I wasn’t planning on adopting a second cat when I found Jack in April 2020.  One night when I came out of work at the tv station some coworkers and I found this kitten under one of our news vans, cold, scared, and hungry.  He seemed to be in good health and when we decided we just couldn’t leave him alone out there in the cold I ended up being the one to take him home.  Initially I was going to take him to my vet the next day and try to track down his owner as he didn’t look like a feral cat.  I was nervous about how I was going to keep him apart from my orange tabby Jett in a one bedroom apartment.

My vet said he looked fine and estimated his birthday to be the previous summer (August 2019) which would have made him about 8 months old.  He was not neutered or chipped or wearing any sort of ID, although the fur around his neck was matted almost like he had been wearing a collar that was too tight.  The neighborhood around the tv station is not the safest place so I decided to post him on a few lost pet sites.  Eventually with no response I decided to go ahead and let the vet neuter him and I’d take him, but I still wasn’t thinking long term.

Jack is a Flame Point Siamese.  The reason I leaned toward keeping him is because he was an absolutely gorgeous cat with the softest fur I’d ever felt, and apparently somewhat rare when I learned about this breed.  A Flame Point is a cross between a Siamese and an orange tabby.  The pigment genes are recessive and body temperature activated, so the color comes out strongest on the less warm parts of the body:  tail, face, legs, and ears with the body having some dull orange patches.  They also have tabby stripes on the tail and on the forehead similar to Jett.  His Siamese traits include blue eyes and the fact that he’s very vocal.  Siamese are known for being attached to their humans which he is, but he does not tolerate being picked up and held or touched anywhere on the belly.  I think early on he did not like being touched in more places but over time he does let me stroke him anywhere but the belly.  I do not know his history. I was thinking he could have had a bad experience with humans as a young kitten and maybe that led to his fear so I’ve tried to be very gentle with him.  He may not like being touched but he does stay close to me in whatever room I go to.  He jumps on the bed too, but will mostly remain at least at arms length away.

After being neutered I was happy to see that it only took a couple of days until he was getting along with Jett with no fighting as you can see in the pictures.  They were grooming each other by the end of the first week.  I would not say they’re bonded but they get along well, using the same litterbox, and at times play-fighting.  The more time that passed, the more I gave up on rehoming him and chose to make him a permanent part of my home.  Jack is a well mannered cat and is non-destructive.  He’s always curious about what is going on and vocal, quite the contrast from Jett who is more reserved, quiet, and jumps on my lap when he wants attention.

I named him Jack, which is short for Jackson, and a nod to where he was born and where I found him:  Jackson, Mississippi.