Zeus and His Latest Shenanigans

It is a well-known fact that Zeus is a weirdo, even as weird felines go. It is also abundantly clear that this cat is very smart, and one might even argue that his intelligence eclipses that of many humans roaming the planet.

He sits and observes things, and often modifies his behavior when he sees that certain behaviors do not deliver the desired results. He is calculated, introspective and a shockingly brilliant problem solver.

If I had not actually seen his latest endeavor with my own two eyes, I simply would not have thought it possible. Imagine, if you will, a hard-to-open door knob to the exterior that takes even human hands a moment to open. Now, imagine a cat standing on his tippy-toes reaching for said door knob and leveraging his weight and using his nimble front paws to turn this knob and open the door. Zeus, who is an indoor cat, is very proud of his considerable accomplishment. He doesn't quite know what to do with himself once he gets into the backyard, but he is, nonetheless, thrilled by his precocious new skill set. We are less-than-thrilled, and frankly worried because there are coyotes that have been visiting our neighborhood seeking food on a regular basis.

Our only line of defense is to make sure that the deadbolt is securely fastened, but even then I wonder if this Kitty Einstein will find a way to unlock it. We have been talking about building a catio in our backyard, and these recent shenanigans seem to be proof positive that it should happen sooner, rather than later!

Feline Friday: The Life of Zeus at the Domestic Mount Olympus

There is no question that Zeus has a large fan-base, and why wouldn't he?!  I receive so many email requests for Zeus posts, and am routinely told that Zeus posts are the perfect way to start (or end) the day,

Zeus is a delightfully demented character who is remarkably smart, and intensely idiosyncratic in many of his tendencies. When observing him, one can readily see the wheels turning as he thinks about what he wants to do. Therefore, on the one hand, he is contemplative and very much a cat prone to premeditated acts. However, he is also an errant male inclined toward impetuous acts, and erratic behavior.  He can effortlessly leap seven feet, unassisted, and often runs full speed ahead and elegantly changes direction midway by banking off of a wall and gliding through the air. He is remarkable. 

Like most cats, he often seeks high perches for naps, and is perpetually seeking his Mount Olympus from which to survey his territory, and from which to reign supreme.

There are those times, however, that he naps in more expected places– like a couch, chair or table, but when I happened upon him sleeping on a platter on the dining room table I got such a hearty laugh.

Of course that particular laugh-out-loud moment caused him to wake up, but it was definitely worth it (for me, at least) since these pictures were the result.

Copyright © 2016 www.lolassecretbeautyblog.com All Rights Reserved.

Zeus, the Furniture Recycler

It's hardly fair to solely blame Zeus for the destruction of our couches, but he definitely had a paw in the game. This week I finally got fed up enough with the state of our couches, and I bought a new couch. My couches, also known as the cat scratching posts, were too damaged to donate– so instead I called the City of LA for a bulk pickup. I thought that witnessing cats scratching couches was the greatest act of aggression against furniture, but I stand corrected. I stood at my window and watched as the furniture was loaded into the garbage truck, which seemed more like a wood-chipper, and stood in awe as it crushed them! When I say crushed, this is no exaggeration– it was really crazy to see! If you have old destroyed furniture that is too far gone to donate, then it is worth contacting your city to see if they have a bulk pickup service available.

Needless to say, Zeus and friends are not being invited to take the new couch for a spin and will have to sharpen their claws elsewhere!

Have your dogs or cats destroyed any of your furniture? What solutions have you come up with?

Copyright © 2015 www.lolassecretbeautyblog.com All Rights Reserved.

Zeus Dreams that Mount Olympus is Filled with Makeup Brushes

A more peculiar cat, I know not. Zeus, as I have often noted, is less like a cat and more like some sort of extraterrestrial, or at the very least he's a feline aberration. Sure he does so-called cat things, periodically, but when he does there is a distinctly non-feline sensibility to the way that he approaches his world. At his very core, he is quite uncat-like, and his peculiarities lack clean categories associated with any specific species.

One of his greatest preoccupations, as you probably remember from this exposé on his proclivities, is the makeup brush. However, he has very specific taste, and for him everything pales in comparison to goat brushes.

He deftly breaks into closed cabinets behind closed doors to retrieve my old, but beloved, Guerlain goat hair brush. He then runs around the house triumphantly with it in his mouth as though doing a victory lap of sorts. While I was unwilling to sacrifice that particular goat to his demented cause, I was willing to give him the ungoatly brush shown in these pictures. This brush lacks that certain je ne sais quoi that his beloved goat hair brushes embody so perfectly, but in a pinch even a subpar brush will do.

There is a whole ritual associated with the worshipping of the brush: from smelling it, to touching it, to chewing on it. Each step is approached with a intense fervor and engagement. He becomes singular in purpose, and nothing breaks his focus as he worships the brush.

Examining the tactile effects of the brush is of paramount importance, and sniffing and rubbing always precedes licking, biting and chewing.

There is a certain elegance to the way that he gently caresses and marks his brush (yes, his brush since I sacrificed this one to the cause), and he always demonstrates a certain reverence for his beloved.

"Oh, how I love thee."

 "While this isn't my favorite goat, or a goat at all for that matter, I am growing quite fond of this brush."

"Now that feels delightful, and I can see why you rub brushes all over your face– even though it tortures me when you don't share them."

Once his eyes fall to half-mast, Zeus is ready to drift off into a peaceful slumber, and in his dreams he sleeps on a bed of the softest, and most exquisite, goat hair brushes– the likes of which are unknown to mere terrestrial beings.

Copyright © 2015 www.lolassecretbeautyblog.com All Rights Reserved.