Conference misery::feline_v1

    WOW Sharon, what a story!  I am SO glad you found your little kitty.
    I don't know what would happen if I ever lost one of my angels.
    I would be devastated!
    
    As for the people who torture cats, LORD HELP the person I see
    torturing a cat.  I won't stand for it a bit!  I have seen it only
    once, and those boys will never forget me! 
    
    Holly
    
       

    I have a somewhat similar story.... last year at the end of February,
    my fiance and some friends were moving furniture out of our house
    in Hubbardston to a house in Marlboro... It was one of the worst
    days weather-wise, it was sleeting,snowing and really cold.  My
    kitty McCafftery was only about 5 months old, she is very skittish
    of people except for me and bob, so when 10 friends arrived she
    was really scared.  I had put both cats in the bedroom and thought
    I shut the door, only after the guys had started away with all the
    furniture and I was still there going over things, did I realize
    that McCafferty wasn't in the room.  So, I started looking all over
    the house... and started to get real panicky when I remembered that
    earlier that day she had been up in the pull out couch when we had
    moved it from one room to another.  I immediately thought that she
    had done that again and was now in the couch in the truck to Marlboro.
    I jumped in my car and literally raced to Marlboro, my fear was
    that when they opened the van with the furniture,  she would
    be scared and take off and the guys didn't know I had a black cat.
    I got to Marlboro just as they were opening the van and I went thru
    the entire truck, checking out all the furniture.... she wasn't
    there.  She had to be back at the house.  When I got back, I spent
    2 hours out in the freezing cold sleet calling her name.... luckily
    the huge dog from next door was helping me and started barking at
    a small crack in the snow next to the house and then I faintly heard
    a "meow", reached in and pulled her out.  Needless to say she was
    terrified... having NEVER been outside in her life.
    
    Luckily, this was also a happy ending.... she got all kinds of hugs
    and kisses that nite and cuddled up on my lap purring away.  
    
    I'm glad you found your kitty too.... I know what you went thru!
    
    Erin

    Yes, I think I know what you went through also.  I had not one but
    two missing cats one time.
    
    I got a call at work from my oldest daughter who was in hysterics.
    It seems that her younger sister (aged 15) was too hot in the house
    and had opened up a window to cool off.  Unfortunately the window
    didn't have a screen in it.  I have three cats and two of them could
    not be found.  Of course, Lightning, the oldest one knew better
    than to go outside.  She had already been out there on a leash.
    Fifteen minutes later, my next door neighbor calls to tell me my
    oldest daughter (age 21) was going up and down the street crying
    at the top of her lungs (other things that had happened to her recently
    contributed to her going off the deep end).  I called my house to
    see if the cats had been found and also where they had searched.
    I gave them all the places that a cat could possibly hide in the
    house (five years of searching for Lightning will attest to this).
    Meantime I decided to go home and help in the search.  Deja, the
    youngest was only 6 months old and Star had never been outside.
    Just as I drove into the yard, every one was screaming "WE FOUND
    THEM, WE FOUND THEM".  They had been hiding under the trailor the
    whole time, which had been searched at least three times.
    
    That was not the end of the story.  I have rat poison under the
    trailor because of the large rats that have been found in my pool
    or heard under the trailor or found dead in the back yard.  I was
    terrified that one or both of the cats had gotten into it.  About
    an hour after being found, Deja started having a hard time breathing
    and was just laying on her side panting heavily.  I thought "Oh
    no, she got into the rat poison.  I tried to get her to drink some
    milk so that she could vomit and prayed.  Of course, being Deja,
    she didn't do that.  She just layed there and panted.  By evening
    she was better.  I guess she hadn't gotten into the rat poison after
    all.  When the girls tried to get her out from under the trailor
    they had to grab her by her flea collar and probably hurt her windpipe.
    
    My youngest daughter really learned her lesson that day about
    unscreened windows.  She hasn't opened that one up since.  Deja
    is her cat and she was really scared because she knew it was her
    fault if Deja died.
    
    Sandi
    
    

    I guess we all have our lost kitty stories.  Luckily they have happy
    endings.
    
    One Friday night about 2 months ago I came home from shopping. 
    As I approached the house I noticed the door was open.  At first
    I was furious with my self for being so stupid... Then I remembered
    I went out the garage door.  Panick set in; I thought for sure there
    were strangers in the house.  Hysterical, I ran to the neighbors
    asking them to come in and check the house with me.  They informed
    me that the condo assoc. had painted all the doors today and must
    have left mine open.  Now the hysteria started to turn into anger
    and I realized my indoor cat Mandy must be gone.  While I was asking
    the neighbors if they had seen my kitty my husband came home.  He
    was in a great mood, I could hear him whistling away.  I ran into
    the house hysterical.  We were both panicked.  Mandy, 1 year, at
    the time had never been outside with out one of us and never for
    any length of time.  With my father's help, three of us searched
    the neighborhood for Mandy... Me crying, Dave furious, and my dad
    being practical.  I couldn't think straight.. "HERE MANDY"  came
    through my sobs.  Dave wanted to sue the Condo association.  Dad,
    who was worried, kept saying she would come home when she was hungry.
    
