Jack Zygmunt

Special Agent Jack Bauer was his official name. You may think he was named after Jack Bauer from 24 but you would be incorrect. Jack was actually named after a cat in an episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. In this episode a junk yard cat keeps defying the odds to live another day resulting in the characters of the show to deliver the line, “Damn you Jack Bauer, you really are the man.” Just like that cat, Jack was also good at defying odds making it to his super senior years.

As far as what his name became, he was known by many, Jacki-Poo, Cry Baby Jack, Creeper Jack, Scaredy-Cat Jack, Fatty Magoo and Fatso. Although you may be thinking, those sound mean. They were actually our terms of endearment because we loved those qualities about him. He was the right amount of chubby and had the softest fur. In fact, on his first vet visit we learned he had what was described as “chinchilla fur” and the vet was tickled pink to be able to pet him. Over the years we came to understand why as it was a delight to cuddle with Jack and be comforted by petting him. Jack was not always known as Jack, as many know he was adopted with his brother Jethro and Jack’s original name was Slater. So Slater (Jack) and Toby (Jethro) came home with us to a tiny one bedroom apartment in Elmira, NY and began their lives with us. Lives which would join us on every milestone and life decision for the next fourteen in a half years. They were there through it all with us. But this is Jack’s story so I will get back to telling you about Jacki-Poo.

Jack was always curious, hesitant and at times scared but once his trust was established he was extremely loving, a great cuddle and known to have a loud and purposeful purr, especially in the morning as he was always appreciative of how early we would get up to serve him his breakfast. Gentle but firm headbutts paired with a purring close to our ears ensured we were up and feeding him by 4 am! That was okay, we’d do anything to keep our animals happy. Jack was not the alpha of the house but he was a close second. He was his brother's shadow and upon Jethro’s passing, Jack easily filled that responsibility to make sure the household kept its routine.

Jack as a juvenile cat was energetic and loved all things cats loved to do. He was just as easily amused with paper balls, cat toys, scratchers, laser pointers and those feather wands. Jack was an old soul most of his life and was really good at giving and receiving love and affection. We have looked back at a lot of pictures of Jack this week and they are mostly of him sleeping. Curled up, peacefully and content. If you sat on the couch, he would be there in moments to claim a spot on your lap. You could find him every morning stretched out on Dan’s legs while Dan ate his breakfast. He loved even being wrapped like a burrito in a blanket once he was off in a deep sleep. Sleeping in his usual spots around the house, on us, next to us and especially next to his napping buddy, Leonidas.

The cats were four years old when Leo was introduced. They weren't quite sure what to make of this ball of energy but as most cohabiting animals do, they figured it out. Jethro could care less and wasn’t really phased by Leo through the years. Jack on the other hand, he was curious. He was the cat who observed Leo. Played with some of his toys, would get close enough to want to know what is thing and what is he doing? Over the years, although Jack would run away from Leo’s energetic bursts, he secretly loved him. Out of the two cats, Jack seemed to take a liking to Leo and it would be no surprise that they would be found napping together especially if they were lucky enough to find a nice warm sunny spot.

As loving as Jack was, he didn’t hesitate to send a message to Leo or any children that he wasn’t in the mood. A swift flurry of smacks on the forehead or nose with claws retracted was all he needed to send the message, but would occasionally tough guy walk behind Leo as he walked away to ensure the message was received. Typical sibling stuff.

Back during Jack’s youthful years he was content in following his brother Jethro around. Although Jethro’s shadow most of the time, he also had some specific behaviors that led to how things were done around the house. Going back to our terms of endearment for Jack, he was a “fatty Magoo.” He was always stealing his brother's food. Purposefully stopping mid bowl to eat Jethro’s after he walked away to then go back to his own bowl. This resulted in us having to separate their food after Jethro was done. Jack would eat it all and then some. Jack was always a pound or two heavier than Jethro and it was no secret why. For years I would say to Tom; “Isn’t it weird that they have such different body types and eating habits?”

Jethro was known for wanting fresh water, always turning his nose up to their shared water dish. What we came to find is Jack’s cleaning ritual was to dip his paws into the water and clean himself. This resulted in the purchase of a filtered water fountain for the boys and placing two water bowls on the counter away from the fountain so Jack could use them as his washing dishes. Animals never cease to amaze; Jack understood this gesture immediately. None of these dishes replaced his desire, more a demand, to drink directly from the kitchen sink, but only if the water dripped just right. Leaving his little wet paw prints throughout the kitchen counter. We can still picture him chirping and cooing at the water as it dripped or ran in the fountain.

Jack was also the cat that enjoyed human food, specifically meats! If we had cooked chicken breast sitting on the counter, he was sure to make an attempt at stealing one, sometimes successfully. If Tom was cutting up a rotisserie chicken or turkey, Jack would take a seat, cry for some shared shreds and Tom would indulge. Jack and Leo could always be found sitting side by side and waiting in the kitchen for meat scraps anytime Tom was carving something up. I guess what we have come to find out is Jack and Leo had quite a bit in common. No wonder Jack took a liking to his canine brother.

