Our friends Lee and Brenda have a nickname for Mr. Meow: the Pet Sematary cat.
Why?
Because sometimes he’s awfully creepy looking. Heck, sometimes he acts awfully creepy.
Don’t get me wrong. He’s a beautiful cat. (And I’m not just saying that because I’m his mom and am biased. He is a good looking fella!)
He’s a Nebelung, which are known for their gorgeous silvery fur. He’s also got a regal air about him. In fact, his good looks are why my mom abandoned her non-cat ways and allowed herself to fall in love with him.
Well, that and because she’s one of the only other people he’s ever showed his loving and frisky side to. Most times people try to make friends with him and receive a mighty hiss, sometimes a bite, maybe even a swipe, and a nasty glare.
The swipe isn’t very concerning. Unlike Tabby, he has no claws. But the way he wields his paws is pretty impressive. It’s easy to forget he doesn’t have any tiny lances to back up his fuss with.
His bites are never really piercing either. But he’s so quick to do it it catches people off guard.
But that stare…it is pretty potent. It has been known to stop people and other dogs dead in their tracks. Even Tucker the 80 pound wonder dog, Mr. Happy Go Lucky, backed down when he tried to greet Mr. Meow after Mr. Meow shot him one of his withering glares.
I laugh when people are apprehensive around him. (Which, I might add, he seems to enjoy.) Because I know a totally different side of my creepy cat. The loving, playful, maestro Meow.
But when I try to tell people who’ve only seen his dark side any of that, they won’t believe it. To them he’ll always be the creepy cat.
That’s why I rarely confess to them what his breed name means when translated. Nebelung is German for “Creature of the Mist.”
To some he may seem like a creepy Pet Sematary kind of creature, but to me he’s a kooky, ornery, love bug kind of creature. And it’s nice to know he doesn’t share that side with just anyone! (Although I think he would if they spent more time with him. It’s taken Wayne seven years to read Mr. Meow. Now he knows that he’s not biting to be mean most times, he’s actually trying to play.)