Belle

This is our cat Belle. She's about 15 years old and was given to us by my sister. One day she came over with this tiny fluff ball and said she had to give us this kitten because she looked so much like my other cat. She was right and Belle does look a lot like CJ, another cat I had. When we got Belle, my girls were around 4 and 2 years old. Nichelle was really into Beauty and the Beast, so she named the cat Belle. It's such a sweet name for such a wicked cat. Belle definitely has a mean streak. She's also called Lucifer, Evil Belle, the wicked witch, and a few others I won't mention. My nickname for her is Gracie. It drives my family nuts because her name is Belle, not Gracie. Sometimes I call her Gracie Ann. I suppose I get it from George Burns saying, "Say goodnight, Gracie." Not that it really matters what anyone calls her -- she won't come when you call her anyway. It's funny because all the kittens in her litter were bright orange. Belle was the only tabby cat. The only orange she has is on the pads of her feet and a little orange streak running down her nose. She was the oddball, I guess.

When we got Belle, we had several other cats. None of them got along well. It was pure hell for the cats and for us. Belle would pick on our cat Abby, and Nica would pick on Belle and Abby. Things were really ugly for awhile. Belle used to lash out at the girls for no reason. She was the first on the list to go bye-bye because we couldn't take it anymore. We even had a home all lined up for her. I don't know what happened, but Abby and Nica got so rotten they left first. Once they were gone, Belle's personality changed drastically. She began sleeping on my bed and decided she was MY cat all of a sudden. She's still mean and the farthest thing from a sweet cat, but she's more tolerable with me than anyone else. She follows me all over the house. As soon as I sit down, she's either next to me or on me. If I try to hold her, forget it -- it's her way, or no way.

Say goodnight, Gracie!