Cat-astrophe averted…
On Friday I had some new customers pull into the yard in order to leave their three cats with us for boarding. I liked the couple right away… cheerful and soft-spoken, they introduced themselves and proceeded to bring cat food and cats into the house. One cat, Sambuca, was in an airline kennel by itself, and the other two were being carried up the steps by the husband. Just as B. was stepping into our porch, the kennel/carrier fell apart, and Bailey and Kahlua scrambled back OUTDOORS before any of us could catch them or shut the door.
It was NOBODY’S fault. Even so, the mood around here plummeted as we all watched the two cats dive under my grooming shop. My new friend F. needed to stay with her cats and her hubby went on to Prince George to get some business done. The rest of their plans for the weekend were aborted.
So F. and I tried to call the elusive cats and we even caught sight of them during the day. One of my best ideas was to borrow a LIVE trap from our Village Office. I had some other work to do, but at any rate, because the cats didn’t know me, I kept some distance for the most part.
Early that evening, B. returned from the city and the two went home together. Later on, one of the cats was caught in the live trap! I was so relieved, and brought it into the house and made it more comfortable (she, Kahlua, was still traumatized). Still the other little cat, Bailey was, we had to believe, under the building.
The next morning, F. came out and spent the morning calling to the cat. I couldn’t keep the boarding dogs from barking from time to time, and other customers came and went. That day Bailey was still hiding out. Yesterday, F. and B. came out for a little while on their way to do some sledding in the mountains near us, and the cat let himself be seen, but not captured! This was more reason to have some hope; it was discouraging on Saturday to not even get a glimpse of him.
Last night, somewhere between 2 a.m. when I checked and 7 a.m when Gary checked… one of OUR cats was caught in the live trap. OH! Gilbert, our little dilute calico, was furious. Nevertheless, she had eaten some of the food left for the escapee, so I replenished the “bait” selection with wonderful, fishy, aromatic new canned food, kitty treats, milk and water. I arranged and rearranged the blankets inside and around the trap, doing my best to make it “uncagelike”, and checked to see that the warming pad underneath was still, um… warm. I was discouraged though… I thought the escaped cat would be most likely to enter the trap in the dead of night, and since it was occupied by Gilbert, a whole opportunity was lost.
This morning I went into town for a haircut, groceries, and lunch. To tell you the truth, I was trying to stay away from home so that things would be quieter for F., as she would surely be there trying to call the cat. I even took Lady with me so that she wouldn’t be barking in a kennel or the house while I was gone (knowing or seeing that someone was in the yard).
As I drove into the yard after a two-hour lunch, I saw that the heating mat was unplugged and standing against the side of the shop. The live cat trap was uncovered and parked neatly beside the steps… I KNEW that meant that F. had been there and had recovered her pet! Sure enough, when I went to the house, I found a note to that effect.
To say I was relieved would be an understatement… I was jubilant! No matter that this incident was the fault of no one, I felt that if the story didn’t have a positive outcome, it would somehow sully my reputation. Of course I had great empathy, sympathy and worry for the cat’s owners. They felt that perhaps this effort might have gone on for MONTHS… Bailey in particular had been a spooky cat even as a kitten. In addition to that, the family AND their cats had survived a house fire just two months ago! The frightened cats had hid in the bush for days after the fire; we were thinking that poor Bailey would not be very inclined to leave the protection of the joists of the grooming shop for at LEAST a number of days.
I must wrap up this story by telling you what actually WORKED in this case, for the most elusive of the two cats. The owners had thought to bring CATNIP out; F. just sprinkled some on a familiar blanket near where Bailey had last shown himself, and pretty soon he was rolling around on it! My friend just quietly worked her way closer and closer, with the cat actually reaching out to touch her with his paw, when finally she could just GRAB him. It’s a lesson for all of us, our friends’ stroke of brilliance.
In the kerfluffle of the weekend, I didn’t think to get photos of Sambuca, Kahlua and Bailey, but I might be able to obtain some by email and post them later. I had some faith the whole weekend long, but thank goodness this has been resolved. A friendship was forged and we have all learned some little things… problem solving at its best.
All else is just great around here. There are still plenty of dogs boarding, and Spike the Uromastyx lizard. Otherwise it is calm, I’m calm, and it’s a beautiful spring day! Therefore, I’d better get back outside and get some things accomplished.
Thank you for hanging out with me for this little while. I’ve enjoyed telling this story, which ended so well.
Love, Ann
