Both of my kitty cats had been abandoned by previous owners. I took Prowler in 11 years ago when he was about 6 months old - skinny as a rail,...
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I was fortunate this time, next time she'll have tags
Both of my kitty cats had been abandoned by previous owners. I took Prowler in 11 years ago when he was about 6 months old - skinny as a rail, starving for food & affection. My MereMere girl came to us 1-1/2 years ago when she was about 4 years old - scraggly, matted, & dumpster diving for food. They had their differences with each other, but got over them for the most part. Since both have the taste & need for the outdoors, possibly because they had to fend for themselves or maybe it is just their natural instinct, I allow them to be indoor/outdoor pets since I live in a rural area - I know this fact may not sit well with some people, but I truly believe my babies would not be happy if I kept them contained to the house.
They know my schedule - when I get up & leave for work, when I get home, when I go to bed, etc. They also know when it is the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday they get canned cat food treats - and they NEVER miss partaking in that! To my dismay, MereMere was not at the door this morning when I got up. Ok, so it was a bit later than usual (8am instead of 6-7am), so I figured she got tired of waiting & went off to sleep in the shed (where I do have sleeping accomodations for them - a pillow & blanket for each).
I started my coffee, put on my shoes & jacket, & walked out to the shed. No baby kitty cat. Ok, she's out & about somewhere, but I know she'll be home soon. 10 minutes.... 30 minutes.... 1 hour.... Now I decide to take a walk thru the front & back yards, along the road, thru the plowed corn field to call and look, look and call, call and look. MereMere doesn't come home. More minutes and hours go by, I ask Prowler to go find his sister, he comes back with no answers. I cry. Now it's noon time & I'm going to an adoption party for friends that had been trying to have a baby for years and were lucky enough to become parents thru adoption. My mind is still on MereMere so I leave after 2 hours.
Hoping against hope that she'll be waiting at the door when I get home. She's not. I take another walk thru the shed, yard, field. Prowler comes with me. Nothing. Did she get run over by a car? I think not because she's skittish by the noise & I didn't see a body along the roadside. Did a racoon or other animal outwit her? Possibly. Did some person find her & is taking care of her? Possibly, but she doesn't have an ID TAG so they can call me.
More crying. Thoughts running thru my head. Hoping she didn't suffer (by now it's been over 18 hours and I'm pretty much resigned to the fact she's never coming home). Because how could I be so stupid??? Not for the fact that I let my cats go outside, but because I don't have tags on her. No one knows she's mine. No one can call and let me know. More crying - the heart wrenching, soul breaking kind.
The outer door is closed, but the inner is open so I can see on the porch easier. But it's getting cold so I need to close the door. I walk up to the doorway, take one more look on the porch, knowing I won't see my little girl...................... Is my imagination playing tricks, my wishful thoughts & prayers having fun on my part? But no, there was my beautiful MereMere waiting at the door to come in like nothing was amiss. As I opened the door, the tears of happiness were streaming - and I knew I'd follow thru with the promise I'd made to myself earlier - if she came home, both of my babies were going to wear collars & tags.
She had been gone for over 18 hours. After she had a bite to eat, I picked her up, hugged her more than she probably wanted to be, and smelled her. She didn't smell like she'd been outside for too long. So my best guess is someone DID take her in & cared for her, she "broke free", and came back home. But...... if I would have had a tag on her, I would not have had to go through the agony & worry and she would have been home much sooner. Luckily, I did have a happy ending to this story and I'm writing this in hopes that no one has to have a sad one.
--I was fortunate this time, next time she'll have ID tags