    Well we searched until 11:30 pm ( three hours) to no avail.  Every
    other cat came running to our call... All but Mandy.  Finally we
    went to bed.  I kept jumping up all night checking the doors.
    Finally at 6:30 Saturday morning I heard a scratch at the front
    door.  It was Mandy.  Hungry, thirsty and scared.  After having
    her fill ( she doesn't eat very much) she went upstairs and hid
    under the bed (this is her refuge when she is afraid).  Needless
    to say she slept the rest of the day there.
    
    The next day a deadbolt was purchased and installed on our front
    door to prevent this from happening again.  We were also happy that
    we hadn't declawed her yet.  We were planning on having all fours
    done...but we realized even though she is an indoor cat you never
    know!
    
    Well, I never was so worried in all my life.  I felt like a mother.
    Again today I feel the same way.  Mandy is at the vets being fixed
    and declawed (front paws only!).  I know I shouldn't worry - but
    ... well you all must know how I feel.  I do feel better having
    been able to tell all the Kitty lovers every where about my kitty!
    
    
    Suzanne

    I love hearing happy endings.  I hope I will never have to go thru
    this with Asia.
    
    RE .1   I'm with you Holly.  Heaven help the person that I catch
            hurting a helpless animal - any animal.
    
    Linda

    Last June, my husband and I rented a motorhome and, taking Sherlock
    with us, went to Nova Scotia for a week.  On the way home, we camped
    in New Brunswick on the ocean one night.  The next morning, Tom
    was in and out of the motorhome unhooking and getting us ready to
    leave.  Just as we were about to pull off the campsite, I asked
    him to lift the sofabed (Sherlock loves to sleep under it) just
    so I could make sure that Sherlock was alright (I just had this
    funny feeling that something was wrong).  Sure enough, no Sherlock!
    We searched the entire motorhome about fives times (me in tears
    and Tom close).  We went outside and called him and searched all
    around where we had been camped.  I was petrified that he had run
    off over the sand dunes to the water and who knows what had happened
    to him.  I told Tom we were not leaving New Brunswick until we found
    Sherlock, even if it took forever!  So, one more round of searching
    the motorhome inside.  This time as Tom opened the cupboard under
    the kitchen sink, he saw something move at the back of the cupboard
    behind the drawers (which are next to the sink).  You guessed it
    - Sherlock!  He had crawled into the cupboard and behind the drawers
    and was there the whole time I was going hysterical sure I'd never
    see him again!
    
    We now have some adorable pictures of him in various cupboards in
    our house, and have learned to make sure we check cupboards before
    opening doors and to close doors immediately.
    
    Ande

    this sounds like what happened to Tabbatha this weekend.  I was
    loading the dishwasher and was just about to close it when I saw
    a little black furball in the back.  She had evidentally crawled
    in and was playing with one of the fixtures inside.  I scared me
    so much, I cuddled her for about 1/2 an hour (which she didn't object
    to a BIT!).  Then that night, I was in bed and all of the sudden
    I heard a big CRASH!!!  The first thing I thought of was that Tabbatha
    had gotten at the Bird.  I went out into the dining room and Charlie
    was just chirping away, as happy as can be.  Then I heard a faint
    meow.  I opened up the cabinet and there she was.   Evidentally
    my nephew had accidentally locked her in when he was putting the
    dishes away.  
    
    Cats love to crawl into anything, so PLEASE be careful.  I have
    almost locked her in the refigerator too a few times.  I am always
    careful to make sure that the cat is not inside before I shut the
    door.
    
    Holly

    Re: .0
    
    About someone perhaps having Mielikki in their apartment:  A friend's
    cat returned home yesterday after being missing for about 6 days.
    Stripley come home obviously well fed and cosy.  So, he must have
    been being fed, and was probably in someone's house.  Now, Stripley
    has an id tag, so this was a bad number on someone's part.  Why
    do people do this when they know the cat lives nearby.....  With
    Mielikki, perhaps since her address was far away, the people thought
    she was a stray and were trying to help.
    
    Some lunatics who visited my next door neighbors at Thanksgiving
    brought with them their newly adopted cat (like, they adopted him
    2 days previously from the shelter), and let the cat out in the yard.
    I found it desperately clawing at my back door, trying to get into the
    warmth of the house, and, I'm sure, convinced that it had been abandoned.
    Some people have pulp for brains.  The reason I mention this is
    that the cat's id was from the shelter, I called the shelter and
    they had no record of it in their "night records" since the adoption
    was so recent, but if they had it would have shown an address several
    cities away and I would have brought the cat into the house to keep
    while I tried to get in touch with its owners, who were meanwhile
    next door.  It was only because I remembered that other friends
    of my neighbors' had let their cat out"to play" that I thought of
    calling them.
    
    
                                      

    My scariest lost and found story with Alexander I (as distinct from my
    current Alexander II) was when he and I travelled cross-country
    together for 5 days from southern Florida to Colorado.  Each morning as
    we started our journey for the day, I carefully took him from the hotel
    room to the car.  During the trip, I only got out of the car to get gas
    and go to the bathroom.  I even ate in the car!  Every evening when we
    stopped for sleeping, I carefully took him from the car to the hotel
    room. This went on without incident for 5 days!  (I got lots of amused
    looks from passing cars when they saw me with Alex sleeping around my
    neck, the two of us just crusing along the highway!) 
    
