Today’s Cat Woman Wednesday is written by “Coco,” a super cool cat-loving chick who hails from New York. Her hysterical blog Livin’ La Videa Coco documents her journey as she adapts to the LA lifestyle while looking for a man with her trusty side-kick kitty Yazmeena. I may just have met my new cat woman crush! I hope you find her as refreshing and funny as I do -Enjoy!hi tamar and fans of “i have cat,”
hi! my name is coco and i am a crazy cat lady…i mean a thirty *cough* gal with a cat. i’ve never written a guest blog, so this is kinda a big deal! so much so that i got a manicure for the occasion. fancy!
and while being excited and nervous makes me wanna swear a lot, i’ve promised my mother that i’ll “use my words” and by that, she means avoiding the “four-lettered” ones. so here it goes!
back in 1997, a younger and thinner coco moved to the united arab emirates. homesick and bored, i would look forward to the saturday newspaper with a fervor that others who didn’t know me might find a bit, well, weird. 
we look very pensive. i’m assuming that we’re both thinking about food.
you see, a local cat rescue committee called feline friends took out a two-page spread in the paper every week and listed all of the kitties who needed homes. while i had grand fantasies of adopting them all, i was only able to negotiate the adoption of one.
my BF at the time and i fell in love with the picture of a little white cat named lulu. lulu! squeee! i cut out her picture and profile from the newspaper and put in on the fridge. i then called the rescue group and proudly told them we wanted to meet sweet lil lulu asap, and that we’d be willing to make the 2-hour trip to meet her.
the nice lady on the line said that actually, there were a batch of kittehs that needed a home more urgently…and that they lived a mere 5 minutes from us. i agreed to meet these other cats since they were in greater need…but was secretly sad that i wouldn’t get to meet the white fluffball named lulu.
that is, until i met yazmeena.
we made the trip later that day to meet this group of cats. their humans were leaving to go back to the UK where they have strict quarantine laws, and they didn’t want their cats live in cages for 6 months. we first met their 3 pudgy sweet boy cats who the couple had had since their days in England. since i could only adopt one kitteh and i had my heart set on a girl, i was eager to meet the princess of the bunch.
the nice couple told us how one hot summer day, they found this wee little desert kitten in an alley. she was beaten up badly and cowering behind an abandoned refrigerator. they scooped her up, nursed her back to health, and named her “yazmeena” (arabic for “jasmine”)…and how she quickly became the ruler of her 3 adoptive brothers and her humans’ hearts.
back when we were both younger and skinnier. look at those big ears!
and just as they finished the story, yazmeena sauntered down the stairs with the airs of a princess. she looked at us with both curiosity and judgement, and slowly walked over and brushed against my bf’s leg. the little coquette won us over immediately. while we hated to separate her from her adoptive brothers, we knew she would be the hardest to find a home as she was a “local” cat with feral blood whereas her brothers were fully domesticated western cats. so it was decided. yazmeena would come home with us the next day.
my first ballet recital…it was called “pussies in the well”…i kid you not! the 70s were weird.
fifteen years, 2 continents, 12 apartments (yup, 12!), and a few BFs later, yazmeena and i are still thick as thieves. in this wonderful adventure called life, she has been my one constant. and it hasn’t been easy at times…for example, there was the time she crawled into the the wall behind the washer/dryer for 26 hours without a peep…and the time she jumped down from a second story balcony and disappeared for two days….or…well the list can go on and on.
but she’s become such a loving, sweet, devoted cat who meets me at the door every night, sleeps in the nook of my knees, and snores like a truck driver with a cold. and while she’s very shy with strangers, you can earn her trust and affection with time and patience. a trait i’ve grown to admire. and she’s just freakin pretty! just look at her!
shades of yazzy. the last one is my fav…mostly because i have a soft spot for musicians (male ones, of course).
for a few years now, i’ve blogged about the trials and tribulations of a thirty-something gal with a cat trying to find her way in hollywood (that’s me!!!). since 2006, i’ve been enjoying los angeles’ sunshine, flirting with things like colonics and yoga and feng shui and mercury in retrograde, and trying to find “mr. right”.
indeed, it’s almost a full time job trying to figure things out in the land of swimming pools and movie stars, so i’m extremely glad i have my trusty side kick yazmeena. and when i’m not working in public health or helping run a theater company, i’m planning my weekly caturday posts on facebook with more anticipation than is normal. and when people ask, yes, i’m at complete peace with being “that girl with a cat.” and princess yazzy is at peace being worshiped by everyone that crosses her path. all hail, yazmeena!
trying to get a pic with this cat is more difficult than getting lindsay lohan to adhere to probation.
to follow the adventures of yazmeena and coco (me), visit www.livinlavidacoco.com and join us on facebook.
happy hump day, y’all!
xoxo,
coco
My human feels for Coco because she grew up in Los Angeles, and she can say for an absolute fact that it is one of the lousiest places to find a mate! But she did, and if an total eccentric like my human can do it, I am sure Coco can!
fantastic! w00t!
LOL! We loved the caption about Lindsey Lohan!
ha! glad you liked!
We are birds of a feather and will check out your blog. Purrs…
yay! thank you!
What a FABULOUS guest blog post. Coco, you are divine, funny, admirable and beautiful. Yazmeena is a true beauty and clearly a blessing. Like your girl, my Stella (nearly 15 years) also sleeps in the crook of my knees and is the pure joy of my life. I love hearing about your journey and your life on the “left coast” with Yazmeena.
You are no “crazy” cat lady, but a warm and compassionate being who knows what the love of a good cat is like. I look forward to reading more of your caturday blog posts. – Rebecca
what a lovely note. this almost made me tear up! thank you and give stella a big hug from aunty coco.
