Portrait : Karine and Mushu

Les Néréides Loves Animals presents Karine, consultant in human resources in reconversion to become a primary school teacher, and her cat Mushu.

– Who is she?

Mushu, 9 months old, a female domestic long-haired cat, tortoiseshell color.

– Can you tell us about your first meeting?

In Auvergne, at my cousin’s house who had recovered Mushu from a friend of hers. We enjoyed a festive barbecue in the garden for the weekend of July 14th. During the meal, Mushu came to snuggle on my lap and fell asleep, her little nose stuck between my legs and her legs hanging in the air. Impossible to resist, we brought her back to Paris with us by car, still on my knees.

– Does she have a nickname and if so, why?

So many nicknames! Mucchu Picchu, in reference to Macchu Picchu. My father started calling her that and we kept it! But also Muchette, Chouchou, and sometimes the squirrel, because of her pretty tail.

– What’s her best quality?

she is easy-going, very adaptable and sociable: we can bring her anywhere with us, change her environment without her being disturbed, have her looked after by other people … She’s a “city cat” and a “countryside cat” at once!

– What’s her biggest flaw?

She is very playful, it’s cute … Except when she attacks our ankles to have fun! She rubs against us and with no warning, she pinches us with her small teeth… Ever since she was a little girl, she’s been doing that when we are in the bathroom.

– What’s the naughtiest thing that she has done?

She broke a big mirror resting on a piece of furniture… Her game was to go and hide behind it until one day she pushed it a bit too far (or because she had become fatter), the mirror slipped and exploded to the ground into a thousand pieces. Also, like rabbits, she likes to cut electric cables…

– And what’s the most unusual anecdote you have lived with her?

An outing in the snow in the mountains where we brought her with us during a ski holiday. To make her get some fresh air, we let her out… She ran in the snow and, surprised and a little frightened, she went to take refuge in the apartment of a Dutch family! Another time, in our country house, we discovered in the morning that she was trying to talk to the birds: she was looking at the sparrows and trying to make the same small squeaks. Too funny !

– What does her presence bring you on a daily basis?

Joy (chasing after her in the apartment, in the stairs of our building or in the garden in the countryside), comfort, company, moments of fun, complicity …

– Which rescue did you go through to find her?

Originally, we contacted a Parisian rescue, but we found their approach a little too restrictive… We were asked to fill a lot of criteria and even install screens on the windows! As we also told our entourage that we wanted a cat, my cousin told us when the cat of one of her friends in the countryside made a litter of 6 kittens… And the good news of the story is that all could be given away!