Cat-tastic Entry #2: Mephista

Fizzy
Originally uploaded by measi.

So... cat entry #2 is on Mephista, more commonly known as Fizzy.

Fizzy is our littlest cat-- she's all of 7.25 pounds. She appears black in person and in photos, but when the sun shines on her, she's actually a mink brown tabby (with very narrow stripes from head to the tip of her tail). She has one small white stripe of fur on her belly, white fur protecting her ears and a stray white hair here and there all over her coat. Her eyes are pale yellow. Her whiskers, nose, and paw pads are all black. She's five years old and the princess of the household. She needs to know what's going on at all times, but never really wants to be bothered. She is a human's cat, but not a cat's cat. She does NOT play, thank you very much. And don't dare pick her up-- unless you're wearing a full body suit of kevlar. Those claws will be digging firmly into the nearest body part if you try to remove her from solid ground.

Fizzy came to us in August 2001 as the second cat in the household. I'd started dating Erich only three months before. My first cat, Colley, was forced to be home alone more and more, and it was causing some temperment problems because he was so lonely. We decided to start looking for a cat (preferably one of the many "free to a good home" cats) to keep him company.

In early August, I was reading one of the many internet listservs that I belonged to. A woman and her husband belonged to a group that trapped, spayed and released the stray cats that lived around the Yard at Harvard University. One of the cats they'd caught was pregnant, so they waited for the cat to have kittens-- then posted the kittens on the listserv. If I recall correctly, they were a mix of black and grey cats. Some were polydactyl. We asked for a black poly-toed kitten, but by the time we'd replied, they'd been spoken for. They did have a very small kitten (of undetermined sex), however... were we interested?

We said yes, and planned to meet them later in the week at the T stop at Harvard Square. When we got there, Fizzy was latched in a little ball to the woman's shirt (I'm sure the sounds of the MBTA station were scaring the crap out of her). We exchanged the kitten-- Fizzy immediately clung onto my shirt just below my chin and nuzzled there. We managed to detach her and get her into Colley's carrier, wished the couple well and headed back to my apartment on the train.

My long-time readers will remember Fizzy as the cat that confused both Erich and me when she was a kitten. For the first six months, we thought Fizzy was male-- and so "his" full name was Mephisto. That changed during the appointment to have "him" neutered. So... a quick change of name, and Mephisto became an -a. :)

Fizzy definitely seems relieved that we finally clued into the obvious. She was rather dainty from the start, but we are stupid humans, after all. She got back to us by informing me for well over a year that Erich was HER human. She'd nip at his heels as he went from the bathroom to the bedroom after a shower, as well as perch and prance on all of his clothes for him, vying for his attention.

From the start, Colley was extremely gentle with Fizzy. They played together, and Fizzy would flip over on her back and profess how Huge and Vicious (tm) she was by splaying her claws and opening her mouth to show her tiny pointed teeth. This usually confused Colley, who would just stare at her and blink. It was quite cute. :)

Fizzy also imprinted on Colley- until she was nearly a year old, she would "nurse" on Colley. Granted, I was a bit concerned about my older neutered male cat and his gender issues... but he seemed okay with it. To this day, Fizzy will come and nuzzle on Colley for comfort.

Fizzy has the distinction of being the first cat I ever had who retained all of her claws. My parents, coming from both a generation and a social circle who found it acceptable to do front declaws on cats, had always had them declawed. But Fizzy quickly learned how to behave from Colley (who was declawed by my mother before I got him) and never was destructive. I might add that we've never declawed any of the cats since. Each of them has learned from the one before in some way or another, and we don't have that many problems with scratching.

Anyway... getting back to Fizzy...

She's the most high-strung of all of our cats. She tends to hide out when there's a lot of commotion. She's always been a "quiet" cat. She likes quiet places, and loves to perch. She gets frightened and anxious easily. For example, when we moved into our house last year, the stress of moving caused her to have a bout of temporary alopecia. She lost most of the fur on the backs of her hind legs, plus a huge spot on her chest, mostly due to overgrooming from the stress. Thankfully it grew back after a few months (but we were very concerned).

She doesn't like to play-- her least favorite cat is Gus, who has constantly taunted her since he was a kitten. He often wants to wrestle with her-- and pounces her, causing her to scream and hiss as if she were being killed. It's... unpleasant to listen to. Thankfully she's now found spots where she can relax undisturbed. And we also have Noby and Elly to keep Gus busy.

But aside from her aloofness, she is a loving cat one on one. Last night and this morning, for example, she was extremely cuddly. She perched on my shoulder a lot last night as I played computer games. This morning she weaved around both of our heads in bed, purring as we gave her little back scratches.

She's the fearless cat in our group as far as food goes. Her biggest craving is cheese (and not the "real" cheese, either). I found this out when she was a few months old. She would steal pieces of the Hamburger helper or Mac & Cheese that I'd be having for dinner at the time. She LOVED the powdered cheese... and would eat the pasta, too.

I can't fathom how she stays so small with such a love of junk food. :)