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Owner searching for missing therapy cat
MissingCatJack1
Kathy Paulson of Manteca holds one of the hundreds of flyers she has been passing around seeking help from the public in finding her missing cat, Jack. The former pet store manager said her solid black feline has been a therapy cat to several elderly residents in Stockton care homes. - photo by ROSE ALBANO RISSO

A black cat named Jack is missing, and his distraught owner wants him back.

Kathy Paulson, who describes herself as “a foster mom for cats” and helps find homes for any stray cats she finds, wants Jack back home not only because the missing feline is her favorite among the five she had at home. More importantly, says the former manager of PetSmart in Fremont and member of Happy Pet Owners in Manteca, Jack is “not just an ordinary cat but a therapy cat” that Paulson brings to private care homes to entertain the elderly residents.

“He’s kind of special. At the old folks’ homes, he sits up like a dog and he waves his paws, so he’s not just your ordinary kitty. He’s pretty cool,” she says.

Paulson describes her missing cat as “solid black with a tiny, tiny white spot on his chest and sleek, shiny hair;” has yellow eyes and has no front claws.

She says the cat, which has been neutered and has had all his shots, was also wearing a silver glow-in-the-dark collar at the time of his disappearance with information that includes his name and Paulson’s phone number, but there’s a chance he may have lost his collar.

Paulson has had Jack for five years ever since he showed up at her doorstep one day very hungry. She tried to find the cat’s owner and where it lived but was unsuccessful.

Paulson says the cat has been missing since Oct. 9 when it simply “wandered off” from her house at Buckingham Drive near Neil Hafley School in Manteca. But, she explains, “It’s pretty much an indoor cat.”

In addition to passing out 200 flyers, to date, to as many people as she could, Paulson has also uploaded a video of Jack on youtube.

“I’ve been going out day and night looking for him; I’m just desperate at this point. Maybe somebody has seen him. He may be trapped inside a garage or a shed. I’m just very, very upset over a cat, but you know what? You get really attached to animals. Jack means a lot to me,” said Paulson who has also helped find homes for former race horses.

“A lot of times, they just can’t make it on the race track anymore so people call me. I probably placed 50 horses in the last 20 years free to various homes,” she says.

Anyone who has information about the missing cat, Jack, is asked to call Kathy Paulson at (209) 823-5201.