Mephistopheles Meets the Big Outdoors!

@owlwings (43915)
Cambridge, England
July 24, 2016 7:45am CST
The first time that you venture into the big world outside is both exciting and scary when you are quite small. I had been to the doctor's for my 'necessary' operation (and microchipping) and I had recovered well from the anaesthetic. She had said not to let me out for 48 hours so here we were, two days later and it was a glorious sunny morning, so Dad opened the big glass. That was strange, to begin with! All those strange and confusing smells and sounds came right into the room! At first I didn't believe that the glass wasn't there. The mat outside the door looked strange and I didn't like to venture a paw onto it for a long time but then, very gingerly I touched it and it seemed alright. It wasn't long before I came out very carefully. There were lots of flies and things which I had to try and catch. The stones were warm and seemed quite safe. I didn't like the grass, though, so I just sat on the stones. I did have to go through the fence to see about those other cats I had seen through the window and could smell. I met one (the tortoiseshell) one and that made me get large, like a bottle-brush! That was a bit scary, too, but Dad came and rescued me. After a while, it was time to go back indoors again. I had some food and a drink and then I slept for the WHOLE afternoon! Boy, is outside EXHAUSTING!
31 people like this
27 responses
@JudyEv (323673)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Jul 16
Well done Mephistopheles! What a brave little cat you are.
2 people like this
@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
31 Jul 16
What a gorgeous kitty! .. unusual name too ..
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@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
31 Jul 16
He is all black and has a decidedly mischeivous streak (though he is remarkably gentle for a kitten). I don't know where 'Mephistopheles' came from. It was the name that came into my head the first time I met him, so I can only imagine that he communicated it to me telepathically!
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@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
2 Aug 16
@epiffanie Actually, Mephistopheles was a demon or spirit in a German folk tale about a doctor who sold his soul to the Devil. Look up "Doctor Faustus" by Christopher Marlowe or "Faust" by the German author, Goethe. It certainly is a tongue-twister and may either come from the Hebrew (meaning something like 'sower of lies' or from the Greek meaning 'not light-loving' (but I looked those meanings up after I gave him the name). Of the two meanings, I prefer the second because he seems to become particularly active around dusk and behaves like a little demon (as most kittens do from time to time). I actually call him "Misty" or "Little Cat" when I'm talking to him and he answers to both.
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@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
2 Aug 16
@owlwings that name is tongue twister .. but it sounds like a name of a warrior from the ancient land of Mesopotamia..
@shaggin (71573)
• United States
31 Jul 16
Aww I loved reading that. What a pretty cat.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
31 Jul 16
He is, indeed, a very smart cat! Who wouldn't want a black cat? To think that he was given away because everyone preferred his tabby and tortoishell siblings!
@shaggin (71573)
• United States
31 Jul 16
@owlwings When my daughter was a baby my husband brought home a kitten that looked very similar to the one in your photo.
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@pgntwo (22412)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
24 Jul 16
Won't be long before you're sprinting across the lawn and up the nearest tree, or fencepost...
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@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
25 Jul 16
No, it won't be long! He already climbs doors and curtains (and then wonders how he's going to get down)!
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@Hanyouyomi (2187)
• Dallas, Texas
29 Jul 16
Mephistopheles is a girl? Dear Lord... Give me strength...
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@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
29 Jul 16
Heavens no! Mephistopheles is very much a little tomcat! ... Errr .... well, not quite so much any longer, actually, but his character is that of a nine-year old boy!
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
29 Jul 16
@Hanyouyomi 'She' in my post might have confused you but it's not a typo. It refers to the doctor (veterinarian) who gave permission for 'Misty' (the shortened form of Mephistopheles I use to avoid dislocating my tongue) to have his first adventure out of doors.
• Dallas, Texas
29 Jul 16
@owlwings Right, I was reminded of that when I went back over your post questioning why he was staring at his reflection in the water. Unfortunately, the damage is already done. See the reason why I ended my comment with "Dear Lord... Give Me Strengh..." is because when I was reading this post, I was listening to a song titled "March Of Mephisto" by a band called "Kamelot" on my ipod.(Link: And well music and I have a strange relationship as listening to Jazz, Symphonies, Metal, or anything exotic will trigger these animated scenarios in my head. So in reading your post and read the typo "she," I got these scenarios of a catgirl(something akin to this roughly: http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/darkstalkers/images/4/45/Felicia_Darkstalkers_3.png/revision/latest?cb=20140311010424) adventuring through a forest and warding off enemies with fire. And when she's asked her name, she addresses herself as "Mephistopheles." Oh and By the way, she transforms into a regular black house cat... So yeah, damage done, and I did it to myself, accidentally.
1st track from "The Black Halo" album. All sound recording and images are copyrighted by their respective copyright owners. Roy Khan -- vocals. Thomas Youngb...
@5thHouse (1678)
• Sheffield, England
7 Sep 16
I remember the first time my kitten, Charlie, ventured outside. He cried every time we tried to bring him back in.
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@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
7 Sep 16
Mephistopheles has been out several times now and is quite a dutiful kitten so far (there are signs that he'll do what most cats do - ignore their owners when it pleases them). At the moment, he comes trotting back when called I do let him have quite a bit of fun while he's out, though, and show interest in what he discovers. Today he chased off one of the neighbour's cats but got spat at by the other one who sees my garden as HIS territory.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
30 Jul 16
What an impressive cat photo! Indeed venturing into the outside world for the first time is scary but exciting.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64363)
• United Kingdom
24 Jul 16
What a charming post - loved it. I feel sorry for 'inside cats' - they must miss so much.
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@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
25 Jul 16
I think that cats should be outdoors, really, though especially when there are other cats in the neighbourhood, going out is somewhat stressfull for a cat ... not that one doesn't benefit from a certain amount of stress!
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@GreatMartin (23678)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
9 Aug 16
And after that you wouldn't get off the grass!!! You found it a lot of fun to play with and in!
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@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
25 Jul 16
that sounds like quite the adventure! Are you perhaps going to go adventuring another day?
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@paigea (35511)
• Canada
17 Aug 16
That would take the whole afternoon to recover from!
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Aug 16
Awwww! How adorable! I'm glad you had a great time! :-)
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@Y_to_Y (58)
• India
25 Jul 16
A she's so cute.... Good luck for the further adventures... :)
www...
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@Naryas (160)
• India
10 Aug 16
Mephistopheles! You have a lovely name.
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@silvermist (19706)
• India
25 Jul 16
Hello Msty .glad that you enjoyed going outside. As being outside can be dangerous Go out only when dad is around..
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• United States
24 Jul 16
what a delightful tale'f that sweet kittens adventures 'f the day :)
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@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
24 Jul 16
what a brave and curious little chap you are.... i'm glad you enjoyed your first trip out in the big wide world.... have fun... but be careful out there....
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@Poppylicious (11133)
24 Jul 16
Awww, so cute! For me there's always the fear that something will happen while they're outside. But my boy cat is a complete wuss ... he'll run away from a car that's outside even though he's inside and has never seen a car come in the house. So silly. I hope your little one has oodles of adventures!
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@Vivenda (583)
• Portsmouth, England
24 Jul 16
I'm sure you'll be terrorising all the local birds and squirrels in no time!
1 person likes this
• Canada
24 Jul 16
To be completely honest, the name Mephistopheles is what drew my attention to this post-;), but he looks amazing, such an air of sophistication in his eyes...and so handsomely dressed-worthy of such a sophisticated name in literature. Mmmm, I still have a bit of goth in me.
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