The cat’s among the pixies

While asking Harry not to ‘cry over spilt potion’ Mrs Figg also tells him that ‘the cat’s among the pixies’.[1] This phrase finds its origin in the idiom ‘the cat’s among the pigeons’. Due to their natural instincts cats would cause pandemonium in a pigeon cot and attack as many pigeons as possible. The phrase, thus, means that something has been done or said “that causes trouble and makes a lot of people angry or worried.”[2]

            However, pigeons have been replaced by pixies. According to Newt Scamander Pixies are “[e]lectric blue in colour, up to eight inches in height and very mischievous. The pixie delights in tricks and practical jokes of all description. Although wingless, it can fly and has been known to seize unvery humans by the ears and deposit them at the tops of tall trees and buildings.”[3] Due to their mischievous character it can be expected that pixies would cause more misery to the cat rather than the other way around.

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[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. London: Bloomsbury, 2000, p.27.

[2] "Put the Cat among the Pigeons." The Free Dictionary. Web. 22.03. 2015. <http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/put the cat among the pigeons>.

[3] Rowling, J.K. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, London: Bloomsbury, 2009, p.62.