By Kailani Clarke
Elm Staff Writer
One of the best things about people is our capacity for change. As we tumble through life and its tumults, we learn and grow and become better versions of ourselves, even if it hurts. Jack-Jack, this week’s Pet of the Week, has gone through bad times and blossomed.
Jack-Jack is a 3-year-old tabby cat and a testament to the phrase, “What does not kill you makes you stronger.” He was abandoned by his last family when they moved away without him and ended up at the Animal Care Shelter for Kent County.
This month marks a year since his arrival.
His clipped ear and the fine scars on his muzzle speak of a turbulent history, and when he first came to the ACSKC he was too shy to be handled. But since then Jack has bloomed into a sweet, gentle cat with a lot of love to give.
Entering the front room of the shelter is sure to bring the sight of his streaked-gray and white form curled up in a bed by the door or perched on one of the office desks. His cool green eyes are typically half-lidded with relaxation.
Give him attention and he will rumble with deep-chested purrs and tilt his head to get that one spot on his chin he loves to have scratched.
Jack-Jack has feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). This tends to scare people off, either from the stigma around the human equivalent of this disease, or fear that he will transmit it to other cats. But FIV is only transferred through a deep bite, and this is not a risk with Jack.
He adores other cats, especially kittens, and has shared the front room with numerous felines in his time at the ACSKC. Beyond that, FIV has little effect on Jack-Jack’s high quality of life.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those whose pain makes them hardened and angry, and those for whom it expands their empathy. Jack-Jack is surely the latter.
After all his troubles, he seems to have adopted a philosophical view of the world, one that allows him to focus on the important things in life: good food, a soft bed, and people to call his own.
He is waiting for his forever home so he can fill the last part of that sacred triad.
If you are interested in adopting Jack-Jack, you can fill out an adoption application online or in person at the Animal Care Shelter of Kent County at 10720 Augustine Herman Highway, Chestertown, MD, or call at 410-778-3648.