A few months ago my girlfriend and I were sitting on our balcony when we hear this little sweetheart meowing below. With one kind look from us, she climbed up a tree and into our lives. She was so loving and friendly that we assumed she must’ve been someone’s pet and sent her on her way after a while.
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Every few nights she’d return and every time she came back, she looked skinnier and skinner. Eventually we bought cat food for her visits and soon thereafter she coaxed her way into sharing our bed. She is such an absolute sweetheart and so well-behaved we began to feel guilty that we’d “stolen” someone’s beloved pet. We called every nearby vet, put up signs all around the neighborhood, in grocerystores, pet stores, pharmacies, and many other local “public” places, but never got any calls. Even the vet agreed that she was too well socialized to be feral. He suggested that we let her roam freely in case she was simply lost. After a few weeks of her coming back to us with increasing frequency the vet gave us his support to declare her as our own.
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It might not be clear in the picture, but her left ear is a mess. It is missing the tip and has more than a few notches and chunks missing from it. Both we and vet aren’t sure if these are from a fight, or signs that she was part of a catch-fix-and release program common for feral cats in the area (they mark the feral cats they’ve caught, fixed, and released by snipping off the tip of the left ear, but the other notches and tears make it unclear if this is what happened to her).
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The first night she slept in our bed, my girlfriend jokingly started calling her JWow, a reference to the character JWoww on the Jersey Shore, due to this kitty’s propensity to come over, sleep with a stranger, then sneak out in the morning. Having never seen the show myself (and thinking it a lame reference), we tried desperately to come up with a more appropriate name, but nothing else seemed to fit her, so JWow she has become. I told the vet this story and he said, “So your girlfriend came up with the name? How serious is this relationship? You might be stuck with this name longer than you’re stuck with the girlfriend.” But the vet too has come to love her, and the name. Sometimes, when embarassed, we lie and tell people her name is Jezebel.
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My girlfriend once visited a psychic who told her that her beloved (and dead) childhood pet would return, and kitty here looks exactly like that that cat (a tortoise shell named Mr. Jingles despite actually being a female). I don’t buy into that sort of thing, but for the girlfriend, this cat was not merely a random blessing, but a prophesy come true. All I know is that I love this little critter so much, the way she curls up with me when I sleep, and the way she greets me with such joy and excitement whenever I come home. We spend hours a day playing games together and the amount of joy in my life has increased dramatically because of her.
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We tried for a bit to convert her to an indoor-only cat due to the proximity of some busy streets, but she’s spent too much of her life outside to give it up and she finally won the war (yes, she has her outdoor shots). She is now the queen of our apartment complex and is loved tremendously by everyone here (in fact, short-term kidnappings by neighbors who adore her is a bit of a problem). I’ve seen her turn many a grown man into a bubbling mess with her undeniable charms and sweetness.
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That being said, we’re the first to admit that, at least in pictures, she isn’t the most conventionally cute kitty. In fact, she looks quite evil and gremlin-like at night, scaring the crap out of us on a few occasions when she first started to live with us. But, in person,her loving nature is so overwhelming no one can help but declare her the cutest thing ever after a few minutes of belly rubs.
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45Comments
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Arclite
Sheesh, Anne Laurie, you must only sleep like four hours a night…
Luci
This is a great story and a gorgeous cat! I love that line that divides her face into a light and a dark section. From what you say though, her personality is pretty much all on the light side. :) Thanks for sharing your story!
Lysana
Awwww, kee-tahn! I truly said that when I saw the pic. What a lover!
Keith G
Wonderful.
I had a female tortie. An abandoned (~2 yr old)indoor/outdoor who adopted us in 1988. After 3 years, a move prompted us to keep her inside. It took a while to sink in and there were a few dashes out the door, but she adjusted and that decision allowed her to live with me (outlasting a relationship) for 16 wonderful years.
I still miss Tapestry (what else can one name a tortie?)
stuckinred
Nice, very nice.
Chinn Romney
Nice but you might rethink that outdoor bit. You only just met the Cat “a few months ago”. At the peak with my ex-wife, we had 5 cats, all off the streets. It took some of them many months to completely adjust to the indoor life, but they all did. She’ll live alot longer if you keep her indoors.
David
Jwow is a gorgeous tortie.
I had a tortoiseshell named Petunia when I was a child. Cats occasionally do adopt other families even though they’re being well taken care of. Or sometimes have two families that don’t know about each other. In that way, they’re just like people.
A neighbor’s cat in the apt. building I used to live would come and visit me but as soon as he heard his owner’s car (it was amazing how he could distinguish it among the busy traffic) he would dart towards the door and want to go home.
