Merlin’s Florida Cat Friends Visit

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…

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

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?

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.