Every family has one. The kid who pushes the envelope. Yells na-na-na-na-na when they did something they shouldn’t. Makes you angry and laugh at the same time. Gracie is our wild child.
We weren’t looking to adopt (we rarely are) but we saw a small sad one-eyed gray cat up for adoption in the paper. She looked a little like Morgan and our hearts melted. Morgan had such a positive impact. We adopted Gracie thinking we’d get a similar package.
Ha! They are both gray and one-eyed and that’s where the similarities ends. Her first few months were full of vet trips. She came from a hoarding situation and had health issues. Cha-ching, cha-ching.
She was testy. Didn’t like to be touched too much. It was her bad teeth. After dental surgery she was a changed cat but not at all laid back. She had crystals in her urine and needed to take a horse-sized pill (which she refused) and eat wet cat food. I bought every brand, flavor, etc. trying to find something she liked. Sometimes she liked it for a day, then never again.
I made chicken for her. That was good for a while. Then she settled on something for a few months. One day she was done with it.
We are past the honeymoon period. I put food down. If she doesn’t eat it, she has kibble.
The things that endear her to us and make us laugh are many. There are a few frustrations like the food choices. Fortunately the other cats put up with her and that’s saying a lot. (I swear I’ve seen the other three cats look up how to return a cat to a shelter on the internet!)
All the cats in this house (except Gracie) are polite. If a cat is at a food or water dish that they want to eat from, they wait until the cat is done. Gracie will slowly stick out her paw and pull the dish out from under the eating cat. #notnice
She wants to play when it’s inconvenient, especially when we are eating. As quiet as Morgan is, Gracie is the opposite. Whine, whine, whine. She will come with her feather on a stick and holler while I’m having a “peaceful” dinner. #nowwannaplaynow
She circles my feet at feeding time letting me know how long it takes. As soon as I put it down, she makes a dive for the litter box. This puts the food at risk as I have a Hoover cat Hazel willing to clean up anything. I tell her to “go potty” but it hasn’t done much good so I have to stand guard. #gottapeegottapee
She chases all bugs – real and imaginary. Her vision isn’t as good as Morgan’s. Maybe she lost her dominant eye. Sometimes she sees things that aren’t there. Or maybe she’s a visionary. #gottagetit!
This is THAT cat that pushes everything off a horizontal surface. Both Morgan and Hazel will sit next to things. Gracie gets rid of them. #indaway
When she jumps on you she aims for “special spots.” She lands on my boobs, bladder or my belly. All eight pounds of solid buckshot! Ouch! (Three a.m. is her favorite time for launching.) #I’mherearen’tyouhappy?
There are three large water dishes in this house at all times. If the one she likes best somehow is empty, instead of going to one of the others, she makes a scene. She takes the dish and puts it in the middle of the room (so I can see how inept I am). She does all this with a lot of clanking noise. #dyingofthirst
We don’t know how old she is. The former owners said she had some litters although with so many cats in their home, I doubt they knew for sure. She was pregnant when surrendered but the kittens were aborted. She was too small to carry and couldn’t deliver safely. Her bad teeth (which could be from malnutrition) say she’s older but her actions say she’s between 2 and 3.
With Gracie facts don’t matter. Whether she’s 2 or 6 is irrelevant to her. You roll with it and wait to see what new (goofy) thing she will do today.
Gotta love Gracie! Parts of her remind me so much of Sophie. URL https://amzn.to/2N9MarN
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We love her but she is a pistol! She is small but doesn’t let anyone get away with anything.
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What a character… no cat is ever the same are they? the variations on personality and character are amazing … thank heavens for people like you, who can change a sad sick cat into a bundle of health and energy and jpie de vivre…
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She is a bundle of mischief for sure!
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Gracie is a visionary. She knew to hang on until you arrived. That last picture is great…probably the only time she’s so still and quiet…(Oh, the sneak the bowl over with a quiet paw move…how funny. We had a shelter dog that tried that once or twice.)
Great cat Gracie!
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She is as finicky about food as RC. Next time I’d like a normal cat. Is there such a thing?
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Nothing like a strong-willed daughter or cat to keep you on your toes. Gracie is a beauty ❤
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Gracie is a stinker! There are times when we wonder if we can sneak her back to the shelter but any animal that comes into this house stays until death — theirs or mine.
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That 3 a.m launch would be the killer! Every time you mention it I wince and laugh at the same time! And Gracie moving her bowl to the middle of the room rather than go to another water bowl–now that’s a girl who knows her own mind!
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She says she moves the bowl so I don’t forget. Ha! She moves it so I trip and am suitably punished for my transgression.
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Wow – you are tolerant! But you know you love her anyway! She is a cutie girl 🙂
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Tolerant? A pushover?
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I have one word: Frankie. Including the bad teeth. But we can’t help lovin’ ’em!
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I know…
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Sounds like it is never a dull moment with your cats, especially with Gracie!
