Once upon a time in the city of Selah, WA a city employee, Mr. Vern Ford, was about his daily duties of reading water meters. This day turned out to be a very special day to many because of his alertness.

As Mr. Ford was reading a particular meter, out of the corner of his eye he saw something move. Upon inspection he discovered a very tiny baby kitten. He went into the closest establishment which was our car repair shop, Pelzel’s Auto Repair. He came into the building and said, "Hey MJ there’s a kitten out back under the oil barrel". I said, "No there is not." I knew if there was a kitten out there I would have to do something about it and I didn’t have time to deal with a kitten, but I went out to have a look.

To my dismay, there was indeed a kitten under the barrel. This tiny creature was no bigger than my fist, covered with oil and grease, blind, and could barely stand. Scared to death, the poor thing was slowly turning circles. Apparently it had been abandoned by the mother because it couldn’t keep up.

I wrapped the kitten in a shop towel and took it to the vet. Can this kitten be saved or should we help it to go away? What do we do? If Mr. Ford had read the meter just one day later, he would have found a dead kitten. That next night the temperatures dropped below freezing and she would not have survived it. The baby kitty was blind because of conjunctivitis. This we could treat with medication. She was very weak and wobbly, partly because she was so young, but mainly because of the fleas. She was about 4 weeks old and horribly flea infested. There was no sign of other diseases. Upon further investigation, we discovered that baby kitty was a she baby kitty.

I named her Gracie that day for I felt that by the grace of God she had been found and I was determined to save her.

This was easier said than done because I had another cat at home. Her name is Cork the Pork. (She weighs 27 pounds.) Gracie had to be kept in quarantine in the bathroom because of the fleas and the eye infection. The eyes healed up in a few days, however the flea problem took two months. Gracie was too young for flea treatments so my husband and I had to bathe her daily and pick off fleas with tweezers. We took off close to 100 fleas. They were literally sucking the life out of her. With the first couple of baths the water was blood red.

At first we could contain her in a box. As she grew and got stronger we moved her to the bathtub. Finally she had the run of the bathroom. Dancing around a kitten and watching for fleas - this was fun (not much). We also had to teach our baby to eat and drink. Saving Gracie had turned into a 24 hour job!

I think that it is because of her many baths that Gracie is a water baby today. She loves to shower, take a bath, play in the sink, drink from the faucet. She does a thing that I call "paw drinking". When water is running into the bath tub, she will sit on the side of the tub and scoop water into her paw, bring it to her and lick it off. I can’t keep my floors clean. They always have Gracie’s wet foot prints all over them!

Currently, Gracie is in her terrible twos or thereabouts in kitty age. We figure that she was born Sept. 11, 2002. She is actually 10 months old. I am once again child proofing my house. Everything is her toy. She teases her older sister unmercifully by swatting and nipping at her back legs when she walks by. Cork the Pork is huge and menacing but bouncing Gracie doesn’t care. I’ve had broken glasses and smashed lamps - but it’s not Gracie’s fault. She didn’t mean to be bad!

To Gracie I am Mommy. She is a sweet little soul and has a very loving personality. Wake up time at our house is 4:30 AM. Gracie has her alarm set also. The morning nuzzle comes in usually just before the alarm goes off. She purrs so loud that she whistles (and drools). The sideways chortle run is always fun to watch. When she runs and fluffs and chortles, it's like watching a bubble of happiness float around.

Who could ask for a better sales associate? Everyone loves Gracie. She helps me sell BOOKS, BREADS & BASKETS. When I shop at Fred Meyer, so does Gracie. She loves to ride in the cart with her feet draped over the front. She likes to go fast. Craft Warehouse knows her as the kitty that cooks. They let her play with the ribbons while I shop. Dunbar Jewelers is her favorite store. She loves jewelry!

Best of all she is my companion and friend and I don’t know what I would do without her.

MJ