Reflecting back to the wonderful first outing we shared with Kizmet last week.

Last week, through words and pictures, I was able to share the joy and amazement that Kizmet experienced in his very first outdoor adventure. It was a milestone event  that I will never forget and I wrote about it with such vivid story telling imagery that you literally felt as if you were outside with us sharing the glorious day. Bravo Kizmet!! What a wonderful excursion you had! What I did not share with you, however, was the fact the event was rampant with controversy and blatant glossing over of the full facts of the outing and I felt I must come clean with the real story… the behind the scenes of the incredibly adorable and amazing morning we shared with Kizmet via our darling  Zee and the part he played in this simply too perfect moment.

For those of you that have read The Chronicles of Zee and Zoey, you know that Zee has a dual personality that ranges from a perfect, sensitive, and loving angel to a petulant, spoiled, and very naughty boy. I know that looking at his wise and beautiful face, that you might think I am making this up, but trust me, there is a halo on one side of him and devil horns on the other!

This was Zee, pre-Zoey, when he was constantly being sent to our bedroom for a “time-out.” The picture says it all – you can just see his “I’m going to be naughty and I don’t care” look in his eyes!

When Zee was younger, he went through a spell where he had to go to “time-out” for his frequent bad behavior, which in essence was him being  overly aggressive with his residing cat mates.  The crux of the problem seemed to be boredom – he was a young cat living in a house with cats much older than him who did not appreciate his playfulness and he needed a younger friend to release some of his pent up energy. He found Dan and I to be hapless in our efforts to amuse him, hence the reason we got Zoey as a kitten. Her presence in the household worked like a charm and they became fast buddies instantly spending every moment together and living life to the fullest as an active and social couple, madly in love.

Zee and Zoey years ago when they first met – they would play for hours at a time together – running around the house at full speed, then, fully exhausted, they would settle on the couch for a blissfully content nap…

As Zee as aged, he has become a primarily mellow guy who is extremely happy go lucky and a sweetheart. Zoey and his children adore him, Kizmet is smitten with him, and Jazz and Harley enjoy his company. All is well except when you infringe upon his perceived kingdom, which is our bed when Dan and I go to sleep at night and our backyard. Put him in those surroundings and it triggers a possessive gene that was working overtime last weekend when we went outside.  My yard. My smells. My lizards. My trees. 

I said back off, this is MY yard…

Zoey and Mia did what they always do when they see Zee outside, they joyfully rushed up to him to show their love by nuzzling against him. His reaction – he hissed at them to go away, causing their furry little feelings to be hurt. He glared at Rolz who was accidentally looking at him and I quickly made sure to keep Kizmet away from him, not wanting to upset the magical day he was having, lest Zee decided to give him an unfriendly swat.  Between our house being off kilter with company due to the holidays and seeing all of us fussing and cooing over Kizmet, I think it was just too much for him and he took it out on anyone in his path. Bah humbug… cute kitten… blah, blah, blah..  As it were, on this particular outing, there were apparently some very enticing scents left under the tiki from either a possum or raccoon, so all the cats were on high alert and he did not want to share even one little leaf with any of his cat mates, causing him to be even more possessive and ornery.  And so, like a bratty child, when we were not looking, he took off for the side yard where he is NOT allowed.

Rolz is basically saying to his dad, “Dude, you need to chill out… what the heck is your problem?!”

We are constantly doing a “cat check” so that we always know who is where at any given moment. Zoey and Kizmet wear a leash and harness, so they are easy to keep track of, so it was just Zee  and Rolz who were the other cats who were outside at the time. Jazz and Harley are not too fond of going outside anymore and Peanut and Mia had become spooked by some unknown something and had already run back in the house of their own volition (immediately thereafter peering out of the window longingly, wondering why they were not outside with us).

We found him instantly and he already knew he was being bad. He ran off towards the part of the yard that he knew was safe, not wanting to be scolded, or worse yet, picked up unceremoniously to be brought back into the house in an undignified manner in front of everyone, both feline and human to witness. Well, he was right to run off, because that is exactly what happened. Dan scooped him up  in  one fell swoop and off into the house he went. Slam. Door shut. Bye Zee.

For what seemed like ages to him, but was probably only a minute’s time, he looked out the window at the remaining family gathering, meowing ever so sweetly and gently, asking if he could please come back outside. “Of course I will be good, “he said.” Let’s not ever speak of that embarrassing incident again. Plus, it was just a misunderstanding – I don’t have a clue how I possibly could have wandered into the side yard. I must have gotten lost in all the excitement of sharing such a wonderful morning with that darling Kizmet who I adore to the ends of the earth.”

Operation “Get Back Outside” is quickly put into motion…

Mmmm hmmm… . Yes, that must be it Zee. Well, I don’t know about you, but when it comes to my heart and my kitties, I am a total pushover and a complete softie, so the ending of this post is hardly a cliff hanger. I told Dan to give Zee a second chance and as Dan got up to go get Zee, he had already fled the window and was waiting at the door to be brought back out!!

The jaunty and unmistakable feel of victory!

Once Dan opened the door, Zee pranced outside like a teenager who had gotten a reprieve from being grounded and you could see the elation in his step!  He knew he completely played us like a fiddle and he was  quite adorable and accommodating after that and settled down with us in the tiki, going from one person to the next to be sure we all gave him some loving, petting, and attention for his stellar acting performance!! 

Back out on the tiki with us… how could anyone resist that beautiful face?

So, there you go, the actual events as they transpired on Kizmet’s magical day. But, no matter. Kizmet still enjoyed his moment immensely and once all the cats were back inside, Zee was back to his old happy go lucky self. That’s what is so great about cats – they forgive and forget very quickly and soon thereafter Zee was cuddled up for some serious nap-time on the bed with the very kitties he was previously hissing at!