Thankful Thursday: A return home
We rescued BadCat from an alley in Weehawken, NJ in 2000. She was just a kitten then - only a few months old. Scraggly and skinny, she lived in an alley between our house and another with a host of nearly identical black and white siblings. The others were all feral and terrified of people, but one night she was sitting on our steps so I leaned over and picked her up. She cocked her head, bumping the top of it against my cheek and started to instantly purr. I carried her up the steps and she's been with us ever since.
But living the first few months of her life outdoors made an impression on her. She has a bit of a wild streak. She is smart and savvy. And she simply cannot - will not - live the life of an indoor cat. Denied the outdoors, she sits in a window and yowls - loudly and incessantly. Which is why she has been allowed outdoors since we moved to our current house in the 'burbs. Though she is safe from the dangers of a busy city street, she faces others. Primarily fox, but also coyote, and possibly large birds of prey. She knows this. Like I said, she's smart. And each night at dusk she sits at the door anxious to come inside where it is safe and warm.
The day we went to the Pearl Jam concert, Mark left in the afternoon to pick me up. Knowing we would not come home that night, he called and called for her, but she did not come home. He propped open the door on the back porch so she'd have a safe place that night.
When we came home on Wednesday morning, I called for her again, but she was no where to be found. All day long I'd walk outside and call her name. Later, Mark walked the street calling for her. He then got in the car and drove through the neighborhood, calling her name.
It got dark and still nothing.
I made up "Lost Cat" flyers and hung them on our mailbox. I emailed them to everyone I knew in the neighborhood. I prepared to hang them up in town and drop them at the local vet's office the next morning.
I wept.
Then, around 10 p.m., I heard her. The familiar meow and jingle of the bell on her collar. I opened the front door squealing with joy and she sauntered in with a look of "what's all the fuss about?" on her face.
So today, I am happy and thankful that my little BadCat is home. I'm not sure where she was, but I hope she won't go doing that again.
What are you thankful for today?
But living the first few months of her life outdoors made an impression on her. She has a bit of a wild streak. She is smart and savvy. And she simply cannot - will not - live the life of an indoor cat. Denied the outdoors, she sits in a window and yowls - loudly and incessantly. Which is why she has been allowed outdoors since we moved to our current house in the 'burbs. Though she is safe from the dangers of a busy city street, she faces others. Primarily fox, but also coyote, and possibly large birds of prey. She knows this. Like I said, she's smart. And each night at dusk she sits at the door anxious to come inside where it is safe and warm.
The day we went to the Pearl Jam concert, Mark left in the afternoon to pick me up. Knowing we would not come home that night, he called and called for her, but she did not come home. He propped open the door on the back porch so she'd have a safe place that night.
When we came home on Wednesday morning, I called for her again, but she was no where to be found. All day long I'd walk outside and call her name. Later, Mark walked the street calling for her. He then got in the car and drove through the neighborhood, calling her name.
It got dark and still nothing.
I made up "Lost Cat" flyers and hung them on our mailbox. I emailed them to everyone I knew in the neighborhood. I prepared to hang them up in town and drop them at the local vet's office the next morning.
I wept.
Then, around 10 p.m., I heard her. The familiar meow and jingle of the bell on her collar. I opened the front door squealing with joy and she sauntered in with a look of "what's all the fuss about?" on her face.
So today, I am happy and thankful that my little BadCat is home. I'm not sure where she was, but I hope she won't go doing that again.
What are you thankful for today?
Labels: cat, pets, Thankful Thursdays
posted by Kimberly at
1:47 PM
6 Comments:
I am so glad that Bad Cat came home. I understand. I was never a cat person. I am actually allergic to most cats. Well, except for Boo Boo Kitty. She came to me from a friend after our dog died. Oh I loved her so much. We had her for 3 1/2 years. Long story short, I had to give her to a new good home once I was pregnant and about to deliver. The reason was my twin sister is severely allergic ( go to ER for breathing treatments- asthma-allergic). She planned to come and stay with us and help with the baby and I knew I had to find a new home. We did- Boo Boo is very happy. But, oh I was so sad for a while. Amazingly, once the baby came, the void of Boo Boo was filled by Grace.
Glad you got to go to the Pearl Jam Concert. You Rock!!!
Ugh been there. What a horrible feeling. Not quite matched by the happiness felt when kitty turns up perfectly safe!
Thankful that Bad Cat is home! Thankful for my body's good health because I know what illness and struggle feels like. Thankful!
Thankful that I had 18 great years with my buddy Plague before we lost him. I still cry all the time. He was a great cat. I miss him. JAG
Aw, glad she's home. The few times my dog has gotten loose it's been gutwrenching (once was on Blvd. East, actually!).
I rescued a feral cat. He's more or less domesticated now, but he's still very aggressive, not cuddly and hunts nearly invisible stuff all the time,but man, oh man, he's interesting. Glad the cat came back the very next day!!
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