Heartwarming Bond Between Cat And Human Shows World That Empathy Can Heal Anxious Hearts

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

May 3, 2022 6:00 PM EDT

There's a dynamic furry family knit together on a sanctuary farm at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in rural Virginia. It's a place where neglected farm animals can come to restart their lives for the better. Visitors can meet with extroverted pigs, goats, cats, and others, but there is one resident at Serenity Farm Virginia that no one has had the chance to meet.

For nearly ten years, Gracie, a black domestic shorthair, has lived with Jo Bighouse, the founder of the sanctuary farm. However, "she's very shy, so no one has met her," Jo expressed. Gracie was born to a feral mother and was adopted by Jo when she was just nine weeks old. In the time Jo has spent with Gracie, one thing has remained certain: she's quite skittish.

Story written by Alex Lemieux.

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via Jo Bighouse

Cats have much of their personality imprinted from their mother. Since Gracie's mother was a feral cat, it could have been the natural cautiousness they must have to survive in the wild passed to her offspring.
"Anything new is too disturbing for her," Jo remarked. Sometimes, Gracie needs a place to wind down, which is the kitchen cabinet Jo purposely keeps clear for Gracie to use her paws to open it up and retire to her safe space. Yet, she does come out to spend time in the window looking outside or lie on the ottoman in the living room.
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via Jo Bighouse

"When everything is quiet in the evenings, she will come out," Jo said.
Gracie's soft personality isn't just demonstrated through her actions but also in her voice. When she's finished with her meal of raw ground turkey, Gracie will turn to Jo and give her a small, even soundless, recognition of approval.
"The funniest thing she does is that she has such a little, tiny voice, and sometimes she just opens her mouth, and nothing comes out," Jo explained. "I tell her she has an invisible voice because she looks at me, opens her mouth, but there's no sound."
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via Jo Bighouse

"But, she can meow," Jo reiterated, "sometimes she does."
Anyone who has spent time around cats has most likely seen their "partially-closed eyes" facial expression accompanied by slow blinking, usually occurring when cats are relaxed and content, which is interpreted as cats' version of a smile. Research shows that our feline friends are more in tune with their human housemates than previously thought. Cats will respond in kind to people who are sympathetic to them.
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via Jo Bighouse

To help Gracie be calmer around the house, Jo has relied on a technique she read in a book on cat rearing. Cats recognize human behavior and mimic it too, which can be used to foster a greater bond with a friendly feline.
"Gracie will look me in the eyes, and I will close my eyes slowly, and then when I open them, she's doing the same thing," Jo illustrated, explaining that it helps her want to be seen. "She's the only cat I've ever had that responds to that."
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via Jo Bighouse

The world can be a seemingly never-ending chaotic place to some. Despite that, the ability of people—and cats—to understand each other reminds us that expressing comfort with others can heal an anxious heart. Cats like Gracie and her relationship with Jo help us realize that our mindfulness is the antidote to internal turmoil.
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via Jo Bighouse

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