A Sad Day at My House

Jasper as a kitten

When Jasper first showed up on our doorstep, his ears were far too large for his head – and that never really changed. His legs were pretty short, too, and that never changed either. It looked like someone whacked off half of his tail and two of his top teeth hung over his bottom lip (if cats have lips) making him look like a vampire cat. Not all of the time, but enough of the time that you couldn’t help but smile.

He was definitely the strangest looking cat I’ve ever seen – but he was actually pretty adorable and it didn’t take long before he found his way into all of our hearts.

Jasper had the naggiest meow I’ve ever heard, kind of high pitched, yet a little scratchy. He was also very determined to do what he wanted, be it walking all over my back and legs when I was sleeping on my stomach, or stretching out from my ribs to mid-thigh if I was on my side. With my daughter,  he just liked flopping over her side. He also liked the dryer, and if you didn’t pay close attention, this is what you might find….

Jasper in dryerWarm, comfy bedding … heaven for that little guy.

Also heaven for Jasper was tormenting Sophie the diva cat – meaning she doesn’t like any of the other cats – at all. Except Sam and she kinda/sorta tolerates him. But Jasper was energetic and liked to play, and he wanted Sophie to join him in his mischief making escapades. Except she would have none of it – and so he would bug her so much she’d hiss and growl – and run for cover. It sounds mean, but it was fun to watch.

There was only one thing I didn’t like about Jasper and that was his adventurous spirit. He liked being outdoors. I mean he really liked it. So much that he would try to dart out the front door anytime someone opened it. That’s just not something I was going to let happen since we live on a well-traveled highway. It scared me enough that I wanted to get a shock collar for him with things set up so anytime he got near it, he’d get a little zap. I was outvoted though because everyone else thought it was mean.

Now I wish I’d just made everyone mad and got one anyway.

I guess he got out dark and early this morning when my son went out to set the trash bin out at the side of the road, and we woke up to find Jasper lying on the other side. I would guess since it was still dark out, our little black cat was nearly invisible to the car that hit him.

Now there will be no more waking up with Lil dude on one side of my legs and Jasper on the other making me have to wiggle out from between them so they’re not disturbed. No more stuff knocked out of the cubby on the bottom part of my desk. No more little scratchy, naggy meow alerting me to the fact that the food and water dishes were getting close to empty.

Six years and eight months wasn’t nearly enough time, Jasper, and I’m going to miss you like mad. Tell Shadow hello from us and I hope the two of you have a ball chasing each other around fields safe from highways and cars.

Jasper the little monster

Like Be the first one who likes this post!
This entry was posted in Love. Bookmark the permalink.

16 Responses to A Sad Day at My House

  1. That’s awful. 🙁 He sounded like such a fun cat. I’m sorry.

    • Kristy K. James says:

      Thanks, Ruth, he really was. It might sound morbid, but I discovered that he was a Bombay cat – they tend to have short legs and tails that looked like they were whacked in half, big ears, and a very distinctive meow. I always said Jasper was ‘nagging.’ But I fully intend to get another as close to him as possible. He was definitely something else. 🙂

  2. Emma says:

    Sorry, Kristy. Jasper sounds like quite a character.

    • Kristy K. James says:

      Thanks, Emma. He sure was. He was the instigator of all the play here and the other cats have been very subdued for the past week. 🙁

  3. karenmcfarland says:

    Oh no! Oh this is horrible Kristy. I am so sorry. What a shock this must be for all of you. 🙁

    • Kristy K. James says:

      Thanks, Karen. It really was. To the best of our knowledge, Jasper never left the yard. He’d do some exploring around the bushes – or hide in them if he wasn’t ready to be brought back into the house, but he was scared of the traffic and never went near the road. I really wish he hadn’t this time. Even the other cats are sad. They’ve been very quiet since Friday and keep hanging out in my office. But then, Jasper was always the instigator of play. 🙁

  4. I’m so sorry, Kristy. It’s harder to lose them when it’s so unexpected. Yes, he’s running around having a ball with Shadow. Hugs to all of your family.

    • Kristy K. James says:

      Thanks, Lynn. We were pretty shocked. As I just told Karen, he’d never gone near the road before. We’re on a well-traveled highway and the cars scared him. I’m not sure whether he was chasing something or attracted by the ducks or geese (I don’t know what they are) the people across the road got recently, but I sure wish we’d noticed that he got out. I miss the little snot. 🙁

    • Kristy K. James says:

      It is, Louise. The only thing that makes it easier is knowing that he was outside doing what he loved most. 🙁

  5. Mary Colon says:

    May Jasper rest in peace. 🙁

    • Kristy K. James says:

      I like to think he’s in heaven with Shadow, our 13 year old black lab who died in May of 2013. But I still wish he was here with us. 🙁

  6. Anonymous says:

    I’m sorry I know how you feel :'(

Leave a Reply