She's not really "feral," but a "drop-off" that some crap-for-brains human left in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Still, the doc at the Pet Vet Cruiser (AKA "the bus"), where Jeannie and her merry band of cat catchers had her spayed about three months ago, clipped off the tip of her right ear to mark her as a "free-roaming" female, feral or not. (Males get their left ears tipped.) So J says her full name should be Gracie van Gogh. (I'll admit I had to Google that one!)
Gracie's free-roaming days were supposed to be over in March, but they had to return her to her camp near Wal-Mart instead of sending her to a cat shelter. This is because the doc said that Gracie had recently had kittens! So back she went, and sure enough there were two, and they were glad to see her. J and Company continued to feed Gracie--and her kittens--at Wal-Mart until the babies were old enough to make their own trips to the bus. The kittens are now living together at the shelter, and Gracie is here with us.
During the weeks Gracie remained at Wal-Mart, it became obvious that she loves human contact. She can't seem to get enough petting, which is a sure sign she was a discarded pet and not a true feral. So M and J bonded with her and decided that she needed more of a home than a shelter could provide.
The reason for the title of this post (which Mike says is perfect, but which I also had to Google!) is that last Thursday, Gracie's first night with us, she was locked up by herself in the bathroom and just about drove us bonkers with her crying. The next night she had the run of the house with me, Arlo, and Rocky--everyone except crabby old Willis--and there were a few noisy disagreements in the wee small hours. Basically she put the fear into all of us--even Willis, when he finally got the chance to give her some attitude. Jeannie thinks there's something about Gracie's having been a mother that lets her take charge, even though she's the smallest critter in the house. Her little voice seems to get the word out: If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!
Since that second night, things have settled down pretty well. Everybody's been able to sleep calmly through the nights. And much of the days, too!
Here are a few more pics of Gracie van Gogh, the new sheriff in town. This first one's called "One more step, Willis, and I will knock your block off.":
Oops! How'd that one get there? Mike says it ought to be titled "The Culhanes of Cornfield County." That boy sure likes to keep me Googling!
