Mewsette’s Pretty Face
The sun shone in just long enough this morning to catch Mewsette watching me in the kitchen.
Her brothers are much more camera-savvy than she is; in fact, Mewsette is about as un-selfconscious as a cat can be, so I know she’s never posing.
When Mewsette was a kitten I remember thinking she was slightly strange because she was so distant, spending the entire day in the basement earning her nickname “Basement Cat”, never asking for affection though she never turned it down. Perhaps it was the contrast with her needy brothers, but also in those days Mimi, her mom, was still in her “I’m not going to get attached to this” phase and I thought Mewsette had just inherited that trait from her mom.
Then when she was ready, at about 18 months, she began following me around and talking to me, purring and tenderizing my hand or my arm kneading with her big paws and trimmed claws. Now we have head butts and nose-taps—both of us, as she apparently thinks I’m some big hairless cat—and I’ll catch her sitting to watch me with this very intent expression when I’m standing up at my work in the kitchen or in my studio.
And she has grown quite beautiful, big and husky, fuzzy thick fur and very rounded features, perfectly round green, green eyes and long, graceful whiskers like waterfalls on either side of her face. My big “Mousse”, a sweet and gentle girl.
I’ve also always loved to look at their eyes when their pupils were just like a single thread holding a button onto their fur.
She is such a pretty kitty. What a devoted face that is Mewsette. Sure shows how much you love that Mom of yours. What a wonderful face.
She’s a ham for the camera too–if she’s not looking right at me, she’s studiously ignoring me!
Such a beauty. I love what you said about her pupils being a single thread holding a button in place – pure poetry!
Chris, it’s always been a visual metaphor for me, even when I was little–lately it’s been an actual inspiration as another idea forms…
What a lovely post — &, of course, a lovely Mewsette, Bernadette. You really capture here the way friendship grows between humans and cats — and how rewarding it is when the seemingly aloof ones decide to let you in.
Tammy, I know you understand those aloof personalities. Most of mine were rescues, not kittens I’d handled practically from birth, and it’s really hard to have patience and not grab them and force myself on them. But I’ve had a feeling about Mewsette from the beginning, and she was worth the wait.
I have such a soft spot for lovely black kitteh girls 🙂 My own Gazza is such a beauty, and she holds my heart in her delicate, velvet paws <3
What a lovely comment, Eve–those velvet paws are one of my favorite things.
Beautiful! I love the photo of lovely Mewsette and your lovely post about her as well.
I call her my “little sister” and my “girlfriend”, especially now that we hang together.
What a beautiful girl – total sweetness in that little face!
Ingrid, she is also Cookie’s understudy, so I’ll be in good hands for a long time to come.