Jack the Cat

Jack the Cat

Jack the Cat is very special to me. The poor darling was starving when we took him into our home. He had been outside, fending for himself as a kitten, and had taken to eating from our compost pile. Our compost pile consisted of the typical fare from the kitchen, scraps from cooking, so he had a wide variety of vegetables to choose from. After his feast he would wander over to the catnip patch and have himself a snack before leaving for the evening to hide in whatever secret spot he was calling home then. 

We started feeding him cat food, dry at first and then canned. Slowly he came to trust us, enough that he would let me sit with him while he ate, patting him and pulling burs and bugs out of his fur. At first he would eat two cans of wet food, a total of 13 ounces, at a sitting. One day, with sub-freezing temperatures arriving, I invited him in, and he willingly leaped over my legs to get inside. The rest, they say, is history. 

Pac choi growing hydroponically

We switched all our cats over to canned food because of a growing concern with the content in dry food. This seemed to help all of them physically. The overweight ones became trimmer and Jack the Cat seemed to lose his IBS that had plagued him since he had arrived. No more smelly, loose feces. 


When I started to harvest our pac choi from the hydroponic box that sits in the hallway under a plastic tent, however, I was curious that Jack the Cat wanted a nibble. I know cats eat grass outdoors, and I would love to grow it for them, except my allergies prevent me from that, so I let him taste. He liked it. He loved it. Every time I went under the tent to get some herbs, lettuce or pac choi for my family, Jack the Cat insisted on having a nibble or two of the leaves. 

Pac choi leaf for Jack.

I don't have issues with nibbles on my leaves, but others might. Instead of letting him forage amongst the plants under the canopy, I select him the best leaf from amongst the most mature and tie it onto my apron string that hangs in the hallway. He gets a leaf every day or two. Now he is happy, getting his veggies to help with his hairballs. I am happy that he has less issues, and no more nibbled plants.