Lost and then Found

When J was born we had 3 cat in our family. McKenna and Reeses were the first two we adopted, several years ago. D’Artanian was a recent addition to our family, only about 6 months old. They were all the sweetest kitties we had ever met, but they also had very different personalities. After J was born pre-mature and with the complications with my C-section, our sweet kitties were sent to live outside for the summer.

We made sure that they had a warm place to sleep at night and a cool place in day. They always had enough food and water. They loved to climb trees and chase insects around the yard. The only issue was they were all so friendly they would go up to anyone who came into our yard.

Several times little neighbor boys would pick up the cats and bring them to our front door. I really didn’t mind other people saying hello to them, but I was always worried that someone would walk off with them.

Eventually, it happened. First cat to disappear was Reeses. Both M and I have thought that she died. A few weeks later D’Artanian disappeared. This time M and I were sure that someone had taken him home with them, most likely a little boy on his way home from school. We had no proof, but we were sure it had happened.

Months passed by and there was no sign of our kitties. Our only remaining cat, McKenna was brought back inside before it snowed (and right after D’Artanian disappeared). She has been lonely. At first she always rushed outside whenever the door opened and cried for the others. Over time she got used to being the only cat around.

A few days ago, while meeting with a neurosurgeon (long story) both M’s and my phones started ringing like crazy. When the Dr.’s visit was over, an hour later, we finally called the number and discovered that our cat had been found.

Long story short, (as my husband says after he’s told the entire story) D’Artanian had been found by a 14 year old boy in a car engine a few months ago. He took him home and cleaned him up. His family never saw any missing cat signs around the neighborhood, so they kept him. A few months later they finally decided to make sure he had his shots and were going to have a microchip implanted and discovered that he already had a chip and had been reported missing.

When we first spoke with them they were really defensive and really wanted to keep the cat, but after they thought about it for a few hours they decided that it was only right that he be returned to us.

D’Artanian is now home safe and sound. He reacquainted himself with McKenna (she was not overly excited to have to share her home with another cat.) He has learned to stay just out of reach of the baby.