From the first day I started planning my escape a big part of it all was this guy, Jack. Jack is 13, I've had him since he was a kitten. He actually has/had a sister, but she didn't make the trip with us. She wasn't really my cat, she followed my ex around like a puppy, he called her his "one true friend" (in reality she likely is his only friend). Although we got them at the same time and they are blood related, I never really bonded with her, but Jack was mine from the first time I laid eyes on him. 
I'd never had a black cat before, so I didn't know how awesome they are. He can hide in plain sight just by sitting on a dark chair or in a dark window. I love the deep dark richness of his black fur. His eyes are bright and show up even more since the rest of him is so dark. He's my baby.
So when I finally made the decision that it was time to go, there was no question in my mind that Jack was going with me. He had been through almost as much as I had, on a cat level. My ex insisted that they both get declawed, so biting is his only defence, as is hers, and she used it a lot. His sister beat him up regularly, he often had to hide from her just to keep her from biting out chunks of his fur. My ex is very superstitious, so he wasn't crazy about Jack from the start, so if he wasn't abusing me, he would often take out his frustrations on my cat.
Jack has been physically thrown across a room. He has had many things thrown at him, from a pillow to a book. He has been thrown in the shower with the water turned on full blast and hot. He has been thrown in the tub while I took a bath. He has been kicked, screamed at, terrorized for his entire life. But throughout all of that time he always knew that I was his safe place. If he was afraid, he would sometimes hide in the bathroom behind the litterbox, or if my sewing room was open he'd go way under the table in the back. Once the coast was clear and it was safe for me to do so, I'd go get him. He was a pretty big kitty, about 14 lbs, but when I'd pick him up to take him to sit quietly and safely with me, he'd snuggle up to me and make himself as small as he could. We'd go out to the living room and sit in my chair together, with him snuggled up beside me or in my lap.
Jack's never been a real cuddler, or fond of a lot of touching ... he'd tolerate just so much and then he'd be done and either hiss or bite or just run away. He never slept on the bed, he preferred to sleep on a chair by himself out in the living room. He's not a real touchy-feely cat, unless he's scared, then he desperately needs his mommy. Unfortunately, he spent a lot of his time there afraid and hiding or lashing out, but he's always been my sweet black kitty who loves paper bags, catnip toys, and ice cream.
Then suddenly one day out of the blue he was put in a cage, then took a ride in a car to a strange place where his cage was put on a wagon and taken to a strange room, where he was finally let out. He was in his first hotel. This was the first time he'd ever left his home since I got him 13 years ago. He was terrified. He snooped around and tried to hide behind the bed, I had to stuff pillows around there so he wouldn't get stuck somewhere that I couldn't get him out of. He wouldn't eat, or use the makeshift litterbox I'd brought along. That night Jack slept on the pillow literally wrapped around my head. The next day he went back in the cage, then in a plane, another plane, a bus, then another hotel. I had put an old sweatshirt of mine and a toy of his in his cage so he'd have familiar smells around him. He must have held out as long as he could but by the end of the trip he did pee on the sweatshirt, but not so badly that he was all gross ... I just tossed the shirt & toy and he was fine. Of course I had his favourite blankey packed with me and a backup toy.
We were at that hotel for 2 nights, he finally did eat but still wouldn't use the litter box. It was strange and not what he was used to and he was still scared. Again he slept wrapped around my head. If I was sitting in a chair, he sat beside me. If I sat on the bed, again he was right beside me. He didn't meow, didn't hiss, no biting, not a sound, just made sure he knew where I was at all times.
Then we went to the place where we were to do the rest of our 14 day Covid-19 quarantine. We had a borrowed camper to stay in, it was roomy and very nice, lots of places for him to snoop around and an actual litterbox that he finally used. He hid under a bed every time I opened the camper door for any reason, and sat tight against me whenever I sat down, and of course slept wrapped around my head.
It was early April, still quite cold, especially compared to where we'd moved from, so we relocated to an airbnb cabin. There we had a wood stove, so it was nice and warm all the time, more space to stretch out, a borrowed laptop to watch movies on, we brought along the litterbox and we were all set. He hid for most of the first day, but by the second he was much more comfortable, though he still ran and hid under the bed every time I opened the door or he heard a noise. We were at the cabin for a week, then back to the camper once the cold snap had mostly passed. Jack had now graduated to sleeping on the pillow beside my head, instead of ON my head. It was a refreshing change not to have a "cat hat" every time I went to bed. This is him in the camper on his favourite blankey with his toy, right beside me, of course.
