Toothless cat has ‘grumpy grandpa face’ that hides a soft side. He needs a home
A toothless cat has a “grumpy grandpa face” — but don’t let it fool you.
“Sure, he looks like he’s about to yell at you for stepping on his lawn… but the truth? He’s a total marshmallow. The kind that melts in your hands,” a North Carolina shelter wrote June 3 on Facebook. “We could barely snap a photo — Archie kept smushing into us, climbing into arms like he’d been waiting a lifetime to be held.”
Archie needs a home after he landed at the Watauga Humane Society on April 1.
“It felt like the universe’s idea of a twisted joke,” the shelter wrote. “No, not him — he’s no prank — but the timing? Classic April Fools. Because the moment he shuffled in, toothless and opinionated, we figured we had a spicy senior on our hands.”
Archie is a 9-year-old cat who once lived as a stray and was adopted. He lived in the home for about two years but struggled around his owners’ dogs. So, he often retreated to an isolated spot until his family made the “difficult decision” to give him up, Danielle Deschamps, communications coordinator for the shelter, told McClatchy News via email.
The shelter doesn’t know how Archie lost his teeth but said he likely didn’t receive adequate dental care earlier in life. Despite his “cranky” looks, he has been working to trust people.
“We were told he was extremely skittish and spent much of his time hiding,” wrote Deschamps, who shared pictures of Archie sprawled out on the floor. “But as you can see in the photos — he’s coming out of his shell beautifully. He’s shown us a softer, more social side that didn’t have a chance to shine in his previous environment.”
As of June 5, the shelter’s website listed Archie among the cats up for adoption. Details about the animal organization’s adoption process can be found at wataugahumane.org.
“We’re hopeful his perfect person is out there — someone who will appreciate his quiet strength and give him the peaceful home he’s always needed,” Deschamps wrote.
The humane society is in the mountain town of Boone, a roughly 85-mile drive west from Winston-Salem.
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Toothless cat has ‘grumpy grandpa face’ that hides a soft side. He needs a home."
