The Jerry Pate Golf Complex doesn’t just house the Alabama men’s and women’s golf teams, three national championship trophies and dozens of awards. Among the accolades and memorabilia is a special member to both teams.
She may not be the best golfer and some say she is demanding and slightly distracting, but she’s been a member for eight years now.
Her name is Jerry and she is a cat.
Jerry the cat, named after former Alabama golfer and U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate, is in charge of the complex. As the unofficial mascot of both teams, Jerry is living the good life. She saunters around the complex running the show and demanding attention when she sees fit.
Weighing about eight pounds, the grey tabby cat with four white paws has stolen the hearts of most of the two teams. Men’s golf coach Jay Seawell said Jerry is much more than a cat to the two teams.
“Oh, she’s a great cat,” he said. “She’s not your stereotypical, standoffish cat. She likes to hang out with you. Her favorite thing is to go sit on the couch with you when you’re watching TV.”
Jerry joined the teams in the summer of 2007. Seawell said he was walking outside the complex when he first heard a quiet meow. Trying to find the source of the cry, he found Jerry underneath the golf team’s van, avoiding the hot Alabama sun.
The cat was just skin and bones. Seawell said she was just a scraggly stray.
Seawell said he brought her inside, fed her some leftover dog food he had on hand and nursed her back to health. Jerry wasn’t the first animal to stray onto the complex – Seawell said the teams have fed stray dogs and baby deer as well.
But Jerry was different. She stayed around and appreciated the attention.
The Seawells didn’t realize Jerry was female until she gave birth to two kittens. Seawell’s wife had Jerry spayed. The two kittens went to former player Laura Goodwin. Goodwin played for the Crimson Tide from 2005 to 2009.
Jerry earns her keep, catching the many field mice that scurry through the golf complex. She’s house trained and Seawell said she knows just how many buttons to press before getting in trouble. But she’s not a troublemaker by any means. Seawell compared her to a dog, because she basically acts like one.
“She’s running her show,” Seawell said. “She’s not a lazy cat. We don’t allow her to lay around and do nothing. I told her we will keep her as long as she earned her keep. And she has.”
Besides catching mice, Jerry spends her day roaming the hallways and the greens, stealing golf balls and climbing onto the highest shelves. She likes to nap in someone’s open locker and sprawl out on the couches or anywhere she can fit. Women’s golf coach Mic Potter said her favorite spots are in his office, whether on the shelf on the northwest side of the room or on his computer keyboard.
“She seems to really enjoy my office for some reason,” he said.
Potter is allergic to Jerry. Despite the allergy, she and Potter get along just fine.
Jerry also likes to be on the greens when either team is outside. Both Seawell and Potter said Jerry has a tendency to sit next to players as they are teeing off, sometimes swatting at the balls or rubbing up against their legs. Although it might seem annoying, no one is ever bothered by Jerry’s affection.
“She’ll chase [the balls] sometimes, it’s pretty funny,” freshman Jonathan Hardee said.
It hasn’t been all fun and exciting for Jerry though. This past Thanksgiving, Jerry took ill. Potter said she was paralyzed from the middle of her body down and she couldn’t move.
Sophomore Mia Landegren was the first person to discover the sick cat. Landegren said she and Jerry have a special bond and it was difficult to face a potential death.
“I found her underneath the tree,” Landegren said. “And I remembered when my cat died, when I was younger, she excluded herself. And that’s what Jerry was doing so we thought she would pass. It would’ve been really sad to come to practice and not have your little friend to be there with you.”
As Seawell said, Jerry hasn’t used all her nine lives yet and is still fighting. Jerry made a recovery after about two weeks at the veterinary clinic. To this day, neither the vets nor the teams know what happened to her.
Jerry is back to her usual routine of catching mice, stealing golf balls, climbing onto shelves and boxes and playing with string. However, Potter said she’s a bit more entitled since last winter.
“She likes to choose when she stays inside or outside,” Potter said. “And when she eats and where she eats.”
Even with her late-onset pickiness one thing is certain: Everyone vies for her love and attention. Jerry has been enjoying the attention, using it to her advantage. Since her winter sickness, Landegren said Jerry has decided she likes human food and wants to try everything. Landegren said Jerry’s latest obsessions include cheese and yogurt.
“I think she appreciates where she is,” Seawell said. “And how she is treated. That part I like, she has appreciation of how everybody takes care of her. And she’s not too demanding so I appreciate that part.”
Jerry doesn’t seem to have a bias about who she spends more time with. However, both teams think she loves them more than the other, so there is always some competition for her.
“She definitely favors [the men] better,” Hardee said. “I think we’re much nicer than the girls.”
Hardee has some competition among his team as well. Sophomore Robby Prater said he thinks Jerry likes him more than Hardee.
“Whenever I see [Hardee] petting her, I kind of get jealous,” he said. “I go over there and try and take her away, but it’s just fun between us two.”
Although he didn’t want to go against his team, Seawell said he believes Jerry loves the women more than the men.
“I feel like she’s never really over with [the men],” Landegren said. “I don’t know what [Hardee] is talking about but I feel like she’s more the girls’ cat.”
Whether she fancies one team more than the other, Jerry remains a constant fixture to the program. She’s seen both teams win countless tournaments and trophies, but as long as she gets her food, she’s a happy cat.
“She’s kind of a mascot,” Seawell said. “She’s kind of always there. It’s something we’ve all gotten used to. She is a very viable part of what Alabama golf is.”