When our isolation time was complete, we moved into the house. For me, this was heaven. I was and am now surrounded by my people, people who I love and who love me back. I am safe and no longer afraid (most of the time). For Jack this was another huge change in his now constantly changing life. He went from first spending 13 years being abused by a monster, then in the matter of 2 weeks he went into a cage, in a car, a hotel, 2 planes, a bus, another hotel, another car, the camper, another car, the cabin, another car, the camper again, then into a strange house filled with people and pets he doesn't know.
First there's Pepsi. She's tiny, fluffy, looks harmless, but is obviously the queen of the house as she is the oldest (she's a year older than Jack) and she hates all of the other animals in the house and makes it crystal clear. They all know to just steer clear of her and all will be well.
This is Mort. He's the Alpha Male cat in the house. He spends most of his day sleeping because he spends the whole night outside hunting. He brings home squirrels, mice, rabbits, all sorts of critters and leaves them on the deck for us to find in the morning. He likes to sit where the kitchen floor steps up about an inch or so to the back entrance, with his furry arm leaning there like a little man keeping an eye on the stairs and the back door.
Both Pepsi and Mort of course have claws, they're both indoor/outdoor cats.
Then there's Chester. Chester is about 6, he's a black lab/german shepherd mix and he's basically a huge puppy. He loves the kitties. He loves everyone. He's barky and big, but not nasty at all. He and Mort often sleep on the couch together. There are no bad vibes coming from Chester unless you're the mailman or the UPS guy.
The only other animal Jack has ever known in his life was his nasty sister. Now he lives in a house full of other animals. I'm sure the first time he saw Chester he was thinking "what happened to make that kitty SO BIG?". He'd never met a dog before, didn't have a clue what he was or what to expect from this gigantic exuberant kitty.
We started our journey on March 28, finished our isolation on the Easter weekend. Jack went back to sleeping ON my head and didn't leave our bedroom for over 2 months. Since then he gradually started to make an appearance ... one of the kids asked me one night if Jack was allowed to leave his room. I said he's allowed to, he just never does. Apparently he had decided to take a little walk down the upstairs hall. Interesting. (note: we keep a flimsy cardboard barrier across the lower part of the bedroom door so he can jump in and out IF he chooses, but to deter the other kitties and Chester from going in. Oddly enough Chester COULD just nudge it over, but never does)
Pepsi was brought in one day to meet Jack (she had been using that bedroom as her own personal space until we got there, sorry kid, it's ours for now). She growled at Jack, he hissed and growled at her, such sweet cousins greeting each other. Then she looked around and you could almost hear her thinking "what the --? he's got catering? and an en-suite???" She took a swipe at him and was quickly ushered out. Since then she's only leapt the barrier once (at 3am - yay) and a full-on catfight ensued. We take major steps to avoid them even seeing each other now.
Jack very slowly, very gradually started venturing out of his room more often, a little further each time, usually when the house was really quiet late at night. Chester can be noisy, his toenails clatter a little when he walks on the wood floor, but Jack got used to that. He no longer hisses every time he walks past the bedroom next to us when Chester is in there for the night.
He spent a lot of his first encounters with Mort with both of them just looking at each other from about 6 feet apart. I don't think they were social distancing, I think it was more about how neither knew what the other could do and were weighing out their options. I used to think Jack was a big kitty. Since we've moved he's lost about 4 lbs, so he's smaller than he was, and he's definitely smaller than Mort. Mort is a substantial kitty, all muscle (and very snuggly). If he wanted to, Mort could kick Jack's butt. Jack started out just hissing and growling every time he saw Mort, then eventually he took a swipe at him.
Now, when a declawed kitty takes a swipe at you, it's like being smacked lightly with a mitten. He usually does a few in a row, like bop bop bop then runs away. I'm sure the first time it happened Mort was just like "what the heck was that?"
Since then Mort has swatted back, but never with his claws so far. If Jack was smart he'd just leave him alone, but I'm starting to question his intelligence these days because he can't seem to do that ... though some days he does give him a wide berth.
3½ months ago nobody would have thought that firstly, Jack would ever leave his room, and secondly, that his main ally in the house would be Chester. Now Jack is often found wandering the house, he just pops up randomly all over the place. He is still hissy at people when he's surprised or startled, but fortunately the only person he has ever bitten (I did mention he's a biter) has been me. I wouldn't want him to bite the others in the house, especially the kids (they're teens, not little kids). Unfortunately the one person he does bite is the only one allergic to his "venom" (it's landed me in the ER for anaphylaxis already). But this picture here, with Jack sitting there after having just had a drink from the communal water dish with Chester just laying there chillin', is proof of how far this kitty has come. I have survived a lot, and so has he, and like a Timex we take a licking and keep on ticking. Jack is my sweet black kitty who has done so much in such a short time, I'm so proud of him every time I see him come carefully poking his head around a corner.
And yes, he does still sleep on my head or right beside it on the pillow. I don't think that's stopping anytime soon.
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