Following the sad passing of Grace the Morrisons Cat, local CIC Plymouth Artists Together commissioned a heartfelt mural to honor her memory.
Grace the Bengal cat, beloved by many who visited the Peverell supermarket, became a community icon. Her playful presence and the humorous photos shared by her 1,400 Facebook followers highlighted the joy she brought to customers.
When the passing of Grace was announced on the page after being hit by a car, hundreds of people shared their photos of grace with an outpouring of support, with followers saying kind words including:
“It is heartbreaking. I always stopped to pet her, she was such a beautiful cat. I am so sorry to hear she is not with us anymore.”
“Such sad news. I’m so sorry. Had a cuddle with Grace yesterday morning. She was a gorgeous cat and clearly loved by so many people.”
Mike Vosper of Plymouth Artists Together CIC who knew of the cat, saw the support on facebook, at the time he was looking for a new project in peverell after receiving funding. It seemed like the perfect fit and knew just who to contact for the piece.
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Local Artist Spray Saint has created many eye-catching murals around Devon, including a striking mural on the side of the Plymouth Community Homes building (see video below), his skills and talents in rendering animals was the perfect fit for the mural which is why Mike Vosper of Plymouth Artists Together CIC approached him for the piece.
in an instagram reel Spraysaint (Jordan) spoke of the artwork and the story of why grace was painted with her signature poppy:
‘Grace went out one day wearing her normal collar. When she returned home she was wearing a Poppy. It turns out that she was at Morrisons so much, that the people selling poppies to raise money ended up giving her one too!’
Grace’s owner placed a jar beside the mural to raise money for cats protection and Jordan spoke about how people passing by were donating.
‘Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and gave, honestly everyone loved this cat and she raised a lot of money for a good cause’
We reached out to cats protection for comment, izzie Smith, Volunteer for Cats Protection Plymouth & Rame, says:
“We would like to say a huge thank you to Jordan, SpraySaint of Plymouth Artists Together, for collecting donations for us while he worked on the beautiful mural of Grace and to Rebecca, Grace’s owner, for choosing us to benefit from any donations in her honour.
The artwork will serve as a wonderful reminder of all the joy Grace brought to so many people during her visits to Morrisons and every penny raised will be a fitting legacy as it allows us to continue helping local cats in need.
We are also extremely grateful for the remarkable generosity of the Morrisons customers who have been leaving donations at our in-store collection bin in Grace’s memory.
Since Grace’s passing we have emptied it so many times, often multiple times a week, and the gifts of food, treats and toys make such a difference to cats in our care. Grace’s mural will continue to remind us of how lucky we are to have cats in our lives.”
In an interview with Hospital Radio Plymouth Mike Vosper explains how he got funding from two Peverell Councillors Jeremy Goslin and Sarah Allen for a project in the area. When he saw the outpouring of support for grace, Mike came up with the idea of commissioning a mural for Grace.
Mike found the perfect spot outside the Morrisons supermarket for the mural and knocked on the door of the person who lived at the residence, explaining his intention to commission Spray Saint for the mural, the owner knew of the artist and followed him on social media.
The resident put Mike in touch with the landlord who gave permission to use the wall for the mural.
After finding the perfect spot and getting approval, Mike then contacted the owner of Grace through the facebook page and explained the idea of the mural. The owner was happy to hear about the idea so all that was left was for Mike to prep the wall ready for Spray Saint Jordan to start the Mural Proper.
In the interview with Hospital Radio, Mike Vosper said:
“That cat touched a lot of people and everybody’s really happy (with the mural)”
“When Jordan was painting people came along because it was on the facebook page, there was a little donation pot there and he said people were stopping in their cars just to put money in the pot”
The response has been overwhelmingly positive with many people sharing and engaging with the posts and commenting such things as:
“We drove past this evening as it was raining heavy. It’s so beautiful little Grace was so gorgeous and miss her”
“We miss seeing Grace, the mural is amazing of her, she’s always in my thoughts, so glad we have pictures of her”
Anyone who would like to see the Mural in person can see it on Torr Lane just beside the Beryl Bicycles and can donate to the cats protection box in Morrisons.
Thank you to Mike Vosper of Plymouth Artists Together, Spray Saint, Cats Protection, Grace The Cat Facebook page and Hospital Radio Plymouth for providing content for this article.
Grace the Morrisons Cat may no longer be with us, but her memory lives on through the touching mural, the generous donations to Cats Protection, and the stories shared by those who knew and loved her.
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