This is our little TJ, which is short for ‘Tuxedo Jones’, whose story is exciting and rewarding. It all started when my wife and I were at a local shopping mall, when we came across a cat-rescue event that was being held there. We had two cats at the time, and thought (apparently VERY mistakenly) that two cats were enough for anybody, so we looked at the pusses without the slightest intention of doing anything more.

The event was well attended, with lots of people cuddling the stray cats and making cooing noises at them, before heading to the big table to fill out adoption forms to take them home.

As we walked past the cages, my eye was caught by a pile of towels in the corner of one, which pile was—shaking? I asked one of the volunteers if there was a cat underneath the pile, and she proceeded to introduce us to and tell us the story of the cat in the cage; Piano. Someone earlier had been looking at him but had neglected to secure the door when putting him back. Shortly thereafter, Piano had escaped into the shopping mall and all available hands were set to trying to catch him. She told us that he’d been chased all over the mall for a couple of hours before being caught, by which time she figured he was traumatized for life. He’d dived under the pile of towels once back in the cage and steadfastly refused to come out. Since all the other cats were fluffy and happy and playful, this black and white bundle of nerves was just forgotten about. The volunteer told us that she thought he’d never recover and that it would be virtually impossible to find a home for him. They were already thinking of releasing him into the area surrounding the rescue center once that day came to an end. So, pretty much sight unseen, I asked for his adoption papers, got an agreeing nod from my most lovely wife, and half an hour later he was home with us and had joined our family.

TJ in the early days

It took only a few hours for Piano to recover from his ordeal and start showing us his true colors, which were/are spectacularly bright. We decided that he wasn’t a tinkly-tinkly ‘Piano’, but a rather debonair ‘Tuxedo’ kind of guy, so that’s who he became—add on our family name and he’s Tuxedo Jones. He’s since proven to be a most loving and affectionate puss, with more beans than any other two cats. He loves racing around the house and climbing up as high as he can go, he plays ‘fetch’ like a dog, he’s formed a great attachment to his big brother Fuku-chan, and loves to sleep under the blankets at the very bottom of our bed.

Having a rest after charging around like a mad thing

TJ the mysterious

Since TJ arrived we’ve gone on to rescue several more cats in need, some of whom we’ve found homes for, and some more live with us now.

Achoo!

Like all cats, TJ has beautiful eyes

We learned from TJ that all is not what it may seem, that the number of cats that are enough is n for a given value of n, and that there’s ALWAYS someone who wants you.

Just the mouth – for no particular reason

How big cat TJ’s eyes get?

The handsome man

Thinking up some wild scheme to surprise us

Taking a break from watching birds out the window

Black and white in black and white

TJ with 16 year old Mugi-chan

On his bird-watching walkway

TJ as background for rescued Chataro

Basking in the afternoon sun

Waking from sleep

Black and white TJ

Just posing

With big brother and constant companion Fuku-chan

TJ loves his windows

Cats don’t come any more handsome than TJ

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