By Victoria Cumings

From the South Side of Chicago to a luxury condo by Riverside Park, Georgie the cat has experienced it all. This plucky kitty’s grand adventures so far include living on the streets as a stray in the Windy City, a car ride from Illinois to New York via Ohio at age four, and now sharing a home in the Big Apple with a loving mom and dad and trio of cute little rescue dogs.

Living in Chi-Town at the time, Georgie’s pet parents originally took him in as a temporary foster. A short-term stay became permanent, however, after Georgie purred his way to the point where they simply couldn’t bear to give him up, so made it official with the shelter and adopted him. Named after the British Royal family’s Prince George, this suitably regal-looking marmalade-toned tabby recently celebrated his 5^th birthday, kicking off another year of the good life on the UWS. A happy tale of ‘foster fail’, but better thought of as ‘foster fortune’ in his parents’ eyes!

Though his apartment in Chicago was bigger and offered more options for exploring, Georgie is a pro at finding ways to stay entertained in his Manhattan pad. The three small dogs he shares a home with are prime candidates for some good fun – – cheeky Georgie likes to amuse himself by tormenting them, hiding around a corner and playing BOO! when they pass. When he isn’t teasing the dogs, Georgie gets up to some more typical cat activities, such as chilling by the windowsill catching rays and watching the local birdlife, or chasing his teensy mice or springy coil toys around the floor.

All at once sweet and gentle, but also fiendishly fun, it’s no wonder Georgie’s parents have given him the title ‘Mr. Personality’. His caring side was evident from early on in Chicago, when he would help out with foster cats and dogs his mom and dad would bring home. Ever adaptable, Georgie would take it upon himself to cuddle up with the newbies, helping to groom the kittens and once jumping up and opening a door handle by himself using his body weight to get into the room to visit and snuggle. Even with kitties who were somewhat feral, gentle Georgie would welcome them, calm them down and instigate some playtime. Georgie would also act tenderly towards disabled or problem dogs who were taken in, acting as a sort of social ambassador, rather like Julie on the old ‘Love Boat’ show.

In addition to his soft side, Georgie has a mischievous streak. He’s been known to craftily photobomb his dad’s Zoom calls and also elicits a raised eyebrow from mom when she occasionally catches him scratching the furniture, as she knows this is very likely a ploy to get an extra meal or some treats. Georgie will enthusiastically tear away at the sofa, a great way to attract mom’s attention, then give her a furtive glance as if to say, ‘take notice or I’ll keep going . . . the only way to stop me is to feed me!’.

Luckily for mom, one of Georgie’s favorite places to scratch is concealed, right under the armchair. Somehow, Georgie has managed to get fully beneath it to scrape away the underside fabric covering the springs, making a neat little nest for himself to crawl into. Another popular target is his cat condo, which of course is designed to be ripped up so that’s very much okay.

Georgie is given the run of the house and enjoys making good use of this, finding all the best spots to hang out. A favorite is the kitchen counter, where he can be a little higher up than the dogs so can lord it over them, a self-appointed ‘pet policeman’. After the dishwasher has run, he likes to hop up onto the counter to enjoy the warmth from the steam and smell of clean dishes. He also eats his meals there, where his food can be protected from the pack of tiny hungry canines lurking below.

At night time, whilst Georgie may start curled up at the end of the bed, he won’t lie still for long. Once all in the household are in dreamland, he’s off to play. Mom can hear him fossicking around the apartment, picking through his toys and just generally being the night owl that he is. When Georgie is sleeping though, he’s quite the snorer. This at first alarmed his mom, however after taking him to a cat ENT it was confirmed he wasn’t congested. Probably just greatly enjoying his snooze on his special heated cat pad, a perfect place to grab a nap.

Speaking of TV, Georgie gave his parents a laugh one night when ‘I Love Lucy’ came on. It was an episode involving a boat, which Georgie seemed quite obsessed by, and he ended up watching the whole show. Perhaps he was a ship’s cat in a past life, or just enjoyed seeing the bobbing. Whatever it was, it seems Georgie is a fan of the sea. Not so much of the bath though – – when he sees someone taking one he appears flabbergasted that anyone would want to soak themselves in water. Like many cats, however, Georgie is intrigued by dripping water. He’s also thoroughly fascinated by the garbage disposal, which luckily is the very safe kind which is closed when it runs.

In addition to looking out for his foster pals, Georgie makes all efforts to take care of the people around him too. So much so that he appears to try to groom his cat-sitter, burying his head into her hair, trying to sniff at it. Perhaps he has a fetish for tresses, or his sitter uses catnip shampoo. More likely Georgie is such a sweetheart that he wants to show her some love and pamper her like he did with the foster kittens in Chicago.

This article is Georgie’s chance at his 15 minutes of West Side Rag fame; his sisters Hannah and Lexi were featured in Pupper West Side back in March, their story is here. Together with them, another pupper Finley, and two horses his mom cares for in New Jersey, Georgie is clearly part of a very special and dearly loved family of animals!

Gentleman Georgie – creating new adventures for himself every day, surrounded by furry companions both known and new.

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