Don’t ask me why this cat has the name she does, but reader Hank (see below the photos) has submitted her along with a great story:
MidtZee Mitzvidyev – The Flying Karamazov Kitty
August 2006 – a Saturday evening, well after dark, in the high desert between Tombstone and Bisbee, Arizona.
I went outside the studio and heard a sound, which I assumed was a rattlesnake. When I returned with a flashlight, what I saw in the darkness were four green eyes. Two palm sized kittens, starving and dehydrated, so bony you could barely pet them. It’s anyone’s guess how long they had been wandering the desert, perhaps abandoned. Amazing that they survived the perils of coyotes, hawks, and owls, let alone rattlers. “Egypt” died in three days, despite the vet visit. Beetles (now MidtZee) thrived. Even as a kitten she flew across the room, banking off of objects to get to where she is going: a streak of black in the air. She generally doesn’t mind riding in the truck, and usually sleeps during the two hour trip to and from the studio, waking up for ice cream in Benson (the half way point). She is not afraid to take on a Pack Rat half her size, but usually only eats the shoulders. She is quite talkative, comes when called, and understands “Paté,” “Kibbles” and “Grass” . She is generally indifferent, but will sleep under the covers when it is cold, her nose an ice chip slinking down the side of your body. She will hog the covers.
She will favor a nesting spot for about six months, then never go there again. As a kitten she carried socks and steelwool around.
She likes to explore boxes.
I’m told she is spoiled. She knows I love her. She hates being kissed on the lips.
You may have noticed the reference to Hank’s studio. He’s a painter and a sculptor who concentrates on Mexican subjects, especially the Dia de los Muertos. Have a look at his travelblog and his gallery of photographs. He also illustrated George Schaller’s The Last Panda and several books related to the Tao Te Ching.
She’s lovely.
Soft spot for torties. And look at those ferocious claws!
Awww–what a sweet face:-)) Kawaii! Rescue kittehs are the best!
Amen.
And a black tortie, to boot!
b&
Yay torties! She’s cool.
Uncommon beings develope uncommon names: perhaps if you met her, her name would make more sense. More royalty than kat >^,,^<
She looks like a failed Tonkinese to me, they don’t breed true and a quarter of the kittens are blotchy like this kitteh. Beautiful though they are it might explain why they were abandoned.
Whoa, what an exotic looking cat! Makes a nice contrast with that (delightful) write-up confirming her classic kitteh quirks.
From the looks of her, it’s doubtful she’d have tolerated “Beetles” for long…
(Whence both names, please?)
(and forgot to hit the “notify” button yet again…)