In Memoriam

Jack the Cat: 1997-2011

A mother is not supposed to have a favorite among her children, but.....Jack was my baby.

He would sleep on my pillow, curved around the top of my head, purring like a locomotive. That cat had the loudest, most steady purr I've ever heard.

He begged for food like a dog.  You would think he never had a decent meal in his life, the way he cried for treats.

The most affectionate cat I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, Jack had none of the reserve and dignity usually associated with cats.  He followed me around the house, desperate for attention. The second I stopped petting him was the second he started meowing for more loving.  Aloof was not in his vocabulary.

There were years where he would let almost no one touch him but me.  A quirk he thankfully outgrew to the benefit of himself and cat lovers at large.

He was so big he was once mistaken for a bobcat by one of my neighbors.

He liked small spaces and would cram himself into a brown paper bag two sizes too small.  He would curl his long-legged self into the bathroom sink - spilling out the sides like some kind of furry water.  He would jump into a kitchen cabinet or an open refrigerator when your back was turned.

Jack was nothing if not neurotic.  He had an irrational fear of ceiling fans and would avoid entering a room containing one, even when it was still.

He was easily traumatized.  When we moved into our new house, he spent the better part of three months huddled under my bedspread.  A warm, breathing lump in the center of the bed that came out only at night for food and cuddles

Jack was the best looking cat I've ever seen.  He blended handsome and cute like only a male model could.  Soft white belly, long legs it took him years to grow into, killer green eyes and no concept of how striking he was.

I will be forever grateful to my sister Tina for taking Jack in and loving him like her own when he needed a new home.  She adored the fluffy basket case as much as I did.  Both his mommys' hearts broke this week but she had the harder job of being with him in the end.  Thanks Teensy, and good bye Jack.

-k.