Cats have a language all their own. There are surprises along the way like when I heard but didn’t recognize Morgan’s hunting cries last week. I can interpret most of them.
Jake – my old, now deceased, cat was the most vocal and interesting. He was from the ‘hood…or maybe Jersey or New York. (He sounded like something out of the Rocky franchise or maybe Good Fellas.)
He had a few good lines. For one thing he called me “Cupcake.” I have no idea why. Maybe because I was reading the Stephanie Plum detective series when he was younger. (He read occasionally or maybe he was just putting his scent or hacking a hairball on my books.)
Here are some of his gems:
Yo Cupcake, grab me a tuna juice from the fridge. Can’t move. The chipmunks running Olympic trials out there. Maybe they need a judge. I could use a snack.
(This one to Morgan) Hey Toots, get your nose outta my business. You know I can spray, doncha?
(To Mollie, the first new cat after he was here. She tried to teach him about the birds and bees before we got her spayed. Fortunately he already had his business snipped and wasn’t interested. This was overheard shortly after Morgan joined the crew.) Hey Molls, waddya think of the new kid? Kinda pain in the ass, doncha think?
(To anyone in general) Cool dude has arrived! I can take your presents now. Bring ‘em on.
(To the staff) What? Service on strike around here? I haven’t eaten in over an hour. I’m diabetic. I need my food. Pronto!
(To anyone with a camera) Damn paparazzi! Are you from Cat Fancy? Be sure to get my name right. I am not Morris! Morris is a red cat. I’m a black panther cat. Send the check to my agent. Include Friskie samples and no damn diet stuff either.
(To anyone sitting) Hey yo! You’re in my chair. (Didn’t matter which chair. Whichever one you were in was the one he wanted.)
Aw Jake, may he rest in peace. There aren’t many cats like him.

Jake guarding his catnip plant. This shot was taken a few months before he passed. He was already an old cat but still feisty. Just ask Morgan, who was the new catkid then.
Jake sounds like he was a special cat with a lot of ‘tude!
LikeLiked by 1 person
He was. I still miss him. In his way he ruled the roost even though Mollie is the alpha cat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jake really was one of a kind, and very photogenic too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For a black cat he photographed pretty well. His coat was very slick and shiny. I think that helped.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a beautiful cat…with great humor and authority!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks! He would have licked your hand!
LikeLike
How wonderful that Jake talked to you! And with such authority. Jack complains sometimes and loudly. Teddy talks quietly in the morning when I am still in bed. That’s his sweet loving time. Dolly rarely said anything but she made it known she was the Diva. Henry and I talked every night before lights out. He was the only cat I ever heard laugh, it was wonderful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are all so different. Gracie is a huge whiner. “I wanna play.” She brings the feather wand like dog. I’m retired. She’s a cat that would not have been happy being alone all day.
LikeLike
Teddy brings me his ball when he wants to play fetch. Jack meyowls when he wants me to play the feather wand game with him.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jack and Gracie would be good friends!
LikeLike
He sounds like a great cat. It’s true how you can imagine what they are saying.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s all in the tone. Same way they interpret what we are saying.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw…Jake. I remember that photo of him and your husband. He had a great life with you, Kate. You’re a good cat mommy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I had published it with a picture of Hazel lying on the top cushion with my husband. The passing of the guard. He was quite the demanding cat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jake was a handsome boy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
He was beautiful and his coat was very silky until he got sick at the end.
LikeLike
Some cats are dainty, and some cats are thugs. I have a special place in my heart for thugs. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have both. Mollie is quite ladylike (except for the time she was caterwauling and showing her stuff to Jake). Even her walk is different. Hazel is a slug (loveable but a slug nonetheless).
LikeLiked by 1 person
There are doofuses, too. Like Commando Cat, who nearly drowned himself repeatedly by drinking out of my water glasses and getting his head stuck, then running around with cups on his head until I could catch him.
LikeLiked by 1 person
OMG! That’s hysterical. I don’t think I have a cat who would have done that. That’s why they have whiskers! It lets them know what fits.
LikeLike
Doofus cats ignore whiskers. Repeatedly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Commando Cat definitely wins the doofus category!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The chatty ones cross the communication barriers- if they can just get staff trained.
Each does have their own voice and vocabulary. RC seconds the “cool has arrived” and “you’er in my chair” or the variation “What? Yes I am in the chair. Get your own.”
