Sophomore Vocal Performance major Jorie Clark is a lucky and proud cat mom. With six cats under her protection, there’s no doubt she’s a cat lover. But by far, she loves her first cat, an orange-mix named Percy, the best.

Percy was found with a litter of kittens as a stray. He and a sibling were the only ones from the litter to survive. When Clark was four, her neighbor asked if they could take the orange scrap in since her neighbor could only take in one cat. “And he’s been my best friend, my baby ever since,” Clark said.

When Percy was still small, about six inches, he was able to sleep in Clark’s American Girl Doll bed. Those were the best of times for him.

But now, at fourteen years old, he’s big enough to sleep with her. Unfortunately, it leads to an annoying habit at bedtime. Sometimes he’ll zoom into the room as Clark is about to go to sleep, and he’ll try to sleep on her pillow right behind her head.

There are only two things he’ll move at top speed for in his old age: sleeping on Clark’s pillow and food. Ordinarily, he is slow-moving, as most cats his age might get (according to Clark, he’s about seventy in people years.) However, once he hears the rustle of his food being poured into his bowl, he’ll book it to where that food is. He puffs his fur up and runs at top speed to get what he loves just as much, if not more, as he loves Clark.

Whenever the Clarks make turkey sandwiches, there’s a guarantee Percy will be perched there, waiting for a scrap of meat. Ideally, he shouldn’t have any lunch meat at all. But he’ll always be there, standing on his back paws, wanting it. Clark gives him a shred, and he wanders off to enjoy his treat.

With that in mind, Percy has been a healthy feline. The only time he needed surgery was on one of his ears. There was a blood clot waiting to burst if the vets didn’t act quickly. Most of the cartilage, which keeps the cat’s ear upright, was damaged beyond repair, and thus, that ear would never stand up again.

Nevertheless, Percy is a loving and loyal cat, just like most cats his age. He’s especially tolerant, patient, and great towards children. He loves being swaddled and held like a baby. He’s all about having cuddles and playing around. Clark highly recommends adopting an older cat to get that sweet love and affection.   

He’s very caring and supportive, especially toward Clark. No matter what, he’ll always be found on Clark’s lap or by her side. “He’s always there when I’m sad,” Clark said. “And I love him for that.”

Now Percy isn’t attending Millikin, and as sad as that is, he is never alone at home. He’s staying with Clark’s other cats for company. Clark’s mother, who is retired, is on hand to give him all the love, food, and attention he deserves.

There are important things to consider if you want to get multiple cats. You need a good vacuum cleaner. You also need to make sure they’re getting a lot of attention. And if you can’t always be there to give them that care, you need to have someone on hand who’s willing to help. Luckily for Clark, she has all the help she can find in her mother. When she does arrive home from college, she can count on Percy to always be there, waiting.