Temperament


Mists love to play in water, love to investigate, need to be occupied with new surroundings, visitors, toys or activities, love to perch on your shoulders and often ride around the house there, oblivious as to the difficulty their human may have in completing tasks with kitty in that position!

They love to distract you when you are on the phone or on the keyboard. By the way, they are convinced they can operate a computer and will often take part in the phone conversation. They love to sleep with you (I’ve just been asked by Ellie to correct that – “sleep on you” she says).

Mists will spend hours playing in a bathtub with an inch or so of water in it, chasing a ping pong ball in and out of the water; be quite happy chasing a “spiderman” (def: a number of pipe cleaners joined in the middle with legs twisted to resemble: a spider, of course!) around the room while you catch up on chores.  They love carry a toy from one end of the house to another placing it behind various pieces of furniture, burying it under mats, or behind the TV as you watch with intrigue whilst reading last weeks paper. Mists will also carry on a conversation with you, complete with tonal changes and definite opinions on the topic, as they lay back in your arms and direct your hand to the right spot for a tummy rub!

Mists do need a degree of activity – an indoor environment in which to live permanently is a necessity, but also appreciated is a safe outdoor area accessible from the house. Mists love to interact from a safe vantage point with the garden and birds, so developing a safe outdoor enclosure for your Australian Mist will enhance kitty’s life immeasurably. This not only also helps to occupy their time but we believe, gives balance to their souls as “cats”, without the difficulties which come with having an outside cat: wondering where your cat is, whether he will make it home tonight, or what danger he has become embroiled in, away from the safety of home.

So we often feel that a Mist makes a home complete! Whilst we had had domestic shorthaired cats before, we were always also devoted big dog people but then, life took a hand in forcing the issue and we found we needed to downsize our pets and change species. So we had in mind, when choosing Australian Mists cats, that we wanted a dog in a cat’s body - a “Cog” as we called them so transferring our primary interests and expectations from dogs to cats. We can happily say that the Australian Mist cat fits the criteria to a “C”.

We feel that the Australian Mist Cat is an ideal companion for those who are would-be dog owners - all this without needing to take the dog for a walk or spend time bathing, grooming and attending to the doggie needs of that species. In all, the Australian Mist cat – a wonderful animal which may well be a species all of its own??