What a gorgeous cat Jake was – and lovely memories, too
LikeLiked by 1 person
RC has tortitude for sure!
LikeLike
Cute one, Kate. You are good with cat-speak. Both of our cats have been non-speakers, unless they yell at us for leaving them outside too long or not filling the food dish fast enough. They are never long conversations.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Short and sweet. They have smart humans who get it without long lectures.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jake reminds me of a neighbor’s cat who used to hang around our house. This was many, many years ago. He was a sleek black cat named Butch. Yes, Butch. That’s what the neighbors had on his collar. My husband called him “Cool-hand Butch” because he never seemed to get ruffled about anything. Although he wasn’t our cat, he became attached to my husband and would follow him around whenever he was outside doing yard work. He wasn’t with us long but, 20 years later, we still miss him.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some cats you just can’t forget.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, we have quite a few of those. We’re hoping our current three kitties stay around a long time 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good luck. My oldest two are 12 and 13 and you can tell they are getting older. Sigh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love the accent 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m a sucker to accents!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jake’s accent is hilarious. Sounds like home to me. Every once in a while John puts on a thick NY accent, and it always makes me laugh. RIP Jake.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My friend found him yelling in her yard. He was about 4 to 5 months old and starving (or so he said). We wondered if someone just dropped him off. He was one of those annoying vocal cats when he wasn’t happy but quickly trained us to keep him happy! The accent fit his demanding style.
LikeLike
How I love your wit and humor!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awww, thanks. The credit goes to Jake.
LikeLiked by 1 person
❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I LOVE that first photo. He was a beauty … or perhaps in sensitivity to his gender, I should call him a handsome dude 🙂
My Theo is also a very large chatty cat with a wide vocabulary. Every once in a while he surprises me with new ones – mostly along the line of ‘can’t you see I’m dying here. Food! I need it now!’
LikeLiked by 2 people
Jake is the only boy cat I had and he was more of a drama queen than any girl cat. He was larger than a lot of small dogs, weighing 16 pounds of lean and lank. And attitude! Yikes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a beautiful cat. Love his eyes! With his looks and his attitude I can see why he holds such a special place in your heart! <3! Thanks for sharing him with us!
LikeLiked by 1 person
He was large for a cat. When my girlfriend found him he had ginomous paws like dogs that grow up to be St. Bernards. It was scary. He was tall and long but not overweight. We had some litterbox issues until I found a box that “fit” his business. 🙂
LikeLike
He really does resemble a panther! 🙂
Glad you could find a litter box that worked! Or that may have been a problem. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I am the queen of litterbox knowledge. People come to me with issues. Most of them revolve around stupid commercial boxes.
LikeLike
That’s one cool cat, cupcake!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Very cool dude!
LikeLike
Aww. Jake was gorgeous! And hilarious!
LikeLiked by 1 person
He could be hilarious. Or annoying. Depending…He had a very loud voice. When we took him to the vet he howled like we were killing him. It was very unsettling.
LikeLike
One your finest blogs! I loved reading this. Jake had it right…he saw the world as it was for him. As I write this, Harry is wailing away. He wants his food and now is doing everything in his power to get my attention. I don’t think he is calling me cupcake….
LikeLiked by 1 person
So Cupcake, get Harry his damn breakfast! Pronto! Chop, chop! (You were the inspiration for this post!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my! Thank you! And he has been fed and quiet has returned. (Except for ever insistent TV!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for letting me into the catty world of communication! A good laugh is the way to start the day. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have to start with a laugh because sometimes sadly, it goes downhill from there!
LikeLike
oh he would be the pawfect friend and partner in crime for me… I would love to be the judge at a chipmunk compee-tition ;O)
LikeLiked by 2 people
You and he would have been an unstoppable tornado of trouble!
LikeLike
Ah, I love to hear about Jake’s exploits. They say a person lives on through the memories they have created in other’s hearts. Cats, too. ❤
LikeLiked by 2 people
What a beautiful thought you just posted here. I will try to remember it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You are so right. He’s been gone a long time and I’ll never forget some of his exploits.
LikeLike
Hey yo, Jake and Cupcake! I love this! I don’t think I can tell you enough in words how much I enjoyed this post this morning… ♥ Thank you! Jake… a handsome House Panther.
LikeLiked by 2 people
He slinked like a panther too. He was quite the hunter. The chippie population had exploded since his death.
LikeLiked by 1 person