Have I told you the story of Zipper? I realize that he is in the masthead up there and that he has been showing up here and there and I may have never told you the story of how he came to be part of our family.
It was St. Patrick's Day, 2007 when Ryan and I headed to the pet adoption fair in Burbank. We had been throwing arond the idea of getting a kitty for a while. The fair was huge, and well attended. We walked around and around checking out all of the kittens and even some doggies. Until we spotted a cage with three kittens; two were gray and one was black. One of the gray kittens was wild and rambunctious, and though he was adorable and entertaining, we really gravitated towards the more mellow, sweet-natured one they were calling Gordy. If you wanted to hold a kitty, you had to go to a tent where they would coax it out of the cage. This was to eliminate as much stimulus as possible so the cats would be more calm. We went into the tent with Gordy and he was not really into leaving his cage. Eventually little by little he made his way out and we took turns holding him. He was scared and vulnerable and he needed us to bring him home. So with that, we started fillig out the paperwork.
This is 6 month old Zipper at our old place in Venice.
At the same time as we were arranging Gordy's adoption, another couple was adopting his very hyperactive gray brother. That day as we were walking away with our new kitty, I turned back to see his lonely black brother in the cage all by himself. I was heartbroken and really racked my brain a thousand ways to figure out how we could bring him with us, but there was no way. Truth be told, we really did not have the space for one cat, let alone two. But, I regret that decision. I still wish we would have taken both of them.
He really didn't seem like a Gordy, so after a few mornings of brainstorming in the shower, I came up with the name Zipper. At the time, we had no idea that his name would be so appropriate as he literally does zip all through the house when he gets excited. Now, it is hard to imagine a time when Zipper was not in our family. We know all of his strengths and weaknesses, his charms and his quirks. He loves to rise with me in the morning and he zig zags through my legs the whole way to the kitchen. His attempts at running out the open door to the outside world are inexhaustible, yet, on the occasions that he does get out, he promptly wants back in the house. He sits in open windows and flirts/fights with the other neighborhood critters.
And now that Rylie is part of the gang, Zipper plays second fiddle. He goes along with it as well as he can. He is patient with her, and definitely curious, but he rarely lets her get close enough to touch him, though we know the day is coming when she will match his speed. We do our best to shower him with affection, but he is aloof and acts as though he could care less (but we know he wants it.) Instead he likes to be close to us on his own accord. For instance, right now he is taking up 75% of my chair as I sit on the very edge trying to type.
Now that Rylie is quite mobile and crawling everywhere, we have been playing a new game called "musical food dish". It goes like this: Rylie crawls into the kitchen and makes a beeline to Zipper's food, I rush over and set it up on the countertop so that she does not eat it, and then we go about our business. 10 minutes later, I look back and Zipper is patiently waiting in the spot where his food should be, wondering if he will ever eat again. This happens 37 times a day (a modest estimate.)
Oh, I should also mention that Zipper is a dapper fella and when his entire extended family was in town for our wedding, he insisted on his finest attire.
He looks nervous, but I assure you, he was really working the crowd.
Hello! I'm Liz Scott - mama to two little ones, maker, and all around curiosity chaser. I live with my family in Los Angeles, where we seek to fill each day with adventure, joy and creativity. I write about it all here on the blog. Thank you for visiting.
