Latrodectus
(Widow Spiders)

https://bugguide.net/node/view/1999 Thank you for citing the photo credit. And protecting the cat. My best guess is that it’s a Brown Widow, Latrodectus geometricus, from the brownish coloring. That sounds weird in writing. The three Latrodectus species commonly found in Mississippi are Latrodectus geometricus, L. mactans, and L. variolus. Brown, Southern Black, and Northern Black Widow, resp. I’m not sure enough from my own experience to label it to species taxon.