I Feel Your Pain, Little One...

Things have been getting a little too serious around here lately. It is time to change the channel on that line of thinking. The time has come to smile and think light thoughts. It is time to switch over to the Cat Channel within life as I know it.

Let me start with a little introduction to when we adopted our youngest cat "Jet". We went to the SPCA to window shop for a dog. Our most special little cat, Andre, had died a few months prior. We were not looking for a replacement. We were craving a new chapter. We considered and wondered if we could become "dog people".

Long story short, we came home with a little black cat who mirrored Andre's size, mannerisms and looks. This little black fur ball literally reached out to us and climbed from one set of arms to the next. Just like when a baby holds out their arms when they want to be held by a person who is not holding them.

Jet's first day with us - look at that smug expression on his face. He has played his humans well.
Life is about to get interesting...

Spoiler alert. Jet just wanted out of that cage. He is a master at recognizing human's weaknesses and preying on them. He took one look at my son, reached out from the bars that were containing him and tapped him on the shoulder.

We have never looked back.

We brought our new little black kitty into our home. "Ray" (our senior cat in residence) didn't blink an eye when this Andre impostor walked out of the cat carrier and started to investigate his new surroundings. Jet fit into Andre's cat harness like a glove. Andre was a petite black cat and when Jet fit perfectly into Andre's personal harness, it was like finding the missing piece to a puzzle. Our family was complete.

Ray and Jet meet

Jet fit into our home like he was custom made for us. We saw Andre's spirit within him and it was like living with a youthful, healthy version of our precious Andre.

Jet, in Andre's cat harness (he got into some white paint - just a taste of what was yet to come)

Okay. Now you know the beginning of my tale. When Jet moved in with us, he was a small cat. He weighed somewhere in and around nine to ten pounds. We were told he was an adult. I now believe he was only a teen. Because he grew.

Jet is growing comfortable with us and letting us know his "true self"

The last time we weighed our twin black cats, Jet had caught up to Ray in size and weight. They both weighed in at the exact same weight of 12 (point something, I think) pounds.

Our "Black Twin Towers"

I often call them our "twin towers" as they mirror each other's pose even when they are not looking at each other.

Enjoying the only dry spot they can find, after making a "cat escape" from the house

Bird watching in tandem

I believe the last time we weighed both cats was late fall. Perhaps early winter. It doesn't really matter except to drive home the fact that it was after they had become house bound this past winter. Jet likes to jump our fence and make daring escapes into our neighbor's yard. So it is important to remember that Jet was a lithe, lean athletic machine the last time we were outside.

Fast forward to this spring.

Our snow finally melted and we made our first foray onto our deck and Jet came out to join us last weekend. My Middle Son (who has two lean cat specimens of his own) picked up Jet and immediately asked how much he weighed. He was HUGE in comparison to their cats. We weighed both Ray and Jet shortly thereafter. Ray still weighed in at a stable 12.2 pounds. Jet however, tipped the scale at 15.4 pounds. Astounding.

We didn't really think of it again until Jet decided he needed to catch a bird and was ready to make a break from our yard. He bounded for the fence and missed his target by a mile. His jumping abilities hadn't quite adapted to his 25% weight gain.

A picture from the archives, showing our 6 ft fence that Jet cannot presently scale

I then recalled how Ray is now the only cat who will retrieve a toy from underneath the cabinet in our living room. I saw Jet try a while ago but he backed up when he couldn't get past his shoulders.

Just as I finished writing this, Ray snuck under the cabinet for a little "alone time" from Jet
(can these guys read minds?!?)

We all think this is pretty funny as Jet tries to adapt his inner image of himself to his present day body and weight size. Then I took a good, hard look at myself. I too, have packed on some extra poundage. I'm not squeezing through narrow aisle ways quite the way I once did either. I am not one to laugh.

Jet, I feel your pain. You feel the same on the inside but the image in the mirror isn't quite the same as it used to be. Do we adapt? Or do we diet?

I believe Jet is saying "We adapt. I didn't really want under there anyway."