Meet Pixie: my feline BFF for the last 11 years. In this extremely biased review, I’ll explore Pixie’s cattitude in a few key areas: social skills, intelligence, curiosity, and general kittyness. While Pixie is a bit of a drama queen, she excels when it comes to creativity and friendship. (Yeah, I used the word “cattitude” unironically. I felt like you needed to know what kind of cat lady you were dealing with right up front).
Pixie may not have the voluptuous, camera-ready fluff of a Fancy Feast model, but she rocks eyeliner as well as Jessica Jones. She weighs just six pounds, and I like to think of her as “a little wisp of cat.” Pixie is a Siamese/tabby mix and exceeds in living up to her name, which means “playfully mischievous.”
What she lacks in size, Pixie makes up for in volume, and by that I mean Pixie never shuts up. Just to make sure you pick up on her half-Siamese heritage within the first five minutes of meeting her, she’ll begin yelling at you. This is her standard greeting for strangers and her way of saying WHAAAT WHO ARE YOU??? YES PET ME? ACTUALLY STOP THAT WTF NO?, but it is understandably disarming to people who didn’t expect to be yelled at for saying “hi” to a small, striped cat. When I pet her, I get a “mrrrrr?” squeak in response, followed by loud purring. Cute points! She also enjoys screaming in the hallway either because all the doors are closed at 3am (she must be lonely) or she’s just been quiet for far too long. If I answer her with a meow, though, she comes running to me with lots to say, so I think she really just wants to tell someone about her day.
One of my favorite things about Pixie that some people may not know is that she and I are from the same planet. I like to think this helped us establish some common ground right from the start. We may get odd looks when we’re staring off into space, but we understand each other. Some other things we have in common are enjoying naps, getting excited about food, and being easily startled by loud noises. We also both need oxygen, water, and cuddles to survive. Coincidence?
Pixie is a very innovative cat and has invented two of her own games, the first of which is trying to catch her elusive tail on a kitchen chair (video below). The second game she invented requires me to admit that it occurs while I’m in the bathroom, but it’s so great that I have to share. She likes to ambush me by walking along the side of the bathtub in between the curtain and curtain liner and then THROWING HERSELF ONTO MY SHOULDER THROUGH THE CURTAIN. She tries to be all nonchalant about it, but I know that in a few seconds the curtain is going to attack me. I’m not even mad, because it’s so hilarious and creative. It’s an expression of endearment on our planet; you wouldn’t understand. When she was younger, we used to play a chase game, where we would take turns chasing each other. I would chase her around for one lap and then “catch” her. Then I’d run away, and she would chase me and “attack” my leg when she caught up with me. I’ve heard that some cats play fetch, but I think our chase game was far superior and more inclusive.
Pixie loves it when I sing to her, so she gets major points for music appreciation. Some of her favorite songs are “Hanging Tree” from Mockingjay – Part 1, “Diet Mountain Dew” by Lana Del Rey (but with every instance of “city” and “pretty” replaced with “kitty”), and the “Soft Kitty” song from The Big Bang Theory. In addition to music, there is a wide range of visual entertainment she enjoys. Her favorite show is A Squirrel and/or Bird is Out the Window Holy Shit, and she also likes to watch my mouse cursor move around my laptop screen. Recently, I have tried showing her a few animal YouTube videos, and watching a group of birds eating is THE BEST, paws down.
Pixie is an indoor cat and enjoys short trips outside on her leash. She scores major points for being as patient as a cat can be as I put her harness on her. She prefers her purple harness, while I prefer the pink one with angel wings. Outside, she usually ends up lying in one spot instead of walking around, but there have been times when I was able to walk her down the sidewalk in front of the house. On one such occasion, she realized I was following her and turned her head to hiss at me, clearly mistaking her harness and leash for some sort of fashionable accessory. Another time, a neighbor approached us and started to make conversation with me, but Pixie felt left out and yelled at the woman the entire time. On the other hand, cars in motion are (understandably) the most frightening thing Pixie has ever witnessed, and the first time this happened she tore the leash out of my hand to sprint back to the front door and then refused to leave the porch again. I took a better hold on the leash in subsequent outings, so she resorted to hiding between my feet.
Despite my efforts to train her, Pixie is really lacking when it comes to holding hands. I can cup the back of her paw in my hand and, if she’s already relaxing in my lap, she’s pretty okay with it, which is great progress. However, if I try to gently hold her paw or make any contact with the toe beans, she immediately gets cold feet. Whoa, that works on so many levels, because cats really do curl their feet under their bodies when they get cold—wait, what was I talking about? Speaking of curling under, Pixie executes a perfect kitty loaf position and sometimes even adds a classic nose squish.
Perhaps above all else, Pixie is a great best friend and a Grade-A snuggler. She likes to jump into my lap anytime I’m at my desk, head-butt me in greeting, and then fall asleep across my legs (where she laid for the entire composition of this article). Any time she sleeps in bed with me, she likes to press the top of her head against my cheek and purr into my ear really loudly. Some people may not know this, but you can catch the exact moment a happy cat falls asleep, because the purring stops. One million cute points.
Bottom line: Pixie is an awesome little freak, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you are looking for a kitty friend and you want an energetic cat with lots of feelings, she is right here waiting . . . to yell at you. And maybe rub your legs. Maybe.
TUNA out of 5 Crones (can’t get better than tuna)
