Tag: Zuri

  • Outnumbered by Cats

    So what have I been up to?

    Short answer: cats, chaos, and coffee.

    Long answer… Zuri has her own emotional support bedroom now. Zazu has decided walking is optional. Zorro is out here auditioning for Most Dramatic Cat. And Zephyr? Zephyr is just trying to cat peacefully in the middle of all this nonsense.

    Meanwhile, I’m over here pretending to be a functioning adult.

    Somewhere in the middle of all that, I’ve been knitting, designing t-shirts, and absolutely not doing dishes. Priorities.

    Zazu

    Zazu kicked things off by deciding he didn’t feel good, which always scares me because he’s my OG. He went from being my loving little shadow to a sick little loaf, only moving if I carried him to food or water like the tiny king he is. He would only eat if I brought food to him, and drink if I held him over the sink and gave him bottled water, like the spoiled house panther that he is. At one point, I realized he wasn’t even getting up to use the litter box, so I was carrying him to the bathroom too.

    The good news is, today he finally moved from the one spot he’s been laying in for a week to the window perch… so we’re calling that a win.

    Zuri

    Zuri is… a whole different situation. She’s set up in her own room right now, which honestly feels like her emotional support bunker. It’s quieter, safer, and she does better in there… as long as I don’t push it.

    She’s never been a “people cat.” Whatever life she had before me left its mark, so we’ve learned to live at a distance. I let her exist in peace, and she lets me love her from afar. It works… until something like this happens.

    She ended up with the same eye infection Zazu had, but without all the sinus stuff. It got bad really fast, and of course I couldn’t catch her, so I had to call in backup. My son came over and got her in the carrier for me so I could take her to the vet. The vet gave her an antibiotic shot, which I’m really hoping does most of the work, because getting close enough to treat her eye at home just isn’t realistic.

    After everything she went through, she’s even more on edge than usual… and usual was already keeping her at arm’s length.

    The Drive From Hell

    I should also mention the drive to the vet, because that felt like a full stress test.

    I was already a mess worrying about her eye, and then I realized there was a cop behind me, which is also when I remembered my tags were expired. The current ones sitting in an envelope at home, obviously.

    And just to complete the picture, my neuralgia was flaring so bad I was driving with my left arm up over my head, holding onto the headrest behind me. So not only did I look guilty, I looked like I had an attitude about it.

    Zorro

    And then there’s Zorro… our resident bulldozer.

    He doesn’t walk into a room, he storms it. If there’s food, it’s his. If there’s a spot, it’s his. If another cat is peacefully existing somewhere, he takes that as a personal invitation to go bother them. He’s not mean in a mastermind way… he’s just pushy, chaotic, and running purely on impulse with no real plan.

    The problem is, he has the grace of a falling chair. Short, stubby legs, no sense of stealth, and absolutely zero finesse. So his attempts at intimidation usually look like a clumsy ambush followed by accidental chaos. He’ll charge in like a warrior and then immediately trip over himself, crash into something, or get distracted mid-bully mission. It’s like he never actually learned how to be a cat… he’s just improvising.

    And yet… he is ridiculously adorable. Like, offensively cute. Big eyes with zero thoughts behind them, a fluffy, goofy face, and if you pet him long enough, he starts drooling like a leaky faucet. So now you’ve got this chaotic little menace, bulldozing through the house, leaving emotional damage and a trail of spit behind him… and somehow you still want to scoop him up and kiss his little face.

    Zephyr

    And then there’s Zephyr… my sweet middle child, just here existing.

    While everything else in this house has gone completely off the rails, Zephyr is just… here. Watching it all with those big eyes like he knows something’s wrong, but also knows better than to get involved.

    He still gets his wild, full-speed, tear-through-the-house zoomies like nothing is wrong at all, and honestly, I love that for him. Somebody in this house should be having a good time.

    But mostly, he stays close. He’ll curl up in my lap or tuck himself under my chin like he belongs there, like he knows I’m stressed and he’s trying to help in the only way he knows how.

    And somehow… it works.

