What makes Tess so mean?

I got Tess for Christmas in '01. My husband saved her life also (see Trooper for other cat saved). He bought her at a (ugh!) pet store. She had pneumonia; the vet said she would have been dead in a few days if we hadn't gotten her. All her whiskers had fallen off due to her long fever. 

Now healthy and grown, she walks right up to our German Shepherd and attacks her face, a full kitty hug. Whenever I strip the bed, she has to jump right in the middle and is so stubborn I've often had to make the bed around her. For some reason she won't drink water out of her bowl...she waits until we get out of the shower and jumps in to drink out of the drain, or demands that we cup our hands and give it to her right then. She is so smart she opens every door in the house, but she is never content to just crack them. She insists on pushing them till they are open ALL the way. 

Our other cat is an outdoor cat and one day on our walk, he brought her a still living vole to "play with." She grabbed it and proceeded to carry it around, growling like a tiger, even though it kept biting her so she would drop it. It would stagger a few feet and then she would pounce again. She hides on the window sill and if you move she will attack you through the blinds. We have to be careful walking by a window with the blinds closed...you never know if a cat claw will come shooting out at you.

Photo submitted by: Stephanie
Date last updated: 11/01/05