    Anyway, when we finally made it to Colorado, I stopped at our final
    hotel and rolled the window down ever so slightly to ensure that he
    wouldn't overheat while I checked in.  I had not needed to do this
    earlier in the trip because it was always evening when we checked in.
    This last time it was in the middle of the day and it was summer. 
    
    Anyway, when I came back out of the lobby to get him to go to our room,
    he was nowhere to be found in the car.  Panic!!!  I must have looked
    devastated to some other people in the parking lot, because they came
    over to say that they had observed a cat squeezing out of my window.  I
    started looking and calling feverishly around the parking lot (which
    was next to the highway), dying by the minute.  After only a very few
    minutes (eternity) of this panic, Alex comes crawling out from behind
    some bushes, scared to death!  Needless to say, we went right into the
    room and he got some fierce loving for being found!! 
    
    We (Alex I and I) had some other lost and found episodes (always
    found), but this one was the scariest.  Just thought I'd share it! 

    On the topic of people taking a kitty into their home....when I
    lived in Colorado Springs, a very nice Siamese cat wandered into
    my apartment.  Since my complex didn't allow pets, I assumed that
    he belonged to a visitor, or that he was lost.  Anyway, I let him
    in, opened him a can of tuna and gave him some milk (hey, what did
    I know about cats??  This was my first attempt!).  He ate and drank
    everything and then snuggled up on my bed for a nap.  Not knowing
    what to do with this guy, who obviously was content, I let him stay
    as long as he wanted.  I posted a notice on my patio saying that
    I was giving shelter to this nice kitty in case anyone had lost
    him.  I also called the local humane society and the police, just
    in case someone was looking for him.  Well, a few hours later, his
    owner came screaming into my apartment accusing me of kidnapping
    her baby.  How could I be so cruel, she demanded.  Then I took her
    to see him sound asleep on my pillow, tuna and milk on his breath.
    When she calmed down, she agreed that she overreacted and that I
    was doing the right thing by keeping him safe from the cars flying
    up and down Academy Blvd.
    
    So, if you ever get found by a kitty, you should try to find the
    owner just as much as the owner is trying to find the kitty.
    
    BTW, this kitty and I became best friends and he moved in with me
    when his owner became ill and could not care for him.  He was my
    first "foster cat", and I'll never forget how well he trained me!
    Tuna and milk indeed!!
    
    Mary

    RE. 7
    
    I agree about being careful of cabinets.  Our cat (Obi) was just
    a kitten and somehow opened the cabinet door in the kitchen.  All
    of a sudden we heard scratching and clawing going on in the kitchen.
    
    Both my husband and I ran out opening the door and found her hanging
    from her neck between two drawers.  She somehow got lodged between
    the two while trying to climb up.  I was in shock (Reaction: "How
    the H*** did she do that!", Response: "Good Question").
     
    Our solution: We went out and bought barrel bolts for all of
    the doors so this would not happen again.
    
    
    
    

    our oldest cat(Eskimo) loves to open the cupboards and crawl inside.
    She does it all by herself and if she gets shut in she knows how
    to get out, but if we see a cupboard door open we always check to
    make sure she is not in there before we close it.
    
    						Geoff

    Just wanted to mention that several years ago - I was leaving my
    sister's home in VA after a visit.  I had the trunk of my car open
    and was in and out loading it.   Seamus, her personality plus Siamese,
    sauntered out and curled up to sleep between some sleeping bags.
    Only by some coincidence did I notice him before I slammed the trunk
    and started my 8-hour drive home in the August heat!

    My little Whicket likes to crawl up into the bureau
    to get away from the cat Dazdee.  I came home one
    day and had to rescue poor little Whicket from behind
    the drawers.  She was small enough to get back there,
    but too big to get out.  I just hope she wasn't back
    there too long :^(  My mother would be pleased that 
    I finally found a sure fire way to keep my drawers 
    shut ;^>
    
    Katie

    Last fall, a lady who lives a few miles from my house lost her all
    black cat.  After missing the kitty for a few days she decided that
    the best way to find the cat was to post a reward.  It seems that
    she went throughout the neighborhood for several miles around her
    house posting signs on utility poles describing the cat and offering
    a cash reward.  I have an indoor/outdoor all black cat, and so does
    the lady who lives two houses down the street.  Within a week of
    when the reward posters went up, both neighborhood black kitties
    were also missing.  It seems that people had been grabbing up any
    black cat they came across, and presented them as the cat who was
    worth the reward (I believe the reward was $200 or so).  So here's
    the question.  If you want to offer a reward to get your lost fuzzy
    one back, how can you do it without putting similar looking cats
    in danger of being picked up by a "bounty hunter" who does not return
    the cat where s/he found it?
    
    Marion

    Did you two get your cats back?
    
    I would think that a cat's having a name tag with it's address on
    it would avoid this problem, but.....