Jerry Cesak wrote a book about a cat. If you ask him what it’s about, that’s what he’ll say. But don’t be fooled. Cesak, better known as “Jer,” one half of the “Jeff and Jer” morning show on KYXY radio, has created something with much deeper implications than a simple story about a feline. Called “My Personal Panther,” the book is actually a children’s book — targeted at ages 5 through 9 — about a little girl named Lucy and her pet cat, Aja. Both Lucy and Aja believe Aja is really a miniature jungle panther, and the story unfolds as Lucy goes about her day at school while Aja is at home, having “panther-like” adventures. The book, Cesak said, is aimed at showing children the importance of animal rescue, something Cesak has been passionate about since childhood. “My mom taught me two things: how to read, and that animals are just like us,” he said. “They look different, but they experience fear and pain. We humans have all the power in that relationship, and that can be a very bad thing.” Cesak, who owns six rescue cats with his wife in their La Jolla home, was inspired to write the book after a routine visit to the veterinarian. His veterinarian told him that house cats, surprisingly, have no physiological differences from jungle cats, other than size. Playing on that idea — adding that he and his wife had always thought one of their cats, Aja, looked like a small panther — he began to wonder what adventures might take place if a little girl had a cat that she believed were of a more exotic variety. The book began to take shape, and really took off when Cesak teamed up with Terry Naughton, formerly an illustrator for Disney. Naughton created Lucy and Aja, being careful, Cesak said, not to anthropomorphize Aja or overly “princess-ize” Lucy. “In one of our focus groups, one of the dads said that when he would try to buy books for his daughter, all of the females were either princesses or damsels in distress,” Cesak said. “Here we have a funky girl, one with big glasses who likes books and likes school. The characters are very sustainable.” And sustainable they should be. Cesak said he has a series of Lucy and Aja books in the works, which he hopes will drive the point of animal protection home — while remaining entertaining for the target audience. To promote the book, Cesak has a whole “My Personal Panther” weekend planned. Starting with a book signing at Warwick’s (“I love Warwick’s — I’m stunned there’s an author event there and the author is me”) on Friday, May 18, Cesak also has a “Tea and Panther” party planned for Saturday, May 19 at the Prado in Balboa Park. Then, on Sunday, May 20, he will again sign books at the La Mesa Children’s Book Fair at La Mesa Town Square. Proceeds from the event at the Prado will go to the Rancho Coastal Humane Society, which will bring adoptable pets to the event. Portions of book sales will go to the Humane Society of the United States and the American Anti-Vivisection Society. For Cesak, the process of creating the book brought together several important areas of focus — writing, animal rescue and community. “It’s been great to be able to tie this experience in with doing something nice for animals,” he said. “It was definitely a challenge at times, but when it got to that point, [Terry and I] would just look at each other and say, ‘Relax. It’s just a little book about a little cat.’” For more information, visit www.mypersonalpanther.com.