Jem and his brother Scout, were born on the fringe of a housing development in rural Solon. He was sighted at the edge of the woods, hunting squirrels with (oddly enough) what appeared to be a huge grey tomcat!
The cat rescuer thought she must be mistaken, since mom cats are the ones who teach kittens—not dads. Where was the mom cat? The next day she saw Jem with a kitten she thought might be his sister. The third day, all three were seen trying to take down a cardinal! It was time to capture these cats and get them away from the birdfeeders.
For feral cats, they were pretty easy to round up and take to the vet in two trips. The kittens were terrified, but the big tomcat Atticus, never went ballistic, although he was very wary and watchful.
When the cats were reunited there was magic in the air. The boys were so comforted to see their dad. And Atticus flopped on his side and pulled his kittens to him. It was a kitty-pile lovefest. There was no doubt this was a family unit.
Jem is very outgoing, active, and polite with other cats. He really wants to be friends. We’ve found it interesting that none of the three "need" to be up on the tables and counters. They are more comfortable and seem to have more fun at floor-level.
—not
much