Grayson

Most Shadow Cats find their way to us with special needs, with medical conditions that require a lot of intensive care or were saved from dangerous situations on the streets or in what should be the comfort of a home. Grayson had a special Shadow Cats origin story, having been quite literally dropped off at our doorstep in July of 2023. He had apparently been found at a nearby daycare, and despite the clear mark of a collar around his neck, had no microchip and no identifiers. Grayson was homeless.

While we quickly rectified that situation and made him one of our own, Grayson didn’t know how to feel about his new digs. He must’ve been confused—after all, he’d had a home as far as he knew. Though we wanted to outstretch our arms and offer Grayson love, he wasn’t ready to receive it for some time.

In fact, he was a pretty scary guy! We aren’t sure what his history was, but he arrived declawed, and with one of his only warning methods gone, he had a tendency to bare his teeth. During his time in isolation, before we planned to introduce him to his new housemates in Oasis, Grayson cut an imposing figure on one of its tables. He was always watching through the window like a gargoyle flanked on the roof of a cathedral, and looked just as majestic.

When he did join his housemates, he did everything in his power to make sure everyone in the room knew who was in charge—including the staff! More than a few nights were spent in Scooby-Doo style chases with Grayson being the chaser. He’d often stand like a member of the British King’s Guard at the cat door, or perhaps a particularly imposing bouncer at a night club, allowing the flow in and out of the room onto the catio only at his behest. When he wasn’t surveying his domain, Grayson was regally sprawled out over Oasis’ collection of cat toys like a dragon upon his hoard of gold. He even acted as our border patrol, and any packages coming in and going out were surveyed by Grayson’s meticulous eye. Grayson perhaps didn’t rule over his kingdom justly, but he sure did do it with certainty.

We began to wonder when Grayson would truly settle in and shed his brawler’s skin. But even with his rough & tough attitude, our Sanctuary Manager Kearstin and our Overnight Cat Care Tech Hannah absolutely fell in love with him. When Grayson intimidated everyone else, he somehow always had a soft gaze for Kearstin. He captured her heart with all his troublemaking antics, as they reminded her of a similarly named kitty of hers who had since passed on, perhaps sent by him to cushion his loss. Hannah on the other hand had a sibling-like relationship with Grayson—he loved to play with her, and she with him.

Over time and with an onslaught of love, Grayson morphed into a completely different cat. The cat that hissed, spit, and lunged at us that first day softened. He traded his boxing gloves for biscuit makers, spending his time relaxed and laying across his favorite kicker toy, scent marking it with his paws to remind everyone it was his favorite pillow and favorite toy. The cat that chased our staff instead chased after the treat container, his eyes lighting up when he heard the quintessential shake of temptations he’d grown to love. Our little fighter grew into a fat, happy cat. He grew to love treats so much, in fact, that he’d created his own hazing ritual for new staff where he’d corner them like some back-alley thug in a mugging when they didn’t give him his preferred treat. We knew he didn’t mean it, it was just a remnant of his old persona, shed for something far softer and warmer but with a mischievous glint lingering in those smart eyes.

Instead of fighting, Grayson enjoyed laying on his back and exposing his belly in the most dangerous tease that’s ever existed, his paws politely crossed and a little smile curling his lips. Though Grayson softened, he was still a troublemaker, but if we’re being honest…it became part of his charm for us, and we adored him. He became an integral part of our day as they do, patiently waiting on the exam room table for his fluids, and taking injections (but perhaps not oral medications) with relative ease. When our techs were typing away at their computers, Grayson’s paw softly laid across their wrists in support…and sometimes on the keyboard when he as feeling particularly mischievous.

Grayson traded his tough exterior for a pudgy one, and he loved a good box, always wiggling into a box you’d assume only a kitten would be able to fit into, his chubby belly often overhanging off the side like vines of a potted plant. The few times we’d had to take him to the vet for workups or sedation, Grayson found he quite enjoyed his drugs and would spend the afternoon coming down from his high watching the ripples in the water fountains. Grayson made us laugh, he gave us headaches, bellyaches, and suffused us with love. The full spectrum of human emotion could be felt with this boy, and what an incredible power for a cat to have.

Grayson was glorious in every way.

That’s why it was so difficult to hear the news that he had lymphoma, first starting in the colon and moving to his intestines. Grayson seemed to be a relatively young cat to us, so it came as an incredible and unfortunate shock. We decided to do what we always do: give Grayson the best life he could imagine, for as long as he had left with us. From the time of his diagnosis on, we loved Grayson even harder. We kissed his forehead, we held him in our arms like a baby, we had full back-and-forth conversations with his honking meows and we made sure that Grayson always had his favorite treat at the ready. He held on for an impressive amount of time, but eventually, he slowed down. It became apparent that our time with him had reached its end.

On his last day, Grayson sprawled out on his favorite exam room table like a king. He was kissed, he was held, he was absolutely spoiled, with his chin scratched to his heart’s content. When the time came to give him the injection that would ensure he felt no pain, we distracted him by fulfilling his heart’s desire: he put his whole head in the temptations treat container and chowed down! He didn’t flinch at all. He was lavished with love, attention, and declarations of love everlasting, and Grayson peacefully, quickly drifted off into eternal sleep…with that same sweet smile curling his lips.

I could tell you a thousand stories about Grayson and all of his little quirks, of the love we all held for him, but suffice it to say that Grayson found us for a reason. Though his heart was hardened at first, in his last year of life, he knew love. He knew love through all of his roughest patches, and when his warmth unraveled for us like the most golden of sunbeams, we loved him even more. And that kind of love is all any of us can ask for in this lifetime.

Now, Grayson has ascended to another plane. Though his absence is surely felt and has broken our hearts, we can mend them with the bandages of knowledge that he lived his best life in our care. That now, another familiar gray boy waits at the rainbow bridge’s first step, ready to guide him to the everlasting glade where countless other Shadow Cats bound through the grass chasing butterflies. We’re sure there’ll be a bar there just for our Grayson, where a little martini glass filled with only the finest temptations treats awaits him.

Thank you to our volunteers who helped us shed Grayson’s tough exterior and expose the softness underneath, to the staff who loved Grayson through every shade of his life and for all of his little quirks. Thank you to his sponsors Alissa C. and Deborah A. Thank you to everyone whose hearts were moved by Grayson’s majestic figure, his intelligent eyes, the elegant curve of his whiskers, and the little white speckles on his toes that reminded us so much of Littlefoot’s.

We love you, Grayson. We always will.