Some
That was a joy to read.
geg6
I am not a cat person, but I think JWow is adorable. I keep thinking about all the strays out there with the weather being so horribly cold the last couple of days (7F with wind chills at minus 10). I may stop and get some cat food to put out tonight for the black and white that wanders my neighborhood. Poor thing.
alwhite
I love tortoise shell cats, my sister has had two and I think they are beautiful. Both of hers were really ‘chatty’ and would make a lot of different noises to get your attention, let you know they were annoyed or pleased which I find endearing.
harlana
she’s beautiful! sweet story
Albatrossity
Even the most dedicated outdoor kitty can live indoors. I’ve had several, and yes, it is a struggle, but it’s worth it in the long run. It’s better for her health and longevity, and much better for the birds in the neighborhood. Cats are not part of the natural predator mix, and adding them to the predator pool by letting them roam outdoors is a disservice to the cat and to the environment.
Linda Featheringill
Jwow is a cutie!
You and your SO might have to stay together because neither of you will be willing to leave Jwow.
PurpleGirl
OT (sort of): One of the blogs I read is Making Light. One of the posters there sometimes writes on medical issues. Today he has a post up about pet CPR. I thought the BJ commentariat would be interested in it. It’s called Pet CPR
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/
abscam
Ooooooh, lovely kitty!
robindc
Does she have claws? Did the vet tell you how old she suspects he is looks close enough to my cat to be a sibling.
Annie
She is way tooo cute, and you can tell from her expression that she knows it! Great story and tell your girlfriend she did great with the name.
Poopyman
I have never met a tortie who wasn’t a real sweetheart, and I’ve met a lot of them. They may look weird ( I don’t happen to think so), but they’ve got huge hearts. You’re really lucky to have one walk into your lives like that.
Oh, and she looks just like our Max.
BTW, the ear damage looks to me like the results of fights.
Alwhite
Since its an open thread I thought I’d post this from “America’s Finest News Source”
Celebrating St. Ronnies 100th:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/commemorating-reagans-100th,19103/
Kristine
@PurpleGirl: Thanks for this link–I’m spreading it around.
Lovely kitty. If I could have cats (allergies) around here, I would definitely try to train them to accept the indoor life because of coyotes in the area. Given that coyotes live in cities, I think you can assume they live in the ‘burbs as well.
Comrade Mary
So cute! But tell us, does that little pink tag say “JWow”, “Jezebel”, or just some number code?
ellie
My beloved cat Frances was a rescue tortie. God, I loved that cat. When she got sick, I had to drive myself to the hospital over the anxiety of it all. I miss her every day. She was the most beautiful kitty in the world. Jwow is also very beautiful.
4jkb4ia
Lovely cat and story.
Too tempting to post the following shorter Glenn Greenwald from last year, including the rhetorical flourishes-by-quotation:
Glennzilla: Exec Branch person gives permission–no checks and balances– denial of rights based on suspicion
Serious matter of al-Awlaki is that of constitutionally protected speech. Brandenburg v. Ohio reversed KKK leader criminal conviction for advocating “vengeance” against government officials–advocacy of violence and revolution permitted. “The mere abstract teaching…of the moral propriety or even moral necessity for a resort to force and violence, is not the same as preparing a group for violent action and steeling it to such action.” Courts are important for drawing the line between speech and action.
No “war exception” in the Constitution–Constitution continues to constrain government officials. Congress hasn’t declared war!! AUMF only. Bush DOJ found this convenient when the wartime provision of FISA allowing eavesdropping for 15 days was at issue–AUMFs are to describe the specific manner in which Congress wants the President to act and declarations of war are a one-sentence blank check. Legal consequences of declaring war such as terminating diplomatic relations and abrogating/suspending military obligations do not follow on AUMFs. What about the War on Drugs and other things without any formal declaration?
Dahlia Lithwick on Republicans moving the goalposts on terrorism with more and more insanity, Obama Admin following. “What’s changing is our own certainty that we can never be safe enough and our own confidence in the rule of law”
Happy conclusion from Al Gore–“If the president has the inherent authority to eavesdrop on American citizens without a warrant, imprison American citizens on his own declaration, kidnap and torture, than what can’t he do?” “As long as we stay petrified of the Terrorists and wholly submissive whenever the word “war” is uttered, then the answer will continue to be “nothing”.”
(If fatster can save some of Mary’s choice comments, I am sure that the NSA has read all these posts already)
(Not “shorter” in terms of Internet traditions. But much shorter in terms of length of original Glenn post)
Paul in KY
Many years ago my family had a tortise shell cat that looked about like her. Maybe the best cat we ever had.
RIP, Tibby.
Best wishes to y’all for giving her a home.
Another Commenter at Balloon Juice (fka Bella Q)
She’s lovely, and the short term kitnapping by neighbors is a wonderful demonstration of what a charmer she is. Thanks for showing us.
asiangrrlMN
Aaaaaawwwwww, JWow is a cutie! And, she looks like an absolute sweetheart. Good on you, GregJ, for taking her in. P.S. I do believe in some of the karma stuff, so I’m glad your gf is comforted by the presence of an old friend.
