Portrait of Bumble Buzz, world's best cat

Bumble Buzz was born in Spring of 1995 on the Island of Coronado and given to me by a former co-worker at the Union-Tribune, Kris Lindblad, whose black and white cat Jack had gotten knocked up with kittens. He told me the Bumble-to-be was a little white kitten, and I wasn't really interested, but I took a look anyway. What he didn't tell me was that she had pretty little blue eyes and Siamese features. Since a couple of my favorite childhood cats, Raymond and Cujo, were Siamese, I have a soft spot in my heart for them. Bumble Buzz is the best of both worlds, with the striking features of a Siamese, but none of the nasty temperament.

Bumble Buzz is named after a comic book character within a comic book. Bumble Buzz is the favorite character of HR Watson, heroine of Paul Pope's THB, which was one of my favorite comic books at the time.

Look at Bumble Buzz's head. Notice she's got an "M" on her forehead. Cool, huh?

The "M," I think, stands for "Mighty Layman," which just goes to show you how devoted she is to me.



I got Bumble because I thought maybe my fat mean old cat Sparky, who didn't seem to like me much, would maybe loosen up if she had a friend. Not so; Sparky was simply destined to be a grouchy cat all her life. She and Bumble Buzz got along well enough, but I wouldn't really call them friends.



Bumble was a mischievous kitten, running all over my one bedroom apartment as fast as her clumsy old paws would carry her. I'd only had her for about a week, and I came home and she was limping. I waited a couple days to she if she would get better (which was a mistake.) When I finally took her to the vet they told me she had broken the ball socket to her leg that went into her hip. They said it would cost more than $600 bucks to give her a bionic hip. Everybody said I should just put her to sleep and get a new kitten but Kim Peterson talked me into paying the money. Turns out it was the best $600 I ever spent, better even than a Cerebus page, as little Bumble grew up to be the sweetest, most devoted cat you could ever imagine.

The great irony, of course, is that surely Kim Peterson regrets saving Bumble Buzz's life, since they both complete for my affection, and, as if often the case in archetypal fiction, the Wicked Stepmother is not favored so much as the spoiled Little Princess.



Here's why Bumble Buzz is the greatest cat ever: When she was a kitten -since Sparky was so unfriendly and also because I needed to keep an eye on her while her bionic hip healed- every night before bed I would clear a little area next to my pillow and lay her down and pet her. Now Bumble Buzz is all grown up and the highlight of her day (or night) is to lie down beside me on the bed and sleep next to me. Sometimes I even wake up laying my head on her, like she is a furry living pillow. And she loves it so much: Every night, around 11 p.m., or whenever she deems it time for me to go to bed, she starts meowing at me, her sweet, melodic meow, as if telling me it's time to go to bed. And then the second I'm in bed she is beside me, purring and purring with the happiest little smile on her face. She loves her master!



Don't let this little picture of domestic bliss fool you. We got Batty Ruggles to be a friend to Bumble Buzz, but Kim picked Batty out, and because she knows very little about cats, she was unable to tell that Batty is actually Evil Incarnate. Batty is the yin to Bumble Buzz's angelic yang. Shortly after this picture was taken, Batty pounced upon the pure-hearted Bumble and tried to scratch her eyes out. I suspect that Batty is... THE DEVIL!!

When I realize Batty was such a foul, vile, evil creature. I decided that I must once and for all KILL THE BAT! Click here for my botched murder attempt.



Never fear! While Batty appears to have the upper hand in this kitty-cat clash, the fact is Bumble is a natural born predator and nine times out of ten she kicks little Batty Ruggle's furry ass. And yet, Batty never seems to learn, because they play like this EVERY day, and every day Bumble pummels the vile little Batty-Bat.