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Merlin’s Florida Cat Friends Visit

If you love cats, sharing makes us purrrr :-)

This is Mondays With Merlin and my mom Layla left me to go to Florida on a vacation. Without me! The nerve! I have sunglasses, sunscreen, flip flops…

Florida-cat wisdom 101-zee zoey-cat humor-merlin

She knows how much I like sunshine and warmth. I could have fit in her carry-on bag. Anyway, I thought while she’s gone, I’d invite two of my Florida cat friends over today to dish about kitty wisdom. Welcome Zee & Zoey! They have their own Web site and blog Zee & Zoey

Zee and Zoey- cat wisdom 101

Merlin: Can you tell me how life is different in Florida for cats? What tidbits of wisdom about cats would you like to share with our human readers? Any secrets about cats?

Florida-cat wisdom 101-zee zoey-cat humor

Z & Z: Merlin, first of all, thank you for having us over to your neck of the woods to dish kitty. We don’t mean to start things off on the wrong paw, but just who does your human think she is fooling? Of course you can fit inside her carry-on bag. She is just a tiny slip of a thing and what more does she need to pack than a couple pairs of shorts, some tank tops, and flip flops? We think she is just leaving you behind as an excuse for you to write her blog posts while she is away on vacation….

And we don’t know how much she glossed over on the issue of sunshine and warmth with you either. But if that is your thing, sorry that we have to be the ones to let the cat out of the bag, but Florida is a virtual smorgasbord, filled with glorious trees, flowers, greenery, lizards, bugs, birds, and squirrels for a feline to look at, sniff, and pounce on from morning to night. Our humans take us out every weekend to release our inner kitties and we come back into the house completely happy and worn out, ready to nap the rest of the day in front of one of the many sun puddles so kindly provided at our windows.

Merlin: It sounds heavenly. Sigh…I love your tropical tiki lounge.

Z & Z: Despite all of that, there are times when it can be scary to be a kitty living in Florida. We get what is called “hurricane season” and sometimes the day will turn pitch black, the house will shake from wind, and we will get flashes of light, loud booming noises, and a down pouring of water. Even if our humans wanted to take us out, we would say “thanks, but no thanks.” The sun puddles disappear and we all huddle together on the couch waiting for Mr. Sunshine to come back.

You also have to be careful of certain things when you are a Florida kitty and that is why our humans are so neurotic cautious with us when we go outside and keep us carefully supervised. It can get very hot in the summer and we are only allowed outside in the early morning, NEVER at high noon, because our sensitive paws pads can get burned easily on the concrete and we also can become dehydrated. If one of us is caught panting, we are quickly whisked inside for a fresh, cool bowl of water.

We also have several toxic plants, such as the Bleeding Heart, that could really hurt us if we ingested them, so our humans don’t plant these anywhere near our noisy little bodies. We have lots of yummy papyrus to munch on, which is like grass to you Northern kitties. We highly recommend that regardless of where you live, that your human(s) become familiar with what plants and animals could potentially hurt you so that you are safe and protected.

Merlin: So things aren’t perfect, even in paradise.

Z & Z: Thanks for the chat Merlin – we enjoyed our day with you, and the next time the human heads for Florida, you better be in that carry-on bag. What’s that? You want an exclusive kitty scoop secret from us before we go? Well, we don’t like to be catty, but we heard it through the catvine that a certain miss MM is considerably older than your buddy Odin and has been referred to as “a cougar” from undisclosed sources who feel she might be after Odin for his body and not his mind…

Merlin: Thanks, this was most enlightening! I feel better now and decided be happy where I am, right now.

It would also make me happy if you vote for Cat Wisdom 101. We don’t expect to come first but would like to be second.

nominee-readers choice-2012-best cat website-cat wisdom 101.com-about.com

13 Comments

  • Hairless Cat Girl

    Hi Layla,

    Merlin looks real suave in his sunglasses.

    I’ve been to Florida several times. Love the white sand on the beaches. I bet you enjoyed yourself on that amazing porch. It looks like something from Hawaii.

    Lots of lizards there for the cats to chase. Every time I’ve gone there I’ve seen lizards all over the place.

    I was on a golf course in Florida once. I wasn’t watching where I was walking and almost stepped on an alligator. He snapped at me and I took off at a pretty good run. Best not to let kitty go outside in Florida. I guess they also have an escaped pet snake problem down there (I live way up north in Minnesota).

    Love to visit Florida for vacation though. Beautiful place.

    Big fan of ZeeZoey.

    Thanx for the story and hope you enjoyed your vacation in Florida,

    =^-^= Hairless Cat Girl =^-^=

  • Kathryn

    Adorable. Did not know bleeding heart is toxic to cats. Just love Merlin in shades. One of our kitties (Kitty) in Salt Lake died of ingesting something. Could have been bleeding heart, because it was in a lot of gardens. We have it in MA, too, but our boys are not out of doors boys.

  • Kathy Thompson

    Wow Merlin! Lookin like a real “Kool Cat” in da shades! Thanks for the interview Merlin and thanks Zee and Zoey for sharing your home life with us! You are two beautiful Katz fer sure! Purrs and Kitty kisses from Skeeter and Izzy >^,,^< (our laid back Kool Kat eyes)

  • Deb Barnes - Guardian to Zee and Zoey

    Sigh… there you guys are! Last night you take off for the Oscars with Cheysuli the Siamese cat, now this morning I find you chatting with Merlin. I can’t turn my back for a minute any more… Well, at least they offered some good advice and did not misbehave! Hope you are enjoying your Florida trip Layla and thanks for having Zee & Zoey guest post for you!

  • CATachresis

    Good interview, Merlin 🙂 Zee and Zoey are a couple of darlings in the blogosphere, just like you! Now you realise what a Florida cat has to deal with, maybe you’ll just be happy where you are, eh? xox

    Pee Ess Mom will be home soon!

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