Tag: cats

It’s Zaturday – Lefties!

Posted on by Carol J. Post

It’s Zaturday, the day we (Ziggy and Zorro) take over Mommy’s blog.

Ziggy here. Mommy is right-handed and Aunt Kim is left-handed. (That rock in the picture belongs to Aunt Kim.) The other day, Mommy was curious about whether cats have a dominant side, so she asked Mr. Google. (Mr. Google knows everything!)

She learned about a study they did on 44 cats. They watched them play, walk down stairs, climb out of the litter box and reach for food, and they looked to see which paw they led with. They found that most of the female cats favored their right paw and most of the males favored their left.

Zorro and I are both boys, so that means we’re left-handed, like Aunt Kim. (I guess in our case, it would be “left-pawed.”) Mommy wanted to test the theory, so she put us each in the litter box. I jumped out with both front paws together, but Zorro stepped out with his left foot.

Then she put us on top of our cat condo. Zorro stepped down with his left paw again, so I think he’s definitely left-handed like Aunt Kim.

When Mommy put me on the perch, I kind of liked it there, so I sat…

And sat…

And sat…

Mommy finally gave up. But then came the fun part—toys!!! One of our favorite things to play with is a piece of paper wadded up into a ball. Mommy throws it down the hall, and we go crazy chasing it then batting it around. Mommy tied it onto a string and dangled it in front of us. Guess which paw Zorro batted it with–his left. Again.

I thought he was making things way too easy for Mommy, so I swung at it with my right paw some and my left paw some, then grabbed it and held onto it.

When it was all over, Mommy decided that Zorro is left-pawed, and I’m just difficult.

It’s Zaturday – Hangin’ Out!

Posted on by Carol J. Post

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.

 

It’s Zaturday – Strange Diets!

Posted on by Carol J. Post

It’s Zaturday, the day we (Ziggy and Zorro) take over Mommy’s blog.

Zorro here. Ziggy and I love to eat. Mommy and Daddy buy us lots of good kitty food, but we have some flavors that are our favorites. Splash Dance is really yummy. So is Fowl Ball, Chicken Frick ‘A Zee, Lamb Burgini and Funk in the Trunk.

Ziggy is weird, though, because he likes to eat Mommy’s vitamins. Mommy has to be careful to swallow them right away and not leave them beside her computer, or Ziggy will get into them. Mommy says he doesn’t need them, because he already has too much energy. The few times he’s eaten Mommy’s vitamins, they didn’t hurt him. But when we were in North Carolina last month, he got into Grandma’s vitamins and threw them up all over her carpet. Mommy wasn’t happy.

Mommy and Daddy used to have a cat that was even stranger than Ziggy. He loved tomatoes. When Mommy would open the refrigerator door to get something, he would jump inside, grab a tomato and run away with it.

But Mommy read something a few days ago that is the weirdest of all. She says that in a place called the Galapagos, grasshoppers make up half of the cats’ diets. Ziggy thinks I eat grasshoppers, because I can jump really high. My favorite spot is on top of the curio cabinet.

But I don’t eat grasshoppers. At least not normally. If a grasshopper got into the house, I would chase it and catch it. But even though I sometimes eat bugs I catch, I don’t think I would eat a grasshopper. They look too crunchy. I mean, check him out. Does he look appetizing?

Image by Claudia Peters from Pixabay

 

I don’t think so. Not to turn my nose up at what my distant cousins eat, but I think I’ll stick with my yummy kitty food…and tuna.

It’s Zaturday – Happy Independence Day!

Posted on by Carol J. Post

It’s Zaturday, the day we (Ziggy and Zorro) take over Mommy’s blog.

Zorro here. Today is Independence Day. At least, that’s what Mommy says. Ziggy and I aren’t sure what Independence Day is, but we think it has something to do with cats.

Everyone knows that cats are independent. Mommy and Daddy make jokes about it. Daddy says dogs have owners but cats have staff, and Mommy says that cats used to be worshiped as gods and we’ve never forgotten it.

