Comstock Crew - Syracuse Cats

BLACKJACK

Blackjack turned up in February, 2011 in the midst of a very cold and snowy winter. He made himself comfortable in a spot on the back porch. I put a cat bed on a heating pad in his corner and set up a windbreak. At first, he would growl ferociously when I brought him food and water, apparently thinking I was trying to chase him away. After a couple of days, he figured out that I was feeding him and started purring when he saw me.

Blackjack is big and territorial and was constantly fighting with Spot and Bob. He became friendly enough with me that I could pick him up. In August, I made an appointment to have him neutered and to get his shots. I brought him in and shut him in a room overnight to prepare for surgery first thing in the morning. He had other ideas. When I went into the room in the morning, the screen was cut and rolled up. I thought that we had been burglarized, but then I realized that the only thing gone was Blackjack. He had escaped. The screen wasn’t cut; he had pulled it loose from the metal frame and rolled it up.

All day long, I heard Blackjack crying on a small hill behind my yard. Every time, I went near, he moved away, so I let him be. I thought he had had another fight. Late that night, he showed up at my back door with a dislocated left ‘elbow’. I assume he injured himself jumping out the window, even though it was on the ground floor. After an all-night session at the vet, he recuperated in the same room (with the window closed) for two weeks. Neutered and with his shots, I released him. He wouldn’t go. A few weeks inside had changed his perspective.

To my surprise, after all the territorial fighting outside, he gets along perfectly with my other cats. He and James became best friends, and he and Max would chase each other vigorously. The two females were another story. Shadow would whack him for purring too loud, which the much bigger Blackjack would ignore. Honey was scared of him at first, but now tries to bully him.

My other house cats go out on leashes, but Blackjack won’t. He’ll wear the harness, but will not go out the door. He escaped once, but stayed in the yard. He and James would call to each other. James would go out and stay with him for a while. After a few days, Blackjack followed James back inside. He hasn’t gone wandering since.

2014 was a bad year for Blackjack and me. James and Max both died, and then we had to move. My long time landlady died and developers bought the house. To my surprise, James adopted very well and quickly to our new home. It is a large sunny upstairs apartment with many windows. In a new neighborhood, he doesn’t seem to mind the neighborhood cats in his territory. Back at Comstock, he seemed to want to control inside and out. He went outside with me once at the new home, but wanted to come back quickly. He shows no desire to go out anymore.

Blackjack is in charge of security for me here. He checks all doors and windows. He keeps an eye on the neighborhood cats, kids, and deer. He enforces odor security to keep predators away. If a litter box needs cleaning, he scratches at the inside of the cover until I clean it. When he is done eating, he’ll drag a towel over the dish and scratch around it until I clean. He does the same with dishes in the sink or a coffee cup left lying around.

Unfortunately, Blackjack and Honey do not get along. She constantly swipes at him when he walks past. He generally ignores the little cat, but occasionally he snaps and chases her through the house. She runs up to hide by me and feign innocence.

Blackjack is very affectionate. He likes me to sit next to him on the floor. He has the loudest purr I’ve ever heard. He’s happy most of the time, but seems to have PTSD. Loud noises and strangers lead him to hide and become a hissing feral cat again.

Blackjack needs a feline friend, but he hasn’t liked any of the fosters or neighbor cats I’ve introduced. So for now he lives with just Honey and me.