the most part, and I admit that I enjoy chasing them around the kitchen and pawing at them to make them move faster.  Read more