Woman Adopts Her Late Grandfather’s Elder Grumpy Cat to Provide a Good Life in Her Final Years

After her grandfather passed away in 2019, Angela Rafuse adopted Mackenzie, his elder, grumpy calico cat, giving her a really good life in her final years.

When my grandfather passed away in December of 2019 he left behind his 14-year-old cat McKenzie she was a grumpy grow Calico and there was no one in our family able to adopt her. I was truly her only option.

Angela had just moved back to her parent’s home when Mackenzie came into their lives. It took quite a while for the spicy calico to trust her new family, but in the end, she came around and opened herself up to a very full life. Mackenzie lived for three years with Angela until she passed away at age 17.

It was a slow transition for sure but once she trusted us she was just the sweetest cat in the world. …You can call her a grumpy cat, but I think she was the sweetest girl in the world. Every single day I told her I loved her…my biggest thing was always taking care of her because that’s what my grandparents would have wanted and that’s what I did until she was almost 18 years old. I’m very grateful I was able to adopt her and have her for 3 years.

Mackenzie lives on now in the form of My Grandfather’s Cat, a non-profit dedicated solely to elder cats and their humans.

My Grandfather’s Cat is dedicated to helping seniors and terminally ill people keep their pets up until the very last day possible. We provide a free rehoming service that helps those we serve arrange second forever homes for their pets.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

Recent Posts