We don’t know about all that, but we’re waaay more independent than dogs. Scientists say that we don’t see Mommy and Daddy as a focus of safety the same way dogs do. Even though we can take care of ourselves pretty well, we do still rely on Mommy and Daddy to give us affection and mental stimulation and to keep us healthy. And we show them that we love them by purring and rubbing up against them. Another way I show Mommy and Daddy that I love them is by blinking slowly at them. I like it when Mommy does it back.

I think Ziggy is more independent than I am, though, because when Mommy goes away, I really miss her. And when she finally comes back, I can hardly wait for her to put her stuff down so she can pick me up and love me. I always greet her with kisses on the nose.

 

Now, back to Independence Day. Since it’s our special day, Ziggy and I are waiting for our silk pillows…and tuna…and snuggles. Think we’ll get them?

It’s Zaturday – Kitty Radar!

Posted on by Carol J. Post

It’s Zaturday, the day we (Ziggy and Zorro) take over Mommy’s blog.

Ziggy here. Zorro and I are lucky kitties. We have two homes! We live in Florida with Mommy and Daddy, but every month, Mommy takes us to North Carolina to Grandma and Aunt Kim’s house. We like both places, because we get lots of love and good kitty food, whether we’re in North Carolina or Florida.

The trip is really long. (Mommy says it’s more than 600 miles.) Zorro and I don’t know what miles are, but we’re in the car all day. Even though the trip is long, we can always tell when we’re almost there. Usually I’m lying on the seat and Zorro is curled up on Mommy’s lap, but as soon as Mommy turns onto her and Daddy’s road in Florida or Aunt Kim and Grandma’s road in North Carolina, we know. Zorro stands up in Mommy’s lap and looks out the window, and I get up on the thing between the seats.

Mommy always laughs and asks us how we can tell we’re almost there. Zorro and I can’t really explain it. We just know. Cats have good sense of direction. We also pay attention and have a good memory. That helps lost cats find their way home. When Mommy was a little girl, she had a cat named Bootsie. (Bootsie was black like us, except she had white paws.) When Mommy’s family moved to a different house, they took Bootsie with them, but then Bootsie disappeared. Mommy said six weeks later, the people who bought the old house called because Bootsie showed up there. She had walked all the way there from a different city, just to go back to her old home. (Of course, Mommy and Grandma and Grandpa went and got her.)

No one really knows how we do it. Some people think cats can sense the Earth’s magnetic fields. Others say we have iron in our inner ears and skin that works like a natural compass. Zorro and I aren’t sure about all that. We just know which way home is and when we’re almost there.

Mommy really doesn’t understand it, because she doesn’t have any sense of direction at all. If she didn’t have that thing on her phone telling her where to go when we travel, who knows where we’d end up? But we love her anyway.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

It’s Zaturday – A Kitty Palace!

Posted on by Carol J. Post

It’s Zaturday, the day we (Ziggy and Zorro) take over Mommy’s blog.

Zorro here. We have the best Mommy and Aunt Kim in the whole wide world! Look what they’re building for us!

Actually, the roof and railing were already there, but Ziggy and I weren’t allowed to go out there, because Mommy was afraid we would jump off the balcony. So they closed it all in with wire. They even tore off the old handrail and used bigger boards to give us more room to lie up there. It was still pretty crowded, though. See? My leg is hanging over the edge.

Even that was okay, but when I stood up and tried to turn around, I fell off! So Mommy and Aunt Kim made another board to go up there. This one’s a lot bigger. Look how much room Ziggy and I have now.

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.

The room is almost done now, and we’re really enjoying it. Ziggy and I spend most of the day out there watching all the visitors. There are lots of squirrels and sometimes bunnies. Big birds come up, too. (Mommy calls them turkeys.) They sometimes spread out their tail feathers. Mommy says only the boy ones do that. Ziggy and I are both boys, but all we can do is make our tails poofy.

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!

To make our new space even more fun, Mommy and Aunt Kim are going to hang two bird feeders outside. One will be on Kassie and Blackie’s side, and one will be on our side. Then we’ll be able to watch the birds up close, but not close enough for us to reach through the wire and grab one. (Although that might be fun, too. Ziggy and I are natural born hunters, but being house cats, the only hunting we get to do is if a lizard or bug gets inside, which doesn’t happen often.)

