Zazzles and Her Multiple Personalities

Hi, I'm Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and meet my five hilarious cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles.

This is Zazzles. Zazzles is our most timid, quiet, and shy cat, and it is not unusual for us to go days without seeing her, apart from when she skulks out to grab a bite to eat. She is most often found hiding in my wardrobe.

This is also Zazzles. She rolls around on our bed and sofa, meowing until she gets a fuss, loving a tummy tickle and back scratch. She will often be found sprawled out on my bed or soaking up the sunshine on a window sill.

A Checkered Past

Zazzles was brought into the veterinary hospital where my (now) husband and I worked, and she was in quite a sorry state. Extremely thin and covered in fleas, she was desperately in need of flea and worming treatment and plenty of TLC. She limped on one of her back legs but didn’t show any signs of pain when it was manipulated. X-rays showed an old fracture that had healed incorrectly, resulting in a shortened limb. Repairing the old fracture would be difficult and painful, and amputation was a bit extreme. So although she walks with a limp, it doesn’t slow her down, and she runs and jumps as well as any of our other cats.

For the first 2-3 years that she lived with us, we barely saw Zazzles. She would emerge for meals, then disappear back into one of her favorite hiding spots, and she certainly wouldn’t emerge if there were visitors in the house.

After we moved to Cornwall, things started to change…

Traffic

Not long after we moved across the country, we started seeing more of our little Torti kitty. It was infrequent at first, but we started seeing her sunbathing on windowsills, spending time with our dogs, and even sitting on our laps, demanding a fuss. She was like a completely different cat!

One explanation for her personality reboot is that our home in Cornwall is at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, so the only traffic noise we hear is from cars slowly pulling into their driveways. Back in Essex, we lived on a fairly busy road, with the sound of cars zooming past a constant soundtrack to our lives.

This made us wonder if her previous injury was from being hit by a car. It would certainly explain the fractured femur and her timid nature in busy traffic areas.

Two Personalities

Although Zazzles was suddenly coming out and being social - even enjoying the laps of our houseguests - she retained her frightened, timid character as well. It’s as though she has two distinct personalities.

When she is confident and friendly, she is really confident and friendly! We sometimes have to force her off our laps when we need to get up, and we have even coined a term for her affectionate rubbing and rolling behavior: trolloping. She will roll and meow until you pay attention, and she’ll even meow to get our Shepherd, Kodah, to come and play with her.

A few hours later, scared Zazzles is back, skulking away like she expects to be beaten, hiding in my wardrobe, and running if I try to pick her up. She even treats mealtimes with suspicion when she’s in this mode.

We haven’t been able to identify any specific triggers to her regression, or if there is anything in particular that elevates her confidence. Instead of there being a gradual change to her whole character, It’s as though both personalities exist within this tiny cat, taking turns.

While I hope that eventually her confidence will win out, I am more than happy to love both Zazzles and Zazzles.