The Hound Cat

Murzik actually even was not my cart. He was my grandad's cat. It was cold Ukrainian February when he as a kitten meowed sitting on the garbage place. My granddad had heard the kitten for three or four days from his flat at the fourth floor and then just brought the cat home. He always loved cats but my grandma was always against having one at home. Murzik appeared to be a teenage cat rather than a small kitten. He was scared and hungry and cold. For many years he would be terrified with a thought of going outside. And he would always purr only asking for food, as some kind of gratitude. And of course new owner spoiled him very quickly. As result the pet could not only scratch as a cat (and did it hard while playing with you), but also could bite as a dog. Once he tried to bite my cousin, who luckily had a good reaction and raised his hand higher in time. As result the cat hung on the sleeve of his shirt with clenched jaws just like a bulldog, meowing like "put me down" but not agreed to let the arm go. He also could attack people. One of his favorite tricks was to lick your hand and then to bite at the exactly the same place. I joked that he disinfects the place before biting. That's why sometimes he was locked in the bathroom when guests came. However usually it was as a form of play, without real aggression, though quite careless play.

But then he started to hound one specific person. It happened soon after my granddad passed away. When my grandma's nephew came next time the cat started really hound him. And it was not the only time. The situation repeated many times with this exact person: Murzik attacked him and it looked like the cat wanted to tear the man into pieces. The cat was really offensive with him. It was strange as he still behaved the same way as before with other people. And this person came before many times and never had so "hot welcome" from the cat... Now the pet was definitely locked in the bathroom in advance when he was going to come. I was 15 at that time and I probably was the only person who knew what the matter was. I think I never told adults about it. I was there that day, when my grandma's nephew came soon after my granddad's death. He dared to wear grandad's slippers... cat did not like it at all. Neither did I. If I were a cat, I would react the same way. Or maybe with not so much direct aggression but trying something more sophisticated like to pee in the boot or to scratch a coat. But I was not a cat, and humans usually do not do such things. So I mainly tried to avoid him after that case. But cats can do what they want and what they think to be fair. And Murzik obviously thought that this person must be punished and punished hard.

Despite all his behavior Murzik was a beloved cat. My grandmother never tried to get rid of him even when she got sick. Being totally home cat for many years, he started to go outside at some point: another cat slipped to the flat one day, and he was shocked that other cats exist around, and moreover - cats-girls. After this situation he started to go to the staircase first, then to go other floors and then outside at last. And once he never came back.