Calypso preparing to take a nap.

From The Odyssey.  We were desperately trying to think of names when Chris picked up Bulfinch's Mythology and ran into it.  After we decided on the name, it occurred to us that she is the second cat we've named after a character in The Odyssey.  Penelope was the first one.

Other names considered:  Wasabi, Kyoto, Eve, Geneva.  We really liked Wasabi, but it didn't quite fit her.  We'll have to save it for a future animal.  A few months after we acquired Calypso, we used the name Geneva for someone else.

Frizz. Other nicknames include:
Frizz-Britches
Frizz-Business
The Princess
Calypso-facto

Nauseatingly cute as a kitten, Calypso grew up to be a very pretty long-haired calico.  She's quite large for a girl and before we changed the way we feed our cats, she'd been starting to get a bit hefty. With the diet change she went from 15 pounds, 9 ounces (7.0 kg) to 13 pounds, 14 ounces (6.2 kg), which is a good weight for her. She's not a big eater, but is on the lazy side.

Her eyes were blue when we got her but gradually changed to a lovely amber-orange.

She's not overly talkative, but when she does have something to say, it comes out in a rather drawn-out, petulant sounding Meeeeeeeewwww.  When playing with Goo (Arlo), she says Brrrr?  Brrrr? constantly.  She rarely does that at any other time.

She usually purrs and makes a few biscuits when she's getting ready to take a nap.  She also enjoys nursing on her own front leg (always the left one), making a rather loud sucking noise as she does so.

In late 2004 - early 2005, we lost a significant number of animals - - some to old age, and our pigeons and chickens to a horrid accident.  It was a depressing time.  Since we'd lost two cats (Jessamyn and Obsidian) we were both vaguely hoping a kitten would turn up.  Kittens make everything better.

On April 1, a friend e-mailed me with the news that a feral cat had had six kittens in a barn belonging to a friend of a friend, then moved five of them and left one little girl behind.  A couple of phone calls later, and we'd arranged to adopt her the following day.

Feisty as a baby, but much calmer and more cautious as an adult.  In a short time, Calypso went from Helpless Bottle-fed Baby to Holy Terror.  As a kitten, when she was awake, she played non-stop, chased the adult cats, and bit us.  At this time, she's not terribly cuddly, but she does like to sleep with people.

Every so often, she climbs into my lap and almost every day she greets me at the door when I come home from work.  She's getting a little more affectionate as she gets older, but I doubt she'll ever be a lap cat.

None so far.

Hanging out with the dogs, playing tag with Solentiname, taking naps, and looking out the porch windows.

Dubh and Solentiname play with her the most.  Oddly, Andromeda tried to pick her up by the scruff and carry her around when we first got her, but has given that up now.  Molly liked her at first, but mostly steers clear of her now that she's larger.

She loves dogs.  Finian was her first love, followed by MacKenzie.  For some reason, Finian acted like a worried mother cat when we first got her.  He was beside himself and probably would have nursed her if he'd been equipped to do so.  Fortunately, he settled down a bit after about a week.  Whenever MacKenzie comes in, she runs over to him and rubs all over him.  She meets Creedence in the yard during Supervised Outdoor Playtime and lets him lick her.

She thought it was frightening for a while, but doesn't care much about it now.