He's back! and he's HUNGRY!!

[spatch]

PICTURED ABOVE: The North American Black-And-White Behemoth Cat, returned to his native habitat.

WE HAVE A CAT

I got an anonymous call this afternoon around 3:45 from someone who said she saw "definitely a large" black tuxedo cat in the backyard of the house next door, chasing a squirrel. She also said she thought she'd seen the cat in the bahn (that's a garage to you) behind that house at night.

Tracy was at home so once I got the message and told him, he dashed out to check. Abbie had, at that point, wandered past our house to the house on the other side and was busy in their side yard. Tracy got the cat's attention, whereupon Abbie walked right by him and up our driveway. Tracy then carefully followed the cat, knowing full well there was probably Scared Cat going on, but near the back of the driveway, Abbie turned around and let the big-but-not-so-scary-guy-who-looks-kinda-familiar approach.

Once inside, Abbie quickly ran up the stairs, over to the dining room where his food dish was supposed to be (it was still in the house trap at that point) and began to loudly complain.

He's in fine form, all right.

I got home without knowing this had all gone down and was greeted at the top of the stairs by His Nibs, who began to tell me all about what he'd done and where he'd gone and that his food dish wasn't immediately where it should've been and that he also had tuna breath here smell it. Tracy told me Abbie wolfed down a goodly amount of wet food we'd been using as house trap bait and after he was done, he went around the house looking for me. I picked the cat up and gave him a big hug, which was also a good excuse to gauge his weight and check for any wounds. He looks to be in good shape, no injuries, isn't limping or favoring a paw, let me pet him all over without complaint, and has a healthy appetite. He has lost about 5 pounds, though, as we ascertained at the official weigh-in. Tomorrow is a Day of Phone Calls and one of them will be to his regular vet where I'll hopefully get him an appointment for my weekday off so we can bring him in, get him really checked, make sure he's up on all his shots, and find him a nice new collar with a kitty tag which he will completely resent wearing for the first few months. I think red will look nice on him.

Needless to say I'm extremely relieved and giddy as all hell. I changed my voicemail message to reflect the fact that THAR BE CAT AGIN and called the anonymous number back and left a message and told them to have a great Valentine's Day at the end (couldn't figure out how to end it) and now I'm writing this up and bein all hooray and maybe I should get some food too and stuff.

What really astounds me though is the honest to goodness support that poured in from so many people from all over the place. Tracy really went out of his way to coordinate the Cat Search & Rescue Mission, stepping up while I was flat unconscious, and frankly I think went above and beyond the call of duty, especially with making the house trap and providing me with Steps To Take Next. Carolyn threw a lot of dedication into helping poster the neighborhood, call vets, check other resources, and send a few animal shelters into fits of "okay okay okay okay we'll keep an eye out!" David provided good moral support, too, and together the three made up the HQ Team.

And then there was so much love from so many of you! If I tried to name names, I'm afraid I'd leave someone out and I'm not just saying that because I don't want to type names out, I'm saying that because I'm really afraid I'd forget. So to those of you who helped flyer, walked up and down the streets nearby making searching sounds, made phone calls on our behalf, provided materials or time to the cause, gave notice to friends who live around here, searched in other time zones just to make sure, posted a line in your LJ, made folk art in tribute, dropped a line or two in whatever medium to let me know you were worried too, or even just thought a few good thoughts our way, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you a hundred zillion plus infinity times. I'm really touched to know that Abbie's made so many friends (simply by being the MOST AWESOMEST CAT IN THE WORLD minus the whole running away bit.)

One of the Lost Cat advice sites I read mentioned the importance of friends and loved ones helping out in the search, cause you can't do it all yourself. They gave this advice under the heading "Form a posse." I read that and I laughed at the time because it was so appropriate, but it goes beyond the reference. It's true. Abbie the Cat really does have a posse. You had his back the whole time, and because of that, he's now back.

Thank you one and all.



Rob

Comments

[byrneout.livejournal.com]

Oh glorious! I'm so happy for you both.

