Grady was a male silver marble bengal who came to us in 2008. It is estimated that he was born in about 2006, but it's hard to know for sure because he was rescued by the Oakville SPCA from a kitty mill where he apparently lived in appalling conditions for those first two years in a house with 50 other cats - 49 other bengals and 1 siamese. Regardless, he lived a charmed life with us although it breaks my heart to say that he was diagnosed with IBD (Inflamatory Bowel Disease) in 2015 and small cell lymphoma (cancer) in 2016. Suddenly, he passed on January 16, 2020 possibly of a stroke. We are devastated and traveling without him has been difficult. Miss you dearly, our little travel buddy.
Grady was a very smart boy, proving himself to be excellent at fetch which was his favourite game when he was younger. When he first arrived, he used to love to jump one to two feet off my bed to catch a ball or a coiled pipe cleaner.
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| Watching the stream rush by in Colorado, 2014 |
He loved to go outside (in fact he used to sit by the front door and practically howl to do so, especially if we're on the phone), but we allowed that only when he's accompanied by one of us. He'd walk right beside me without a leash, in fact a leash was useless because he'd wiggle out of any collar or harness. He knew the boundaries of the property very well, and if he tried to put one foot through the fence, all I would have to say is "uh-uh" and he'd back up. He would sometimes tear around the lawn like a little kid who had so much energy they didn't know what to do with it. To get him back inside, all we'd have to do was stand behind him and clap our hands and he'd run to the front door. Like I said - very smart and very trainable.
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| Rolling on the rocks at Whitney Pocket, NV, 2014/2015 |
He was a cool cat. He wasn't very cuddly, and didn't like to be held much, but he did like to sleep with me except in the summer when it was too hot. During the cold nights while on our southwest adventures, he would insist on sleeping under the covers beside me, with his head out of the covers beside my pillow.
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| Dubinky Road campsite near Moab, Utah, 2016-2017 |
He had been on all of our trips to the U.S. Southwest and Florida since October 2010 and while he didn't like traveling in the truck, he seemed to enjoy the RVing lifestyle as much as we do. He was content staying in the trailer and just looking out the windows at the scenery, and he would still get his walks again staying by our side and returning with a clap of our hands. He was the luckiest, most spoiled cat I know! Farewell, dear friend.
