The Gretchie Monster

This is my cat Gretchen. She's a blue British Short hair purebred and she is the most adorable cat on the planet. Her pedigree name is Sumibo Kitty Fantastico (the breeder let me pick it!). I miss her every day. I can't have her here in Bangkok, partially because we can't have animals in out apartment but mostly because we couldn't bring her back to Australia ever. We have really strict quarantine laws and Thailand isn't on the list of safe countries. Plus she has a really thick coat (her breed originated in the UK - the weather is not exactly tropical) so she'd die in this heat. Her coat crackles as well, meaning it splits and moves when she walks. It's just most amazing colour. It really does look blue sometimes.
She likes to sit with me when I sew. By sit with I mean she sits on whatever pattern of piece of material I'm sewing. She love to sit amongst the clutter like I do. Every time I get my sewing machine out she gets this excited look in her eyes and is up on the table as soon as I put anything on it. ADORABLENESS!!!
She's also very glamorous as you can see. We like to go for walks outside and she wears her purple harness and sparkly leash. She's an indoor cat which I think is very important in Australia. We have a lot of rare bird and endangered marsupials that are perfect for kitties to catch and play with. Gretchie has short legs and is a bit chubby but she has a surprising turn of speed. I have no doubt she could catch anything that came into her sights. Pedigree cats are generally less capable of looking after themselves than moggies. I'm also a little scared someone might steal her. She is adorable and friendly. Who wouldn't want her? Plus there's the whole being run over by a car thing.

This is her "hunting". She's obsessed with moths. When there is one in the house she goes crazy! Sometimes I catch them for her like this in a glass. She loves it and gets so excited. When she sees one now she looks at me expectantly and waits for me to get it for her. She sits there and looks at it for about half an hour before tipping it over. Then the real hunt begins. She has that moth pinned in under a minute. She looks so proud and happy.

This is her the day I got her. She loved that little white mouse that's next to her. She was 12 weeks old and de-sexed already. SO tiny and so cute. When I showed people this photo they thought she wasn't real. She does kinda look like a doll!

Gretchie is really obedient for a cat. She sits on command and walks on a leash. Brits are really intelligent. They use them all the time in movies and commercials (she's the same breed as the the Whiskas cat just a different colour). They are also great house cats. Super super low maintenance. Gretchen is really playful. She likes to play chasey and fetch. She's kind of strange like that. They are odd things for a cat to like. She really loves to play with water too. Sometimes I'd walk out in the morning and there would be water all over the floor because she'd been playing with her water bowl. But she hates baths. She makes a pretty good alarm clock too, meowing in my face, sniffing me, poking me with her paws and sitting right on my chest (this is actually the most effective one, she weighs 6kgs and that's a lot of cat to be sitting on you).

I hate having to leave her in Australia so much. She lives with Alex's parents so we can have her back anytime but it makes me feel so irresponsible. Hopefully, Alex and I are moving to San Francisco next January so we will bring her over with us. The quarantine is only 3 weeks if we can prove how healthy she is before she leaves Australia. She travels really well so that's why I think she'll be fine. I used to take her to peoples houses for visits all the time so she's used to travelling. She likes being in the car because it means she is going somewhere exciting! Alex and I don't really care how much it costs to bring her with us. She's our responsibility and we love her to bits. I mean, would a parent leave their child behind because it costs too much. I don't think so! She has already tried to stow away with me once before!!

Fingers crossed (cross yours for me to!!) that we get the San Fran move. I really want to move there. Everyone tells me it's amazing. I'm sure Gretchie would love it too. I am actually planning to get her a sidekick once we settle somewhere. I think that will greatly reduce her boredom and stress when we move somewhere else. It needs to be a cat with a similar temperament because I don't think Gretchie could handle any kitty that was too full on. I'm thinking a Scottish Fold Short hair named Cupcake. Oh the Adventures!