So much love for this cat from his kind and friendly family.
What do you love about your cat?
It’s so hard to pin down to a couple things. I’m going to get emotional. I’d say his sweet nature. He never hissed; he doesn’t even know how to be mean. He’s a ball of sweetness.
He had an intense medical scare 6 months ago. He had a bad UTI and swelling. He was at the ER vet for 5 days. He had emergency surgery; it was lots of money. We thought, he’s gonna die, then we couldn’t believe it that he was gonna pull through.
Who made the lost cat poster?
Me. I slapped it together in 10 minutes. We made a big poster for a sandwich board we had in front of our house with the flyer, trying to get the word out. I got contacted daily about the poster. People contacted us by walking over, calling, texting. We even had ring camera footage neighbors wanted to share.
I’m floored by the community outreach and support when he went missing. People have been so supportive, telling us they were going to keep their eyes peeled. We had a neighbor offer to set traps up in their back yard and for us to come over and camp out in their yard for 3 hours or however long. We were incredibly touched by the outpouring of support from our neighbors and friends. It was beautiful. Every single day 1 to 3 people reached out.
Why did you name your cat Jack?
He came with that name. We adopted him at the shelter in Seattle before we moved to Spokane. We thought his name was cute and thought, “Why change it?” We adopted all 4 of our animals.
What has your cat taught you that has surprised you?
He taught me that you can have a cat that’s a handful; he has been a lot, and he has been worth it. We’ve had a lot of time in the ER with him. He jumped off a balcony when he was a kitten. He’s a handful but he makes you realize how important family is. I had a Jack shaped hole in me when he was gone. I know what grief feels like. None of our other animals have had nearly as many predicaments. He was averse to change when we moved across the state. He crawled up the piping in the hotel we stayed at while moving from Seattle. It was a horrible experience him stuck up the piping in our hotel room.
Did you find Jack?
Yes
What happened?
He’s always been 100 percent indoors. We had friends over that night, and we naughtily had the door swung open for a while without noticing. We were good about saying goodnight, but I didn’t do it that night. The next morning he wasn’t outside the bedroom crying for breakfast. We canvassed the house immediately. We were looking under bowls, we did a very thorough search. He’s a good hider. I made the poster right then. I made 140 copies because we didn’t know where he was. We had checked our whole property. We started canvassing the neighborhood right away, seeing if people had seen him in their garages. We didn’t stop for 18 days until he was found.
It was our fault for leaving the door open. He was gone for almost 3 weeks. I’ve never had an animal until they passed away under my stewardship. I really needed to find him. My stomach was in knots.
My oldest friend from Seattle had just arrived for the weekend. She brought me a rose quartz cat and gave it to me for Jack and said, “I know he’s going to come home.” Then she said, “Put it next to your heart, he’s going to come home.” So I did. A red-headed girl comes to the door minutes later, knocks, and says, “I just saw him.” We went with her to see, and he wasn’t there, so we came back to the house.
My friend said, “Do it again, put the rose quartz to your heart,” so I do it again. Two minutes later I was contacted about him. I thought to myself, I can’t deal with another lead that’s not leading anywhere. I asked, “Where are you?” A lady said, “The end of where you live,” so I knew it was not a scam.
I take Jack’s carrying case and run down the street. I didn’t even tell anyone in the house, I just ran out. I round the corner and I see that she was crouched down with him, and I knew instantly that it was Jack. I put him in his crate. The lady was a vet tech. Jack was hanging out next to her chicken coop. I gave her hugs and gifted her the rose quartz cat. I needed to pass it on.
All three people from my house had followed me slowly down the street and got there as I’m giving her the rose quartz. We walked back down together to the house and we just celebrated. My husband and I cried. Jack was so hungry, he lost a whole pound while he was missing. He really ate and snuggled and slept and bonded that night. He couldn’t have been snugglier.
Does your cat have relationships with other animals?
He tries to. We have two dogs that are his little siblings. His older sister is a cat. She’s hated him since we brought him home. She’s a tortoiseshell with tort-ti-tude. She became an outdoor cat when we moved to Spokane. They are not friends. Jack can get the zoomies and the dogs get afraid of him. They tolerate him.
Does your cat have any special abilities/psychic powers?
I’m convinced he sees ghosts. He’ll literally be snuggling and there are no sounds happening, and he gets the zoomies and he stares intentionally beyond my head. I think there is another dimension cats can go to that we can’t see.
Is your cat indoor/outdoor?
Indoor. We tested his outdoor skills with supervised tests. He was getting bold and kept going further. We have a fenced yard, but he got a little too big for his britches.
How would you describe your cat’s personality?
Sweet I’d say is his biggest trait. He’s a really a snuggly guy. He loves my hair; he loves to make biscuits on my scalp. He’s a love bug and so sweet. He wouldn’t even hurt a fly. I’ve shown him flies to get and he doesn’t want to kill them.
Why did you decide to talk to me?
I loved your text and how you reached out, and you are a cat person. I saw your site and I see the support there is for those who care about the story. When you talk about your lost pet people’s eyes can glaze over.
People are looking for hope. I would see Facebook posts on the local lost pets’ groups, and I want to remind people to keep hope alive. My cat came back 3 weeks later. I hope people keep their hope for a return. I mean, unless you confirm your kitty is deceased, they may be a block away.
I love that this comes back to a lost cat poster. The stories of hope and encouragement from community is what got us through. Jack was gone for 18 days. Now he’s home.
Does your cat remind you of any people in your life?
What’s funny is that he reminds me of our youngest animal Winnie. She’s a Pitbull lab, an absolute ball of sunshine and daises. She’s so beautiful. She’s light cream, the same color as Jack.
What’s something to know about your neighborhood?
It’s really very safe. I’ve always felt safe here. I think people are still coming around to North Spokane. I like all the post-War houses. There are new families moving in, people out walking their dogs, everyone is neighborly. We had such an outpouring of support when Jack went missing. It increased my appreciation and respect for our neighbors.
What kinds of things do you notice about your cat?
I’m literally looking at him right now. He’s sitting on an orange chair, with an orange blanket, wrapped in a ball. I notice his presence. When he was gone, I noticed his lack of presence.
Jack teaches me about love. If Jack was human, I might marry him. I had that Jack shaped hole in my heart when he went missing.
What do you think about the idea that cats have nine lives?
I completely agree. Jack is on his 6th life out of 9. I want people to know to don’t lose hope. Cats are survivalists. They are hunters and they get lost and go missing. They might not be on their ninth life. There is a lot of hope for getting them back.
