Meet Jack!

As I mentioned yesterday we have a new family member that joined us a little over a week ago.  He is a solid black rescue kitty and his name is Jack.  The vet had named him that when he came in with a wire wrapped around his neck and digging in pretty deep.  Why someone would do that to an animal is beyond me, but that seems to be what happened.  The wire was surgically removed and he began to heal.

Stella is not impressed with him
She is rather annoyed, but coming around to the idea

It just so happened that I arrived at the Idaho Humane Society the morning the vet had decided he was ready to adopt.  I wasn't sure really why I was there, but in the past few weeks I'd been looking at kitties online and feeling that familiar tug at my heart.  I looked at, petted and/or held nearly every kitty in there but none of them seemed to be right except for one little girl.  The only issue was she was reported not to get along with other cats.  That might be a problem since we have Stella.

Checking out the couch for comfy

We left the shelter covered in cat hair and went home deciding it just wasn't the right time and we would check back in a few weeks or so and see if the right kitty was there for us.  However, later that afternoon my oldest daughter showed up unexpectedly for a quick visit and to introduce us to a new friend she has met at college.  We like him very much and had a really nice visit.  Then we told her about our morning and I said I felt really compelled to go back, if nothing else, just to show her the kitties.  She insisted we did so we all piled into the car and headed back over.

After only a week with us his coat is shiny and he is really starting to fill out

I had seen Jack that morning when they first put him out and had petted him a few times, but the vet tech was working with him and I didn't really have the opportunity to hold him or do much with him.  I did get his back story though and it sounded like he'd had a pretty rough go of it.  In addition to his injuries he was extremely thin and his coat was not in the best condition.

He loves his food!

When we got there the second time I showed them the fussy female kitty and we discovered she didn't really bond with the girls although she seemed to do really well with me.  I put her back in her cage and felt terrible doing so, but in my gut I knew it wasn't the right kitty for our home.  She is beautiful though and should have no trouble finding her person.  I'm sure of that.

He also loves to hang out in our garage
Me too!

We looked at all the kitties again and I saw that Jack's adoption paperwork was now hanging on his cage and despite his obvious injuries I felt like I needed to take this little guy out and give him some snuggles.  Oh my goodness, was he ever happy to be getting some attention.  What a love!

We have two food and water stations set up right now
to make sure he gets his nutrition boosted

He was super thin and pretty scraggly, but affectionate and extremely loving.  With all of us!  He snuggled right into me, completely relaxed and started purring.  Nothing around him seemed to bother him as he lay in my arms and took in all that was going on.  None of the other cats upset him, all of the people coming and going didn't bother him.  This cat was pretty chilled out.  And content to just be held.  This was the kitty for me!  I just knew it.

I got them a new bowl at a thrift store for their dry food
I thought it looked nicer than the old one

The staff at the shelter was thrilled when I told them I wanted to take Jack home.  He stayed overnight to be neutered and I picked him up the following afternoon.  In the meantime I prepared for his homecoming and got everything ready.  Not that any of our cats are ever spoiled or anything, but he should never again know what hunger and neglect feel like.  Okay, there may be some spoiling as well.  But my goal is to make sure this little guy has the best life from here on out.

My new blogging assistant
He is not overly helpful, to be honest... 😂

Stella tolerates him, but they have yet to become friends.  I'm sure they will though as she loves to play and he is super sweet and playful.  It is hard to know exactly what this little guy has been through, but in spite of it all he has a truly optimistic spirit and doesn't seem to let his circumstances get in the way of his happiness.  He seems to really like his new home and his people.  He loves his food, which is wonderful as I'm hoping he gains some weight. He can't meow due to his injuries and he makes the funniest chirping sound instead, but we know he is telling us he loves us and his new home.  I've never adopted and adult cat before and I've never adopted a "special needs" kitty, but I'm really glad I decided to give it a go.  He fits in perfectly with our clan.