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November 16, 2022
Pearl
So, today is Wednesday 11/16/22. As of 12:00 noon today, Pearl has been missing for approximately 48 hours. This is very difficult for me because I only have two pets in this world...Prince Tubby and Pearl. Pearl was a gift to me (as a kitten) from Jennifer on my birthday last year (5/22/2021).
The last time I saw her(Pearl) was 2 days ago on Monday afternoon when we were walking the goats. Monday night, I couldn't find her, and I walked the property with my spotlight, but don't see her anywhere. And then, Monday night, we got 2" of snow.
I've walked the property at night before, searching for her, but never with success. And this time is no different. It's cold and snowing, and I can't find her anywhere.
It's frustrating to me that she's gone for a variety of reasons.
1) There was no snow in the forecast, and we got about 2" Monday night (11/14/22).
2) Pearl did not come in Monday night. (Monday night, I went and walked through the 4 acres out back, covered in snow, with a spotlight, to no avail.)
3) She does not have a high-tech collar that would allow me to track her location because I've tried these collars before, with marginal results.
So, I'm frustrated because there's unforecasted snow on the ground (I usually lock them in when there is snow in the forecast), and my cat is missing.
And I have seen what she does when it snows. She runs around the yard chasing snowflakes, which is just ridiculous. Like, it seems like a good way to get lost...chasing snowflakes by the light of the moon....how could she help but get lost and not know how to find her way home?
I look at her cat tree that I assembled in the master bedroom and I think...what a waste. How sad that I've lost my kitten. I've seen her chasing snow before, and she does kind of tend to lose focus as she's chasing falling snowflakes across the property.
On some level, I think, why should it matter? Cats come into our lives. And they depart from our lives. And that's just the way the world works, sadly enough.
So today, two days later (Wednesday 11/16/22), I've basically resigned myself to the fact that Pearl is gone, and I need to just move on with my life. I still have Prince Tubby, and that's how it will be from now on. Tubby has long, thick fur, more suited to the mountain winters.
I think about how I'll tell my daughter that we've lost her, as we are traveling for Thanksgiving in about a week or so. This is not a story anyone wants to hear.
So today, my neighbor Mark and I are walking the goats as we do pretty much every day, and I tell him that Pearl is missing. But then, his response is unexpected.
"Hmmm. Let's go look in my garage," he offers. And we walk over to his house. Apparently, he's noticed some unusual activity from his cat Timmy, so we walk over and he opens the garage, and we walk in. He starts calling for the missing kitty. Then I start calling for her: 'Here, kitty kitty kitty".
And, lo and behold, Pearl answers me. She is sitting on top of this hanging florescent lights in his unheated garage, 8 feet off the ground. I'm so shocked it's all I can do to not burst into tears. I get her down from her position on the garage lights where she's no doubt sheltered for 48 hours in the freezing cold. I take her down, take her into my house, and give her scads of soft cat food (her favorite), and then she comes out to join us for the goat walk. 100% fine.
She walks the goats with us for an hour outdoors, not a cloud in the sky. But still freezing cold. After we walk the goats, we put them up, and now she's now inside, warm, laying in bed with me. She shows no signs of trauma or angst. And I'm so happy to have her back in my life. I lock in Pearl and Prince Tubby for the night so that we can all regroup from the trauma. She jumps into bed with me to watch television, warm and content.
Posted by Rob Kiser on November 16, 2022 at 3:30 PM
Comments
yay! Pearl is found. Was she unable to get down off the light?
Posted by: sl on November 17, 2022 at 3:59 PM
SL, I think she was accidentally trapped in the garage, and stayed up high as that was warmer.
Posted by: Anonymous on November 18, 2022 at 10:41 AM