This is our cat, Tippy. 
She is not particularly interested in being introduced to you, but since I’ve insisted, she’s allowed me to post a few photos. She knows she is beautiful, you don’t need to tell her. (She’ll listen happily if you do say it, it’s just that she already knows.)
She was a stray – a dilute calico with Scottish fold ears; the vet says she may have been bred by someone. She has really bad teeth, which are the only reason we can imagine that she ended up at the Humane Society.
When we got her, she was skinny and so sick that the vet thought she had a deadly virus called FIPS. They told us she would die within months. She had other ideas, and perhaps out of sheer willfulness, she lived and then thrived. She now looks at each day as a potential new adventure – or a time to sleep. Kind of depends on her mood.
Her early adventures might also explain why she turns into a crazy cat at the vet’s. They call her a “fractious kitty” and she’s only allowed to go to the vet for emergencies. Ahem. Oh, and she will knock anything she can possibly move off of any surface she can possibly reach. Paper, mugs, plants, containers of all sorts and more have met untimely ends since Tippy moved into our house.
She really, really likes children. She likes to play with them. (I swear this video is worth 10 seconds of your time.)
We cannot let her out in the mornings because she will go from bus stop to bus stop to wait with various children – then she will ignore traffic and walk into the street as though cars just aren’t a thing. She goes into the home of the neighbour girls. Just waltzes right in and hangs out with them. She once spent the night in an apartment nearby. They told us she just came in. When she was younger, she ended up on a community Facebook page because she was laying about in the street, reveling. People were worried about her. They also wanted to adopt her.
We tried to turn her into an indoor cat, but she was not interested in that plan. Now, she goes out and then knocks when she’s ready to come in.
She is a completely ridiculous cat.
Persistence and Pedagogy 
A beautiful cat! We have a beautiful tuxedo cat who thinks she’s the diva of the house. She, however, doesn’t like to be held or pet or even paid attention to unless she invites it, which only happens once a day at bedtime. We do love her, though.
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Welcome, Tippy. You’re one lucky cat to have such a caring owner.
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Thanks for the introduction to Tippy. I would love to play with her or have her over for the night.
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She would, no doubt, like to spend the night. Especially if you have kids…
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She is beautiful! And sounds like she has a lot in common with my Ringo. He also likes to tip everything over. His nickname is “Kingo” because he comes and goes as he pleases and definitely rules the roost. I’m glad your sweet lady has a loving home with you and yours. 🙂
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We have a similar one and he is awesome. These two would get along just fine. Cats are the best. When you fine one with a personality like this it makes the world so much better. Love the video. 🙂
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Tippy is just awesome, I love her ears and all her antics. Especially chasing your sons around the house, that is classic. I’ve never met a cat who interacts that much with kids before. She is super special!
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What a personality! I think Tippy needs her own Instagram!
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Your cat is cute, your kids are cuuute, your video was cute. I laughed a lot when I read that your cat is only allowed at the vet for emergencies. Makes me feel a lot better about the behaviour of my doggies. But it’s so adorable that she wants to wait at bus stops with kids! I’ve never heard of a cat doing that before! I loved reading about Tippy.
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This is my favorite post ever! As you knew it would be. I actually squealed out loud when I read your comment on my blog and dashed over here to meet Tippy! Yes, she IS beautiful, and yes, it’s clear she knows it. What I love about this piece is how the story is told in writing and photos and video and how very, very strongly her personality comes through. Tippy is her own cat, but she is willing to share herself with you. The very best kind of cat I think. I always say about Chipotle, he’s his own little man. That sounds cuter and more normal when talking about a boy kitty. I’m not quite sure how to translate that for Tippy. She’s her own little girl, little lady, and little woman all sound offensive and creepy. So I will settle on, she is her own cat. Also, I’m totally sending my mom to read your blog because she’s going to love this. (I might write about HER cats tomorrow!)
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Oh how I wish I could have been there when you read this. ❤
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Cats are so interesting! Ours was a stray. We lived in the country and everyone on our road kept asking us if she was ours. We hadn’t seen her because we had a dog at the time. Then one day she just walked right into the yard and said, “I live here now. Feed me.” That was 15 years ago! She is now “Chief Manufacturer of Crises” around here.
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Tippy seems like an adventurer. Her visits to others’ homes reminds me of the book, Six Dinner Sid. I enjoyed the pictures and the video!
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Will have to look for this one!
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What a gorgeous cat. Tippy sounds like she has a fantastic personality!
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She really is a great cat.
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This was just the post I needed to read after a couple of long days finishing up report cards! Tippy is a delight! I love how you captured her personality with your words and your photos. Clearly she’s an integral part of your family 🙂
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What a fun addition to your family. Clearly she picked the right fur ever home.
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“Fur-ever home” That’s awesome.
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Loved the video, Amanda– you’re right, it was worth 10 seconds. I loved the part where you explained how she survived her death sentence and then became a fractious kitty. Just those two details say a whole lot about her!
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What self-respecting cat plays chase? Only a fractious kitty, apparently!
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As I read about Tippy spending the night at the neighbor’s … and other escapades, I thought of two picture books: “Charlie Anderson” by Barbara Ambercrombie… a cat that lives in two different homes, and “Slinky Milinky” by Lynley Dodd, a cat who lives a different life at night.
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Ooh – I will need to find them both immediately. Neither appears to be in our public library, but I have my ways… Thanks for the recommendations.
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I love the name! So fitting. I’m happy to have been introduced. (You be sure to let her know).
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The post has already gone to her head… heeheehee
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Shes gorgeous. Love her facial coloring and her big eyes. What a really awesome slice. Thanks for sharing the video! LOL!!!
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Reminds me of my daughter’s tortoise shell. a Friend used to call her “devil in fur” but we call her Chloe. She’s about 18 years old and much more calm now. You were right about the video. So cute.
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Tippy picture-book series? This slice proves she has ample stories to tell and a willing, well-situated teller.
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Elisabeth did send me the link to your blog post, and I’m so glad!! Tippy is just beautiful!! I loved the story-in-pictures, and the video was wonderful! We once had a cat Weet-Weet who would chase Elisabeth like this, although he may have been more serious about her as prey since he would leap and try to grab her running legs. I am such a sucker for enjoying other people’s cat photos and stories, so thank you for sharing yours!
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Oh, and I’m all in for a Tippy picture book series!
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Oh my! I’ve been waiting for this post! It just makes me want to jump up and down and scream, “I love Tippy!” Tippy is awesome and meeting her was totally worth the wait. I was a kid-shaped cat lady, and I carry those little kitties and their idiosyncracies around in my heart. Your story brought back memories of all my little weirdos, so thank you.
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