Mommy and Aunt Kim are almost done with our room. Mommy says they’re going to finish today except for staining the wood. We’re not sure what stain is, but it sounds like it might be stinky. So we’re hoping they decide not to do it. I think we need to tell them that we like our new room just the way it is.

 

It’s Zaturday – When Mommy’s Away…

Posted on by Carol J. Post

It’s Zaturday, the day we (Ziggy and Zorro) take over Mommy’s blog.

Ziggy here. Mommy and Daddy left us. (Do you feel sorry for us yet?)

Okay, Zorro says I need to tell you what’s really going on. They didn’t leave us permanently. At least, that’s what they said. When they were telling us goodbye, they told us they would only be gone for a few days. They said they were going away for their anniversary. I’m not sure what anniversaries are, but since it means Mommy and Daddy go off without us, I’m glad they don’t happen very often.

When Mommy and Daddy were making their plans, I heard Mommy say something about taking us with them. Daddy said, “When you go away for your anniversary, you usually don’t take your kids.” (I guess that’s us.) Mommy laughed, so Daddy must have been joking. I wasn’t sure how I felt about going with them. We’re used to North Carolina, because we go there every month. We even like riding in the car. But where Mommy and Daddy are right now sounded like somewhere Zorro and I have never been. New places make us a little nervous at first, but once we check everything out, then we’re good.

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.

But tomorrow, Mommy and Daddy will be back, and Miss Audi will leave. It would be nice if we could keep all three of them—more people to own…I mean love is always a good thing. But Miss Audi probably already has a home.

Zorro and I are talking about pouting when Mommy and Daddy arrive, to make them feel guilty for leaving us. But I don’t think Zorro will follow through. He’s going to be so happy to see them that he’s going to forget all about our plans. He’s really needy that way.

Okay, I admit it. I’ll be happy to see them, too. I’m looking forward to Daddy picking me up and calling me Ziglet the Piglet…then giving me a big bowl of food. Maybe even tuna.

It’s Zaturday – High Places

Posted on by Carol J. Post

It’s Zaturday, the day we (Ziggy and Zorro) take over Mommy’s blog!

Ziggy here. Zorro and I are chilling on our perches.

Like all kitties, we enjoy being up high. Mommy always says we’re good kitties when we’re hanging out in our kitty condo. But there are some places that Mommy says we’re not supposed to be. Like on the table or the kitchen counter.

When we get up there, Mommy fusses at us and tells us to get down. I get hollered at more than Zorro does, because I’m more of a rebel than he is. Like the other day. Daddy made himself a hamburger patty and left it sitting on a plate and walked away for a few minutes. It was on the counter, and I know I’m not allowed to get up there, but I could smell it! And although what Daddy fed me was good, it was out of a can instead of fresh, organic hamburger. What Daddy had up on the counter smelled so good, I couldn’t resist. But Daddy wasn’t happy when he saw all the bites I took out of the top of his hamburger.

Zorro has never gotten into Mommy and Daddy’s food. I think he tries too hard to be good, Sometimes, though, I’m able to con him into getting into trouble with me. It’s always more fun that way.

Oh, yeah, back to kitty perches. Zorro has a new favorite place. He has started getting up on top of a piece of furniture Mommy calls a curio cabinet. I haven’t gotten up there yet. It’s a little bit too high.

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.

Kassie and Zorro aren’t the only kitties who like to get up really high. Mommy told us about a cat who belonged to a cook at the Hotel Belvedere somewhere far away from where Zorro and I live. One day, some people were climbing the Matterhorn, a tall mountain, and the cat followed them. When the climbers were finished, they brought the cat back down with them, then gave it a good supper.

I could go for the good supper, because I’m always ready to eat, but I don’t think I would want to climb a mountain to get it. Instead, I think I’ll just chill on my kitty perches and wait for Mommy and Daddy to put food in our bowls. And maybe steal a few bites of hamburger or fish when Mommy and Daddy aren’t looking!

It’s Zaturday – Cat Calls!

Posted on by Carol J. Post

It’s Zaturday, the day we (Ziggy and Zorro) take over Mommy’s Blog!

