Discovering the Boys
It was early the morning of May 1, 1995, when Scott heard the cries of kittens from the shrubs under his bedroom window. There was a stray female we called “Momma Kitty” at the apartment complex where we lived; she had given birth during a rainstorm. When Scott checked, there were three tiny kittens. We monitored them for as long as we could, before deciding we had to bring them inside the apartment to protect them.
Though we hadn’t planned on adopting them, we ended up keeping them together. In the early years, Scott would take them outside in his lap to see Momma Kitty. We’d like to believe that she understood they were safe and loved.
SHARED VITALS
- Names: Alex, J.C. and Mutt
- Gender: Male
- Birthday: May 1, 1995
- Hometown: Visalia, California
SPECIAL
- The boys were a team, each with a special role.
Alex
Alex was the strongest, most active of the three brothers. As a kitten, he ran like no other cat in our household, his claws digging into the carpet as he flew through rooms and down the hallways. He seemed to be the healthiest and most energetic of the boys.
We named him after Alexander the Great, and it was a fitting name.
VITALS
- Name: Alexander the Great
- Died: March 18, 2014 (18 years, 10 months)
OCCUPATION
- Linguist
FAVORITES
- Food: Anything, anytime. If you’re eating it, I get to sample some, too!
- Treats: That’s all you have? Where are you hiding more? Chicken or turkey, ideally.
- Toys: Laser light! Yippee!
- Beds: Next to either Mimi or Jordan, between Susan and Scott at night. Scott’s pillow.
Companion Cat
Big, muscular, and always in search of a friend, Alex seemed to need other cats. He bonded with Jordan, especially after Fido died. When Misty Kitty arrived, he adopted her as a best friend. It was rare to find Alex alone.
Talkative Cat
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After losing Jordan, Alex has spent a bit more time alone than in the past. He sits on or near the guest bed, which is a place he had favored before Jordan’s health declined. When Jordan was ill, she remained on the guest bed for most of two weeks. Alex was right there with her. He’s definitely a loyal cat.
Fading Spark
We said goodbye to Alex at 9:58 a.m. on March 18, 2014. He lived seven months without his brother, Mutt, and two years without J.C. They were always and forever the Three Amigos.
Mutt
Mutt, also called Muttles and Muttley, was the daring adventurer. Always our “little engineer,” Mutt liked to remove box lids, open cupboard doors, and go where we would rather he not. If he had opposable thumbs, he’d have be opening his own cans of food.
When Mutt was born, it was raining and cold. We don’t know if it was a side effect of a respiratory infection, but he had a heart murmur that seemed to come and go. Mutt wasn’t expected to live a full life, but he bounded past 12, 14, and 16 with big eyes and plenty of mischief.
VITALS
- Name: Mutt, Marcus Ulpius Traianus (Trajan)
- Died: August 8, 2013 (18 years, 3 months)
OCCUPATION
- Engineer
FAVORITES
- Food: Pâté.
- Treats: Small crunchy or soft treats.
- Toys: Everything is a toy. Sparkle balls, catnip “fishing pole” mice, paper balls. Playing fetch is always fun.
- Beds: Somewhere quiet, often alone.
I’m the Handsome One!
Final Days
Mutt had lost most of his hearing by 2013, something first diagnosed during the summer of 2012. He also started to struggle with balance, especially going up and down stairs. In our new house, Mutt remained upstairs most of the time, where the bedrooms and office space were. He would seldom venture downstairs into the living room or kitchen. Then again, all he needed or wanted was on the top floor: food, litter boxes, and beds.
Almost two years after J.C. passed away, Mutt also left the family. We had wondered if there was a chance he might last a few weeks longer, or maybe more, but he was just too tired. He had stopped eating and was having some other problems.
Mutt never liked trips to the vet, but he was quiet for the last ride. We wish he could have felt better for another weekend or more. The morning of August 8, 2013, at 9:40 a.m., Mutt left us. It was a lousy morning.
J.C. Kitty
J.C. was a soft, easy-to-purr, relaxed gentleman. Definitely not the dominating Gaius for whom he was named. His coat was fine and soft, a fluffy and cuddly boy.
When we rescued the boys, J.C. was the first to climb into laps and look for people. One reason we saved the boys was because J.C. was starting to wander from the safety of bushes. He didn’t see any reason to fear people or other animals.
