The Girl Just Wants to Have Fun

Zoe is our crazy girl cat. She was my third cat, and considering her auspicious beginnings, living in a tree outside of our yard, Zoe has an amazing outlook on life. She lived in that tree for about 3 months, during a very cold winter. She would meow at me and the other pets (1 dog and 2 cats at the time) every time we were out in the yard. That time of year, I always come home from work and play with everybody outside until it gets dark 30 minutes later. She started getting braver, gradually working her way down the tree and hanging out by the cyclone fence. One day, she started running after the ball I was throwing for Stanley, and would claw for it through the holes. I, of course, was leaving food and water for her by then, and had determined - what's one more cat? Well, she proved a bit difficult to catch. Plus Stanley had decided she was some kind of strange looking squirrel, and every time she tried to jump on our side of the yard, he would chase her back up in the tree. I was not very pleased with him throughout this ordeal. Finally, though, I caught her and took her to vet, got her spayed and vaccinated and BATHED.

She has proven a little bit of a challenge, having never lost her wild spark. She does not like to be held AT ALL. She will let you pet her, but only on her terms. It's a bad morning when I have to catch her to take her to the vet for some reason or another. She never really learned how to groom herself properly, (we assume because she was separated from her Mom too soon), so she needs to be bathed every 6 months or so. This also gets done at the vet - and when she comes back we remember that she is a beautiful snow white, instead of a grayish color. I don't let her outside at all, and she doesn't seem to mind. I think she had enough of outside during her treehouse life, and realizes that she has it pretty good now.

My husband dotes on her, being the only female cat, and has nicknamed her The Princess. She is a tomboy, demanding to play with the male cats, but then running away in a very girly manner whenever they get too rough. Every time I do yoga, she hangs out with me, curling up just next to the mat. This is the only time she is really touchy-feely, so I reach out and pet her alot during my routine. She rolls on her back and purrs, and looks so very content and relaxed. She teaches me about enjoying the moment, which is really what yoga is all about.

But the biggest thing I'm trying to learn from her is how to have fun. If she isn't eating or sleeping, she wants to play. All the time. We discovered a few months ago that she loves chasing after those little rubber balls that bounce to kingdom come. She actually plays catch with us, batting the balls back to us so we can toss it again. She'll chase me pulling an old shoelace all over the house. And we just recently started playing with her old love - a tennis ball. I realized while watching Zoe playing that sometime over the last year I stopped having as much fun as I used to. I have since determined that life is too short to let problems get you down for long. I've been laughing and cutting up more lately, and I thank her for inspiring me, because I feel alot better.