Lost & Found

 

It's been a long time.  Over the past month, I have barely spent any time on Blogger.  I spent all my spare time searching for our missing cat, Kaysar, and didn't really feel any inspiration to blog.  I can happily say that Kaysar returned home on April 18th, just in time to save my birthday!  (I turn 31 in 2 days)  I couldn't be more thrilled.  Life can finally get back to normal.  No more posturing, online ads, calling shelters and bugging neighbours to search yards. 

It was a rough month.  Since my last post on Kaysar we had a couple of incidents that were highly stressful.  The first of which happened just 2 weeks after Kaysar went missing.  My husband had gotten a call that a cat matching Kays' description was hit and the intersection near our house.  I think my husband had himself convinced that the cat was ours before he even saw it, cause he ended up bringing the body home for us to bury.  My devastation over the death of my cat quickly turned to confusion when I went to say goodbye and realized that there were some significant differences in looks.  At first my husband didn't believe me, and thought my grief to be making me wish for something that just wasn't true.  However, I was right...this cat was definitely not Kaysar.  In fact, this cat was not even a male! 

The second incident happened just 3 days following.  A neighbour called to tell me that she thought our cat was under their backyard shed.  I was so discouraged by the false sightings, and pranks that I really did not think it was him.  When I went to check it out, I was shocked to find Kaysar huddled in a little ball underneath.  He was dehydrated, meowing pretty weakly.  I should have taken time to coax him out, but I was in a state of adrenaline panic and I allowed the neighbour to assist me in trying to get him out.  Big mistake.  Kaysar got away from us, ran so fast there wasn't time to react.  He was gone in an instant.  It took only a moment and he was gone for almost another 2 weeks without a sighting.

.The night Kaysar finally came home it was completely unexpected.  It was around 10:30pm and I was grabbing a late dinner from the kitchen.  I had the strangest feeling in my stomach and chest so I abandoned dinner to go stand on the front porch.  I was just standing there wondering where he was, and when I turned to go back inside I saw a cat on our next door neighbours driveway, half hidden under a car.  I knelt down to get a better look, sure it had to be one of the neighbourhood's outdoor cats, when I noticed the distinct swirling stripes on the cat's side.  I grabbed the dish of food from the porch and shook it while calling his name.  The cat started meowing.  I turned to grab a can of wet food, and when I looked back the cat was gone.  I think I would have went mad if I lost him a 2nd time in 2 weeks, but luckily I could still faintly hear him crying.  I followed the sound to a nearby tree and baby talked until I got him to come out.  He came right into my arms. 

He's doing great back at home.  He has lost some weight but considering how large he was before, it's almost as though he's a regular sized cat now.  He's a real suck, wanting constant attention...that I am more than happy to oblige.  I am so grateful to have him back with his family.  I appreciate everyone who offered their support, thoughts, shared stories, prayers and spells of protection.  Thank you!

Still Seeking Kaysar

It has now been just over 2 weeks, and our baby still hasn't been found.  A week ago, my husband is pretty sure he saw Kaysar sitting on a driveway near our house, while driving around the neighbourhood searching, but by the time he pulled the car over the cat had taken off.  Zach searched for hours with no other sightings.  My heart is still broken.  Nobody has seen our boy.  It is as if he vanished.

At this point I have canvased 500 homes in the neighbourhood, posting a note about Kaysar on doors. We have put up about 175 flyer's with Kaysar's picture and description, offering a reward.  I have gone online and posted ads on Craigslist, Kijiji, OXL, Humane Society.  I have posted with vets, animal hospitals, and the nearest animal shelters.  We visit them when we can.

So far, we have had two legitimate calls, but the sightings turned out not be Kaysar.  We have had a ton of prank calls and text messages...some really mean.  My husband has gotten "your cat is dead" messages.  I have even had a well meaning neighbourhood "animal communicator" call.  She claimed she would use telepathy to make contact with him, and that once she had she would use Reiki to calm him into staying put until we could find him.  I am a very open minded person, but she kept calling him a her, and did not require any personal item to assist her.  However, we could pay her if she helped narrow down the area and we could find him.  Oh boy.

At nights we search the neighbourhood with spotlights trying to find him. 

So far we have come across a few of these...

a lot of these...

and unfortunately...these!

Yikes. 

I have truly appreciated all the support from those who have commented and offered their experiences.  We can use all the positive energy we can get.  Every day that goes by it gets harder to stay optimistic.  I refuse to give up hope that Kaysar will come home, even though it feels sometimes we may never find him.