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I could use a little dull right now.
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Gracie is a cutie. I am glad she has a good home with you. Our Prancie loves to knock everything off bureaus, shelves, etc. too.
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Not every cat will knock things off unless it’s in the way of a good tail swing! 🙂
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This is the first time I realized our cats were easy to get along with. Thanks for showing me that.
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I like doing good deeds!
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You are good at doing good deeds!
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Gotta love Gracie! Parts of her remind me so much of Sophie. Those two would make quite the pair.
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Yes, I’d need a lot of wine.
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Considering where she came from, it’s a little of a surprise that she is so full of piss and vinegar (as my grandmother would say). She keeps you on your toes but I bet she keeps you laughing too. What a cutie!
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Remembering her first week when she ran off with a pork chop I expect she had to fight for food and attention. She keeps us on your toes and sometimes our nerves on edge!
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They are all lovely in their own way Kate. I love the idea of her moving the dishes for your attention!
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When she wants attention she is very noisy!
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I do not believe it but you have me loving Gracie along with all her antics. I especially love her erratic launching maneuvers! 😊
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Good! I’ll send her down for a week with you!
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O.k. I’m awaitin’
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She’s packing her bags. I think she’s bringing you some catnip.
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With such a chatty cat, you can be grateful you don’t know for sure what she’s really saying. Her endearing qualities could drop significantly 😉
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It’s not exactly chatting. She’s whining! I can tell by the tone!
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hahahaha!!
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She’s a lucky girl! 😀
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So are we…I think.
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Aww, Gracie sounds so great and fun! You know what they say, “Great things come in small packages!” I would say she fits that quote pretty well! And aren’t you glad she is only 8 pounds when she decides to jump on you at 3am! 🙂
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Especially on my bladder!
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I believe that, if she weighed more, you might have your own “waterbed”! 🙂
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Great photos, Kate! I suppose there’s never a dull moment with Gracie around. Enjoy!
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Only when she’s sleeping and she doesn’t sleep near enough! She’s not at the 18 hours a day of sleeping that adult cats get to.
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I wanna sleep for 18 hours! 🙂
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Me too!
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And yet we love them anyways🤣
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Sigh. Yes. We may think harder if we had to do again but would adopt her. Probably! Animals that aren’t perfect stand a harder chance of getting a good home.
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She is a character! That’s my favorite phrase for animals who are entertaining — after the fact.
My house has had exactly ONE “good” dog — the marvelously obedient rescue/ guard dog Fey. All other animals are dubbed “characters.” They provide a lot of stories. 🙂
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Several of my cats have been “characters” but no one as annoying as Gracie. She hollers like a dog. All. The. Time! So Woofie wasn’t perfect?
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Woofie stole food, tried to turn our backyard into a mining pit, escaped constantly to slobber on/ terrorize school children, and howled with outrage whenever he was put in time out. He eviscerated all pillows and stuffed animals in 2 minutes flat. He attempted to “unman” every man he ever met with his enthusiastic crotch greetings. He ate rocks. He threw up rocks. He was by no means perfect. But he was the best worst dog ever.
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Wow! He was a character. Is he still around? Jake was the one cat I had who rivaled Woofie but on a much lesser scale.
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Oh, she sounds a bit like Perry! The one that makes you realize you are at your cat limit for now haha. The bowl sliding thing is hilarious. I always tell Perry he has no manners. He just doesn’t understand such a thing yet the others do know manners. So where did they learn? Gracie is grateful to you but she’s too ignorant to let you know, I guess.
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I think she’s happy here. She just likes to call the shots.
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Oh, that last photo with the Toothfarie gift, so precious! It sounds like Gracie sure makes life exciting.
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Yes she does. After living here a year and a half and not sleeping with us (except for maybe 4 occasions) the past 3 nights she comes in at 4 to 5 a.m., jumps on the bed, does head butts and anything else that will wake us up. She tried to dig in my hair! I don’t know where this behavior came from but I hope it goes away soon!
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Delightful pictures! Gracie is keeping you on your toes and needing your Starbucks. I think Gracie is thinking her life is so great that she has to fit it all in… she is busy living the good life. I am so glad you gave her a home, Kate! Last picture, sweet… and priceless! Indaway… cracks me up every time. CH and I have added “indaway” to our list of special words. It gets used a lot in the kitchen!
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She is a small cat but she can bowl over Morgan and Hazel when she wants to get somewhere fast. Manners! She needs manners! BTW “indaway” comes from Easy Blog, home of Phenny and new pup Nellie at https://easyweimaraner.wordpress.com/
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I have never seen Phenny or the mama use indaway! But I believe you… 🙂 This was a great post about Gracie!
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Thanks. She’s easy to write about because I don’t have to make things up. She is not ordinary.
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Great story. She’s quite the character.
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She is. Sometimes we wonder why we adopted another cat. Things were so peaceful. Most times we don’t regret it and the other times we are just tired.
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