Jaxter “The Big Cat” Lewis

Jaxter “The Big Cat”

 

Jaxter was in my life for 17 years, he lived the good life of an indoor cat. Jaxter felt love his whole life. 

Jaxter put up an epic fight to stay with me. He passed after watching Cat videos of mice all day, I would let him watch the cat videos and then I would hold him and then back to the videos.  He passed with me holding him and telling him I loved him and him and he would be missed. He was so strong willed and stubborn he did not want to leave me.

 

Jaxter had many nick names he responded to. “Big Cat” ‘Big Guy” “Handsome Cat”, even when I called him a turd because he was being stubborn or strong willed. 

 

We had so many fun times together,  there are more stories than I can write about, but here are a few of my favorites:  

 

During Jaxter and Jordan’s first week in the house, he was on my bed and I had a window open. All of the sudden a fire truck went by with sirens on and all I saw of him was him diving in between my bed and the wall with his tail fluffed up. 

 

When he was kitten he would destroy fake plants by jumping in the air and spread-eagle tackling them. 

 

As a kitten, he would often fall asleep with nose resting on coffee table. He ended up doing that his whole life, he would sit in his goose pose then slowly fall asleep and his head fall slowly down to where he was sleeping on his nose. 

 

Another time, he was chasing a chipmunk into the hostas. I saw him wrestling around underneath them and then popping his head up from under the hostas and looking around then he would drop back down and rustle around then pop up again. 

 

Once, he was running full speed from the lower level going up the stairs and missed a step with his front paw and crashing into the step nose first, it seemed to be on slow motion and I could see him grimace before his nose hit the stairs, his nose swelled up and he kinda looked like he had a clown nose on. 

 

Jaxter participated in several trips. We did a walk for animals and met tons of people. He also went with me to animal events through the years. He would get his photo taken with many vendors as he was usually the only cat there, walking around on a harness and leash. 

 

The red headed little girl that absolutely loved him. She walked into the store and her eyes lit up when she spotted him walking around, I asked her if she wanted to hold him and she nodded yes and her mom said it was ok. I asked her to hold her arms like she was going to be carrying fire wood and I picked him up and put him in her arms, he was so big and she was small his feet almost touched the floor while in her arms. 

 

All the gardening and yard he did with me. Hanging in the shade and laying in the sun. 

 

He loved walks around the yard, sitting on my lap on the front porch watching cars and people go by, even in the winter when it was very cold he would go to the front and meow asking to go out with my on the porch. 

 

Hours spent on the back patio chair with me

 

Loved riding in my truck, he would go from looking out the windows and walking around from window to window to see the world. 

 

Ready to jump through the window of my truck when the bad dude walked by, ears layed back, hissing at him as he walked by. 

 

Walking like a dog on a harness and leash.

 

Was a best buddy his whole life, when he was about 2 weeks old and eyes still closed he picked me, when I would try to leave he would meow for me to come back and spend more time with him. 

 

Flirting with the blonde in another truck and her boyfriend giving me stink eye

 

Jaxter was a very vocal cat, always had something to say and tons of different meows from what I would call the silent meow to very loud. He did not purr very loud but you could feel it on his sides. 

People that met always commented on his eyes, he had a blue eye and a green eye. He was a big cat, but very gentle. He played hard, and he loved everyone. He could convince even those who claimed not to be cat people to be his friend. I had him over to a friend’s house (who claimed to not like cats) but soon enough, after Jaxter had made a few laps, he jumped up on a foot stool near my friend and did his goose pose. I looked over and my friend was petting him. That is what Jaxter always did. He made everyone into a friend. 

Many times in Jaxter last couple of days he would grab my finger or thumb and hold on to it. 

During his last week that he was alive, I took him to one of the stores he liked walking around in. On the way to the store he spent most of the drive looking out the windshield and sitting on my lap.  He had a good walk but he ended up getting sick at the store and even after that a little boy wanted to say hi. I said the boy could scratch him on his head softly and Jaxter, even though he was not feeling very well, still leaned his head into the boy’s hand. That was Jaxter’s last outing. 

With him gone the house seems very empty and lonely particularly my bed room and the corner of the bed he would sleep on. 

 

Jaxter is survived by his Twin sister Jordan, Oscar, Tiny Tazz

 

Jaxter is and will be missed for a very long time as he was totally unique and irreplaceable. He was family.