Another nickname we gave Jack was “Scaredy- Cat.” He always seemed on alert when strangers were around or he wasn’t sure what was happening. Once, while living in the Painted Post house, Dan left the door open by accident after bringing Leo in from outside. Unbeknownst to us, Jack snuck out. Who knows for how long but he ended up in the back right corner of our property hiding behind our wood pile only to dart right back into the house when Tom came home to discover that the door had been ajar. Needless to say, Jack never attempted that again. He did remain curious up until his final days as you could always expect to see a pair of glowing eyes looking out the crack of the door when you’d go to let Leo out in the morning.

As mentioned previously, I had thought it was odd that the two brothers had such different body types and eating habits, having me suspicious about health-related issues. Jack was starting to show questionable health issues around 5 years ago. Some symptoms including weight management led to veterinary intervention and a change in diet. In the vet’s opinion our Jack was obese? How dare they!! Just kidding, we were well aware. We loved his chunks. So, as I have said before and will say over and over, Tom and I are crazy animal people and we would do anything for them. He began losing weight quickly and having multiple daily vomit sessions resulting in another trip back to the vet, where we learned he had hyperthyroidism. I wasn’t at all surprised as if you recall I had numerous discussions with Tom about my suspicions of this early on, of course “Pet MD-ing” it. Either way, Jack was put on a thyroid medication and was right as rain for a few years.

Jack continued being his usual self for the majority of his senior years going through continued life transitions with us from Painted Post, State College and then finally settling in Bellefonte. Although difficult I’m sure, Jack was always trusting in us and his brother. Everything would be okay as it usually was, until it wasn’t.

At the time of Jethro’s passing, Jack was devastated, so much that the next day Jack was having significant arrhythmias and had his first collapsing episode. That vet visit we found out Jack had cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the walls in the left atrium of the heart. This impacts the amount of oxygenated blood in the body, and leads to congestive heart failure which aligned with the symptoms we were seeing (i.e., coughing after naps, collapsing & open mouth breathing). We learned his hyperthyroidism is a disease that will usually lead a cat to cardiomyopathy. Jack’s coughing episodes increased and he was put on medication to remove fluid from the lungs and away from the heart. This medication seemed to be extending his life and making him more comfortable, acting more and more like his old self. Over the next few months, his dosage would be increased as the symptoms would return, mainly aligning with stressful events (i.e. strangers or visitors in the house). During these months it became evident how much Jack missed Jethro and even more so how much he was my cat.

Jethro was without a doubt Tom’s buddy but Jack was my guy. Jack was always the one who cuddled the most but it became clear that he began specifically seeking me out for comfort. Every night he laid right into my side and slept through the night, anytime he had a coughing fit I would be there and when his arrhythmias would get a little too much to bare he would come find me. Jack became more vocal after Jethro’s death and he would talk to us more in the form of chirps, coos and variations of meows to make sure we understood he needed something or just needed to know we were still around. Although he was never the “alpha” of the house he quickly understood that he became the leader after his brother’s passing and did a good job keeping everyone in a routine. He was very sick but knew we needed him to keep going. At least for a little while.

This write up is different than Jethro’s. Jethro’s was more linear, coherent and it progressively made sense. These two brothers had different purposes and reasons for their time on this earth and it has become abundantly clear that although Jack may not have had as many distinguished qualities and quirks as Jethro he was just as important. He was the constant. He was the calm. He was the comfort. He embodied unconditional love.

So here we are again, the conclusion of another chapter. Jack had been doing so well. In fact we kept having discussions. How do we commit to any plans for summer? We can’t leave Jack alone. We were always conscious of this fact as he has never been alone ever in his life. And, we wouldn’t want him to be alone if he passed. The thing about animals is they are never really good at letting you know just how sick they are and they love you so much they’d do anything to be with you forever.

Jack’s final day started unusually quiet with Tom having to find him versus the usual crying on the bed saying-“Hey losers, feed me.” This would be the second time in a week that Jack didn’t come and wake us up. It was unusual and we clocked it. Is this the end of the road? Well that morning Jack’s heartbeat was extremely erratic this time presenting with open mouth breathing. This was significant distress we had not encountered before. I rushed home from Corning and Tom proceeded to the ER. Jack was able to be calmed, sedated and given oxygen. This time was different and of course we could have said “yes, give him a potent dose of medication and we will be on our way,” but the vet was right. She said, “He has been pretty sick for a while but hiding it from you guys.” We knew after that statement, we needed to make a tough decision. I made it home that morning and Jack & Tom came back from the ER. Jack was heavily sedated but home. We made the appointment for the vet to come to the house that afternoon. Jack eventually started coming out of his medicated state and was able to spend quality cuddling time with us, lots of cuddles. He didn’t sleep at all that day and anytime he moved he’d stop for long periods of time and stare out a window or stare at us. He appeared to have trouble traveling up stairs as his hind legs appeared weak. We all knew it was time. That afternoon Jack passed in our home with us there and never had to experience significant pain from his heart failure we were so fearful of.

Alas, another ending. I’m here to tell ya, it doesn’t get easier. We find comfort that Jack is back with his brother Jethro but selfishly we wanted him to stay with us as long as possible. We will forever miss the unconditional love he gave and trust he put in us up to his last days. This unconditional love that was always in the background and in the essence of all we did, whether we realized it or not, was Jack. We hope to carry that love with us forever. Unwavering, trusting, loyal and full of love. Our Jacki-poo.