Tea time at Tiffany’s

Noaki Schwartz

Tiffany sat thoughtfully, black hair contrasting with the white

carpet, watching as a train of silk skirts and heels swept past him.

Carrying colorfully wrapped gifts, the women took off their white gloves

and hats and sat down to gilded tea cups and leopard-print napkins.

With grand, sweeping gestures, Tiffany’s mother, Erika Faust, offered

chilled white wine and began to introduce the 11 guests invited to the

christening. The cooing and chatting stopped as the group paused to watch

Tiffany cleaning himself, completely unaware that the event was a rare

treat for a cat.

“Bless Erika,� said former Newport mayor Ruth Plummer when she

received the unusual invitation. “Only Erika would come up with a fun

thing like that.�

In what appears to be a growing trend among Newport pet owners, Faust

decided to throw her newly adopted kitty a party complete with

registering at PetCo.

One guest, Grace Briggs, received two invitations in the same week,

one for Tiffany and another for a friend’s new puppy.

“We’ve seen birthday parties held for dogs and cats,� said Brian Heon,

manager at PetCo, adding that this trend has surfaced in the last few

months. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen a christening.�

Briggs and others called the theme party “just an excuse to get

together,� but for some animal lovers, their pets represent a great deal

more.

For Faust--who left Germany at 21, lost her family, is divorced and

has no children--Tiffany is her family. The patter of little feet and

excited meowing each time Faust comes home adds unquestionable sweetness

to her life, she said.

Faust had been looking for a new cat for some time after losing her

first feline companion--the original Tiffany. Passing by a local pet

store, she stopped, leaned over a group of kittens, called out “Tiffany�

and found a cocoa black kitty walking unsteadily toward her. Though a

tomcat, the name stuck.

Some “think this cat is going to need therapy [with] a girl’s name,�

Faust said with a great bubbling laugh.

She decided to give Tiffany a christening and high tea because it was

“more exclusive� than lunch, she said.

“To me, high tea kind of spells royalty,� Faust said.

The party took two weeks to plan and included invitations with little

paw prints bordering the paper. Tiffany even signed his name at the

bottom under the closing “Miau, miau, miau.�

Faust invited 11 of her closest girlfriends. One was named godmother

to little Tiffany. Though sick, the honored friend refused to miss the

event. Each person received a scroll telling them they are a person who

has touched Faust’s life, Faust said.

And so the old friends spent the last moments of the afternoon

chatting over warm cups of tea, with little Tiffany pouncing around in a

red, rhinestone collar.