My Boy Jack

We have a one cat. His name is Jack and he is our boy. He has been our boy since January 2006. When we moved from Oxford back to CA, Michael made sure to find an apartment that was pet friendly because he knew how much I wanted a cat. 

Less than a month after moving into our new apartment, I started looking on various websites to find a kitten that needed a home. (I realize now that if I were ever to do this again I would forgo the internet and either just go to our local shelter, or browse through the Pen.ny.sav.er.)

Jack is our Pen.ny.sav.er cat. When we got him he was only 16 weeks, tiny, and scared. His mother looked distinctly different from him. She was a long-haired, cream colored cat with brown seal pointed ears and tail and big blue eyes. I think she was a Birman. We took him home and he stayed a good portion of the day under the ottoman of my papasan chair. Within the week he was into everything and we discovered that he didn't like being in a room by himself if he could help it.

Michael jokes that Jack is my cat, not our cat. Jack gets mad at me on mornings I have to leave for work. Just this morning he was actually sulking, sitting just out of reach with his back to me. Now that I am home he won't leave me alone.

We learned something interesting about him after two years of having him in our home. In February 2008 I had an ectopic pregnancy and had to have emergency surgery. The morning after I had come home, I was in bed resting as my stomach muscles wouldn't let me do much of anything. My mom shut our bedroom door to keep Jack out. Jack kept wanting to go into the bedroom by pawing at the door, but mom kept shoeing him away. He hissed at her...three times. Until that moment, Jack never hissed at anyone.

We finally let him in the bedroom and he jumped on the bed right on my stomach. Of course I screamed and scared him to death. Jack came back on the bed and he was very gentle when he came to me. He stayed with me the whole time I was recovering only laying on my thighs. He wouldn't let anyone near me until they greeted him first.

My favorite was when I was finally able to take a shower (48 hours after surgery). Jack walked into the bathroom to the shower, looked around and then walked out settling himself right outside the bathroom door until I was done with my shower. It was the weirdest thing.

A year later when I was dealing with depression shortly after deciding not to try to conceive anymore, Jack was there too. Sometimes just sitting on the sofa next to me, or on my lap. At times when I was crying, he would just stare at my face with wide eyes not sure what to do with me, so he would just stay with me on the sofa.

He's a funny cat. When he wants to play he'll go in the corner of the living room and meow at the wall (he wants me to get up off my booty and chase him). Sometimes he will hide in a place that is out of my eye line and meow. I'll say, "Where's Jack?" and he will poke his head out for me to see his face. (I'm not kidding, he actually does this.)

Jack is very expressive with his ears and I swear he understands every word we say to him. He likes his tummy rubbed first thing when we come home. He sleeps with his eyes open, and he is afraid of everything (trials of being an indoor cat.)  

Jack has been a great companion during these years in our IF journey. He may be "just a cat" to some people, but to us he's our boy, he's our child with a soft gray furry coat. I think the best part is that he truly seems to love us back...on most days :)

I talk about Jack so much a woman at my work thought I had a son called Jack. *snort* I had to tell her Jack was actually my cat. It was hilarious. Below are a few Christmas pictures. I can't really decide which one will be next years Christmas card.

Christmas 2010. Jack actually posed for this picture. I was originally taking pictures of our Christmas tree and Jack stopped by to show me his good side near the Nativity scene .

Yes, he is not really happy about the Santa hat, but doesn't he look cute?