What a sweet story!!!
Would you believe I once lost my kitty inside the walls of an apartment I was just moving into!? He snuck behind the water heater, found an uncovered hole in the wall and hid inside. I had NO IDEA where he was. Frantic is an understatement. How do you lose a cat in a completely empty apartment? It was a harrowing rescue and a day I’ll never forget.
You have a wonderful endearing style of writing…would love to visit your blog and say hey…
; ) Katie & Glogirly
GLOGIRLY-Tails Of A Cat And Her Girl
Katie’s the (Cat)
Glogirly’s the (Girl)
Just noticed Coco posted a response to your post but for some reason it showed up in the wrong place!
livin la vida coco 3 weeks ago
wow…our
kittehs are wall escape twins. worst day of my life. i thought she
had died in the wall since she didn’t make a sound for a whole day…and
i, too, had just moved in. thankfully she got hungry and brave and
made her way back to me. so glad katie is ok, too!!!! thanks for
visiting and can’t wait to check you out too!
i remember you telling me about this – omg i would totally freak!
Awesome awesome post! Does the US not have quarantine laws for overseas animals??
nope, don’t believe so!
Sarah, i just saw that Coco had responded to you but her post showed up in the wrong place for some reason!?!
livin la vida coco 3 weeks ago
indeed,
since we have rabies here, we don’t have quarantine laws…just strict
paperwork to show that all the shots are in order. much of europe is
rabies-free, hence why they are more strict. interesting, right?!
Love it! Yazmeena is absolutely gorgeous. Her black eyeliner is the best.
Great Cat Woman Wednesday post!!!While i don’t pretend to understand having just one cat, i definitely enjoyed meeting Yazzy and yourself. Heading to your blog right now!!!
So glad you checked out Coco’s blog! She’s super fun! Such a unique voice!
Hi Coco! Love the lively, witty post. You and Yazzy are California girls with nothing to worry about. Let nature take its course. Prince Charming will come along. As a single Miami gal with 6 cats (that’s what happens when you get heavily involved in the rescue world), I decided to marry the cause. Moreso educating the public about how to reverse the trend of homeless cats.
Looking forward to following your adventures!
Christine
Hi Christine! SO happy you got to “meet” coco (and Yaz of course!).
Thanks for leaving your comment!
So nice to meet you both!! I loved your post and will follow you on Facebook too. Thank you for the introduction Tamar. oxoxoxo
THANKS FOR READING AND COMMENTING GRACEY!!!!
Coco write this in response to your post but for some reason it showed up in the wrong place
livin la vida coco 3 weeks ago
oh,
i’ve read about you gracey! i follow lola the rescue cat religiously
and i see her talking about you all the time! can’t wait to “like” you
too! yay!
Flag
Beautiful kitty!
Thanks for sharing your cat side with us- loved meeting yazmeena!as someone who owns a professional writing business, I also must say that I enjoyed your writing immensely as well! “all hail, yazmeena!” – hilarious.
She does rock doesn’t she? I’m so happy she sent in that guest blog post or I would never have met her or Yaz!
Yay Yazzy! Too funny. I love the old skool pics documenting your journey together. Good luck on the West Coast!
i know right? LOVE her blog!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful story of how you became Yazmeena’s human. She is definitely a princess and she’s gorgeous.
I love the line…..
” fifteen years, 2 continents, 12 apartments (yup, 12!), and a few BFs later, Yasmeena and I are still thick as thieves.”
her highness and i say thank you!!!
Thanks for sharing….and your kitty is so adorable! Best of luck on the west coast!
so sweet! thank you!
Blessings to you and Yazzy on the West Coast, Coco. It’s clear Yazmeena was meant to be yours!
awww thank you! blessings right back atcha!
Nice to meet you Living La Vida Coco!
nice to meet you too! such a cute kitteh! what’s a pirate’s kitteh’s favorite kind of socks? ARGGGHHHYLE
HI MOKI!!!!! you are the best-est, thanks for reading and leaving a comment for coco and yaz!
yay! many many thank yous!
wow! thank you! what a lovely compliment! totally inspires me to keep writing!
beautiful compliment!
oh, i’ve read about you gracey! i follow lola the rescue cat religiously and i see her talking about you all the time! can’t wait to “like” you too! yay!
thank you for all you do! and thanks for the sweet words!!
oh, if i could have an entire city of kittehs, i would! thanks for the sweet words!
i love love love that too! thank you for reading!
indeed, since we have rabies here, we don’t have quarantine laws…just strict paperwork to show that all the shots are in order. much of europe is rabies-free, hence why they are more strict. interesting, right?!
wow…our kittehs are wall escape twins. worst day of my life. i thought she had died in the wall since she didn’t make a sound for a whole day…and i, too, had just moved in. thankfully she got hungry and brave and made her way back to me. so glad katie is ok, too!!!! thanks for visiting and can’t wait to check you out too!
Aww, Yazmeena is adorable!!! And the story of her adoption is so sweet. It was meant to be!
I know right?!?!?! We need to get together lady!
pretty kitty!
Hi Coco, it’s nice to meet you! Your kitty is gorgeous (I love her name!) and I can’t wait to check out your blog!
I love this story. And Yazmeena is beautiful.
I know, aren’t they both so lovely?! Thanks dawn!
OMG! Yazz is not only hilarious but quite photogenic! That darn cat seems to be looking into the camera! I also clicked over and checkout livinglavidacoco and I love the wordpress theme. I was hoping to see more yazz but I saw a bunch of future ex husbands instead
I now right?! LOL!
I know, lots of her blog is about her life in California…but I’m sure you can find some of Yaz in there to?!