Image by Jiří Rotrekl from Pixabay

Zorro here. Did you know that cats can make about 100 different sounds? Dogs make only about 10. Besides purring, the sounds we make most often are different types of meows. But we don’t talk to each other that way. Cats hardly ever meow at another cat (except for our mothers when we’re little kittens).

When we meow, usually it means we want something, like food or attention. When Mommy is getting ready to feed us, Ziggy meows all while she’s cleaning our dishes, opening the can of kitty food and putting it in the bowls. I wait quietly. I’m more patient than Ziggy is. I know Mommy’s going to put the food down, and it doesn’t get there any faster, no matter how much Ziggy hollers. Although if Mommy or Daddy are too slow, I stand up for it.

Ziggy and I always greet Mommy and Daddy at the door when they come home. Sometimes we meow at them. Then we’re saying “welcome home” and letting them know we’re happy to see them.

 

Other times, we meow when we’re not happy about something. Those meows sound different from our greetings and when we’re saying we want something. Like the other day, someone came over, and when he left, Mommy stood outside the door talking to him. I could hear her but couldn’t see her, and that had me upset. I started meowing really loud—long, sad cries. It worked! Mommy opened the door and picked me up.

Ziggy talks more than I do, and he has different kinds of meows, too. When he meows for his kitty food, he has a soft, high voice. Mommy says he sounds pathetic and calls him Squeaky. I think he does it on purpose. He’s pretending to be weak with hunger so Mommy will give him extra kitty food. I know he can talk louder than that. Like when we’re traveling and he gets tired of being in the car. He hollers pretty loud then. Mommy tells him to hush and turns up the radio.

When Ziggy and I meow, Mommy usually says, “I know.” Sometimes, though, I wonder if she really does. But even if she doesn’t understand exactly what we’re saying, Ziggy and I will keep meowing, because it works! Mommy and Daddy usually give us what we want.

 

 

 

It’s Zaturday – Traveling Kitties!

Posted on by Carol J. Post

It’s Zaturday, the day we (Ziggy and Zorro) take over Mommy’s blog!

Ziggy here. Zorro and I just got back to Florida after spending a week and a half in North Carolina. This time Daddy went with us. When Daddy comes along, the car is a lot more crowded. But I like it when Daddy goes with us. It’s fun having him around. He pets me a lot and calls me Ziglet the Piglet. He says it’s because I eat a lot.

Zorro and I have taken lots of long car rides, but Mommy told us about a cat that has traveled more miles than any other cat. Her name was Princess Truman Tai-Tai. She was a crew member on a British ship for 16 years and traveled over one and a half million miles.

I don’t know how many miles it is between Florida and North Carolina, but it seems really far, because Zorro and I are in the car all day. Zorro doesn’t mind it much. In fact, he seems to like it. He curls up in Mommy’s lap and stays there through the entire trip. I don’t know how he can be content just laying around so long. I think he’s lazy.

I have more energy than that. I don’t like staying in one spot for so long. There are no toys to play with and the car is too small for me to chase Zorro. So all I can do is go back and forth between the back seat and the front seat. I can’t even get all the way in the big back section of the car, because Mommy has me in a harness with the leash tied to the gear shift, and the leash is only long enough for me to get in the back seat. Zorro doesn’t need a long leash, because he’s never more than a foot away from the gear shift. Unless he has to use the litter box.

One place I like to be is on top of the seat back, because I can see out the window really well. When Mommy stops, I get up there to check everything out. Mommy doesn’t let me ride there, though, because she says it’s not safe.

 

I like Mommy’s lap, too, for short times, but Zorro always beats me to it. When Daddy is driving, I sometimes get in Mommy’s lap with Zorro. He doesn’t seem to mind, but I think it’s a little bit too crowded.

Sometimes I try to get down at Mommy’s feet and she yells at me. That wouldn’t be a comfortable place to ride, because there’s pedals down there that Mommy is always pressing with her feet. Mommy has her purse down there, too, so there’s not much room. It’s really not a good place to sleep. But Mommy has made it off limits, so that makes it irresistible.

Soon we’re heading back to North Carolina, but it’ll be just us and Mommy. Another long car ride. Even though Princess Truman Tai-Tai holds the world record for miles traveled by a cat, I think Zorro and I are going to catch up with her.