IrishGirl
I think she’s beautiful! Thank you for sharing your story :)
4jkb4ia
I think I should thank you guys. In part these posts are so old. In part writing things down filters out the lashon hara. But I can breathe and say, “This is just another day at FDL” in part because I have somewhere else to go. I hope I never lose that.
Tim
I LOVE evil, gremlin-like things that become adorable with rubbing. :D
Lucy you.
Chat Noir
JWow is gorgeous. Thanx for sharing her story. Tortoiseshell cats are awesome, speaking as a human who is owned by one.
BSR
Wow! JWow looks like a mirror image of Snickers — we got her just before Christmas last year. We had a cat for 17 years who was put down in 2009. We then switched to a dog (ACD mix) and she has been great, but we all missed having a cat around. It took two tries (first one attacked the dog and scratched her eye) but she has fit in beautifully.
She’s just under a year old and so tolerant of everything — my 9yo son chasing her around, the dog, kids in and out all the time — very social and friendly cat, and we feel lucky to have found her at a local shelter.
Here’s Snickers: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aydelotte/5430647509/
…and Pepper the dog who was a rescue in May of 2009: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aydelotte/3568367928/
eldorado
yay kitty!
ThresherK
After having two tortie littermates from a shelter, we’ve developed a weakness for them.
One had a buff blaze on her nose and at 4 weeks realized that her face was her fortune, and lived the rest of her life knowing it. The other had a personality a mile wide.
Is it true that all torties are crazy?
Culture of Truth
awwwwwww…. good story.
karen
adorable cat very nice colors
tesslibrarian
Jwow is lovely, and torties know what they want and get it. She wanted you, got you. You really don’t get a choice with torties. But they are benign dictators.
My tortie was my caretaker cat. Before I married, if I cried, she would rub against my face and purr to calm me down. After I married, she’d go get my husband because he had certain responsibilities that came with taking up half the bed. I lost her slowly to fibrosarcoma in 2009; it may be awhile before I can stand to have those knowing tortie eyes gaze at me again, though, so I am specifically looking for a not-tortie when we add kittens this spring. I just miss her too much.
Cats who have grown up outside do pretty well to keep themselves safe, but you may hit a time when she gets a little slower and older that it’s time to “retire” indoors full-time. We just did that with Jack, and it turns out the primary reason he didn’t want to come inside was the clay litter. Switched to dust-free, and he’s not so interested in outside now–takes the attitude that he can’t believe all the years he pooped in the rain in the pine straw like a sucker when could have had servants handle all that for him.
Johanna
we have 2 torties and they are crazy (both pound rescues)! When they lay in the sunny spots to sleep, they are so beautiful but at night they could send robbers running for their mommies.
Interrobang
A year ago after I’d lost my old buddy Nero, I went to the Humane Society looking for another boy cat, and a cute little tortie got out of her nesting box in her cage, came up to the bars, made eye contact with me, and yelled at me until I came over and talked to her. Even talking to her she was purring like crazy and reaching her paw out to grab my coat (signs all over the place saying “DO NOT TOUCH THE CATS” and I’m thinking “But what if the cat wants to touch me?”). I wound up bringing Miss Gypsy home and she’s been here ever since. (Here I am using the computer, Miss Gypsy style!)
Torties are very opinionated cats, but they’re extremely loving if you’re their person. You’re lucky to have been adopted by JWow.
JustPeachyAndYou
Fabulous kitty, wonderful name, and benevolent owners — congratulations on an excellent companion.
I respectfully second the recommendations above to make her an indoor tyrant, since some humans are much worse than other animals in the danger-to-cats department.
FlipYrWhig
Nice! I have a tortoiseshell cat too, and she definitely talks and asks questions and generally bosses us around with her voice. At first we thought she looked kind of like a bat, but it’s all part of the charm.
David in NYC
I had a resuce ages ago, with a similarly mangled ear, who also couldn’t stand being inside all the time. She wasn’t too thrilled about becoming a housecat, either, but eventually she got used to it.
I second all the nominations about keeping her inside, especially given the busy streets in your neighborhood.
Otherwise, what a great story and what a cute kitty!
Origuy
This looks just like my housemates’ Gizmo. They rescued her from the bushes outside their apartment in Sacramento a few years ago. Her tail had been broken and she has no feeling in it, so she never grooms it. However, Gizmo was so tiny when they brought her in that she is happy staying inside. She’ll get curious once in awhile if someone leaves a door open, but hesitates long enough for someone to catch her.
Kmeyer the lurker
Torties rarely if ever photograph well, yet they are stragenly beautiful, and goddam do they have personality. They run the gamut IMO, but whatever they decide to do they do on 10.
We have a small feral colony and have had the occasional addition who turned out to be not so feral, but ear tipped anyways. The AMACA are totally overwhelmed in the Denver Metro area, so I get that neutering may take priority over finding out if the cat is feral or merely terrified. I would definitely guess that ear is tipped.
Torties always cheer me up.
Allen
That might well be the coolest looking cat I have ever seen.
Val
Great story Greg!