Gina and I have two cats, a brother and sister, that G adopted back when she had her own apartment. She got them from the pound and we named them Wednesday (girl) and Pugsley (boy). Gina's always been alergic to cats, but not super bad - until she got pregnant. Now they are horrible. We didn't really notice until we went to Sun River for a week and lived in a cat-free house. We had been talking about finding Wednesday and pugsley new homes before the baby came in October, but after we realized how bad Gina's alergies really were we decided to move on it right away.
After returning from Sun River, we made them out door only cats. Then I posted them on Craig's List and got a couple of calls/emails about them. I found a possible home for Pugsley, but after a week at the house he had to come home: the adults loved him and he loved them, but they have 3 kids under 7 and whenever the kids were around Pugs would just hide. So I brought him back here - I told them at the beginning that I'd rather have him back here than send him to the pound.
This is Wednesday. I found a great sounding home for her out in Milwaukie: a retired couple with one cat and a forrest-like backyard. The woman I spoke to was really nice and wanted a friend for her other cat: they used to have a dog the cat loved to play with, but the dog was like 17 and passed away late last year. They have a cat door on the garage (Wednesday would piss me off sometimes wanting to go in and out of the house every 5 minutes), lots of squirels and butterflys for her to chase, and two older people to give her attention all the time! Great, right??
So on Sunday after church I packed Wednesday up on the carrier and drove her out past Clackamas to meet her new family. The woman was outside with her other cat so she and I went in and left Felix outside. I opened the carrier and Wednesday came right out and was nervous, but friendly - she let them pet her and she seemed to LOVE the sunroom. After a few minutes the woman let Felix back in the from screen door so Wednesday could meet him while I was there. Well, she got all hissy (but didn't attack him or anything) and trotted from the living room into the kitchen.
Now, at this house there was a big circle from entry way to living room to kitchen back to entry way. We were in the living room when we heard a noise by the front screen door and looked just in time to see Wednesday's butt scoot outside and vanish. Either the woman didn't latch the door when she let Felix in, or Wednesday was more scared than I thought and slammed into it with panic force. In either case, she got outside after being in a strange house in a whole other state and ran off before we could even see which way she went. These folks live on an older street off the main road so there are a lot of trees, bushes, ferns, and other underbrush ALL over - in their yard and the all the others on the street. Wednesday is a very small cat and can hide anywhere. We looked for quite a while, and she never came out. I tried, but I'm the bastard who took her on a car ride in the first place so she wasn't coming out to my voice! We ended up putting some of the food she's used to in a dish outside and the woman said she's talk to all her neighbors (who almost all have indoor/outdoor cats) and have them keep an eye out. But the fact is this: I'm afraid Wednesday is gone.
She's too prissey to become ferral I think, but she's also so scared that I don't know if she will go up to strangers at all - she used to here, but that was at a house she knew, where she could run under the deck if need be. She's way the hell out in Milwaukie and I kinda don't think I'll see or hear from her again. I feel like I've failed her. I swore to myself I wouldn't just dump her off at the pound - we saved them both from there as kittens, and I owed it to them to find a good home myself - so instead I go dump her off in the woods in Oregon. I honestly don't even know if she survived the night: she's always been a very suburban cat and the most vicious animal she's ever come in contact with is the neighbors weiner dog - now she's in a place with coyotes, foxes, cougars, and God-knows what else. She's in a place she's never been so even if she decides to come back, she dosn't know where "back" is. She ran in a panic, and now is lost.
If you are a praying person, and you believe God takes care of ALL his creatures (not just people), please pray for Wednesday. I let her down, so I'm praying too, but she needs all the help she can get. If you are Catholic or believe in the Patron Saints, pray for St. Francis to protect her. I doubt that I'll ever see or hear from her again, I just hope she's safe.
Damn. Some parent I am, hua?
3 comments:
Sorry 'bout the cat dude. Are y'all a little more freaked about finding a home for Pugsley?
Not to sound insensitive, but I actually think there's hope for Wednesday. When we moved from Cali, our cat, Kitto, disappeared for well over a week. No sign of her anywhere! Vanished! Gone! Until she came back. She showed up one day as casual and nonchalant as ever. She looked at us as if to say, "What? I've been busy, okay? Where's my food?"
It could still happen, Chris. Don't lose hope.
And this is no reflection on your parenting abilities ... but latch the screen door just in case.
when i was in highschool, my humanities teacher would always look for mainstream ads that had breaks in the lines in inappropriate spots. things like this:
I have herepes
awareness training. do you?
can you see why that is funny? anyways, this applies because:
(Wednesday used to piss
me off.........)
end of comment.
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