One morning Farah, Summer and the Jets all went outdoors, as usual, at about 7 a.m. Usually everybody runs in and out of the house every half-hour or so. Because she loves treats almost as much as she loves frequent cuddling, Cocoa in particular tends to stay close to the deck in the back yard.
But this day was different . . . Cocoa was not seen in the back yard all morning!
As usual, all the cats came in by 2:00 for a nap - all, that is, except for Cocoa.
By evening, Pat and Henry, the resident humans, were so alarmed that they walked all over the neighborhood calling "Cocoa! Co - Co - Co - Co - Co - CO-ah!"
That's what they did all day Saturday too.
On Sunday, they made this poster, with picture, which they put in over a hundred mailboxes:
LOST CAT
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We ask that you please check your garages and tool sheds in case Cocoa
Many, many thanks . . .
They posted the same notice on the website "PEI Talk," which is read by almost every human on the Island.
Lots of neighbors called, and lots of people wrote in to "PEI Talk" to say they hoped Cocoa would be found soon. One person asked, why is she named "Cocoa"? Pat explained online:
"We fostered a mother and five kittens from the Humane Society. We named the male kittens Hershey and Smartie. We named the female kittens Cocoa, Taffy, and Tootsie. When the kittens were big enough, they and their mother went back to the Humane Society to be adopted. Smartie was adopted immediately, but not the others. We were so in love with them by then that we adopted Hershey, Cocoa, Taffy and Tootsie. Their mother was adopted by friends of ours. I wish we had kept Smartie!"
Well: BOTH the poster and the online notice got results!
Pat and Henry were barely home from putting the poster in the neighbors' mailboxes when Cocoa arrived at the back door, frightened and hungry and thirsty and smelling as if she had indeed been shut in a garage for over two days!
And then, Pat got an email message from a nice lady who read the notice on "PEI Talk," and who wrote us to say that Smartie now lives with her! And he is happy and healthy and mischievous! And he has four other cats to play with! And his name now is Max! And Pat and Henry are welcome to visit him! The nice lady even sent us some pictures of Smartie / Max - who looks just as we remember him:
Here is a baby picture of Cocoa (on the left) with Smartie (on the throw rug):
Meanwhile, Cocoa is HAPPY TO BE HOME - in this picture, she relaxes between Summer and Hershey (click to enlarge):
To read Cocoa's own first-hand account of how she was lost and found (as dictated to Pat), go to http://www.vivapets.com/petdiary.php?id=1454&entry=609
4 comments:
So, is Cocoa grounded for life now? I’d like to tell you that I’ve written a scathingly funny book, The World Is Your Litter Box, which will be in bookstores on Tuesday. The book is cleverly disguised as a cute cat book so humans will buy it, but is, in fact, a how-to manual FOR cats. Check it out on my website, www.theworldisyourlitterbox.com.
Hi Quasi,
Thanks for the tip! "The World Is Your Litterbox" looks like a great read, and I'm sure the cats will be receiving it as a birthday gift!
Is Cocoa grounded for life? Well, not quite, but as a direct result of this terrifying experience, we have hired a carpenter who is going to enlarge our already enormous back deck, and then enclose the entire structure with strong wire netting. We are referring to it as "the night club," because the cats - who have never been allowed back outdoors after coming in, each day, for their afternoon naps - will now be able to spend the evenings out there.
Pat plans to continue her practice of taking the cats out for an hour or two every morning, weather permitting. She feels they need the exercise they get running back and forth across the lawn, and up and down the trees.
"The nightclub" will be expensive, but well worth it.
When it is finished, pictures will be posted!
I m SO GLAD she came home safe and sound!
My Baby came from the S.F. SPCA so I LOVE stories about adopted pets!
Oh my goodness. What a happy ending. That is so wonderful that you also found out where Smartie is. You could also build a screened in porch. My cats loved the one we had when we lived in Florida.
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