Our Family Has Expanded!

OK…it isn’t a new grandchild or even a great nephew or niece.  Instead, we adopted a needy 7-year old who had been starved and physically abused…

So what did you expect?!  At my age, (Laurie is a lot younger!), we had to take on a responsibility commensurate with: (A) Our ability to cope; (B) Our financial status now that we’re retired, and; (C) the size of Laurie’s lap.

Let me introduce you to J.D.  He’s named in honor of our son David II’s recent graduation from Case Western Reserve with his Juris Doctor degree.  J.D. also happens to be the reverse of D.J., important because of the fact that there are already 3 D.J.’s in the family! (David Jeffrey I, II and III)

The photo above is a perfect illustration of just how J.D. woke me up this morning.  I heard a couple of loud “Meows”, (He must be part Siamese!), and then his paw was on my nose and face!  It was like he thought that I’d gone deaf because I hadn’t immediately reacted when he spoke to me…

Yes, J.D. is on our dining room table.  It was his second visit to this venue that we know about.  Our goal following these photos is to chase him off the table as well as the kitchen counters…although we haven’t seen him on the latter…yet!

J.D.’s story is sad… He was part of a family that kept him indoors, plus they had him neutered and declawed.  Then their baby came…and they decided that they couldn’t have or didn’t want J.D. in the house any longer. (We don’t know what his name was in this chapter of his life) So, J.D. suddenly became an outdoor cat!

If you know anything about cats, I don’t need to tell you that a declawed cat is going to have a tough time living outdoors… The neighborhood ‘alpha’ cat or cats kicked his butt, stole his food and in general made J.D’s life miserable.  Fortunately, a sister of J.D.’s human family came by to visit and then turned her family into the Humane Society.  J.D. was rescued from certain death!

In the last 2 photos, J.D. is posing on my Grandmother Weed’s hooked rug that dates back to around 1950 or 1951.

 

To continue with his story, J.D. was seen by a Humane Society veterinarian, where he was cleaned and stitched up.  (His back legs, belly, base of his tail and neck area were shaved so they could clean and stitch his wounds.)  Adopt-A-Pet, a rescue shelter here in East Tennessee, took him in and placed him with a rescue volunteer.  They named him ‘Mr. Pickles’…presumably because of the situational ‘pickle’ he was in when he was rescued.  According to the foster care 'mom', J.D. was just a skeleton when she got him and she wasn't sure he'd survive. 

After gaining some weight , he occasionally spent a little time at PetSmart…but he didn’t do well there.  There was too much going on with other cats…perhaps reminiscent of his outdoor living adventures…and he shyly stayed back in his cage.  Consequently, he was passed over by 'would be' adoptive families.  He was in the foster home for 4 to 6 months before we took him home.

Like most cats, J.D. loves lying in the sun.  He weighs less than any cat that we’ve ever had…at only 10.5 lbs. (Hank the Tank was 27 lbs. at his peak weight and even Lhasa, our Himalayan weighed a bit more than J.D. does) J.D. has scars under his chin, on his neck, legs and belly, all from his ‘outdoor’ life.  Going to a cat fight without front claws is a bit like taking a knife to a gunfight…

Almost immediately after exploring our house, J.D. decided that he was home!  He is very lanky, long and slim…(walks like John Wayne if you’re watching from behind!) J.D. uses his paws more than his cries to capture our immediate attention.  Here he’s contentedly resting on Laurie’s lap after a tough day of exploration, eating and being petted… Life is good!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for helping us welcome J.D. to our extended family!  He's a really sweet cat and a "keeper"!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie