My Queen Meffi

Six years ago I wrote a blog post about my boy Merlin.
A little over a year ago I lost Merlin's great love Meffi. Until now I didn't even want to talk about it, it usually takes me a while, but now I have a very special reason to share some memories with you.

Meffi came to us a few months after we lost the cat that had started it all, White Dude, the foreign exchange kitty. We picked her up at a farm. Actually I didn't pick her. I was sitting in the hay cooing over a litter of mostly black kittens with some white spots when my ex shoved her in my face instead. How could I have resisted that cute little nose? She looked adorable!
In fact we didn't know it was a girl, though. Even then she hated to be picked up and she was like an eel with claws. We named her Mephisto because she was such a little devil. That day she kept her tail very firmly tucked in and we thought it would be best not to stress her out too much. The next day, however, that tail went up and we found we had a Mephista instead.

It was still common then to let a cat get in heat once before having her spayed. Our boys were neutered, so the only problem would be to stand the noise and Meff rolling around on the floor.
I have never heard such a voice coming out of such a little cat. A cat in heat? It sounded more like a moose in heat! It was absolutely impossible to ignore her song, and Merlin went for it hook, line and sinker. With the whole show, too, neutered or not.
They stayed a pair until Merlin went over the Rainbow Bridge. Still with the whole show. Sometimes it was downright embarrassing to lie in bed when the lovebirds were there as well. Merlin was friends with all the others and they all loved him, but it was nothing compared to those two.

After Merlin was gone, things changed. Meffi didn't think highly of the others, especially not Ponder, no matter how much he was in love with her from the moment he entered our world. The Queen was not amused at his rowdy and childish behavior.
Then my husband left. As much as the boys had always been more attached to me, the girls had chosen him, but Meffi dealt with it easier than I had feared. She started to sleep on my head at night with my hand touching her fur. Not holding her, though. Meffi always needed the feeling of being able to get up and leave any moment. She was not a hugger like the boys, I already said that she had taught us from the very first day that she didn't appreciate to be picked up and held longer than a few seconds. It could turn her into a fierce furry octopus with thousands of claws. I have more than one fine scar to prove that and this is only from the occasions when there was no choice and I had to pick her up.
I also have a fine scar on my cheek from when she had been sleeping on me and Ponder suddenly decided he wanted to play. He jumped her, she jumped me, my glasses flew off my face, I spilled soup over myself and felt something warm running down my face. Never a boring moment here!

When Meffi got sick, the bond grew even stronger if possible. I would never have thought that I would be able to pill her and even give her sub q fluids every day. Not that she was apathic and sometimes she let me know very clearly that she wouldn't put up with my stupid ideas today, but in general we made a great team.
It is never an easy decision to let a beloved animal go and I'm not ashamed to say that once again I'm sitting here bawling. I miss her so much.

Of course I could go on and on and on, but now you may ask what that special reason of mine is to share all of this with you.
When I lost my Queen (a position she filled effortlessly here),  I knew that I wanted my friend Dawn to do what she already done when I lost Merlin.
Dawn's miniatures (click the link to see more) are amazing and beautiful. I asked her to make a miniature of Meffi, a necklace, and she did.
I can't express my feelings at the moment when I opened the parcel. I don't think I need to. Thank you, Dawn, thank you so much.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Wondering ...

What it is wrong about this picture? After I almost tripped over this box for the fifth time today, I felt something was not quite right. Then suddenly I knew. There is no cat in there!!

As in all households ruled by feline emperors new boxes don't stay empty for long here. I have enough examples to prove it.

Esme often prefers her boxes not empty as in this case. I'm not sure if she ever read those books, but she camped out with them for weeks until she chose a new place to chill.

There had been another box resident before her. Gandalf still had a towel in it then that you could also use as a roof when he demanded absolute peace. Doesn't it look cosy?

I am not sure what Greebo had in mind here. At any case he looks highly concentrated. Maybe he tried to make the box take off by sheer willpower?

There are lots of pictures of Ponder in various boxes. My favorite one is this although he scared me a little with that determined look of his.

Meffi looks as if she was ready to get packed up in this picture. This is an unusual picture, the little diva prefers baskets usually in which being carried around she loves.

I have no doubt that Merlin slept in this box very comfortably. Not. You know how cats are. They never cease to amaze us.

So now back to my question.