    As for me, I’ve been knitting on my daughter-in-law’s shawl whenever I get a chance, hoping I can finish it before winter lets up in North Dakota. I opened an Etsy shop, so I’ve been squeezing in t-shirt designs where I can, between everything else life keeps throwing at me.

    Mostly, I’m just managing the stress and the pain the best I can… and avoiding the dishes like an absolute professional.

    It’s not pretty, it’s not organized, but it’s my life right now.

  • Zuri: My Elusive Queen

    The cautious beauty who taught me patience and trust.

    Every cat has a story, and Zuri’s is one of courage. I brought her home in April of 2021 because I thought my boy Zazu needed a friend. He was nearing a year old, and I hoped a companion would be good for him.

    When I went into the shelter cat room, there were so many precious cats and kittens. But way in the back, in a cage, was a tiny, terrified cat, huddled up with pure horror in her eyes. The staff told me animal control had picked her up along with a group of strays. At first, they thought she was feral, but later decided she wasn’t. I asked to hold her. She didn’t fight, but she shook all over and tucked her face into my arm like she was trying to calm herself down. I knew instantly: this was the one. Her shelter name was “Peach,” but she became my Zuri. They said she was two years old, though she was so small I could hardly believe it.

    I brought her home and set her up in Jarod’s room. She stayed hidden constantly, too scared to trust me. Eventually, I let Zazu in to meet her. After the usual hissing, they became inseparable. Zuri adores him, and their bond runs deep. They snuggle, bathe each other, and play together—a connection I don’t think either of them will ever share with another cat.

    Zuri has always been hard to touch. In four years, I’ve only held her a couple of times—once when she had something dangerous in her mouth and I had to trap her in the bathroom, and another when she got sick and had to go to the vet. Each time, though, when I finally caught her, she melted in my arms. She didn’t fight me; she just let me hold her as if she remembered, deep down, that she could trust me.

    Most of the time, Zuri prefers to stay at a distance. She loves her window perch behind my recliner, hidden behind the curtain, where she can watch in peace. Sometimes I sneak in a quick pet before she realizes, and then she darts away. But little by little, she has grown braver. Since Zephyr joined our home, she seems to see me as the safer option, and she’ll come closer than she used to.

    Now, with Zeus waiting to join the household, I think Zuri will be the deciding factor. She still hisses at Zephyr if he rushes her, but she doesn’t fight him—and he respects her as the boss. I’m hoping she’ll accept Zeus, maybe even mother him a little, because he’s such a baby at heart.

    Zuri is about six years old now. She may never be a cuddly lap cat, but she’s my elusive queen, my cautious, beautiful girl. I love her so much, exactly as she is.

    Thanks for reading Zuri’s story. Do you have an elusive queen (or king) in your life? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

  • Cat Cult at Midnight

    Last night was… quiet. Too quiet.
    Usually, by the time I’m in bed, I’ve got the soundtrack of my life going—Zephyr thundering through the house, Zazu sprinting up the pole, Zuri hissing at someone for breathing wrong. But not this time.

    It was unnerving enough that I pulled up my living room camera to see what was going on.

    Zuri the black cat curled up in the hallway, blocking the entrance to Zephyr’s room.

    There was Zuri, curled up in front of the hallway like a furry bouncer, blocking the entrance to Zephyr’s room—the same room where he stayed for several weeks when he first arrived. It’s his safe space. Zuri won’t go in there herself, but she does like to guard the doorway.

    I got up to investigate. Lights on, a full sweep of Zephyr’s room—nothing. He wasn’t there. Neither was Zazu. I was halfway back to my bedroom when I saw it.

    Zazu and Zephyr perched on top of the kitchen cabinets, staring down.

    There they were. Perched together on top of the kitchen cabinets. Silent. Motionless. Glowing eyes fixed on me. A secret cat meeting? Late-night plotting session? I’ll never know.

    Meanwhile, Zuri was still on hallway patrol, looking very much like someone who didn’t get the invite. I almost felt bad for her—almost—but if she’d stop being such a diva, she might actually get included.

    With these three, silence is never a good sign.