Jacoby was such a great poser. He just seemed to understand what I wanted, and I could set him some place and he would sit there perfectly. I never trained him to do that, he just knew that the camera meant that he should hold still.
When I saw the cat on the carousel in Boston Common, I knew I had to get a shot of Jake riding it. In between rides, they let me put him on the cat and were quite impressed with how cooperative he was.
He struck this pose when he was only six months old.
I used it to make this.
He posed wonderfully without even trying.
This photo became the iconic #strollercat T-shirt.
He could be very dramatic at times…
…very dramatic!
He was so wonderfully patient when I asked him to pose in his clothing.
Jake loved riding the T.
When it came to agility…Jake was a little too good at posing!
Some of the best photos of him were in snow. The first one, with the hat, was published in Boston magazine.
The current lot are photogenic, and Alfred in particular can throw some awesome poses… but they don’t have that understanding that Jake had. What were a team. We did so much together. I wonder if I’ll ever have that again with another cat.
It’s not impossible…I said the same thing after Harri died, the last cat I had that kind of bond with. I just don’t know what the magic formula is for finding a cat like that.
Jake was just so…bulletproof. I could set him anywhere and back away to take a photo, and I knew he wouldn’t jump down. We trusted each other implicitly.
I love our current LunaTicks dearly, of course. Angel is not really bonded to anyone (she cuddles on her own terms) and Freddy is bonded to everyone. The kittens are also bonded to everyone, Izaak slightly more to me and Lorelai slightly more to Björn. But as much as we love them and they us…none of them have that connection, that spark, that undefinable something that elevates them to another level of human-cat interaction.
On the simplest level, no other of our cats head bonk me. With Jake, I would put my head down and we would bonk our skulls together like a cranial fist bump. We did it fairly hard, too. When I try to do that with the others, they either back up, or sniff me, or rub their sides against my head…well, Freddy will sometimes pat me on the head. But no bonks.
I hope I can find another Aby to bonk heads with some day.
The Daily Abyssinian...and Singapura 
The odds are – that head-bonk Abby will find you .
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A wonderful and unique boy. My Beebs is a head-bonker too.
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You could have called these photos Jake’s Greatest Hits. I love so many of them that it’s impossible to call out just one. There was something unique about Jake – the first time I saw him I thought that he glowed. You catch that look in several of these shots, and I am glad to see them again.
I hope that you find another head bonking Aby, too. Or maybe a shoulder sitter. Or maybe … something else. It might not be the same, but it will be good.
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While Jake was so VERY special, remember that YOU will be part of the future connection. You’ve found and encouraged greatness before and I believe you will again–probably before you declare yourself ready. Jake will live forever in your heart, and in a small way in mine and all your other readers’ too.
Over the past very painful week, I’ve mourned Jacoby through the memories of my past Abys: the food-motivated Bott (short for Bottomless Pit), the regal Gabonna (devoted to my husband) and the independent Wochie. Meaning no disrespect for Isaak or little Logan, Abys are the best of cats and companions, clowns and comforters.
excuse me, something in my eyes
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My human knows just what you are talking about because that is exactly the connection she has with me. It’s interesting, because her other cat she had that type of connection with was the antithesis of me – she was semi-feral and fierce and would never have done the things I do with my human. But that very same connection, trust and depth of knowing was there. My human didn’t photograph cats much at the time she had Harlot, but the few photos that do exist of her show that she had the same sense of posing that Jake did, and I do.
I guess this is just my way of saying I think you will have that connection again… but it may take a different and surprising form that will defy your expectations.
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You wrote, “I just don’t know what the magic formula is for finding a cat like that.” I don’t think that there is a formula. Special-ness just happens or doesn’t. You can’t predict it or make it happen. Jake was certainly special. You may have a special bond again some day with another cat, but it won’t be the same bond as you had with Jake.
P.S. I LOVE that picture of him that made it into Boston Magazine. Love the booties and especially that woolen hat. SO cute!
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I believe you will find another Aby someday that will provide the “spark” you are wanting. Jacoby was, without a doubt, a unique Aby and he was very intelligent, and there won’t be another one like him, and we all miss him and grieve his loss. However, there was as much of YOU in your relationship with Jacoby as there was of him. You are the one who raised him, gave him clothes to wear, your love, a stroller, and you encouraged him to be the cat he became, Stoller Cat, show cat, and everything else. He would have been completely different with someone else. There will be a cat in the future, maybe even one of the newer cats, where you will develop the bond you are missing right now. I have found it several times over a lifetime of cats, and I believe you will too. Hugs. ❤
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I love this comment…and you are right. But the kitten to come won’t get to ride the subway, be a therapy cat, or do the things Jake got to do…
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