Malinka From The North
From Guest Blogger Skadi:
Malinka was rescued during a terrible thunderstorm some years ago. It took her two weeks to come out of hiding and begin to trust. She quickly learned that dogs could be warned off with the dreadful Siamese Hiss, which ones does showing as many sharp, pointy teeth as possible.
As soon as she became used to other cat and dog members of our family she began to relax. Her message was: “I’m Malinka and I’m the baddest girl in town”. Nothing was safe from her, and she knew all the ways to draw attention to herself. The bed became her Queendom, and any other cat coming up was subjected to the savage leap and rush, paws and claws before her, to knock her rivals off the bed. Then she would roll.
It became impossible to read a book in bed. As soon as I started, this wicked seal-painted she-devil’s face would pop up above the book, and puncture it with a fang before disappearing again. Many is the time I came home to find a new or cherished book, with corners neatly chewed off, and numerous puncture holes in the front cover.
I named her for an old movie poster: “Malenka the Vampire”, showing this fierce, yet free, woman, her mouth open to display large and wonderfully fake vampire teeth. It suited the temperament of our Malinka perfectly, Although there was definitely nothing false about her little vampire fangs. But in all this, we love her; how can we not?