VITALS
- Name: Julius Caesar
- Died: August 18, 2011 (16 years, 3 months)
OCCUPATION
- Animal Care
FAVORITES
- Food: Dry food preferred.
- Treats: Soft, chewy, and the “fishier” the better.
- Toys: A paper ball, tossed between two people.
- Beds: Anywhere a person was or will be. Oh, you wanted that seat?
Happy Cat
J.C. was a “happy-go-lucky” cat with a purr motor that rarely stopped. You could hear his purr from across a room. He didn’t fear anyone, and would purr for any person willing to show him a little attention. He would even purr for the vet technicians during exams, right until his final weeks.
Nothing, not even traveling from California to Minnesota or from Minnesota to Pennsylvania seemed to upset him. As long as he could look around, J.C. was calm and even happy. J.C. was also one of the most low-key cats we’ve seen.
A Great Papa Kitty
You might say he was a hero. He was the most “parental” and nurturing cat in our lives. Any cats we rescued, he wanted to play with them and help them. He was gentle and protective of kittens. J.C. was even a blood donor for Simba before she died. He helped her feel a little better before her body failed. J.C. was a great adoptive papa kitty.
J.C. was so laid back that even Pumpkin Kitty was relaxed sharing space with him. It was impossible to feel tense knowing all you had to do was look at J.C. to start up his purr motor. He helped Pumpkin handle the moves, simply by being a good travel companion.
Playful and Active
A very active bundle of energy, J.C. loved “wrestling” and playing until his last few weeks. In his younger years, J.C. was quite the jumper. His favorite game was to try to catch a paper ball being tossed down the hall. We’d sit at each end of a short hallway and toss the ball several feet into the air while J.C. would jump to swat at it. More often than not, he’d manage to swat the ball back at us with his paw. The last time we really played paper ball was in our Bloomington, Minnesota, apartment. That was in 2006, right after moving to Minnesota for graduate school.
We should have played a lot more with the boys after moving. They all loved to play.
Loved His People
J.C. liked to have his people within sight, even if he wasn’t a “lap kitty” most of the time. If we were in the bedroom, he’d be in a cat bed on the floor or on the bed with us. If we were watching television, he’d be somewhere nearby or right next to us on the couch.
Following some medical issues in 2008, Scott started taking warm baths in the evenings. We noticed that J.C. would like to be in the bathroom, too, either on the mat next to the bath or in the same high-sided kitty bed that Jordan had loved so much. If either of us took an evening bath, J.C. would follow. You could hear J.C. purring from the kitty bed while you were in the bathtub.
For the last few years, J.C.’s favorite nighttime sleeping spot was sharing a pillow with one of us. He’d climb the stairs onto the bed and amble up to plop down with his front legs and face propped up on a pillow, right up next to one of our faces. He particularly liked it if Sue would hold his paw or if his paw was on top of her hand while she went to sleep listening to a very loud purr motor running next to her head.
The Final Weeks
J.C. passed away less than a month after moving from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Chippewa, Pennsylvania. He was already losing weight, but his last exams in Minnesota seemed to be as good as possible, considering his age.
The weekend of July 30-31, 2011, J.C. started to drool with spots of blood. We thought he might have chewed a cardboard box or some plastic, a bad habit of his. Sadly, he was diagnosed with oral cancer on August 2 and underwent emergency surgery the next day.
The surgery went well, but the cancer had already spread beyond his mouth. He also was suffering from dehydration and partial kidney failure. The cancer was a particularly fast moving form of oral cancer. Less than two weeks after receiving laser surgery to remove the cancer from his mouth, his drinking slowed and he stopped eating.
He was hospitalized from Monday afternoon, August 15, through Wednesday afternoon to receive IV fluids in an attempt to reverse his dehydration. He seemed perkier after receiving the fluids. Tuesday afternoon he looked a lot better and purred and demanded attention from Sue when she visited him in the hospital. He went home Wednesday afternoon with Scott, but the cancer had caused enough damage to his throat and lungs to create problems breathing overnight. By dawn, he was only semi-conscious and by the time the vet opened on Thursday morning, J.C. was unresponsive and barely breathing.
J.C. passed away at 10:30 a.m. on August 18, 2011. He spent the night next to Scott, sharing a soft blue pillow. J.C. was too tired to drink or eat that morning. Scott held him and talked to him for several hours, knowing J.C. was out of energy — after having been active and happy until those last few weeks.