Pixie was the last of three girl kittens born to a cat that belonged to a friend of ours back in 2003. We were present as she emerged, tail first.

I picked her because she had one grey and white sister with all pink toes, one solid grey sister with all black toes, and Pixie was white and tabby with a mix of pink and black toes. She also had a black nose on a white face, but I got over the fact her nose turned pink ages ago…

One cat, one kitten, looking tough.
Pixie and Kitty looking staunch. January 2004.
Sadly, Kitty passed away early 2015, so he won’t be joining us.

We brought her home at 6 weeks old as all three kittens had developed conjunctivitis, and we wanted to give Pixie a chance to clear it. We picked her up late after Christmas and introduced her to Griffin, our Cairn Terrier (may he rest in peace) and Kitty, our other cat. Kitty hissed and walked away. Griffin, of course, was very interested.

Pixie put on a big display, hissing and puffing herself up.

We popped her in our pet carrier to sleep for the night.

In the morning, I opened the door of the carrier and this kitten strolled out and tried to rub up against Griffin’s chest. He didn’t know what to make of it, as he’d never had a cat show him affection before.

And so began the somewhat uneasy relationship between our pets.

Cat looking up at camera. Pixie. White and Tabby.
Pixie
Deb E was born in New Zealand’s North Island, but her parents corrected that within months, moving south to Dunedin and staying there. Childhood nights were spent falling asleep to cover versions of Cliff Richard and the Shadows and other Rock ’n Roll classics played by her father’s band, and days were spent dancing to 45 LPs. Many of her first writing experiences were copying down song lyrics. She graduated to scientific reports when she studied a nematophagus fungus in the Zoology department of the University of Otago, trading all traces of popularity for usefulness… then traded both for fiction. Mum of one human & four fur-babies.

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