Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Jessel Goes Home

Jessel has gone home. This abrupt turn of events will, eventually, prove happy for him, but it is bittersweet right now.


Some of you who have been reading this blog recall when Jessel first showed up at Café Cosy. It was the first week of June. It took a long time to determine if he was feral (he was not) and if he was not feral, how socialised he was. Because of my findings, I decided to trap him and have him neutered, which I suspected he was not already. The rescue-group to which I belong, the Lethbridge PAW Society, would take him in, have him examined and treated by a veterinary, and then offer him for adoption, after recovery in my home.


I’d always known he’d had his own home, and was lost or abandoned, though I thought, considering how friendly he was, the latter option was unlikely; he appeared to have come from a loving place. I had looked for notices and advertisements that would have indicated that he was missing from his home, but found no indication that someone was looking for him - until the day of his neutering. How I missed the post on our local ‘lost and found pets’ site, I don’t know, but there he was.


He had a different name, of course, but the pictures displayed showed Jessel, down to the smallest similarity - there was even a whisker that curved over his brow and stuck to the fur on the top of his head with a little curl. Thereafter, things moved swiftly. Jessel returned home this morning.


He didn’t go without a fight, since he objected to being placed in a cat-carrier, the day after his last journey in one resulted in his medical mutilation (neutering). I feel bad about that. The little fellow had come to trust me. Even after he slipped from my grasp at my first attempt to capture him this morning, he leaned into my hand while I stroked his face. I felt like I was breaking his trust.


However, as was pointed out to me, if he had stayed with me in foster-care, I would have betrayed that trust eventually when he was adopted, and I would have put him in another carrier. Perhaps it’s as well that he left earlier than later.


The couple who collected Jessel seemed very nice and responsible. They told me that Jessel (though they called him something else) had cut through a screen (probably at the urgings of his non-neutered body). The screens have been replaced; Jessel will be, as he had been, an insider-cat. He didn’t recognise the people who had come for him: he had been missing since early May; besides, they were wearing masks. This no doubt contributed to Jessel’s panic.


But he has a feline sister and a feline brother, and a human sibling who misses him greatly. He has been fixed, tested for various illnesses (and found negative) and bolstered by some injections. This and a loving family will set him fair for a long, happy and healthy life.

But I will miss Young Blue Eyes.




25 comments:

  1. I wish I could understand why they chose not to neuter him. And I would not be truthful if I said I liked the outcome. I don't understand why they let him stay un-neutered and supposedly an inside cat as well. But it's not for me to know.

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    1. I do know of cat and dog owners who don't have their pets neutered. It just doesn't seem necessary to them. Some old neighbors of ours were like that. We tried tactfully suggesting they have it done, but to no avail.

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    2. Good to know. So far haven't met anyone like that.

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  2. Oh, that's a twist I didn't see coming. I, too, question their care of him, leaving him unneutered. I wish your rescue could follow up with a home visit, but of course that's not possible. But if Jessel shows up again, John....

    I will hope and pray that his humans take better care of him. At least, thanks to you, he's had the vet care he needed.

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  3. dood; we iz both happee N sad; happee that ewe went bak home; yet sad that de cosy apartment waz ...knot ment ta bee home :(

    we hope ewe settle bak inta roo teen, we hope we can at leest get an update.. ore a HI everee now and then....

    all thingz fora reezon sew they say; yet sum timez we just due knot understand..why

    best fishez ♥♥♥♥

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  4. Oh, my! How this ended for you and Jessel. I hope the rest of his original family gets spayed/neutered if they are not breeding stock.
    That of course is a story of it's own, if so. But John, you took good care of him while he was outside feeding on your patio and when you were able to bring him in, he received lots of attention and loving care. You did exactly as needed when he was thought feral, lost, or tossed out.Your vacation took lots of twists and turns with your 4 and add in Jessel.

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    1. Lynn: At first I thought you meant the human family. It took a moment to realize that you mean the fur siblings. :-D

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  5. I'll miss him, too.

    It's remarkable that he was on his own for that long without any ill-effects. I do hope he'll readjust and be happy at his "real" home.

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  6. Bon Voyage, 'Jessel'!
    Hope your humans have the other cats neutered.
    Betcha he's going to tell them about his adventures, and be the Big Man On Campus for a long time to come.
    You did well, John! Another cat found it's loving home, right?

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  7. I should be happy that Jessel's family have been reunited with him, but have to admit to misgivings and questions. Why was he not neutered, and why did he not use the litter box at first. I hope he will be happy back with his family.

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    1. I’m uneasy, too. I can’t help but wonder why he preferred four months on the streets to returning home. We can only hope it works out well for him.

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    2. I doubt that it is easy for an insider-cat to find his way home once he is lost; my home is about twenty blocks from where he was lost. Once he found himself disoriented, he probably just kept wandering. And after one month, he found a source of meals, so he stayed put. I think he will be well.

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    3. That’s what I’m hoping. Godspeed, [Whatever your original name is!]

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  8. Oh we hate that, good pet parents they were not. You did more for his health needs than they ever did. He broke out for a reason. Poor sweet guy lost his happy.

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  9. I have mixed emotions about Jessel going home. Like the others who commented, I have a problem with the fact that he was never neutered, especially since spaying and neutering a pet can prevent a multitude of illnesses including cancer of the reproductive organs. Meanwhile, I'm just grateful that you were able to take care of his health needs, and hopefully he will have a happy, healthy, long life.

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  10. I wonder why the idiots did not have him fixed. I hope they will keep up with his vaccines. I was hoping he was going to be a foster fail.

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  11. What a wonderful, wonderful post to wake
    up to..hang on..have wipe away a tear..!

    Bless! You little fella..Bless you..You
    will be missed, perhaps we will hear of
    you again..all the luck in the world...
    Have a happy and long..long..life! :).
    God Bless!

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  12. Well, that was a surprise I didn't see coming! Hope Jessel has a happy family reunion.
    Just a question, John, did Jessel's family have to pay any fees on getting him back? Here in my city you would need to pay. I think it's supposed to encourage owners to be more responsible plus the fees covers any costs taking care of them.

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    1. Jessel’s rescue had nothing to do with the city, so the local government wasn’t involved. The owners did reimburse the rescue group for the latter’s expenses.

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    2. Well, that's something! Presumably the neutering, vaccines, etc. At least the humans aren't total schmucks.

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    3. Kim...you sure are making me smile this morning. (Oh, and John, Katie gets her funding from me. I slip her money from the monopoly game, and more importantly she has one of my credit cards. Dai$y has her sources too)

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  13. Goodness, this is a surprise. I'm hopeful he will settle back into his home soon. I suspect there will be some issues as he'll not be used to them. Hopefully they've learned their lesson and will ensure that all of their cats are properly taken care of. Good luck little one!

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  14. That is a good turn of events and I do hope it is. I had a cat who cut screens and another who pulled them out so I could never open windows wide. Jessel we wish you well even if we never knew your name.
    When our Buttons pulled out the screen he fell from the second floor and a huge search was undertaken. I had just lost my leg and was beside myself in my wheelchair reminding all where to look on the property. Then two days later, feeling dejected, I rolled to the end of the drive and looked around and... was that a cry? Meow, Meow, Meow! But where? He was 40' up a tree with no branches. A friend got him with a long ladder and he was hungry and thirsty and still tried to poke at the screen. I kept the window closed except for an inch

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