Cats of the Month, June 2020: Jax and Charlie
Jax and Charlie, two 6-year-old rambunctious Ragdoll litter mates, came into Andi’s life shortly after losing her cat of sixteen years. The journey that followed is one of love, companionship and the discovery of how one can celebrate the life of their beloved pet by rescuing the next. The story told will be in Andi’s own words:
How did they come to you?
My sweet kitty, Lucy, had kidney failure, and I had been giving her fluids and medication every day for about a year and a half. She let me know it was time for her to go on June 18, 2014—less than two months shy of her 16th birthday. (She was Miss November in the 2014 Seattle Humane Society calendar, which was a perfect memorial to her.) Heading to the vet that morning felt like driving to someone’s funeral. I held her in my arms and sang to her while she passed quietly. Back at home, the quiet was deafening. Not only was my sweet Loosh gone, but the time I had spent caring for her was a very vacant space. Three days later, at about 3:00 am, I was tossing and turning, so I decided to hop on Petfinder, just to take a look. Jax was one of the first kittens I saw, and I contacted the foster mama, Leslie at Forgotten Felines, 
immediately. The kittens were part of a litter of six who had been rescued from a three-pack-a-day smoking household. Kittens are more susceptible to emphysema, so they went into foster care, and Leslie raised them by hand starting at 10 days old. Bringing them home, with their sweet kitten cries in the carrier, I knew that I had made the right decision and that Lucy would have supported me in welcoming these babies into my life.
(Side note: I had already planned a trip home to Ohio to visit my family for about 10 days at the end of June/beginning of July. After several back and forth emails and one long phone call where I told her about Lucy, Leslie said that I was the first person in 20 years of fostering that she was going to hold kittens for. I am so thankful that she did! Sadly, Leslie passed away in 2016.)
Do they have any favorites things?
TOYS: Jax loves these little springy toys, which look like Chinese finger traps, that I spring across the room. She especially enjoys it when I toss them onto the hardwood floors so that she can slide into the toy. She also goes nuts every night in the bathtub, where we bounce ping-pong balls for her. Sometimes, she’s playing with them so much in there, it’s like she’s trying out for the Olympics. Charlie loves crinkly toys as well as dangling toys, especially Da Bird. He turns into an acrobat trying to catch it. He also loves hiding in and playing in his three-way tunnel. They both fetch, which I love, and they will bring their toys to me when they want to play. They are both so much fun!
FOOD: Charlie is incredibly food-focused. I believe it’s because he was the runt of his litter, and he is making up for lost time. He knocks things over and loudly meows all over the house if he feels that his food bowl is low. (Yes, low—not empty.) Both of their favorite treats are pieces of freeze-dried chicken from Life Essentials. I can’t ever run out of those!
What are they like?
Most of the time, they are the sweetest cats in the world. My heart melts sometimes, I love them so much. They are both very talkative, and they announce themselves when walking into a room. I love that they’re siblings because they play together, sleep together, bathe each other, and fight just a little.
Jax has absolutely the loudest purr anyone has ever heard. And she purrs almost all of the time. She is probably the happiest cat in the world. Her favorite thing to do when I get on a conference call is climb on the back of my chair and purr like a motor. I have had someone ask me if I have a pigeon! She also has the cutest habit of snoring. It truly is adorable. When I lay down in bed at night, Jax jumps up within 20 seconds, and sits on my chest, purring and giving me licks. It’s our nightly routine, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Charlie is a love bug, and his favorite place on earth is in my lap. He has absolutely no shame, and will lay on his back, belly fully exposed, just waiting for a rub down. Charlie does not know a stranger, and when someone new comes to the house, he immediately wants to be their friend. He also greets us whenever we come home—he literally is waiting at the door. It is so sweet! However, Charles is a true Siamese, and he can be relentless in getting what he wants. Usually it’s food, even if that means he’s waking me up at 3:30 am for a low food bowl alert. 
Other times, it’s that he wants to cuddle—again, usually around 3 or 4 am, and he paws at my face to wake me up so that I’ll turn on my side and spoon him. During the day, he’ll come up to my chair and pat my arm to let me know that he wants to sit in my lap. I have lost a lot of sleep because of Ol’ Chuckles, but I’ve more than made up for it in the love I share with these sweet babies.
How did they get their names?
I had been binge-watching “Nurse Jackie” on Showtime, and a British doctor on the show nicknamed the lead character Jax. I just loved it! When I found Jax on Petfinder, her name was Jacquelyn, so to me, it was kismet. Charlie was originally named Chewy, but I’m not a Star Wars fan, so I wanted to name him something else. By accident, I kept calling him Chewy. So I searched for boys’ names that started with “Ch,” and when I saw “Charlie,” I knew it was the one.
They both have a host of nicknames. For Jax, I call her Jaxxy Jax, Miss Jax, Rax, Miss Floof, 
and Sweet Baby Girl. For Charlie, I call him Charlie Brown, Chottie B, Charles, Chuckles, Tatonka (because he looks like a little buffalo), and Charlie Bear. Together, they are called the doo-doo heads and (if they’ve been bad) the terrorists.
I couldn’t help myself, and I started both Facebook and Instagram accounts for my doo-doo heads at Facebook and on Instagram. See you on the socials!
About Our Cat of the Month Program
Here’s how our Cat of the Month program works: Each staff member provides a nomination for the distinguished honor, and then we vote. The highest vote wins! Any kitty patients who visit us during the prior month are eligible.
