So I know many some two or three of you have been following my family’s saga of the search for our gray tabby cat, Pete, with some interest, so I thought I would take a minute to update you today. Since there have been a couple of very recent developments in the story.
It’s now been exactly seven weeks since Pete disappeared from our backyard and broke our hearts. We were all seriously THAT in love with that cat. If it’s hard to imagine a family of six being so enamored with a pet, I get that. Really. Because we really aren’t ANIMAL FREAKS. We were just freaks about THAT ANIMAL. An excerpt from an earlier post I wrote about him might shed some light:
[Pete] is the most affectionate and human-oriented cat I’ve been around. Has been since day one. My cat-loving relatives try to take him home every time they’re over. (You know who you are. Stop it.)
These days, Katelynn mostly chases him and pulls his ears. Which he patiently endures most of the time.
Emma is his true love. I frequently find him curled up asleep in her lap. He runs to greet her when she comes home from school. And, he comforts her when she cries. Which is a LOT.
He can hear her crying from anywhere in the house. (We all can. She cries VERY LOUDLY.) He goes running to her and jumps up in her lap, pressing his nose against her cheek which always makes her laugh.
I think she is more his than he is hers.
And while seven weeks have passed, our efforts to find Pete haven’t diminished much. We still call animal rescues, search the classifieds and online pet locator sites, post signs, and visit shelters hoping to locate him.
During one of those shelter visits last week, Rob scanned the rows of cages and his eyes fell on a cat he thought at first glance was Pete. Heart pounding, Rob approached the cage to get a closer look at the cat and quickly realized that this one was too small to be Pete. And too female.
The little girl cat perked up as Rob neared and stretched a paw through the wire mesh separating them to touch Rob’s hand. (Much the same way Pete had on the day we adopted him.) She was scheduled to be destroyed* (hate that word) in a few days. Rob wasn’t about to let that happen. She had Rob at hello.
He called me and explained that I needed to bring our Pet Taxi to the shelter because we were bringing Pete’s little sister home. And that was that.
Here she is, all 5.5 pounds of her, asleep in one of her favorite spots — my writing desk, next to my laptop:
- My blog obviously puts her right to sleep. She feels your pain.
We’ve yet to make a final decision on a name for her. Rob, Emma, and Katelynn are voting for Bella, Jenna likes Trixie, I say Toonces (which no one in this house is old enough to get (including Rob)), and Jake says CAT-E. Because Jake is fifteen-and-a-half and should really be re-named Obnoxious these days.
Oh! I almost forgot! I said there have been a couple of very recent developments, didn’t I? Well, I’ll have to save Development Number Two for tomorrow since Pete’s little sister is pawing at my arm and rubbing her cold wet little heart-shaped nose on my cheek. That’s our code for Nap Time.
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* Quick PSA here — if your family has room for a new furry member, won’t you please consider adopting from your local animal shelter? They have all breeds, all colors, all kinds. And they all deserve a loving home. “Destroyed” is such an ugly ending for such a beautiful thing. Thanks.
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I’m sorry you still haven’t found Pete. It’s impossible to go to the shelter without taking all of them home. Your new kitty is beautiful – she looks just like my George. I’ve been considering getting a companion for him, from the Humane Society of course.
First part=Wah!!! Poor kitty! Poor FAMILY!
Second part=Yay!! Lucky Kitty! Lucky FAMILY!!
SO sweet. We can’t have a cat because of MP’s allergies but we DO have a stray. He/She lives under the house and we feed her on the porch every night. She’s been around about a year and a half. LOVE HIM/HER.
Here’s hopin’ Pete is doing well and is maybe just a little lost. Under someone’s house perhaps.
Yea! Somewhat happy ending! We too just visited the B.A. animal shelter and found our little Rosie-girl (kids picked the name… .ehh, it’s o.k.). She is a darling calico that has stolen our hearts! Go to the shelter, everyone! You will not leave there pet-less!
P.S. I vote for Toonces. But you’d better hide your keys.
I vote for Toonces too.
What a little beauty! I’ve always had a soft spot for grey tabby cats. My best cat, Cosmo, was a giant, economy size grey tabby.
I was SO hoping you’d say that you’ d found Pete. But what a sweet little girl you have there.
Too many cat allergies in our house to have one. But we have two “mutts” that are rescues. And every few weeks we take a few bags of food, toys, and pillows to our local shelter and spend an hour or so playing with the dogs that are there. So sweet. It’s hard because we always meet one that we would most certainly take home with us if we had room. We do know that when the time comes for a new buddy, we will absolutely get one from the shelter.
I hope Pete comes home soon. If only for Emma’s sake!
I really really hope you find Pete. He sounds like such a wonderful cat and reminds me of my own when I was a little girl. His name was Sinbad. And eventhough he was a tough, mean SOB who fought with all the other male cats and got all the female cats pregnant, he was very sweet with my family and a great source of comfort. One day, he just never came back. My dad searched for days but we never saw him again. It broke my heart which is maybe one of the reasons I’m a bit reluctant to get another cat for my girls.
But then reading about Pete’s little sister, makes me want to get a cat again!! How could you?? Play with my heart strings this early in the morning. Sigh…
Oh I can’t wait for the next installment….or I guess I could ruin right now since I think you’re going to write about what your mom told us today….nah….I’ll wait for you to blog about it!!!!
PS: There goes your Mom again….
Sorry about Pete. I understand completely. I was that gaga over a cat once. Sylvester, the love of my life.
And that little woman IS a Toonces. I wouldn’t entertain anymore votes on it.
i’m so glad you adopted a kitty from the shelter! my family has always gotten our pets from shelters or farms. she is adorable by the way. i swear i love all cats but there is something about gray tabbies that get me every time. keep us informed what she is named!!!
Awwww… such a nice post. Especially like the last part. I understand how you feel about Pete. My family and i feels the same way about our cat. We lost him recently and my family cried and could not sleep that night. Fortunately, he was found the very next day. Im going to read your more recent posts.