I was blessed with a wonderful Christmas – lots of family, good food, good conversation, and love. But the days leading up to it, and the days to follow were extremely hectic and stressful, trying to fit it all in-between my day job. To say I’m worn out and behind in everything in my personal life of a cat writer would be an understatement. Hundreds of unanswered emails, articles to write, bookkeeping to attend to and a Cat Writers’ Association conference to get back on track for 2020. Amidst it all, I was graced with a precious and much needed moment yesterday – a rainy day for some catch-up and the delightful company of my sweet Zoey who decided to grace me with her presence, curled up my lap to enjoy the peacefulness of the day.

Zoey looking up at me with her gorgeous golden-green eyes, waiting for me to take her picture.

Luckily my iPhone was close by so I could capture the moment in time – a purr-fect image for Sunday Selfie and a much-needed reminder to slow down and appreciate what’s in front of me, and not a race of what I need to get done.

Happy Sunday everyone – I hope you have some peaceful moments to enjoy, too!

It all began with sweet Kit.

Many years ago, long before she was even a kernel of leopard-spotted existence in my life or this world for that matter, Zoey had already stolen my heart. It began with Kit, a stray cat I found in my driveway one cold and damp evening when I lived in Upstate New York. Of course, I took her in and she went on to live a happy and full life with me. When she passed at eighteen years of age, it was not a surprise as I had been mentally preparing for months, if not years, for the inevitable day she would no longer be with me. Read more

Happy 10th Birthday to my beautiful leopard kitty!

My sweet Zoey was born on April 9, 2008 and it’s so hard to believe that 10 years have zoomed by so quickly. Zoey is the love of my life and I adore every bone in her quirky little body. She’s the ultimate yin and yang of her own self. She’s both sweet and snarly. Aloof but loving. And quiet when she wants to be left alone, but alarmingly loud when she wants attention, normally about 5:00 a.m.

Happy birthday my darling girl. For your special day, I thought I’d share a photo montage from the day we first got you to present.

Zoey came into our lives on June 14, 2008. She was a tiny thing and practically fit into the palm of my hand back then. This was her first picture in our home.

On 2/12/2009 Zoey had a litter of kittens. We kept 3 of them – Mia, Peanut, and Rolz. The 4th – Zeuss Catt moved on to Boston. These kittens have forever changed our lives and Zoey was an incredibly proud and loving mama.

In 2010 Zoey had enough of motherhood and looked forward to moments in our backyard when we’d bring her out on a leash to explore the world.

In 2011 Zoey matured into a beautiful cat with a gorgeous coat that mimicked that of a leopard in the wild.

When Zee and Zoey first met in 2008, it was love at first sight. Zee is the father of Zoey’s kittens and years later in 2012, they were still madly in love.

2013 – Zoey is a true sun goddess. If there is a sliver of sunshine to be found, she will find it.

All the cats love to nap in the guest bedroom that has a window view. This was 2014 and a bittersweet moment – Zoey shares the space with her now grown kittens, as well as Harley who unexpectedly passed on a few months later.

One of my all-time favorite pictures. This was 2015 – Zoey has been sleeping on my lap when I sit on the couch ever since she’s been a young cat. This rare moment was the whole gang sharing the couch with me – Zee, Zoey, Mia, Peanut, Rolz, Kizmet, and Jazmine.

2016 – Zee and Zoey still remain a couple in love.

Zoey loves Christmas, typically enjoying a nap under the tree. This is her with Zee, Mia, and Rolz in 2017.

2018 – my girl has matured into such a beautiful cat. How can it be that 10 years have gone by?

Thank you for letting me share my trip down memory lane. I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I did!

The first time I held my precious leopard spotted Zoey it was back in 2008. She was 12 weeks old at the time and I was in the process of bringing her to her new forever home with me. She barely fit in the palm of my hand, she was that tiny, but she screamed so loudly during the car ride you would have thought she was a full-grown wild leopard. Today, on her 9th birthday, she’s still that tiny, slim, sleek, and lean cat. She’s also the same force to be reckoned with. Her vocal cords remain loud and clear as I can attest to each and every morning as dawn breaks.

I love you my sweet girl. And so does everyone else in the house. Especially daughter Mia who loves to spend time near you, despite that you sometimes wish she’d be a little less cuddly with you. I hope you have a great day filled with lots of love, sunbeams, snacks, cat naps, and more!

Mia napping next to her beloved Mama. This picture was taken yesterday – the day before Zoey’s 9th birthday!

Join the Blog Hop!

While Zoey is my leopard inspired soul-mate kitty, having our picture taken together is not her thing. She will nap on my outstretched legs religiously every night when I finally step away from my computer to relax for the night on the couch and she likes to sleep next to me when I go to bed. Snuggling, picking her up, and hugging, however, are BIG no-no’s to her. So the other day when I saw that she was napping on the floor in the hallway and the lighting was ever-so-perfect, I asked Dan to grab a picture of me sitting next to her because I knew that would be as good as it gets with her.

Need I remind you I have seven cats? What was I thinking? Naturally the moment I sat down, it became a feline excursion in photobombing as led by none other than our Miss Photogenic, Jazmine. Oh well… I guess I sort of have a picture of Zoey and I together! So how does it go in your house when the camera comes out? Any photobombing cats in your bunch?

It started out innocent enough… a picture of me with Zoey was all I really wanted… Enter stage right, the orange blur…

And just like that, Jazmine is sitting pretty, picture purr-fect in the background and joining the photobomb session are Zee and Rolz… Oh well… I gotta admit I do like the picture and there is nothing better than being surrounded by so much kitty love!

Happy Wednesday all and thanks for dropping by!