Almost 2 years ago a little stray orange half-kitten came to us. He was wild and covered in ticks & fleas. He had broken ribs & scars, and was terrified of the wild animals - deer, raccoons, opossums, woodchucks, even... He couldn't meow normally, he only could squeak like a mouse. We fed him dry cat food outside, and he moved himself into our barn. He was afraid of us, too, but eventually he trusted us, and eventually I fell for him. Here he is in early Nov 2007 shortly after we moved him into our house.
I named him Little Jack. Short for Jack-o-Lantern, because we took him in right around Halloween. Jack cleaned up and gained weight, got checked out by the doc, who confirmed he had broken ribs. He tested negative for diseases & got all his shots & got fixed. But he never got his voice back.
Here is Jack this year:
Jack went thru a destructive phase earlier this year:
Jack's fav thing to do is to get harnessed up & take walks with my husband. I don't let Jack go outside without a leash ~ I'm concerned he'll run away & get killed. He's not the smartest cat when it comes to taking care of himself around outside animals, and he still can't meow very well. But he's my Jack.
6 comments:
Lynn,
Jack looks so beautiful. I know exactly the squeaky voice you're talking about. The barn cat I've fallen for has the same one. His name is Alvin, but I've nicknamed him Squeak and he is all love and affection, that one.
I want to thank you for your words of understanding about Bear. I went through this with another senior cat I'd had for only a short time. I still can't talk about her last days with me. The truth is, Bear is not keeping his med down and he's not eating or drinking much any more. He seems to be declining incredibly quickly and it breaks my heart to watch him falter when he walks. He is my soulmate and my whole world has come to a standstill. I'm not ready for what I fear is coming next. I'm not ready.
Cats join with the restless parts of our soul, I think. I too had a "feral" kitty( I use quotes because I dont like the term) become my big baby. My Oscar took almost 3 months before I was allowed to touch him. My bunnies helped to convince him that humans were okay. He would stand in the door and watch me touch them. Then one day he let me touch his head. It was wonderful. He became a snuggle kitty. He got out the back door one day and into the highway. You can guess what happened. I still bleed when I think about him. Thank you so much for loving Jack.
A walking cat- that is too cute :) btw 250 acres... Wow! You guys will need a lot of house ogling to get enough ideas for landscaping I'd imagine!
Carolynn ~ you can never be ready to lose a soulmate. I'm so sorry... ~Lynn
Christina ~ Yes, Jack has also become a snuggle kitty. I have never had a cat that liked to snuggle like he does. And he loves for his belly to be rubbed... I'm sorry about Oscar...that's so sad... ~Lynn
Sobrina ~ We have lots of ideas of things to change on the property, we just are short on time to implement them! So much to do, so little time... It helps me to learn to get my priorities in order... ~Lynn
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