Sending a Message the Old Fashioned Way

Posted on 13th July 2010 in The Cats & Other Pets

A few nights ago a little after midnight, as I was getting ready for bed I heard a faint “meow” coming from outside. Now, if you know me, you know that I have two cats who are strictly indoor cats. I never ever let them outside. So when I heard this meow from outside, the first thing I did was make sure my cats hadn’t pulled some sort of miraculous escape. I found both of them sleeping peacefully indoors, thankfully.

But the meowing continued, and got louder. So I decided to investigate.

I opened my front door and stepped out onto my front porch, only to be greeted by a long-haired little siamese kitty. She sat there right on my doorstep, as if she were home, and just waiting for her human to let her in the damn house already. As soon as I came out she meowed and got excited and started rubbing up against my leg. Bug and Sooki (my cats) were sitting in the window looking out, and as soon as they saw the “intruder” cat, they got mad. Well, Sooki did anyway. And “mad” is an understatement. There was much hissing and growling and territory-claiming coming from that little angelic mouth.

I checked the “intruder” cat for a collar or tags, but there were none. She didn’t look like a stray, though, so I figured it was just a neighborhood cat who was lost. I shooed her away, and went back inside.

But that little cat was sure she was home. She camped out on my doorstep and meowed for at least 30-40 minutes. I felt horrible. Poor little kitty just wanted to be home, and thought my house was the place she was supposed to be! She was lost. This is where I become infuriated at irresponsible cat owners who (a) let their cats roam free at night unsupervised and (b) do not put identification on their pets. A less animal-loving neighbor probably would have called Animal Control, which is basically a death sentence for the cat.

Eventually I fell asleep, and the kitty was gone by morning. I didn’t see her again until today.

This afternoon I got a knock on the door. I opened it to see my next door neighbor, with the long-haired siamese cat in his arms, struggling to get free.

“Is this your cat?” he asked. This neighbor knew we had cats, and so when this little kitty performed the meowing routine on his porch, his first instinct was to check with us, for which I am very grateful. (If my cats ever DID find an escape, it’s nice to know I have neighbors who would look out for them!)

I told my neighbor no, that is not my cat, but I knew of this cat. He’s obviously not a cat person, and didn’t know how to “hold” a kitty, and she was squirming uncomfortably in his arms. So I stepped outside and took the cat from him, relieving him of his cat-rescuing duties.

Fed up at whoever owns this cat, I decided I was going to do my best to find her home. I proceeded to walk with the cat in my arms from door to door, knocking on every door in my little area trying to find the kitties home. Of course, on a Tuesday afternoon, everyone was at work and I got no answers. About halfway through my journey the cat struggled out of my arms, so I hope that meant I was near her house. But she then proceeded to follow me like a puppy to every following house, and then all the way home back to my house. I knocked on at least 10 doors.

Unsuccessful in my pursuit for the cats home, I just left it on my porch again and came inside, frustrated and sad for the little kitty.

Then I got a crazy idea.

I went and found one of my cats old collars. Then I wrote the following note:

“Dear neighbor,
Is this your cat? I know she lives in this area, because a few times this week she has showed up on my porch thinking she is home. She seems Lost. I feel bad, because she has no tag and I have no way to help her find her way home. Here is a free cat collar. PLEASE go buy a pet ID tag at Petco for her to wear, so next time she is lost, she can find her way home. Thanks! ”

Then, just like they did with pigeons in ancient European times, I wrapped the note around the collar, with “READ ME” on the outside, and went and tied my message to the mystery cat.

I couldn’t help but laugh. I mean, who does that?! A crazy concerned cat lady, that’s who.

The mystery cat didn’t seem to mind the collar much. After I snapped it on, she proceeded to roll around in my hydrangea bush and under my day-lilies.

Hopefully next time I see her, she’s donning a fancy shiny name tag.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 4:55 pm and is filed under The Cats & Other Pets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.