The Cat Did Not Come Back

My cat went missing last Wednesday morning. She was an indoor and outdoor cat - going out all night (her choice) and then coming in the house in the morning and sleeping all day. Her name was Archie and she was almost wild when I got her 5 years ago. I had recently separated from a man that was allergic to cats and getting her was my way of saying, "ha, look what I can do as a single woman. I can get a cat!" I actually got 2 cats - one for each of my kids - but the boy cat went missing shortly after we got him - I like to think he is mousing in the orchard somewhere.

Archie was my younger son's cat and we called my son "The Cat Whisperer" because he seemed to be the only one she liked. She was not a very friendly cat for the first few years, which I attributed to her being wild and wondering why the heck these humans wanted to touch her so much. Also, when she was just little, she was laying behind my car and I ran over her tail. So maybe she resented me for her perpetual crooked tail. But in the last year she had become quite affectionate, allowing us to hold her for short periods, and even jumping up on your lap to sit with you.

When she didn't come in last Wednesday, I was concerned, but also just thought she might be stuck up a tree. She was fairly routine and always came in the house each morning to go sleep on my son's bed. When she still hadn't come back Thursday morning I made some "Lost" posters and put them up in the neighbourhood, hoping someone had just accidentally locked her in their garage.

Friday morning a woman called me to describe in great detail how she had found my cat - dead. Poor Archie. I am so sorry, kittie, I shouldn't have let you go out and about so close to a busy road. I always held firm that cats weren't made to live indoors using a litter box, and I know I said something dumb once that I would rather my cat "die happy" and be allowed outside than be a cat who looked wistfully out the window. I regret that now. Because now I have to tell my 10-year-old where his cat is.

And that sucks.