Paws, Pets & Metal is Metal Insider’s newest column on bands with pets, discovering who watches them on the road, and more. Get to know more about these metal furbabies. We caught up with Sunbeam Overdrive’s Karim Arnaout reveals his cat prefers grunge rock. 

Tell us more about your pet(s) and their names?

I have a black cat with a white spot on the collar, called Mouche, which means “fly” in French. Actually, her name was given before she adopted me (yes, no the other way around), and it was “Mamoushka”, but it doesn’t appeal to me as a name so I simply went for “Mouche”, also reminiscent of Minnie the Mooch maybe.

Have you ever taken your pet on tour?

No, Mouche keeps the house and garden while I’m away!

Who looks after your pet while on the road?

Mouche looks after my roommates, she’s the protector of our realm against other cats, rats, mice, grasshoppers, birds, lizards or any other living intruder…

What’s your pet’s favorite song or album?

Every time I play and sing acoustic 90s grunge songs like Alice in Chains’ “Down In A Hole” or Pearl Jam’s “Black”, she comes close and listens. Whether it’s the music itself or the emotion channeled through my voice, I don’t know but she’s adorably supportive.

How did you introduce your pet to metal?

When we met, I was just coming back into the shared house after a breakup, so I suppose I was listening to a lot of particularly depressing stuff like Paradise Lost… and she was instantly hooked! But again, did she enjoy the music or did she sense my distress? Now we’ve been sharing beds for 3 years. …Feels like I’m talking about a girlfriend or something haha I’m a proud crazy cat dude (and the worst part is, I’m actually more of a dog person…)

What animal charity means most to you?

I prefer the term animal activism than charity, so I’d go with Sea Shepherd and L214, for the huge work they do (and risks they take) to raise awareness about so many manmade abominations on so many levels, from the destruction of natural habitats to air/water/soil pollution and industrial animal exploitation for the food industry…