Charybdis

This is Charybdis watching Fenris when she feels safely out of reach.

This is Charybdis when she feels that Fenris is getting a bit too close. You can see her back beginning to arch a little and her tail beginning to puff a little bit. Charybdis can't decide how she feels about Fenris. She thinks that he would be fun to play with and gives him play signals, like rolling on her back and waving her paws in the air, but when he gets close, she jumps up, arches her back, puffs her tail, then runs from him. Of course he gives chase, thinking that it's all part of the game she wants to play. Eventually Charybdis will jump up on something out of reach and calms down again. It may be that Charybdis does want to play, but finds Fenris a bit too big close up to be comfortable with. Charybdis has always been the cautious kitty of the household. She is the first one to startle and run from anything new or strange.

Scylla and Charybdis were originally taken in as fosters. They were abandoned or orphaned at three weeks old and needed to be bottle fed. The Mom got very attached to them and asked the Dad, "They're so adorable. Can we keep them?"

The Dad replied, "Only if you let me name them."

The Mom thought it over and agreed, "If you stick to girl names, you may name them."

Charybdis was a hungry kitten and could suck down her bottle of kitten formula in nothing flat, which reminded the Dad of the Greek myth of Charybdis who could cause a whirlpool by sucking in the sea, so he named her Charybdis. Scylla was the natural complement to that.

Charybdis is a very active cat and can tear around the house like her tail was on fire, though she doesn't cause the chaos that her sister does. She also likes to climb some, but not nearly as much as Scylla. Charybdis mostly does her climbing outdoors in the tree or jungle gym. She hunts, like her siblings, but isn't as much interested in it as the other two. She loves to pounce Scylla and start a round of kitty wrestling. She also loves to play with toys and anything that she can turn into a toy. She will go on a walk with the Mom and Fenris, when Fenris is on a leash, and she stays ahead of him far enough for her to be comfortably sure that she can't get to her. She has been known to share the couch with Mom and Fenris, with Fenris in Mom's lap and Charybdis on the back of the couch. She is something of a lap kitty and will take any lap that's offered when she's in the mood.

                                        Charybdis is the cautious one.
                                        Though she thinks Fenris could be fun,
                                                       When him too close she'll see,
                                                       She'll puff up and flee.
                                         She wants both to play and to run.