Resting bitch face, noun: ‘a facial expression that unintentionally makes it look as though a person is angry, annoyed, or irritated,’ when really they’re just relaxing.
I, along with – I’m sure – many others, suffer with this infliction and have lost count of the number of people who have told me they thought I was miserable or mean when they first met me.
They quickly learnt that wasn’t the case as they got to know me, but poor Perdita – the ‘World’s Worst Cat’ – doesn’t have such a luxury because her resting bitch face is here to stay, and it seems to match her grumpy personality to a T.
Perdita, a four-year-old domestic short-haired cat, was saved by Mitchell County Animal Rescue in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, on Christmas Eve after her previous owner died.
When she first arrived at the shelter, its office manager Brittany Taylor told ABC News she was ‘pretty sweet’. However, it didn’t take long for her to show her true colours.
Taylor explained:
The next day, she was a grump. We thought something was hurting her, but it turns out she’s just a jerk.
She pretends like she wants you to pet her and love on her. As soon as you pick her up, she starts growling. She will swat you. She’s just all-out awful.
In an attempt to bring her out of her shell and to entice potential adoptive families, shelter employees attempted to conduct a ‘really nice’ photo shoot for the cat – to no avail.
Taylor added:
The only face that she knows how to make is her grumpy face. She’s like the definition of a Grinch.
All’s not lost though, with a Facebook post from Mitchell County Animal Rescue describing her likes and dislikes, with the former including: the song Cat Scratch Fever; Pet Cemetery; jump scares (‘her speciality’); and being queen of her domicile.
Oh, and ‘staring into your soul until you feel as if you may never be cheerful again’. Intense, huh? Let’s not forget Perdita’s dislikes either, which include the colour pink, kittens (they’re too chipper, apparently), dogs, children, Disney movies, Christmas and hugs.
Without a doubt the most important part of the post, whoever, was where the shelter said she’s now looking for her forever home alongside the disclaimer: ‘she’s single and ready to be socially awkward with a socially awkward human who understands personal space.’
Taylor believes Perdita will make a great pet for owners who ‘want a good laugh every once in a while’, adding: ‘She definitely makes you laugh. One minute she wants you, and one minute she’s over it.’
She sounds like the dream pet if I’m being completely honest with you. If you think Perdita is the cat for you, head to the shelter’s website and fill out the application form here.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).