.

Lost... as in LOST

LOST KITTY! IF FOUND, please call...

We lost this precious boy today! It is just the saddest thing. Squash was a rescue kitty... Krysti and I rescued him from an ice storm when he was 4 or 5 months old. We tried to make him an indoor kitty, but he wanted NO PARTS of that! Eventually he won the battle and we let him out to explore. We've been his home for goin' on 3 years now. Last weekend he turned up in the yard with an injured paw. He wouldn't come in the house, and he for sure wouldn't let us catch him. Then he disappeared for about 3 days, and honestly I thought he had gone off to die. So when he showed back up we were THRILLED and began trying to lure him into the house again. Finally YESTERDAY morning he came in! He was in HORRIBLE shape -- his fur was matty and his paw was infected and oozing and he's skinny and just pitiful! But even MORE pitiful because all he wanted to do was "cuddle" with somebody! Squash NEVER wants to cuddle! He likes to be scratched, but won't let anyone hold him! Yesterday he let me hold him and brush him and inspect his paw and his ears and I could pretty much do anything I wanted! It was amazing! So, I called the emergency care (which is FAR away from our home) and asked them what I should do until I could get him to our vet today. They said to just try to clean it with warm water - but nothing else -- and no, don't wrap it up. So, we just kinda let it be, and this morning, after some food, some water, and plenty of rest in a warm home with lots of love, he was doing a LOT better! The swelling had gone down quite a bit (I guess from just being "off" it?) So I called the vet and they could see him at 11:15. Krysti stayed home to help me capture him and get him in the crate, and we were AMAZINGLY successful at this, and QUITE proud of ourselves! I had already warned the vet that Squash was NOT "up" on his shots -- because we can NEVER catch him and get him in that crate! So getting him IN was good -- and we had plenty of time to get to the vet on time! We got in the car and headed up the road. Our vet is about 15 miles from us, and honestly, Squash has only been there ONCE - when we got him neutered. But the minute I turned my car into their driveway, he KNEW where he was, and he started complaining LOUDLY! We got out of the car and Krysti was carrying the crate, by the handle, and all of a sudden Squash shot out of the crate like a bullet! We still don't know how he did it. SOMEhow he opened the gate ... and he was GONE. We never got him into the vet. I went in and told them what had happend, and then I went back out to try to help Krysti find him -- but we couldn't find him. And he was NOT making a sound! There's a big open field behind the house next door to the clinic, and I don't even know if maybe he had already disappeared across that field, or if he was still hiding in the bushes. We looked through all the bushes as best we could -- but I'm sure if he was in there, he had his eye on US - but we couldn't see him. It would be very easy for him to keep moving out of our sight as we inched along looking for him. We finally had to give up. The receptionist in the vets office said they would put out a safe trap with some food ... and they said that they HAVE caught runaways before. I sure hope they catch him ... or that somehow he finds his way back home. I've heard of cats going incredible distances to find their home... But I'm so worried about him.

I know a lot of people don't believe in praying for animals... but I always feel it can't hurt... God made them too ... so ... if you ARE of a mind, I'm sure that little guy could use a few extra "purrs" ... or prayers... as you see fit. We'd sure love to have him back home with us.

posted by Melli at 8:11 PM