---
2024.03.03.12:04-2024.03.30.01:18
Earth.USA.Oklahoma.Tulsa.Tulsa.Redfork.Home
---
by Redforkian
---
It seems that all adopted pets have a story. A story about where they came from, how they came to be in the situation they find themselves, the siblings they were found with or alone, et al. My mama's cat is no different. Her story is as follows:
Gracy was born in a small, dilapidated car garage that more resembles an old, rusty shack than anything. She was one of two kittens that my mama found one day roaming about around her car. She took one of them in, as it seemed as though the mother cat had abandoned her. Or died. The mama cat seemed to have disappeared.
My mother named the kittened Gracy. As in grace of Gawd that she was found by my mother, because the poor thing had a bent tail. Yes, the final inch of her tail was crooked, as though it had been broken or otherwise injured somehow, or perhaps it was some unknown birth defect. Regardless, this cute, crooked-tail kitten immediately became a valued member of the household.
Gracy quickly grew, mostly thanks to my mother's loving care as if she were a child to rear of sorts. Constantly feeding the kitten and making sure all her needs were met. Gracy quickly became an expert mouser and would keep the mice at bay, occasionally bringing my mama "presents", the innards of one small mammal or another. Birds, mice, the occasional mole or rat. (yuck).
As all the pets my mother has had, Gracy became a plump, spoiled little shit. She mostly kept to herself and hid away somewhere when company would arrive, but of course, stayed around when I was there, because of course she did. Her treatment of other household pets was legendary. She HATED the chihuahuas my mother has had and would torment them out of sheer glee it seemed. She would perform well-executed sneak attacks, scaring the victim into loose bowels and whining little miserable lumps of crying for mommy. Outside, she'd lounge on the front porch as if she owned it, because, I suppose she did.
So throughout the years it has been. She has outlived all her competitive house pet-mates. She mostly sits on her "throne" which is the top of the couch and observes the surroundings in smugness as if she has won some battle.
Mom and I were talking about her tail the other day. What could have caused such a strange deformity? It was as if the tail had grown a small 90 degree angle at the very tip. It's apparently been that way since she was a kitten. Well, my mama finally admitted to me what had happened. Or at least her theory. She had two chihuahuas when Gracy first came into her life. She said for a couple of weeks the pups would bring Gracy, the kitten, up to the back porch and set her down there for my mom to find. I guess they were saying, "Hey look what we found" or whatever that means in dog-speak. So her theory is that during one of the times they were carrying the kitten they accidentally bit into her tail and caused the deformity.
"But, mom!" I had said, "Why would they crunch down on her tail like that?" She always said it was probably an accident. Granted a kitten is much more sensitive to injury that a cat. Cats are, as we all know, liquid at room temperature. (If you don't get the reference, well, that's too bad). I can't imagine the poor thing getting her tail all out of whack because of a small dog carrying it around. But alas.
And that, my friends, is the story of Gracy. I most always have nicknames for all the pets in my life, and this cat is no different. I call her "The Gracinator", a funny spin off of the Terminator series. Plus, cats do have 9 lives, right? Gracy, aka the Gracinator (TM) will be Bach. And if you're wondering why I spell it "Bach", it's because (and I shit you not and would never ever knowingly lie to you, dear reader) Gracy enjoys listening to Bach. It seems to calm her down. And why Bach? Well, because she's the Gracinator, and she'll be bach. :)
Bach's Mass in B Minor. Yes, we metalheads do classical at times. (Where do you think melodic metal comes from?) oooh rah. _\m/
---
Redforkian by Red Forkian is licensed under Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Made with Kate
---