fat cat

My dad is the kind of guy who appreciates beauty.  In part that is why he loved his Abyssinian cat named Gracie so much.  Gracie was sleek, beautiful, agile and graceful.  She could (and did) leap around the house.  She would walk on top of my parent’s TV hutch, gracefully maneuvering herself around all the things on top of it.  She could jump onto something ten feet or more off the ground.  She would look around and effortlessly jump from the floor to a chair to a ledge to the top of a wall unit.  We all loved watching her.  She had a gorgeous grey coat, and was a stunning cat.

gracie 

But she wasn’t that nice to strangers and other animals.  Here’s Gracie saying hello to Alexander. 

gracie with strangers

When Gracie unexpectedly died in February 2010, my parents were heartbroken. But they were intent on getting another cat.  My sister found a beautiful grey-haired cat for them, a kitten, just like they wanted.  Ellie arrived at my parents in the spring of 2010; it was love at first sight.

Ellie shares a grey coat with Gracie, but little else.  While Ellie may have started out sleek like Gracie, she has since ballooned into a very big girl.  Alexander calls her Fat Cat, and suggests to my mother that she enroll Ellie in Weight Watchers.

big ellie

Also, Ellie is incredibly clumsy  She tries to leap (as she does in this photo) from bureau to bed, and doesn’t make it.  She sleeps on the mantle above the fireplace, rolls over and falls off.  She lacks normal cat skills.

ellie attempting to leap

But she is loyal.  She follows my mother everywhere.  She often sits with my dad.  She prefers being with people than not.  And, she is nice to strangers. 

My parents adore her, and so far, my dad seems not to have noticed her very big butt.  Either that, or it no longer matters.