This is my (and my boyfriend's) cat TAZ (aka Taz Man, Taz Raz, Taz Meraz). He's got a few nicknames that make absolutely no sense. Taz is about 1 year old. We rescued him from a cage at the SPCA here in New Glasgow Nova Scotia, despite the warnings from the manager that he was a meankitty. Mean or not, he did not deserve to be in that cold cage. At first, he was cuddly and cute but that all changed. It was a ploy.

Now, at 12 pounds and growing, he terrorizes the household and has his way with any loose object he can find. He has torn paint off the walls with his back claws. He gets torqued at random intervals and does what we call the "matrix" -- jump off the walls, jumping up and kicking off with his back feet, digging those sharps claws in. We replace the shower curtain once a week.  It is not unusual to find a baseball-sized hole here and there.

The meanest part of Taz, though, is the torture he puts our other cat through. Streak is 16 and very proper. And ironically we got Taz to be Streak's friend! So much for that idea. Taz attacks him at all hours of the day and night. He bites his belly and back legs, pulling out as much of Streak's white fur as he can get in his mouth, while Streak screams for someone to rescue him. Occasionally, Streak will attempt to protect himself with a tap on Taz's head, but a "tap" never seems to help. Taz chases him through the house, breaking glass ornaments, dumping ashtrays, and knocking the phone off the hook and hitting the speed dial, calling a few relatives here and there. They know now if there is no response to just say, "Hello Streak, Hello Taz" and hang up.

To sum up Taz, he does what he wants, when he wants. He IS the boss. He bites, scratches, breaks things, hides things, and constantly submits Streak to fur-pulling antics. Taz is truly a meankitty.