Meet My Zoo

I don't have any food pics to share tonight. I ate out for lunch with friends and out for dinner with my dad. So I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce ya'll to my fur babies. I have six cats and a dog. Yea, I know. I'm kind of a crazy cat lady. But I swear I scoop their litter boxes everyday.

First up is Datsun, my best friend in the whole world! He's a seven-year-old, 80-pound mutt and he's the smartest, most loyal, and most playful dog ever. His favorite pastime — playing fetch with sticks in the yard. He could literally fetch all day long if I let him. I always wear out first. He also barks at every doorbell and car honk on TV, as well as the Wheel of Fortune ding noise.

Akasha is my oldest cat. He has a girly name, but he's all boy. As you can see here, he has crazy eyes. They're always huge and he often stares into space for, like, 15 minutes straight without moving. He loves to cuddle at night and demands to be held like a teddy bear as I fall asleep.

Pandora is the only girl in the family, and she knows it. She's a princess. When she wants to sit in your lap, she will. But don't even think about trying to pick her up to place her in your lap. She's ain't havin' that. She also has crazy soft fur, and she loves belly rubs. Oh, and she's a fighter. She's always starting spats with the boy cats ... it's the Memphis gangsta in her.

Polaris is the devil kitty, hence the horns in this picture. He's always chewing on things and scratching up furniture. I can squirt him with a water bottle (my form of punishment), and he'll just look at me like, "Do it again. I dare you." But other times, he's really sweet. He's a talker, and he knows how to woo folks with his adorable meows. We actually have long conversations — he meows, I meow, he meows, I meow. I'm never sure what I'm saying in cat language, but he always responds.

Here's Gelfling. Even though he's the fourth oldest, he still thinks he's the baby. He was the youngest for quite awhile before I took in the other two (pictured below Gelf). Out of all the kitties, he has the sweetest meow. It's the kind that you just can't resist. If he meows, I have to pet him. I just can't help myself. He also loves to burrow his head into small spaces. My boyfriend rescued Gelfling from a busy street in Midtown Memphis when he was a teensy kitten. And for some reason, he's never really grown very big. Maybe he was the runt of his litter.

Ozzie is one of the newer additions. He was my boyfriend's ex-roommate's cat. When that roommate left (in an effort to get out of paying his half of the rent), he left his cat behind. What a jerk! Luckily, Oz found a great home with me! He's a cuddler and typically sleeps at my side every night (yes, there are several animals in bed with me every night). He obviously didn't want his picture taken here — he was hiding under a shelf and sticking out his tongue.

Seymour is the the scaredy cat. My boyfriend also took him off the streets as a kitten (he has a penchant for rescuing animals), but I think Seymour is a little feral. He's never gotten used to the idea of people. He only likes me and Paul, and he's scared of his own shadow. He spends most of his days in the safety of my bedroom, and even demands his dinner in there. He also loves to drink fresh water from the bathroom tap. He doesn't exercise much, and he's kind of a fattie.

So there ya have it. These creatures are my life. I don't know what I'd do without them. I'm never lonely or bored because there's always a fur baby to keep me entertained. And I sleep much better knowing that my bed is filled with cuddly critters.