What is wrong with that big and new and lovely box that none of our cats wants to try it out .....?

Any theories?

Surprise, surprise!

In February it will be two years that my Merlin passed away.
Ever since he's gone, Meffi wouldn't go upstairs anymore. You could tell how much she missed him. She doesn't get along too well with the black devils. Ponder is too rude for her and although she has been seen exchanging quick nose kisses with Esme, there are times when I feel I need to buy a boxing ring for them and demand entrance fees.
The last few months she has started coming upstairs again, hm, more like running, but only if she feels the need to chase Ponder. As small and slim as she is, as big is her voice and she has the whole range, from growling to hissing, yelling and yowling and a sound that I would expect from a stag, but not a little cat.

Today however she was suddenly there, standing in front of the library, Greebo and Esme behind her looking just as surprised as I did, it seemed.
She checked out everything, first the library, then the old oven that stands in our hallway until the house's hallway is finished, and now she's in the library, sleeping on the pinball machine.


I just hope this won't be a one time incident, I always felt bad that she seemed to feel restricted to downstairs.
And there's this tiny spark of hope that one day she won't mind the noisy siblings around her anymore ...

Mode of annoying the human - on!

In my jewelry forum, Starving Jewelry Artists, there's always a daily topic that does not necessarily have to do with jewelry, just to get to know each other better. Yesterday the topic was pets and how they annoy you sometimes. First I was afraid to answer because I thought I might never be able to stop again. Oh yes, as much as I love the furry beasts, I regularly threaten to sell them. I'm not sure if I interpret their looks right, but to me it looks like "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn". I shouldn't quote movies that much around them, they only use it against me.

But what do they do to annoy me most? Let's see.

- Meffi and Greebo are "lickers". One of this days I'll post a picture of me, but I won't have a nose and I won't have arms, only bones sticking out because they licked all flesh off me. Oh, I forgot, I also won't have hair as Greebo does his best to eat it whenever he gets a chance. Don't worry about them, it's not a sign of malnutrition, I had that checked. They are just weird.


- Esme and her "five minutes". Besides the fact that she can't stand me whistling - which earned her a blog post already if you remember - she thinks she's allowed to annoy me with her squeaking. If stupid human Mom doesn't understand right away, she can get so mad that she starts jumping up, aiming for my arm. She doesn't bite, it's more like "Listen to meeeeee". Which I gladly would if I had any idea what she wants. It's usually not food, not playing, not snuggling. What else is there??


- Esme and her behavior when I try to take a photo on the chest of drawers in the tall guy's playroom. LOUD squeaking, jumping me, the chair, the table, the chest. Up, down, up, down, getting louder by the minute. If I take a picture anywhere else, no problem. One opinion about this is: The chest is haunted and she wants to warn me. Ungh.

- Ponder and Esme think my keyboard belongs to them. Have I ever told you that once I thought my monitor was broken because it suddenly was black when I looked up? My only excuse, it was dark and the cat in question that blocked the view is black. And big. And silly. Ponder, who else. I almost got a heart attack when the "black monitor" suddenly moved. They are usually so loud, but also they can materialize in half a second and without the smallest sound.
The other day Ponder had parked his big head on my ctrl-key which I hadn't noticed. I had to use the + and the writing on the screen became bigger and bigger. After being confused for a bit I saw Ponder moving. On the key. He was not amused that I dared to move him then!


- Bedtime. Why is it that Meffi and Ponder always have to use me as a trampoline?? Why does Greebo think my side of the bed belongs to him? I have woken up before with one leg in the bed and the other foot firmly on the floor outside the bed while my cat stretches as if he's going for an entry in the Guinness book as the world's biggest cat.

- T-shirts have to have holes, don't they? The boys love to cling to me with everything they've got. Everything meaning some very sharp claws. They don't want to hurt me, I'm sure, they just want to hold on to me. Greebo is so afraid of losing me that once my dermatologist asked me if I had a bad itch. I said no, why and he pointed out the heavy scratches on my shoulders. His look when I said it was my cat told me everything. I don't even want to know what exactly he thinks I'm into. I have thought about bringing Greebo as proof the next time.


You know I could go on, but just now the big, black, silly cat landed in the hammock. The purring and the adoring look (what actors they all are!) makes me forget all the annoying things for now. I'll just enjoy cuddling with one of the four best cats in my world ;-)