Nick with one of his cats, Katie

For all things Zee and Zoey related, this has been a summer to remember. First, we found out our blog was nominated in the category of “Best Designed Blog” by dogtime’s Petties 2011 Awards, with a chance to win $1000 for our favorite local cause, the Cat Network of South Florida (voting is open until Friday, July 29th). Then, we found out our picture and caption was chosen as the first place winner by BlogPaws for an all paid trip to the upcoming BlogPaws Conference to be held this August 25 – 27 in Tysons Corner, VA.

Well, in what is the craziest twist of all, we are going live! Please join me tomorrow noon, EST, as I interview with author and gregarious radio host, Nick Sacco, on Pet Talk Radio. Nick loves cats as much as I do and has written a book, In Heaven Kittens Play, that is his own compassionate explanation of where he believes pets go when they die. I will doing a review of this book in the weeks to come and am so looking forward to reading it.     

Am I nervous? Absolutely. It’s not my fear of the questions he will ask (okay, maybe I’m a little fearful of that), or even the size of the audience listening in. It’s any woman’s fear… we typically don’t like the sound of our own voices, and I am no exception. Zee and Zoey are my passion, so talking about them is not difficult. Hearing my voice talk about them…. Another story all together.

I’m trying my best to just relax and not over think it. This is my first radio interview and I just hope I don’t let Nick down! He is quite the fan of my larger than life cat persona that I have created for myself… Little does he know, deep down I am just a quiet, shy, and reserved girl from Upstate New York and not the “crazy cat lady” he is expecting!! Tune in to see for yourself how it goes!  Click here for details.

Scotty and Cher – two of the twenty plus cats in the Riverfront Cat Community that Christine feeds each day

Despite working several jobs just to pay her own bills and to feed and care for her Riverfront colony of 20 plus cats, despite the overwhelming task to educate a community on the epidemic of cat overpopulation, and despite all the tragedy and heartache Christine Michaels often has to bear, this incredible Cat Crusader and Guardian Angel to the feline species would not have it any other way, as the love returned and possibility for a better day far outweighs the pain and effort. She is completely devoted to the well-being of these creatures and is relentless in her pursuit to make the world a better place for them. And that is why, in a nutshell, she is my chosen benefactor (via the Cat Network of South Florida where she volunteers) of the $1000 prize if I win the Petties 2011 Awards in the category of “Best Designed Blog.” Read more

Just what is an epidemic of cat overpopulation, how did it start, and what can we do to help?

On the surface, it would appear that these are relatively simple questions with quick and easy answers. For Christine Michaels, volunteer for the Cat Network of South Florida and Riverfront Cats, as well as my choice of donation should Zee & Zoey win the category of “Best Designed Blog” for the Petties 2011 Awards, it turns out this is the most difficult obstacle of all – trying to educate a community where there is little to zero awareness that a problem even exists, let alone a reason to help.

It became popular in the 1800’s for cats to be used in farms and townships to reduce rodent infestations

Let’s set the facts straight right now. Cats have been domesticated for thousands of years – whether it started with the Egyptians as a symbol of worship, or to reduce the rodent population in farms and townships in the 1800’s, to today – where our cats are beloved and pampered members of our household, this creature is the creation of human need and desire. All free-roaming, stray, feral, whatever you want to call them cats, are the descendants of unaltered tame cats somewhere in the ancestry line. One unsterilized cat dumped on the street for whatever human reason, can lead to 5,000 cats in seven generations. Multiply that by an entire community, filled with negligent or ignorant people, and that is how an epidemic is not only born, but sustained. Read more

While posting pictures of my pretty kitties and writing lighthearted posts about the joys of being owned by them is wonderful, sometimes we have to step back a bit and look at the world for the harsh realities that are in front of us. Being chosen as one of the four finalists for the Petties 2011 Awards for the “Best Designed Blog” category is amazing and quite an honor. The possibility of winning $1000 for a rescue organization of my choice is even more so, but with it comes a significant mental and moral responsibility. It’s one thing to hand a check over to someone for a cause, it is another thing all together to really embrace and understand who you are giving it to and why.

My beloved Kit who came to me as a stray in 1992. Here she is resting on her favorite spot, the windowsill, sunning herself and bird watching. This was the last picture of her on the windowsill before she passed away at 18 years of age.

In my lifetime, I have had at least a dozen cats/kittens that have come to me by some design of fate – they have “appeared” in my driveway, I have happened upon them alongside the road or some other public place, or they have been given to me because I was someone’s last hope for a kitty to be saved from a certain demise. All of these methods have been relatively easy emotionally. Open the door. Feed the kitty. Kitty does not leave and becomes a permanent member of your family. For those dedicated and incredible people who give so much of their time, money, heart, and soul to spearheading rescue causes, that is an entirely different ball game and one that I am not certain I could handle with the grace, dignity, inner-strength, fortitude, and dedication that they do. Read more

I know what everybody is thinking as they read this: isn’t Zeuss a bit young to be posting on the internet? Will he be able to spell, and form words into sentences? Can he think and type in English? Can he type at all?

Yes, yes, oui, and yes. Read more