Kitty going national

SANDPOINT — Although she was chosen for the 2017 "Bad Cat" calendar, Misty's humans think she is actually very sweet.

Misty's dad, Ken Blood of Sandpoint, said he and Misty's mom, Bonnie McGhee, submitted the 17-year-old feline's photo to Workman Publishing in New York because the company has two calendars — the cat "Page-a-Day" calendar and the "Bad Cat" calendar.

"I don't know why they picked her for Bad Cat — I guess they just liked the look on her face," Blood said, adding the company captioned her photo something to the effect of, "She loves everything right up until she eats it."

He said Misty is typically very sweet. He and McGhee adopted her from a Coeur d'Alene shelter when she was 4 months old. She was adopted and returned once already when they adopted her, so shelter staff had warned them she may be trouble, but Blood and McGhee though she was "just as sweet as she could be" and brought her home anyway.

Misty is a tough cat, Blood said, although she is very small. She defends their property and will chase "just about anything," he said, including dogs. 

"She is a little terror, but she is also a sweetheart," he said. "She is a great kitty and we really love her."

Misty won a spot on the "Bad Cat" 2017 wall calendar for March 27 and 28, as well as a spot in the "Page-a-Day" calendar for July 5.

A letter sent to Blood and McGhee from Workman Publishing says in 2004, the company's "Bad Cat" book hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, which was the inspiration for the company to start the line of "laugh-out-loud calendars." Over the past 10 years, the company has sold 3.6 million books and calendars combined.

"Bad Cat proves that our feline companions are more than just cute," the letter states. "They're mischievous and sassy, and they have minds, and agendas, all their own. From cats drinking out of toilets to cats getting suspiciously chummy with the family fish, Bad Cat is guaranteed to make you smile."