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Long Lost Cat Returns
There’s no question about it. We all love good dog jokes from time to time. We all love hearing about funny dog stories, funny pet stories and stories about amazing pets.
But there’s a different kind of story that seems to touch the heart of every animal lover. What kind of story am I talking about? The return of a long-lost pet. In this particular case, we are going to share inspiring story about a cat that returns after three long years.
Even though you may love pet jokes and pets stories of all kinds, this is one of the inspirational pet stories that can really manage to pull at your heartstrings. It can really make you feel good about your life and about life in general.
That’s why we read stories about the return of long-lost cats and anything similar. We are looking to feel good and inspired. So if you’ve been feeling down or low and you need a quick pick me up, this inspiring story is definitely going to be right up your alley.
No need to wait any longer. The anticipation has been built up enough.
Here it is. It’s a wonderful true cat story that is bound to open your heart and make you feel wonderful.
BENNINGTON — Karen Halvorsen lost her cat three years ago, and after hundreds of phone calls, false leads, and a battle with an ornery raccoon her “Monster Cat” is home …… This kicked off a three-year ordeal that Halvorsen said consumed much of her life. Her son left for college a month after the cat went missing and her happiness for him was muddled by the loss of her pet. The classified ads she placed in the Banner drew most of her leads, mainly from people living in the Adams, Mass., area and eastern New York.
She began to do research on muscle cars and meditation techniques to jog her memory as to the people she had seen. Halvorsen learned that cats respond to odors above anything else, so when she would go to an area where a white cat had been seen she would take a bit of Monster Cat’s hair from his pillow. She would also try to lure him in with familiar noises, such as the sound of a food dish being filled.
Halvorsen reunited at least one other pet owner with their cat during her search, and she adopted a third cat, “Scooby,” which someone had brought to her thinking it was the lost Monster Cat.
She studied maps of the area, knowing cats are known to follow railroad tracks feasting on “train kill.” Once she contacted a person’s landlord after hearing the tenant might have her cat and would be unwilling to give it up. No pets were allowed there, and the person had moved on. On one occasion she encountered a raccoon on the third floor of an apartment building and had to fend it off with a shovel.
Her search methods became more eccentric over time. Halvorsen said she had not previously been a believer in mystical things, but she would use an “etheric weaver,” a crystal wrapped in wire suspended on a chain to send her lost cat positive thoughts and reassurances. She even consulted with a purported psychic to narrow her search.
People told Halvorsen she was crazy. People told her to get a new cat and move on with her life.
“I couldn’t live not knowing,” Halvorsen said, adding that she would have been content to know Monster Cat was safe and being taken care of elsewhere. She said she could not have given up on him anymore than she could have forgotten one of her children.
Ultimately it was Facebook and a group in Adams dedicated to helping lost cats that led to Monster Cat’s homecoming.
An animal fitting Monster Cat’s description had been spotted in an Adams neighborhood by people who had taken to feeding him, said Kaila Drosehn, rescue manager for Northern Berkshire Cat Rescue. They had seen Monster Cat’s picture and used Facebook’s “tag” function to notify Drosehn who sought the cat out.
Drosehn said none of the area shelters would take the cat without euthanizing it. This was because it appeared to have been wounded by other animals, making it a potential rabies risk. Drosehn, who has 13 years of rescue experience, said the cat had the worst case of fleas she had ever seen, and she knew the wounds were from it scratching itself. Still, there was not enough money at the cat rescue to take on the animal’s veterinary needs.
“I had a white cat that somebody poisoned, so I had a soft spot for him,” Drosehn said, who paid for the extensive treatments the cat needed at the Wahconah Veterinary Hospital.
The cat was in bad shape, Drosehn said. Its mouth and ears were white, signs of severe anemia from fleas, and it was vomiting up parasites. Drosehn found the cat on Sept. 6 but did not call Halvorsen for a few weeks because she did not know if the cat would live.
Halvorsen said she was not sure if the cat was Monster Cat when she first drove to the shelter to take a look. Years of roaming had altered the animal’s more distinctive markings. Nonetheless, when Halvorsen returned to the shelter on Oct. 1 she brought Monster Cat’s pillow.
She broke into tears recounting the experience, when the cat recognized its old sleeping pillow and then his owner.
The plan had been to let the cat recuperate for a few more days but Halvorsen could not bear to part with him again and so took him home. While Monster Cat is getting better, eating more and getting accustomed to his house mates, he still bears the marks of a hard three years. His white fur has taken an orange tinge in some places, which he obsessively cleans. He may need more veterinarian care in the future, but for now Halvorsen plans to let him rest.
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What did you think? What a wonderful story, right? It always nice to hear about a family being reunited once again. It’s always nice to know that a long-lost cat can find its way home no matter how many years of gone by.
But more importantly than anything else, if you’re reading this story and you’re missing a cat or other pet, you never know what could happen. They may show up on your doorstep at any time, so do not give up hope.
Anyone have an amazing story to share with us? Feel free to do so in the comments.
