Jake is one of the many cats who did not have an easy start in life. Animal Control took Jake to BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter). He arrived with 42 other cats that had been rescued from a dire situation. All cats were mistreated, unvaccinated, weakened and infected with fleas.
BARCS is a large animal shelter and Jake was one of the last cats to survive. When he came to the shelter he was sick with an upper respiratory infection, scared and depressed and constantly hiding in his box.
Jake’s name was given to him by me; he was Pringles #27 to BARCS. Because polydactyl cats are frequently referred to as “Hemingway cats,” I named him after Jake Barnes from Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises.
When I initially brought Jake home, he stayed in my bathroom. While he was hiding in his container, he allowed me to pet him, but he was generally hesitant and unwilling to let me handle him.
I then brought him into my office and placed him in a huge dog crate so that I could concentrate on socializing him in limited spaces (if I had instead let him loose in a room, he would have just hid to avoid contact). He spent months in the dog cage.
Jake was believed to be 5 years old when he arrived at BARCS in early 2013, so he is now 12 years old. He may be a little older, and I believe he is losing his hearing.
Jake has a total of 24 fingers, six on each front paw and six on each hind paw.
He does not like it when he touches his feet. I have to take him to a cleaner to cut his nails as he will not allow me to do it myself, and if I do not, his nails start to get in his fingers.
His front paws have the signature of polydactyly “big toe” cats, which resemble attractive gloves. His hind paws have the appearance of beaters. His hind toes are among the smallest I have ever seen. I can not stop myself from gently caressing my hind legs occasionally just to see him shaking his leg because I tickle too much.
Jake’s journey to where he is now took a long time. He still hides when strangers come, if he thinks they will try to kidnap him.
He is, however, a complete lover who enjoys being touched and treated. He jumps from “his” chair in my dining room and runs as soon as he hears me sitting on the couch. He jumps to take a seat next to me, tapping my palm until I caress him. He gurgles loudly and puts his head on my lap.
Recently he has become a popular cat. He always likes to sit next to me and rest his head on my lap, but last month or so, he decided to sit on my lap in a beautiful blanket while I watched Netflix his new favorite place .
Jake is also very fun, and he likes to sit in his chair. I was cleaning in the second floor hallway when I heard a noise. As soon as I entered the room I saw him throwing toy mice in the air and chasing and jumping on them. If you throw a mouse at it while it is playing, it rises like a small horse and makes a small hop jump before jumping on its prey.
He also follows shadows across the floor. I’ll catch him staring attentively at something on the kitchen floor before realizing he’s tracking my shadow. So, with my hand, I’ll create a shadow shape and move it around the floor. With his huge mitts, he scrambles after it, attempting to grab and retain the shadow forms. He also enjoys observing the birds and squirrels through my windows.
He gets so excited and happy over lunch that he starts to roll from one side of the kitchen floor to the other, back and forth, back and forth, flip! That’s what I refer to as his “dinner dance.”
Jake was always very eager to meet newcomers, especially kittens. In fact, kittens helped him get out of his shell. He had a lot of fun playing with them, even crouching with them. Immediately made friends with the new kittens, they adore Jack.
Jake is also a big fan of Christmas trees. I don’t mean he loves to climb them or swat at the decorations; he just appears to like being around them. Every year when I bring in a newly cut tree from a friend’s Christmas tree farm, I have to relocate an old chair with a velvet seat cushion. I placed the chair at the living room entrance, across from the tree, and Jake could be seen under the tree or on the chair looking at it, or resting quietly, throughout the holiday season.
Jack is a survivor who has come a long way. He was horrified when he first arrived, and his previous life must have been a nightmare.
During the time he was under my care, he also had some health issues: he had these horrible recurring scars called eosinophilic plaques, which were mostly on his face and most likely had been caused by allergies. He was on prednisone, then Atopica, and then I changed his diet and removed all of his medication, and he recovered for wonderful.
He never hurt me, even though his erratic behavior made me nervous from time to time. However, he eventually overcame his skepticism and stopped doing so
For at least a few months, the socialization process phase lasted. Then I started letting Jake out of the kennel for a while by keeping the door of my office locked. I let some of my other cats into the room, and everyone was extremely interested in her. Jake liked to play with other cats.
Much of this is chronicled on Jake’s Facebook page, which I created to aid with his adoption promotion. Jake had over 500 followers by the time I knew he was here to stay months later, and I couldn’t leave them hanging! As a result, I’ve kept his page current so that anybody who is interested may read about his tale and follow his antics and adventures. He has a large number of admirers.
Jake is a lovely kitty that is adored and adored by everybody. I’m grateful he came into my life, and I consider it an honor to be his caretaker. He’s a unique young man.
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