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For the Love of Mike

As you know if you follow this blog I live with a Lebanese American/Canadian and a Tonkinese American/Canadian, Paul the guy and Mike, the cat.  This is a sad story about Mike with a happy ending.


Mike is small for a cat, weighing in at 11 pounds when he was younger and now over 12.  We have kept him an inside cat his entire 16 years and 11 months, but that doesn't mean he is not curious about the outer world.  As a young cat he would try to exit any time an outside door was opened so we were very vigilant whenever anyone can in or out.  Nonetheless when he was four Mike spent 36 hours away, came home dirty and hungry, but he did come home uninjured.  As he has grown older we have become less focused about his attempts to get out because he seems less and less interested in the outer world.  Perhaps we had become too complacent.  That brings us to yesterday.

Paul had an appointment south of our home and we had decided to drive to the States to do some grocery shopping after it, perhaps something retirees are more apt to do than working folks.  For some reason Mike was agitated or more attentive than usual.  I spent time calming him on the steps just before heading out.  In the rush to leave we missed the fact Mike snuck out through the garage.

We attended the appointment, drove to Bellingham, got groceries at two stores and ate dinner there.  Eight hours later we arrived home.  I noticed right away Mike was not in his bed and did not greet me.  We packed away the groceries and then opened every door in the house to see if he was locked in a room somewhere, something that has happened in the past.  We walked up and down the two staircases around the house calling his name to no response.  I walked the neighbourhood calling his name and got the same negative result.  We talked about what an ignominious end this might be for Mike.  He is small, old and unable to claw.  It was raining, thus wet, a few degrees above freezing and there are other cats and wild predators in our area.  None of this bodes well for a cat who has spent his entire life inside.

We went to bed with heavy hearts, but Paul and I had completely different nights.  I was sad and didn't really want to lose again so soon, but I did fall asleep.  I am a farm girl and have had several animals I cared about die as a kid, so even though the idea was troubling, disquieting and made me unhappy, I knew I could move on.

I found out this morning Paul was up several times during the night looking for Mike and more than likely spent a great deal of his supposed sleeping hours thinking about the best solution to finding Mike.  The moment the sun was up enough to see, Paul was out looking for Mike in places that made sense.  And guess what, he found Mike under some bushes on the terraces below our home.

Mike was wet and dirty and according to Paul on his side as if injured hardly able to meow.  I tried to hold him and dry him as he yelped in that tone that let me know he was none too happy.  After about a minute of my holding him, Mike walked to his food literally gulped down an entire bowl of it and drank a lot of water.  (Good signs IMHO).  I then brushed his fur and found a spot on his tail that was bleeding.  Later I found a spot in his left hind foot as well.  These were the only visible injuries I could find.  And although Mike is limping more than normal due to what I think are stiff hips (hey whose hips wouldn't be stiff after sleeping on the ground in the rain for about 32 hours) I think he is OK.  We have an appointment with the vet in about 30 minutes to have him checked out.  Pneumonia or infections from a possible bite are both real possibilities.

The man who proclaims himself a non-animal person saved Mike using his brain and all of it done for the love of Mike.  We are both very happy to have Mike back in the house and vow to focus on the doors when we leave.  The curiosity of this cat almost did him in, almost.  This marks the first big thing to have gratitude about in 2016.  

And here is Mike on life #3 resting in his bed today.  I think he too is happy to be with us as well.


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