Meet Princess Gracie, our cat.
Ten years ago we adopted Gracie —as a kitten– from PAWS in Lynnwood, Washington. Some terribly unkind person had discarded Gracie and her litter mates in a dumpster in a Safeway parking lot.
Regardless of her rough start in life, Gracie has thrived. She earned the “Princess” title by effectively getting her “servants” to meet her wants and desires. Dripping fresh water, rubs behind her ears, and at least one person to fill her food bowl on a regular basis — these are some of our Princess’s demands.
Gracie does not like it when the suitcases come out in the Jones household, which is a frequent occurrence. At least one of us — if not both – tend to travel somewhere nearly every week. Perhaps just for the weekend or a few days, but this disrupts the Princess’s well-ordered life … eat, ear rub, sleep, and repeat.
Luckily, we found Marcy, a teenage cat sitter who is quite responsible and looks after several cats in our condo complex. When we both are out of town, we simply text Marcy, who answers within seconds, it seems. Generally Gracie is fine on her own for up to three days. We find, however, that when Marcy visits every other day during our absence, our Princess is much less demanding when we get home.
If you have a cat that makes you feel guilty for traveling, perhaps you need to consider a different pet care provider. Karen Harrison, publisher of Fully Feline online magazine, gives suggestions for Finding The Right Cat Sitter in an article published this week. Karen also owns Joy of Living, a pet care business in Overland Park, Kansas. One note: the cat referenced in Karen’s article named Gracie is NOT our Princess Gracie.
Do you have a pet? How do you care for them when you travel? Please share your thought in comments.
Two More Notes on Cats:
- Talkeetna, Alaska has an unusual mayor: a cat named Stubbs who’s held his political position for 15 years. Talkeetna — an Alaska village with fewer than 1,000 year-round residents — is known as the jumping off point for mountain climbers on their way to Mt. McKinley, North America’s tallest mountain peak. Stubbs sounds like a very spoiled cat; he’ reported to dine on king crab and drink a daily glass of catnip mixed with water from a wine glass. Read all about Mayor Stubbs in this article from National Geographic.
- There’s a new book out about a lesser known side of Julia Child, the American chef, author, and television personality who brought French cuisine to America. In Julia’s Cats readers learn of Julia’s lifelong passion for cats equaled only by her love of food and her husband, Paul. We’ve just added a copy to our Kindle App for a little plane time reading.
What a view from the balcony of the Cincinnati Marriott at RiverCenter hotel’s room 1213. Located on the banks of the Ohio River, this hotel is actually located in Covington, Kentucky, but offers an illuminating view of downtown Cincinnati.
Oh, and the morning view is quite nice as well.
