Gracie – Ragdoll of the Week
Gracie was adopted in 2018 and is my first rescue cat. I adopted her from a Brisbane rescue called Best Friends Felines not long after my 14-year-old Birman cat, Hokey Pokey, passed away.
After Hokey Pokey’s passing, I was hoping to get another Birman. I didn’t know where to start looking as my family got Hokey Pokey more than a decade earlier and the breeder didn’t have an online presence. My first thought was to try the RSPCA website—the RSPCA didn’t have a Birman, but they had a 7- or 8-year-old Ragdoll who was looking for her forever home. I remember thinking Ragdolls looked quite similar to Birmans, but $500 seemed like a lot of money for an older rescue cat.
That’s when an old school friend mentioned Best Friends Felines. I Googled ‘Best Friends Felines’ and was taken to their Gumtree page. I saw Gracie’s (original name was Nahla) photo two or three pages into my search, and I thought she was so cute and petite. Being a ‘breed’ cat, I assumed she’d already been adopted and the rescue had forgotten to take her profile down. I sent Best Friends Felines a Gumtree message and they told me she was still available. I was then put in touch with Gracie’s foster carer, Colleen, and organised a meet and greet for that coming weekend.
When I arrived at carer Colleen’s house, a little blue-eyed cat ran past me hoping to get out the front door. I remember thinking how majestic the cat looked and hoped it was Gracie/Nahla. Turns out that cat was Gracie. Carer Colleen told me Gracie was surrendered a few months earlier because her previous owner worked long hours.
The owner didn’t have much time to devote to Gracie and her sister, and felt it was wrong to keep them when she was away from home a lot of the time. Gracie’s sister—another Ragdoll—was given to the lady’s friend and Gracie made her way to Best Friends Felines.
I wanted to adopt Gracie on the spot, but I was told that’s not how Best Friends Felines operates. I had to submit an adoption application form and it would be reviewed by their team. I put in an application as soon as I got home that afternoon and it took less than 24 hours to hear back. My application was successful, and I couldn’t wait to collect Gracie later that week.
I have had Gracie for almost seven years now and I couldn’t imagine my life without her. Gracie is incredibly vocal, especially in the middle of the night when she has run out of Royal Canin dry food. She will meow for what feels like hours on end if there’s none of it left in her bowl. She is also very affectionate, particular and inquisitive. She doesn’t care for other cats—her Best Friends Felines adoption profile actually described her as a ‘solo diva’—and she’s not fond of dogs either.
Gracie also enjoys resting her head on my pillow(s) and spends her days sitting atop of the toilet paper rolls in the bathroom. She has her very own catio and gets supervised outside time where she is walked around my townhouse complex on a leash.
Gracie is on Instagram, and there are a few photos of her on my Instagram, too.
A bit more about Gracie
- Born on 17 January 2015—she turned 3 a few days after I adopted her.
- Her paperwork lists her as a lilac point Ragdoll.
- She has always been very small! She was 3.5kg (7.71 lbs) when I adopted her and has stayed around this weight.
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Thank you for reading! Submissions like these – the “Cat of the Week” and “Kitten of the Month”- are provided by their owners and reflect their individual experiences and practices. The information these submissions share does not necessarily reflect Floppycats’ recommendation or endorsement regarding cat nutrition or care. Always consult a qualified feline nutritionist or veterinarian for personalized advice on your cat’s dietary and health needs. If you want to learn more about species-appropriate nutrition, please visit our cat food page.
Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,
