The Wild Panther

Back in 2005, I went on the hunt for a black kitten. I'd never owned a male cat before. When I went to one of the local pet stores in Shreveport, LA, they had ONE kitten left... a male, and he was black. He was also FREE, as long as I purchased a bag of cat food. Sold.

I got him in the car, and hadn't even put it in reverse yet when this evil gremlin gave me "the eye." Not a block down the road, he was like a tasmanian devil - running circles and yowling in horror ALL the way home. I was highly unsatisfied already. I wanted a sweet kitten, one who would cuddle on the sofa and be NICE. In the parking lot, before going inside, I grabbed Zeus by the scruff of the neck and I told him with my finger in his face "You better find SOMETHING cute to do to make me love you, or you're not going to last long in this house." Little did I know what he had in store for me.

He was a heathen the rest of that afternoon. Shredding my couch with his claws, tossing cat litter all over the floor, getting into everything he wasn't supposed to. But around 1130pm that night, he crawled up in bed with me, buried his nose at the base of my neck and proceeded to paw at me as though he were feeding from his mommy. My heart MELTED, and he was here to stay.

He found a way to bond with Stevie... Watching over her at bathtime, and waiting patiently for her to push him around in her baby doll stroller!
I felt bad for him, because he seemed so lonely during the day while everyone was gone to work and school... so Stevie and I went shopping and found him a soulmate... We brought Athena home a year later. He adopted her like a little baby, and fell in LOVE with her. They're so sweet together. They cuddle, and chase one another, and play... she puts him in his place when he whines too much by smacking him on the head... and he's really forgiving of her if she hogs the bed too much!
The best part of all, is he's COMPLETELY a momma's boy. Well, used to be completely. Since I had to deploy over this past summer, he learned how to get love from the other's in the house. He's OK with cuddling with daddy if he has too... he really prefers Stevie's lap, as she's the only one who sits still long enough for him to get a comfortable nap in. I can't say he prefers Ava very much. She's a bit rough with her pats on the head, and he usually resorts to running from her when she doesn't respond correctly to his hisses and snaps. As you can see from the below pictures, this is usually how he is with us in the house!

Not so cuddly with Daddy

He definitely prefers Mommy

So here you have it... a small introduction to our wild panter, Zeus. So mean on the outside, but you give him some treats and a warm bed and he's just a big teddy bear. I LOVE this cat!