[keltserin.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy for both of you! Can I send you the Abbie can? I really want you to have it as a gift.

[pecosy.livejournal.com]

HOORAY! I am so very happy to hear this. What a happy ending. Plus a nice reminder of how much you are both loved.

Now I can stop obsessively checking your lj. :)

[spatch]

Well you can continue obsessively checking the LJ if you waaaant...

(I hear "Abbie" works great for a first-born name!)

[argentla.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm glad to hear the prodigal has returned.

[kalliejenn2.livejournal.com]

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! i am SO VERY HAPPY to see this! i've been obsessively eyeing yards, etc. on my way home every day looking for mr. cat, and this is the best news!!!

[kizlj.livejournal.com]

oh, THANK GOD. we were really worried; this is totally awesome fantastic excellent news. Kea cat is celebrating my laying on my keyboard.

YAY returning cat!

[spatch]

CAT-LIKE TYPING DETECTED

[vanguardcdk.livejournal.com]

Wooohooo! Glad to hear the small furry planet has come back home. :)

[joenotcharles.livejournal.com]

HOORAY!

Now I show my wife all the cute Abbie posts without making her all worried.

[kpht.livejournal.com]

OMG DUDE THAT IS AMAZING, it really was heartbreaking to hear that Abbie was gone, that is really great news!!!!

[ladivinafemme.livejournal.com]

WELCOME HOME, MR. THE CAT!!! Your dad missed the hell outta you!

(Is it weird that I'm crying? Tough.)

[alphacygni]

That is the best thing to happen all ever. Abbbbbbbiiiiiiiiieeeee!

[pirogoeth.livejournal.com]

Oh my, I'm so glad Mr. Abbie is back and alright. I was so worried for both of you!

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

i'm so happy for you!

[saxikath]

As I just posted over in ratatosk's entry, you don't know me, but I'm one of the bajillions who've been following the saga vicariously and worrying. (I'm watching the Westminster dog show, and there was a commercial about lost pets, and I actually whimpered, "Go home, Abbie!" at the TV. Not knowing Abbie was already home.) I'm so glad for the happy ending.

[saint-buddha.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you found Abbie!

[ilovehpl.livejournal.com]

YAAAAAAAAAAAY!

[sernin.livejournal.com]

wonderful!
now he can tell you all the secrets of his escapade

Welcome Home Abbie

[dfan.livejournal.com]

OMG THAT'S SO GREAT

I'm really happy and relieved for you both.

OH HURRAH

[wellstar.livejournal.com]

Yes, two more happy souls here in Medford. A happy homecoming to Mr. The Cat and a great sigh of relief for The Guy. SO GLAD to read this post; we've been thinking of you. YAY!

[subbes]

YAY!

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

I'm going to cry or something, seriously. HOORAY! I've been so worried, we both have. Abbie, NEVER DO THAT AGAIN.

ETA: Mary suggests asking the vet about microchipping him as well. Also, did you figure out how he got out in the first place (laundry vents or some such thing)? Anyway. YAY. HE'S BACK.

[ratatosk.livejournal.com]

We think he got out by being very, very fast, despite looking very, very fat and lazy.

I have an automatic door closer and it is going on the door as soon as I figure out how to install it.

[allicat42.livejournal.com]

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! Welcome back Mr. The Cat!

[michigantroll.livejournal.com]

Hooray!

[dskasak.livejournal.com]

Yay! I am glad he's returned! Now I'll have to hear his side of the story when he blogs about his adventures in the big scary world.

[clickie]

Phew! I am very relieved.

At the vet, GET THE CAT CHIPPED!

Also, I really like the slide-on collar tags at this site: http://www.boomerangtags.com/page.php?c=collartags&k=h

They're really hard to lose, assuming the animal keeps the collar on, since they're not attached to a dangly ring.

[spatch]

He's getting chipped on Friday when the vet checks him out. He's also getting caught up on his shots so we can take him to the cat groomer and make him PRETTY LIEK PONEY.