Introducing Styx!

Abby Normal: Today I am going to introduce the newest member of our family and member of the Tabby Cat Club -- her name is Styx!

I was shocked when she came in the door with our people, Mr. R and Ms. C.  Shocked. After all, I feel I have plenty to deal with with my house-panther step-sister, Stygia (who thinks her name is Worm). Stygia and I are not exactly pals, although we do chase each other when the urge strikes us.

But, back to the invader. I mean, new house member. She is quite a bit smaller than me. She weighs just seven pounds, while I am a plush and perfect 10. She has a sliver classic tabby pattern, while I have a brown mackerel pattern. Her nose is a bright pink. Her tail is long, and always seems to have a little kink at the tip.

She is taking over the house. I bet she is the one who inspired that weird thing Brad Pitt said in his Chanel commercial, "Wherever you go, there I am" because that's how it is. She sleeps in all of my favorite spots. She stalks me. She wants to eat my food. She wants to play with me!!

Ms. C says she is actually fitting in quite well. The very first thing she did upon arrival was to use the litter box and find a good perch up high for a full bath.

She has a story. Just before Thanksgiving, some anonymous bad people dropped her off at Ms.C's in-laws' dairy farm. It was obvious to anyone who saw her that Styx had just had kittens, though no kittens were in sight or ever found. She always wanted to go into the house, but at the farm, all the cats stay outside or in the barns.

She is a very tenacious little thing. She began her campaign to find a family as soon as she arrived on the farm. She brought voles to the people and didn't touch them for her meal until they noticed them. At Christmas, when Ms. C and Mr. R returned to the farm to visit family, she was still there, and friendly as ever. She held her own against all the farm cats, and as you can see from her picture, she didn't let any of them slash her much at all with claws or teeth. She perched on Mr. R's shoulder, and they formed a bond. Just as Ms. C and Mr. R were getting ready to leave the farm, Mr. R asked Ms. C, "Should we take her home with us?" I think he knew Ms. C wouldn't say "no!"

Well, Ms. C is my person. Styx is welcome to make Mr. R her own, as that is what she seems to be intent upon doing. We, Stygia and I, are not worried too much about this little encroacher because we feel very firm about the possession of our people.

Ms. C took Styx to the vet. You can read a bit more about that experience on our blog, but suffice to say for now that Styx is very healthy. The vet determined that she is approximately 1 year old, so the people decided to declare her birthday as Jan. 2, the day she went to the vet. Her Gotcha Day is Christmas 2012. Ms. C told me that she is scheduled to be spayed on the 22nd of this month . . . hee hee hee.

Having a young one in the house may force me to give up my kitten license at last. After all, I just turned 5 years old on Dec. 17th, and Stygia turned 6 years old in August. Styx may have been a mom already, but she is not a real lady cat yet!!

I'm starting to feel a lot less terrified of her. I admit, she often surprises me, but she is not that bad. We can play together. Maybe one day we will even be real friends.