Gracie

I just love this photo of Gracie enjoying the sunshine. Gracie hasn't been blogging long, just since the end of September, so I can't tell you a whole lot about her. She lives out in the country, where the tradition is that cats live outside to keep down the rodent population. She first showed up in July, shortly after Sassy, Guy and Punkie went missing. There was an outdoor party going on and she was drawn by the food smells. Lots of people wanted to pet her and coo over her. It wasn't long before the Dad noticed that she was starving; her ribs were sticking out much too much, so he went and got her some food. The Mom was not happy about this, as she didn't want to get attached to another kitty. She was still heartsore from Sassy, Guy and Punkie. Gracie worked on her, pulling out all the cute stops and before long, a few days at the most, she won the Mom over. Gracie got named and taken to the vet to get checked out, get her shots and her microchip and to get spayed. The vet said that Gracie had to stay indoors for ten days after her surgery. Gracie was delighted. It wasn't long before Gracie was sleeping in the bed with her new Mom and Dad. Then the Mom got all sad about the ten days coming to an end and Gracie would have to go outside again. However, Gracie had been working her kitty magic on the Dad and it was decided that Gracie would be an inside cat. She couldn't be happier. She doesn't even try to walk out an open door. Gracie now has her own kitty condo and she seems to really enjoy playing with shoe strings. One of her favorite toys is a hand, especially her Dad's. Everyone enjoys the hand game very much, except when Gracie gets a little excited and bites down a little bit too hard. She has learned to back off quickly when this happens, though.

                                     Gracie knows how to get her desire.
                                     Her pitiful look sets humans on fire
                                             To serve her and feed her,
                                             To love her and need her.
                                    It's a good thing a home was her only desire.

Gracie

Gracie just loves the catnip banana.  In fact, Gracie likes anything that she can play with, especially her brother Ping.  In July 2005 the Mom and Dad at Manx Mnews had been caring for a feral cat they named Buttons, but Buttons had disappeared.  One of the places they went to look for Buttons was Animal Control.  Outside the door, there was this tabby kitten who was begging everyone who went by for attention.  When they asked about her inside, they were told that the kitten had showed up by herself a couple of weeks earlier and they were hoping someone would adopt her.  The Mom and Dad went through Animal Control, a very sad experience, but didn't find Buttons.  On the way out, they stopped again to look at the little tabby kitten and decided that they just couldn't leave her there.  So Gracie came home with them.  This turned out to be a great thing for Ping, because Ping is a very active, outgoing cat and his personality didn't match any of the other cats.  He was too rambunctious for Abby and Boo and Jinx tolerated him, but just didn't want to play as much as Ping did.  Gracie was perfect for him.  They hit it off from the very start and have been best buddies and playmates ever since.  And where is Ping's limerick, you may be asking yourself.  He was the first of the Manx Mnews cats that I did and you can find his limerick here.

                                       Youngster Gracie is Ping's best friend.
                                       The play between them will never end.
                                               They play Pounce and Chase;
                                                Down the hall they race.
                                        Gracie made Ping's lonliness end.