A Cat In Your House Is Worth The Same In The Bush

My cat thought the outside was a bit scary, but she still wanted to go out and explore it. Since she was chipped and spayed we let her out when she wanted. Sometimes she stayed out while I went to work, then as I got home she jumped out from the bushes next to our door to go inside with me.

One day she didn’t, so I went out to call for her, knowing she sometimes was away on some adventure, but always close by. However she still did not come. At first I thought perhaps she wandered farther than usual, so I went out regularly to call for her but she never came, so I started wandering further away to call for her as well.

That weekend I put up notes in the neighbourhood, and cried a lot, worrying for her. I made calls to local shelters as well but no one had seen her. After several weeks, I gave up, and went on my planned holiday.

That is when I get this call from a mother.

Mother: “Hi, are you [My Name]?”

Me: “Yes.”

Mother: “Are you missing a cat?”

Me: “Yes, have you seen her?”

Mother: “Yes, she’s here with me and my daughter.”

Me: “Oh my god! Thank you! Where was she? Where did you find her?”

Mother: “Well we found her some weeks ago when visiting my mother, she seemed so scared and thin, malnourished, so my daughter and I took her into our car and brought her home.”

Me: “Really, where was this?”

She describes the exact area where I live, the bush outside my house, during the time she disappeared.

Me: “Uhm… she was malnourished?”

Mother: “Yes, we’ve given her lots of food but she doesn’t eat enough. So we were worried she was sick and took her to the vet and they checked her chip, so that is how we found you.”

I usually leave food out for my cat to eat how much she wants, as she has no issues with controlling that herself. She is a thin cat though, so those used to overweight cats usually think her skinny. But what really annoyed me was that they had my cat for weeks and didn’t think to check for a chip.

Mother: “There is nothing wrong with her though, you’ll be relieved to know. My daughter is really fond of her, she is fitting in very nicely here, I believe she is very happy here.”

Me: “Well I get back in a few days…”

Mother: “Alright, well we can bring her back then but there is no hurry, we don’t mind keeping her here.”

Me: “Well thank you so much! I’ll contact you.”

As I get home they come to give my cat back, giving me lots of cat food and cat sand as well. It is all nice and everything, but I noticed them watching me very closely with my cat, who seemed very happy to see me, and this made them sad, I could see it.

Me: “Just to clarify, did you find her in this bush?”

Mother: “Yes exactly! To think she lived right here.”

Me: “Yeah…”

Mother: “If you ever need someone to take her we would love to have her.”

Me: “No it’s alright, I usually bring her along on travels.”

Mother: “But those cages can be so traumatizing…”

Me: “Yeah she doesn’t like them very much so I usually let her be in my lap. Thank you again! Goodbye.”

They texted me regularly after that, to see if I needed help with the cat, and once I saw them from the window searching in the bushes. They gave up after a couple of months though.