Caturday: Everyone Loves JackJack
Nobody wanted Jack.
He came off the street in a sweep of feral cats headed for the SNIP bus—scruffy, furious, and with one bulging, badly infected eye that had clearly been hurting him for a long time. The eye had to come out. While he recuperated, the SNIP team tried to find him a home, but no one wanted a feral alley cat who hissed, snarled, and made it abundantly clear that hands were not welcome.
One of the SNIP volunteers took him in temporarily—something between fostering and triage—to let him heal and calm down. She tried everything. She even put a glove on the end of a three‑foot stick to get him used to touch. But Jack wasn’t having it. No shelter would take him. No adopter wanted him. And she was terrified to put a one‑eyed cat back on the street.
So she called me.
And that is how one‑eyed Jack found himself in a house full of cats.
I set him up in the cat room—food, water, beds, toys, a sunny window, and a wide chair where I could work with my literal laptop. After a day or two, he tolerated my presence. Then he allowed me to pick him up for a moment or two before bolting back to the cat tree. Progress, in Jack‑time.
After several days, I let Happy Cat—our resident beta cat and ambassador of goodwill—into the room. Happy Cat took one look at Jack, lit up, and sauntered over. He groomed him gently. Jack froze… then relaxed. Then leaned in. Then enjoyed it.
Happy Cat moved to the toys. Jack followed. Soon they were playing. I opened the door, and Happy Cat led Jack across the hall and out onto the catio, where half a dozen mellow former ferals lounged in the sun. Jack joined them as if he’d been doing it all his life.
And slowly, Jack melted with me, too. He discovered belly rubs. Head rubs. Snuggling. Safety. Family. He became JackJack.
Months later, the SNIP volunteer came by—bringing me two more “impossible to adopt” cats, because at this point we are the …fill in the blank… of the cat world. (Among cat owners, we all know the word.)
I asked if she wanted to see Jack. She said yes, cautiously.
We found him asleep on a dining room chair, curled up next to Happy Cat. I reached down to pick him up. She stiffened.
“No, no,” she warned. “Don’t disturb him. I don’t want him to get upset.”
“Oh, he won’t mind,” I said. “He loves seeing people.”
I reached under the table, scooped him up, and handed him to her.
Jack snuggled. Jack licked. Jack kissed. And when she set him down to leave, he followed her to the door and rubbed against her leg as if to say, Thank you. Come again.
“I have never seen such a changed cat,” she whispered.
(Truth is, they all change—if you give them the motivation, the means, and the community.)
And that is why everyone loves JackJack, the cat no one wanted.
Learn more about cats. See our many Caturday posts.
Be entertained. See all our posts about cats.
Be inspired. See posts by and about Sula, parish cat, and her books.
Have a chuckle. Read posts by and about Jeremy Feig's award-winning book (book of the year finalist, Kops-Fetherling Lagacy Award for Humor), How My Cat Made Me a Better Man.
Watch for Luna Norwood's forthcoming book, Raising Happy Cat Families. Now available on preorder at MSI Press Webstore. Use Coupon Code FF25 for 25% discount.
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