The Cat Came Back ... A Week Later! - The Final Tale From the Road

I have to admit, I had a good time on my vacation this year. Lots of quality time spent with the boys and my Mom, and time spent just RELAXING!!!

Having said that, there was one thing that was nagging at the back of my mind, and bothering me the whole trip - back home, our cat was missing.

Remember our cat Puss? The indoor-turned-outdoor cat who likes to leave me presents on our doorstep? Yeah, her.

The day we left on vacation, I let her out first thing in the morning, knowing we wouldn't actually be leaving the house until mid-afternoon, so there would be plenty of time to call her back in.

Mid-afternoon came ... I called ... no cat.

OK. Not a big deal. I knew the ex was coming by after work to pick up the dog, and look after her while we were gone, the cat would certainly be back by then and ready to come in.

The ex showed up for the dog. No cat.

He called her for half and hour. No cat.

The boys called their Dad before going to bed that night. "Did Puss come back? Did you find her?"

No cat.

I figured one night 'out in the wild' would be ok. I know she likes to hide under our deck, and figured she'd just spend the night there.

The next night after work, the ex came back for the cat. No cat.

Almost every night, for the next seven nights, the boys had the same conversation with their father.

"Did Puss come back? Did you find her?"

"No boys, I'm sorry, she didn't. But I put more food out for her today. Since the food keeps disappearing, she must be eating it."

I didn't have the heart to tell them that I figured it was probably one of the neighbourhood raccoons or some other animal that was cleaning out her bowl every night.

I resigned myself to the fact that she was most likely gone :-( There's no way she'd be able to survive for a week outside, all on her own. Remember, up until about a month ago, she had not experienced 'the wild'.

I thought about our Puss every day. She was constantly at the back of my mind. Was she ok? Was she eating? Had she found water? Was she alive?!?!? Why wasn't she coming when she heard the ex ... she knows him, knows his voice ...

The night before we were due home, the ex even brought his friend's wife over to our house, thinking a 'female voice' would coax Puss out of hiding.

No cat. The cat was definitely GONE!!! My poor Puss ... ending up as some freakin' raccoon or maybe coyote's dinner :-(

Not wanting to upset the boys more than the already were, every day I simply told them "You know what? We just have to wait and see what happens when we get home. I think she's FINE and just not coming out for Daddy!"

Unfortunately, I didn't believe my own words :-(

The night we arrived home, I dropped the boys off at their father's, picked up the dog, and left with Alec's instruction to 'call the minute you find Puss!'

I didn't expect to be making that call.

I went home, straight onto the deck and started calling. And calling. And calling.

No cat.

With a very heavy heart, I headed back through the house, out the front door and started unpacking the vehicle.

On one of my trips, I let the dog out.

A few minutes later, I'm hauling stuff out of the back of the truck, I turn around and see Belle with her head stuck under the hedge, tail wagging at a freakish pace.

It couldn't be ...

Could it?

"Belle ... what is it girl?"

Not two seconds later, two beautiful little green eyes were blinking at me from under the hedge ...

PUSS!!!!!!!

It was like something out of a corny movie. She ran towards me meowing, I ran towards her, yelling her name, scooped her in my arms and we covered each other's faces in kisses!!! LOL

After seven days outside, alone ... the cat came back!!!

I honestly couldn't believe it!

We went inside and I checked her out. She was noticeably scrawnier, but overall, she was OK!!!!

With her still in my arms, I picked up the phone and called the boys.

I have no idea where she was for all that time. I'm assuming she didn't go far, and kept coming back to check if we were home. I'll never know for sure.

I noticed a change in her 'outing behaviour' after her little adventure though.

The first few days after we were home, she'd only go out for a few minutes at a time. Then she'd be sitting at the door again. "Are you there Mom?" "Gonna let me in Mom?" LOL She didn't go far for long.

Now, after being home a couple of weeks, she's venturing out for longer trips again, and not always coming home right away when I call her.

Damn cat.

But she's our damn cat, and we love her, and I'm glad she's back :-)


'Nite all.

K