We have been having lots of hard rain and thunderstorms for the past couple of days so I am hopeful that someone might have taken him in, will see our signs and call us.
He is really the sweetest cat I have ever known. However, he has always, always wanted to go outside. It was his hearts desire. He was an escape artist and would constantly watch for opportunities to catch people coming in and out of doors unawares. Over the years, he escaped more times than I could count.
He loved going out into our garage and exploring out there and it was a place where he could get some respite from the attack kitten. About a week ago I let him go out in the garage, not realizing the husband had left the side door to the backyard open. About 3 hours later we realized he was outside somewhere so I quickly put on my shoes and started for the back porch to go out and look for him. He was sitting on the back patio, just outside the back porch door, waiting to come in. He had been exploring the back yard for all that time, I guess. After that experience, he was crying and howling all the time to go outside. He was constantly waking me up at night and I even had to put him in the laundry room one night. Finally, I decided that maybe we should start letting him go out. After all, he is almost 14 years old and he has been wanting to go out all his life. We live in a pretty low traffic area now, with lots of open areas (pastures, fields and forests) so it seemed like a relatively safe environment for him to be out.
When I was growing up, all of our cats were indoor/outdoor cats. They came and went as they pleased. They did not have nearly as long lives as Dancer and Zoe have had but they lived for quite a while.
The first time I let him out, he stayed in the back yard for a couple of hours. The boys were playing out there most of that time and they kept going over to him and petting him. He was so happy. He was walking around with his tail straight up in the air, smelling everything and eating grass.
The next time he went out, he was gone for about 4 hours or so. He spent some of that time in the back yard and then was off out of sight for the rest of it. When he returned, he came to the front door so I felt pretty sure that he knew where home was.
Then on Sunday after church he went out. This time he was wearing a collar because I wanted to make sure people knew he had a home. He never returned. It stormed really badly that night and has done so off and on since then. I am so heart broken. I feel so guilty now for letting him go out at all....but then I remember how happy he was too. So I feel guilty for letting him out and I felt selfish for keeping him in. Either way, I am heart broken and I miss him so much. Please pray for him, if you are so inclined.
3 comments:
My grand-cat Neena, a blue-tip female Siamese and an indoor kitty,escaped once when she was younger (she's 16 now). She didn't return for so many days that her family gave up and were planning to get a dog. Then, one morning around 3:00 AM she was meowing at the back door. It seems there is always hope for a cat to return. I will certainly pray as I can imagine how much you miss her.
Oh, Lea, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I'll be praying for you. And do not blame yourself. I know how much Dancer means to you. I'll be praying that someway, somehow, he'll come home.
Thank you for your kind words and your prayers. I put out more signs today and went all around calling him. So far, nothing. Several people have said that sometimes their indoor/outdoor cat would stay gone for 4 or 5 days at a time, so I still have some hope.
Thanks again!
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