M.I.A. --EXPLORED
I am so upset I can hardly type.
Simon has been missing since Saturday. He was out with everyone else and slipped away. We have looked everywhere, scouring the neighborhood.
Through the years we've let our cats be indoor-outdoor.
It has always been a topic of hot debate between Larry and me.
I'm always nervous about the whole deal. Larry believes they should be allowed to have the full "cat experience" and be able to chase squirrels and birds and climb trees.
When Sally and the kittens came along, I thought I had convinced Larry that they should be indoor ONLY! We were down to just 2 cats that went outside regularly, and at that point nobody else even seemed that interested. It was all good as far as I was concerned.
On the weekends Larry is usually up and downstairs before me..
All of the sudden a couple of months ago, I was coming down on a Saturday morning to discover my babies running back and forth on the front porch and in the front garden.
Larry told me he was only letting them out "a little" during the weekend,, and they would be fine.
Well of course I freaked out., but Larry continued.
This behavior opened up a real can of worms. Cats don't go by a weekly calendar They don't understand, you can go out on Saturday, but not on Wednesday. It became a battle royal trying to defend the door from escapees, once they had a taste of the great outdoors.
Vinny could actually push the back storm door open, even if it was clicked shut, by throwing the full weight of his body against the door.
In the end, I had to give in, and at least teach them the lay of the land and make sure everyone knew where the cat door was and how to get back in. I also frequently have "roll call" to count heads.
Through the years we've had dozens of cats, and lost 3.
Old Sam, also disappeared,. We fear he jumped into an open car window and was driven off, as he was so fond of laying in the back seat of warm cars.
We also lost Marvin on the road, my biggest nightmare.
Marvin was a truly feral black cat that wandered onto our property and would only make friends with me. I was able to convince him that a chair in the livingroom near the fireplace during the winter was infinitely better than shivering out in the garage, and he grudgingly conceded, however he was never comfortable in the house. I have a feeling that his territory covered a larger area than my other cats, who seem content to hang closer to the house. Finding Marvin on the road was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.
And now Simon is gone.
I've cried for 2 days, almost non stop, and can't think straight. I have such a knot in my stomach, I can't even eat.
We're making up posters for the neighborhood, and I'll be putting in calls to all the local shelters.
I've had cats that haven't come back overnight before, but they were seasoned veterans of the farm. There were a few females...like May, that knew when it was time to come in for dinner and would deliberately hide back in the woods and refuse to come back, if it was a nice night, or if she was busy stalking something good.
Those were the nights I couldn't sleep, up a million times, looking out the backdoor, crying, and worrying my face off.
I'm too old for this shit. I tried to explain to Larry how this affects me, and now I feel like we've opened up Pandora's Box all over again.
These cats are now on the mission from hell all the time to be out in the yard and I'm not going to have a moment's peace of mind now when they are out. This whole thing is making me age quickly.
Meanwhile, I'll hope and pray. that Simon will find his way back to us. I'm hopeful, but not very optimistic
Please say a prayer for him.
I'm going to take some time off here. My heart is broken and I need to calm down.
We'll be heading off toward the shore for the holiday weekend. Catch up with you all when I hit the sand
.
M.I.A. --EXPLORED
I am so upset I can hardly type.
Simon has been missing since Saturday. He was out with everyone else and slipped away. We have looked everywhere, scouring the neighborhood.
Through the years we've let our cats be indoor-outdoor.
It has always been a topic of hot debate between Larry and me.
I'm always nervous about the whole deal. Larry believes they should be allowed to have the full "cat experience" and be able to chase squirrels and birds and climb trees.
When Sally and the kittens came along, I thought I had convinced Larry that they should be indoor ONLY! We were down to just 2 cats that went outside regularly, and at that point nobody else even seemed that interested. It was all good as far as I was concerned.
On the weekends Larry is usually up and downstairs before me..
All of the sudden a couple of months ago, I was coming down on a Saturday morning to discover my babies running back and forth on the front porch and in the front garden.
Larry told me he was only letting them out "a little" during the weekend,, and they would be fine.
Well of course I freaked out., but Larry continued.
This behavior opened up a real can of worms. Cats don't go by a weekly calendar They don't understand, you can go out on Saturday, but not on Wednesday. It became a battle royal trying to defend the door from escapees, once they had a taste of the great outdoors.
Vinny could actually push the back storm door open, even if it was clicked shut, by throwing the full weight of his body against the door.
In the end, I had to give in, and at least teach them the lay of the land and make sure everyone knew where the cat door was and how to get back in. I also frequently have "roll call" to count heads.
Through the years we've had dozens of cats, and lost 3.
Old Sam, also disappeared,. We fear he jumped into an open car window and was driven off, as he was so fond of laying in the back seat of warm cars.
We also lost Marvin on the road, my biggest nightmare.
Marvin was a truly feral black cat that wandered onto our property and would only make friends with me. I was able to convince him that a chair in the livingroom near the fireplace during the winter was infinitely better than shivering out in the garage, and he grudgingly conceded, however he was never comfortable in the house. I have a feeling that his territory covered a larger area than my other cats, who seem content to hang closer to the house. Finding Marvin on the road was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.
And now Simon is gone.
I've cried for 2 days, almost non stop, and can't think straight. I have such a knot in my stomach, I can't even eat.
We're making up posters for the neighborhood, and I'll be putting in calls to all the local shelters.
I've had cats that haven't come back overnight before, but they were seasoned veterans of the farm. There were a few females...like May, that knew when it was time to come in for dinner and would deliberately hide back in the woods and refuse to come back, if it was a nice night, or if she was busy stalking something good.
Those were the nights I couldn't sleep, up a million times, looking out the backdoor, crying, and worrying my face off.
I'm too old for this shit. I tried to explain to Larry how this affects me, and now I feel like we've opened up Pandora's Box all over again.
These cats are now on the mission from hell all the time to be out in the yard and I'm not going to have a moment's peace of mind now when they are out. This whole thing is making me age quickly.
Meanwhile, I'll hope and pray. that Simon will find his way back to us. I'm hopeful, but not very optimistic
Please say a prayer for him.
I'm going to take some time off here. My heart is broken and I need to calm down.
We'll be heading off toward the shore for the holiday weekend. Catch up with you all when I hit the sand
.