It seems to me that there is no reason, under the criteria laid down in the rules, that a man under Eyes of the Cat should need to penetrate to punch another mage. Same for hitting someone with the pommel of a sword under edge of the razor.
I would also contend that whatever our read, blade of the virulent flame absolutely does not need to penetrate for the sword to strike through MR (though the flames would, so it would not deal extra damage) - otherwise, if the sword needs to penetrate simply because it is being warmed by magical fire, the spell is even deadlier still when cast forcelessly as it warms the air in the room and causes every magus inside to choke as they resist the magically heated air