It was nineteen years ago and the other side of the country when that cat and I first crossed paths. I had another cat, Sadie, at the time, black with white on her chin and paws, just a few months older than a kitten. We used to call her “Third”, an in-joke between my girlfriend and I and a nod to Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game.
One night, Third slipped out and disappeared, so I put up signs around the Providence, Rhode Island neighborhood I lived in: “Lost Cat”.
After a few days, I got a call from a student who said he had found a cat matching the description on my sign, but when I arrived at his dorm and took the little piece of fur in my hands, I knew it wasn’t Third. I tried to give him back, but the young main prevailed on me: he lived in a dorm, couldn’t possibly keep it, couldn’t I look after it or find it a new home?
No, I said, I already have a cat, and I’m still looking for her, but I took him anyway. My girlfriend drew a sketch of him and we put up new signs around town: “cats, 1 lost, 1 found, both young with black + white fur, please call!!”
It was too much for people, perhaps, or who knows what, but we never did find Third and nobody ever called looking for Fourth, as we ended up calling the kitten who came to stay.
That was nineteen years ago, and that cat and I have been through a lot together. He wasn’t much of a lap cat, but when I would hold him to my neck and chuck him behind the shoulders, he’d purr like rolling thunder and lick a raspy tongue across my ear.
He’s an indoor-outdoor cat, comes and goes as he pleases, but these last few years he’s pleased to go less and less. Nineteen is old for a cat, I know, a good life, and he’s blessed to have lived so many years in good health.
Fourth’s been gone since Friday afternoon. He used to set out wandering for up to a week at a time, but that was years ago, and now he mostly just sticks to the yard, so I’m worried. Honestly, so many days, I’m not hopeful, but I would like to know, to get a chance to say goodbye.
If you see a long-haired black cat with white on his chin and paws, please let me know.
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the love is palpable and I hope you get a chance to reunite. and not to make light of your posting, but the most amazing thing to me is that you have a photo of the freaking poster from 19 years ago and that you have it accessible and discoverable for just such a moment!
We’ll keep the lookout down here in case he took a road trip to the other end of the ‘hood. Fingers crossed, Jordan.
What a story!
I found my days-lost cat (long time ago) in my neighbor’s garage next door after several days one summer many, many years ago. She was very thirsty but revived and lived a long and apparently happy life. (We looked in all the garages and basements around here when Spoq went missing a few weeks ago, and she had spent the night with a cat friend as it turns out.)
I saw a cat who looked very much like yours in our side of Wally (near the Liquor Store) a couple days ago – tried to get him/her to come say hello, but kitty was skittish. Does your cat wander that far? We’ll keep an eye out and see if he/she comes back!
He doesn’t usually wander that far, but if he did, that would explain why he hasn’t made it home. Thank you, please keep an eye out and I’ll head up there for some poking around today.
He might respond to his name, Fourth, especially if yodeled.
Does his tail fur thin out towards the base?
He’s been losing hair in clumps here and there, then it partially grows in. I’m pretty sure it was getting thin towards the base.
Then I’ve seen him a couple of times on the 3800 block of Bagley. If I see him again, I’ll see what I can do.
We have a cat like that in our neck of the woods–on the part of Corliss that dead-ends into the Good Shepherd Center. He often comes at night and starts meowing in our back yard. He has been doing this for a few months. He’s very friendly when I go out there to say hi, but he runs away if I try to pet him. I haven’t heard him for awhile, though–maybe since last week. He had a very particular “meow.” Didn’t seem to be in distress, just talking to our chickens I think!
Dang dude – I’m sorry. Will keep my eyes open at 36th and Wallingford.
Hope you find him. He’s been a good companion to you, thick and thin. Anne
Will keep an eye out at 42nd and Bagley, and on errands to 45th.
Does he have a collar? Tags? What color(s)? Just in case….
I guess you know that animals often hide when sick or injured. I hope he comes back and can bask in your love during his softer days. I had 2 who lived to 20/21. The ends were hard and I remember both Kate (Katherine) and Pete (Petruchio) with love and appreciation for all they taught me.
I’m SO sorry to know your kitty friend is missing. How heartbreaking.
My 16 year old, indoor-only cat was missing for 24 days. I was fanatical about searching (with help from my Walling-mont neighbors) and found her just hours before she would have died. She rebounded and lived four more years.
I learned a LOT that I’m happy to share with you–but it’s too much to type. Email me if you’re interested and we’ll talk. I’d love to help you reunite with your beloved friend.
lunabianca at hot mail . com (trying to disguise the address so the spammers don’t get it!)
Oops–lifted this paragraph to move it and forgot to put it back in:
Just a few things for now:
Some good advice here: http://www.missingpet.net/advice/cats.html
Even if your cat is chipped, not all readers work for all chips. So, don’t count on that. Instead:
Fax your flyer to local vets
Visit the shelters every day — or two. Sometimes people take an animal to the shelter closest to where they work — not live. So, go to all of them — and post your flyer there.
Talk to everyone you see and put flyers under doormats.
Many people assume a cat is lost and take it in. So, knock on doors within an eight block radius and tell people your cat is missing.
I think your kitty is on the grass in the parking strip on 46th west of Eastern– just sitting there. Right now! Wed. At 7:50pm
@GFB: I just went up to 46th and Eastern to check it out, and the sweetest cat came out to greet me. Fourth and he could have been twins, separated by a decade. This cat had the sweetest collar, too. It said “Will you marry me?” I wonder what the story behind THAT is!
But different cat. Thanks for keeping an eye out!
Wallyhood: the cat at 46th and Eastern is the same cat I saw (mentioned much earlier in comments). Rats! will continue to keep an eye out for Fourth on our daily constitutionals, etc.
Maybe this is the twin, but I just saw a found poster with a black & white kitty; markings look the same, but possibly the found cat is younger? Hard to tell (b&w photocopy). Found near 46th & Sunnyside. Phone to call is 206-634-2566
Good luck!