Jack Nimble, Rest In Peace

I named you Jack Nimble because you were narrow and slender and small and I imagined if there were a lit candle you could arc it swiftly.  I felt your spine, each bone under a soft slip of skin, that knocked gently at my knee. Your movement, a plea mostly misunderstood. Your nails, with the Earth on their underside, were darker than the clear thorns I find in my own mattress, accustom to gripping and releasing the outside. Not well-punctured, soft-padded pile and backing. You seemed far more interested in pets than in food. Starved. You trusted easy and posed for the camera. “How nice,” I thought, “a new kitty on the porch.” One that arrived in my time, one that I’d watch grow. One that I’d call Jack and hope that it’d stick. One that I’d love because that’s what you do, very naturally.

Jack is gone now. But I can’t forget his little tiny face, his little tiny voice. So I’m using my voice, to speak of Jack in memoriam… and to speak up on the issue of cat abandonment. There are over 60 million stray cats in the U.S. with an additional 5 million house cats abandoned annually (source). Supporting the efforts of local no-kill shelters and “Trap-Neuter-Return” programs can help fight over-population and abandonment. To help the millions like Jack.

In loving honor of those who share their heart and home with a cat.