As it is coming up to two years since we got Izzy (she was Missy previously), I thought I would let you know that she is still happy and thriving living with us.
To get your email address, I looked back to the email you sent me when we were interested in ‘Missy’, when you said she could be very loving but could also be a ‘little madam’!! Believe me she still is a ‘little madam’, she will fuss and fuss, then without warning will sink her teeth into the nearest hand. She tends to bite Susan more than I, and as well as the ‘I’ve had enough fussing now’ type of bite, Susan tends to get the ‘please feed me NOW’ type of bite.
Up to 12 months ago, she could come across as being quite aggressive at times, in fact we consulted a cat behaviourist to ask for advice. The lady was lovely, but according to her we needed to completely redesign our house and prevent any other cats from accessing our garden. Now that was never going to happen, as we live in this house as well as Izzy, and we also have a stray that we have fed for nearly 3 years so she still has to be allowed into the garden (sleeps in my shed). We did take on some advice from the behaviourist such as getting Izzy a larger scratching post and using a ‘string type’ toy to play with her to get rid of some of her excess energy and this has settled her down quite a lot. (She still runs after her mouse toys like a kitten, yet she is about 12 now!) She puts up with the neighbourhood cats – some she sees off, and some she ignores (she is always braver when there is a window between her and one of the others!)
She has her routines (sleeping most of the day). Of an evening she jumps on my lap then walks over to sit on Susan’s for the rest of the evening (never jumps straight up onto Susan – always has to walk over me first!) Mornings she comes upstairs and lies as close as she can to my head. You will see from the attached photo that I have to draw the duvet up over my head (who wants a cat’s bottom in their face first thing in the morning….?) and I have to place my arm over my head, as the tail tends to swish from side to side, and tickles my face!
Thank you once again for allowing us to adopt ‘The Izzlecat’, she truly is a wonderful character.
