another member of the family

 .

Meet Gracie, the newest member of the family!!

first day at home - 8 weeks old

cuddling like normal

 She's a rescue from the local animal shelter. They give her to you spayed and with all her shots - good deal! Going to an actual veterinarian would be pretty expensive (think $100+), and the animal shelter does it almost for free. I'd definitely recommend rescuing a kitten. I was at the shelter looking into microchipping for Wayne and decided to just hang out with a kitten or two while I was there. BIG MISTAKE. Kittens are adorable and make little peeping meowing noises and curl up on your shoulder and fall asleep and are impossible to leave behind without feeling so sad. Of course, the little bugger that they brought in was Gracie (then called Wren). She was so. damn. cute.

I left the shelter without her because I was adamant that I wasn't a "cat person" and that Wayne was more than enough cat for my household. However, after a 15 minute ride home and reading Google hits from "Is my cat lonely?" and "Should I get two cats instead of just one?" I decided that Wayne needed a friend and a playmate because he was SO LONELY and SAD and ALONE. It was all because of Wayne. Of course.

So I went back to the shelter and adopted her on the spot. She's the perfect addition!! Unlike Wayne, she likes to sit quietly with people on the couch and doesn't attack feet or unroll toilet paper. Honestly, he was starting to scratch at furniture and become a really angry adult male cat. Miraculously, since Gracie came home, he's stopped destroying stuff and actually calmed down a lot. It took them about a week to get used to each other and I had to keep her quarantined upstairs while he accustomed himself to a new kitten smell, but they are absolutely inseparable now  :)

double naptime.

 She's cute and funny and if you sit down, she immediately gets on your lap and falls asleep. I like to pretend it's because she likes me... and not just because my house is freezing and she needs someplace warm to nap. In any case, a fuzzy little ball of Gracie purring and sleeping on your lap would cheer anyone up after a stressful day at work!

And of course, because the large-and-in-charge Big Gray Wayne would be sad if he didn't get to contribute to this post:

ooh photo op!

And yeah, maybe I'm a cat person AND a dog person. Sue me.

- L