JHERI American Curl & Tabby Mix Grand Rapids, MI

On occasion the Kent County Animal Shelter will contact us if they happen to take in a cat that they cannot put into their adoption program, and when we have an opening, we are more than happy to lend a helping hand (er, paw). When they texted me a few days before Christmas, 2015, I was anxious to get their FIV+ kitty in need transferred on over to us, as I didn’t want him spending the holidays in a cage if we could help it. I was told that the fabulous feline was a lovable cat with loads of personality, but I wasn’t informed as to just how flipping cute he was—and quite unique. In all my years of running a rescue (13+) I had yet to encounter an American Curl, although I had taken in my fair share of cats with very interesting aural appendages, I had never come across this beautiful breed. Now I am not one to typically fall for a cat’s looks, as it is what is deep down within that wins me over, but I tell ya what, this four year old fella (born in late 2011) could not be a more complete package of charisma, charm and adorableness! I find Jheri absolutely enchanting! Oh, and if you are an 80’s lady like me, you are very familiar with my name reference; given how rare and uncommon his physical appearance is, I just had to bestow upon him a moniker as interesting as he is!

We only got to spend a few days at the clinic together since Christmas vacation was almost underway, but in the time we were together, Jheri roamed the halls and made his rounds, in spite of suffering from some sort of traumatic injury that caused one of his toes to swell and become infected. However, he was none the worse for wear and was raring to go the minute he set foot on the ground, assessing and assisting to the best of his abilities (it is a full-time job just being this awesome so he was kinda busy!) Suffice it to say that everyone that met him fell instantly in love with his laid-back demeanor and his happy go-lucky attitude. We all instantly became objects of his affection, and I admit were a bit sad when it came time to send him down to Big Sid’s, though we knew he would have a ball there! Once at our sanctuary he made it known that he didn’t want to be contained in the intake suite, so we had to get our photographer down in a hurry to snap his glamour shots so we could let him out to roam and explore. I am pretty sure pure happiness was plastered across his face, whisker to whisker, from the second he was allowed the freedom to prance and prowl around our two-story shelter—he was like a little kid at Christmas!

I have no doubt that Jheri will indeed get himself adopted, and spend many a night (once he tuckers out) curled up contentedly in the arms of his new mom or dad. The wise words of our Daily Deb, Sid’s cat care director, could not be more on point: “THIS CAT ROCKS! Somebody adopt this cat—NOW!” For the life of us we cannot comprehend why anyone on the planet would let this cat out of their sight, but their loss is our gain, and his adoptive family will definitely gain one helluva fantastic cat!