It’s Zaturday, the day we (Ziggy and Zorro) take over Mommy’s blog.
Ziggy here. Zorro and I have lots of places we like to hang out. One of our favorites is the “catio” Mommy and Aunt Kim made for us in North Carolina. We have lots of fun sitting on the bar and watching the birds come to the feeder. They’re almost close enough to reach out and grab (but not quite).
We like our kitty condo in Florida a lot, too. It has nice perches on top where we curl up and go to sleep. It’s especially nice when the sun is shining in the window or at night when the lizards come to visit. The other day, Zorro decided to take a bath up there and almost fell off. I bet he won’t try that again.
Mommy says some of our hangouts are a little strange, like when Mommy took some work to bed with her, and instead of lying on the soft bed, Zorro went to sleep on her clipboard.
Or when I was at Grandma’s house, and with all the nice roomy couches and chairs to lie on, I crowded onto the stuffed bunny’s lap in the tiny chair.
We have lots of fun places to hang out. But what makes all of them special is having Mommy close by.
In the middle of our new room, Mommy and Aunt Kim built a wall with a door. Our cousins Kassie and Blackie will be staying on one side, and Ziggy and I will be on the other. Mommy and Aunt Kim are keeping us separated. That’s probably a good thing, because I’m not sure I like the other cats. Except for Ziggy. I love him, because he’s my buddy.
Sometimes deer visit, too. When they come, Ziggy and I are glad we’re up here in our room, because they’re a lot bigger than we are!
I’m kind of glad, though, that Mommy and Daddy left us home. Their friend is here taking care of us. We like Miss Audi. She feeds us the same good kitty food that Mommy and Daddy do and gives us lots of love. She even lets us sleep with her. Having Miss Audi around is like having another Mommy.
Sometimes I like to sharpen my claws on the woodwork, too. Grandma’s window sill is a really good spot. Door jambs and baseboards work well, too. But today, Mommy put something stinky on the window sill. She’s putting it on the other woodwork, too. She calls it frankincense and thinks it smells good. But I think it stinks. She has ordered something else that she’s going to try called peppermint oil. I hope it smells better than frankincense, because she’s ruining all my favorite scratching places.
People have done studies that show having a cat around releases calming chemicals that lower stress and anxiety. Other studies have shown that a lot of people sleep better with their pets. I know that’s true, because in the wintertime, I crawl under the covers with Mommy and help keep her warm. When we’re in North Carolina, I snuggle with Grandma when she takes naps on the couch.
Our Aunt Kim has a cat that likes to get up high, too. (Aunt Kim is Mommy’s sister, so I guess that makes Kassie our cousin.) She jumps from the counter to the top of the refrigerator to the top of the cabinets and walks through all the breakable things Aunt Kim has up there. But Aunt Kim says she has never knocked anything down. I think she’s pretty talented.