It’s not necessarily Zee and Zoey’s fault, per se, after all, the two of them really are not much trouble (relatively speaking). However, when you add in the fact that because of them, we have an additional three very active young cats in the household – their offspring, Mia, Rolz, and Peanut, plus the existing household cat members, Jazz and Harley, we really do have trouble. And I mean A LOT of trouble. Read more

I don’t know where it came from, but I do know that I loved it from the moment I saw it. 

Out of nowhere, it suddenly appeared on the big couch- a large pouch-like device that’s long and green on the outside, orange/yellow and well worn on the inside.  The inside is also comprised of very soft warm cloth, while the green part is smooth like satin.  If unraveled entirely this cloth piece could cover the whole couch, but usually it’s bundled up (or rolled up) and stashed at one edge, near the arm.  Possibly it’s strangest feature is the metal zipper that extends from the top edge of the green side all the way to the opposing bottom edge.  This zipper appears to me to be useless, since I can always crawl in or out through the unzipped part, so I presume that it’s there for decoration.  In that aspect it’s kind of nice. Read more

Clockwise, Old Dog Bone, Feather Toy, Kitty, Squirrel, Big Mouse, Little Mouse, Tiger, and center, Carrot

Who would have thought love literally was a battlefield, but in our household with Zee and Zoey, love indeed, is a battlefield! 

In the spirit of of love and holiday gift giving, let me share with you what that really means to Dan and I in regards to what Zee and Zoey give to us each and every night and each and every morning. I don’t know about your cats, but for us, if something happens with them once, chances are it will officially become a habit from that point forward. For Zee, that would be what we sweetly and endearingly call his “nightly homage” and for Zoey, that would be what we unenthusiastically call her “irritating and obnoxious early morning wake-up growl.” Both of them are completely devoted to their habits and take them very seriously, regardless of the weather, what day it is, or how inappropriate it may be at the time. Read more

 Getting some holday help from the cats to untangle the lights!

As the holidays approach, I thought we’d take a sneak peak into one of my favorite chapters in Zee and Zoey’s book, called “Cattitude & Cattisms” which is a lighthearted and humorous look at the By-Laws that a cat uses to govern the humans of the household upon which they reside. Read more

The three little kittens – Peanut, Mia, and Rolz – all grown up now…

You know that saying about someone’s “bark being worse than their bite.” Well in Zoey’s case, her bark (growl) really was worse than her bite. Zoey does not bite – but after week 8 with the kittens, she did growl… A LOT. As mentioned, Zeuss had the courtesy to pack his little kitten bags and head for Boston to live his new life. Peanut, Mia, and Rolz – all of whom Dan and I had fallen madly in love with and decided to keep, became freeloading hooligans in Zoey’s mind. Her natural instinct kicking into high gear, rather than feel a sense of loss when Zeuss left like we thought she would, she felt that she had done her part raising these babies and that it was time for them to leave the nest and fend for themselves, so to speak.

She was no longer a loving, nurturing parent, but a Jekyll and Hyde paradox of pure resentment of these precious little babies. If they so much as looked her way or breathed the same air space as her, she would growl menacingly at them, challenging them to run off. Zoey never hurt them, her growl actually was worse than her bite in that sense, but she really did not want them in the house with her anymore. And bless them, they were so confused. They loved their Mama so much and the urge to snuggle and nurse had not completely gone away, which caused her even more anger. And most amazing of all, her anger was directed exclusively at the kittens – she could distinguish in a split second her off-spring versus Zee, Harley, or Jazz who were all safe from her wrath. So, we did what we do best, we loved all of them as best we could in light of the circumstances and remained ever vigilant and patient. Surely she could not resent them forever. Please, fingers-crossed, we hoped.  Read more