Tuesday - All Things Ellie, Meet Max and Jack

Max

(Note:  I know this was published on Monday instead of Tuesday.  I had a lot of technical difficulties with this post, so please, just pretend it is Tuesday!)

 In our neighborhood, cats seem to be as plentiful as squirrels.  Well, almost.

Ellie has met quite a few of the cats that pass by our house each day, one of whom is Max.

Max is a fluffy, black cat with amber eyes.  I thought he was a stray cat because I often saw him in the yard of a lady who loved to feed and care for the strays.  

It was only a few months ago I learned that Max actually lived two houses down from this lady.  He walked over to her house every morning for an extra meal.

Ellie and I see Max on most days on our morning walk.  Max looks at Ellie, Ellie looks at Max, and that is the end of it.  They seem to have no animosity toward each other but also no desire to become closer, either.

This is so different from Jack.

Jack in the grass

One day, Ellie and I were walking around the circle in the neighborhood.  We passed a man sitting outside on his steps.  A grey and white cat was resting at his feet.  I said "Hello" to the man, and he asked me what my dog's name was.

"This is Ellie," I replied.

"Jack, go say hello to Ellie," the man said to the cat.

Jack got up, stretched leisurely, and began walking toward Ellie. He moved very slowly, and instead of being scared, Ellie seemed mesmerized by his walk.

Ellie didn't move, even though Jack was a cat.

Jack came within an inch of her, and still, she didn't move.

When Jack reached Ellie, he slowly and gently rubbed his face on Ellie's face.  He did it over and over again.  It reminded me of what momma dogs do to their puppies.

Then Jack laid down, rolled over, and showed Ellie his belly.

Jack looking through the window

At that moment, I knew that Jack, and Max also, had to have their place in the Ellie & Percivald series of children's books.

I learned from Jack's owners that Jack had been owned by his current owner's parents, who were veterinarians.  Jack was often at the clinic with them, where they also kept some elderly beagles during the day. So Jack was very familiar with beagles.

Ellie knows two other cats in the neighborhood, Callie and Oakley, but that will be another story.