Sadly we have had no news of Ginny. Not knowing what has happened to your much loved pet if it goes missing is very hard to bear. Her owners are still hoping that someone will find her and realise she is micro chipped and of course that is what we hope too.
Cats are the last domestic animal to have their freedom and they are very vulnerable in our busy hectic world. Dogs are now controlled by law and must have a collar and identification, though the system does not always work it is very unusual to see dogs wandering loose as was quite normal in my childhood.
Cats can be stray for some time before they look in poor condition and then they will rely on an animal lover to help. Vets and rescue organisations have scanners to check if an animal is micro chipped. A note with a telephone number on a collar will sometimes identify whether it has a home or not and perhaps prick a conscience if the poor animal is not getting the care it deserves. Ringing vets and rescues, putting out flyers and posters are all things we have written about in previous postings. The more people who know the cat is missing the better. If the cat is too timid for you to catch, you will need to borrow a trap from a rescue or animal charity
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The Story of Milk
When a cat goes missing even if it is reunited with its owners, we very rarely know the full story of what has happened to it while it has been away. Kats&Kits have taken in many strays and only a small proportion of these timid, hungry and frightened animals have been claimed by their owners, maybe because they didn't know where to look or they just assume they have had an accident and don't bother. Hopefully micro chipping will improve this and there will more happy endings.
In the early days of Kats&Kits a large black cat turned up at our gate accompanied by a very sad lady who asked us if we would take him in and find him a new home. She lived in a mobile home park and the rules said no animals. He had apparently wandered in a couple of months earlier and between them the residents had cared for him and of course had hoped they could keep him but it was not to be and reluctantly they brought him to us.
If this story does not contain every detail I apologise and will happily be corrected by anyone who was involved, but it was a long time ago and there have been a lot of cats, but in general I think it is true as I remember it and illustrates one of the few times that we were able to piece together the whole story of a cat's adventure.
Our new resident soon settled in, he was such a lovely natured cat that we could understand why his temporary carers had been so attached to him. The phone rang frequently with enquiries after his health.
We were so sure that he must have had a home that we put up some posters locally and to our surprise we had a phone call from a lady who said her friend had seen a poster and could it possibly be her cat that we were looking after. Well you know the answer of course, it was, she was thrilled to see him, he wasn't that bothered but that's cats for you.
We knew the end of the story so she told us the beginning. A few months before she had workmen at her house and while they were there she had gone shopping, on her way home she noticed their van in a lay bye on the opposite side of the road, they opened the door and out jumped, yes you have guessed it, a large black cat. Why they didn't take him home we don't know but he was lost. Luckily for him he found the mobile home park and you know the rest of the story. Things turned out well for Milk, yes that was his name, we wish that it could be the same for every missing cat. Keep your eyes open, that little cat hanging around your garden taking food from the bird table might be somebody's lost cat, it is worth finding out.
