My name is Jackie Bear, and I am an 8-year-old boy. Nobody really knows my breed, but I sure do look like and act like I’m part Maine Coon, although smaller, and none of my three other litter mates looked like me at all (one was black, one was gray and one was gray and white).  I was rescued in Westchester County, NY, at a couple days old from a construction site where my cat mom used to move us around, and someone saved us. I stayed with a foster mom, who is one of my human mom’s best friends — I had so much fun there, and she was the best.

My mom thinks I’m a naughty boy, but I just can’t help it. There are just SO many things that are fun to play with, get inside, chew and touch.  Sometimes I wake my mom up in the middle of the night, flying through the hallways, tossing things about. She prays it’s not a mouse, sometimes it is … and lots of times it’s a ponytail holder that my human sister, Haley, has left out for me to find.  I LOVE them.   Mice are fun to toss about, too — I don’t really try to hurt them or eat them, but they sure do make a fun 2 a.m. toy.   It’s very bright in my house, and I like sunspots, and to ensure this, I made sure the blinds are never down. I started by getting myself caught in them as a kitten and then proceeded to chew on the string between the blinds so my mom would pull them up.  my mom even tried to buy this stuff that is called “bitter apple” or something like that to stop me from chewing the string — as cats aren’t supposed to like it, but it was DELICIOUS! So, I won.

If I fits, I sits.   OR, I try to get my entire body inside boxes, baskets, Christmas tree stands, pots, toilets (Mom has to keep them closed or I fall in), and one time I got in the microwave above the stove.  I am an indoor cat, so every December, when the Christmas tree arrives, I am in heaven! Chewing the branches is fun, and so is climbing it.  I was a little sad last year, as my mom bought some industrial tree stand that was spring-loaded, so I was not able to knock it down — I’ve done that two to three times. I just can’t resist those little stuffed ornaments and balls!

I am talented. I can catch toys thrown to me like a football.  I give kisses. I can fly through the house at warp speed at all hours. I like water — I get in the shower sometimes, and sinks (and, yes, I think I mentioned the toilet). I can smell rubber bands a mile away — before my mom even cuts asparagus, I’m trying to wrestle the rubber band from her.

But really, even though I am mischievous, I am super affectionate. When I first came as a kitten, I had two older cat sisters, Lucy and Aggie. Lucy died about two years later — she never liked me and hissed at me. Aggie lived until she was 20 and would let me snuggle her but would smack me if I got out of line.  In 2019, my mom got us a DOG named Callie! Callie is very sweet, so I admit, I like to tease her.  I’ll run and have her chase me, but she can’t get me when I go up high or under the bed, and she cries. I taught her how to lie on the top of the couch cushions and smoosh them, which my mom isn’t happy about. I really love my human sister, Haley, and it was love at first sight. I sleep with and snuggle her until she goes to sleep, then sometimes go in with my mom. I also like to hang out in the bathroom when she gets ready for school. It’s also fun to rub against her when she gets out of the shower so I can get my hair all over her — she doesn’t like it, but I think it’s funny. I lie on the cable box constantly, as it’s warm, and my mom worries I will catch on fire, but so far, so good.

I love Newtown, and I really enjoy looking at all the wildlife outside, even though I’d love to get my paws on some of it.  I love people and am quite social for a cat, and I’m NEVER boring.  Even though my mom says I’m naughty, she adores me, as does Haley.   We are all very happy together, and I love being the man of the house!