First, the sad news...
My black cat Bingley disappeared two days before Thanksgiving, and has not returned. At first, I assumed he got caught in a garage; that's what had happened the last time he went missing for 24 hours. That was a bad day; I automatically assumed he'd been eaten by a coyote and felt just terrible. Then, 24 hours later exactly, I hear this jingle jingle jingle, and there was Bingley, back on my porch.
So I determined not to panic this time. I would wait for him to come home (of course, looking around the neighborhood and calling, too). When he failed to come home, I rationalized that he'd been shut in a garage by someone who went on holiday. Then everyone who was gone should have come back, and still no cat. So Monday I put out the alert to the shelters and started putting up signs, etc.
Bigley is still gone. My local animal control officer was very nice, and confirmed that no one had been brought in who met Bingley's description. I was particularly glad to hear that he wasn't on the DOA list, as being hit by a car or caught by a coyote was high on the list.
Anyway, this man told me (and the shelter people volunteered it as well) that sometimes people just hang onto cats that they find, looking for an ad in the paper or a poster or something-- in other words, trying to find the owner themselves instead of bringing the pet into a shelter, where they would be scanned immediately and the owner located. In this age of microchipped pets, it really is best to turn the pet in. But apparently lots of people don't do that.
So this led to a sad holiday and subsequent week for me. The first time Bingley went missing, Knightley was... well, ecstatic. He purred all the time. It seems he really liked being the only one receiving my attention. But this time, he didn't seem so glad. In fact, as the days passed, I think he grew kind of lonely. I have to leave him alone all day while I work. I have had only one cat at a time all my life until I picked up these two guys. After seeing them play together, sleep together, groom each other, I became a firm believer that cats really do need a cat buddy.
This entry shows the last picture I ever took of Bingley. I took it primarily to show off the new lamp I'd bought from the glass-blower in Salida, and now I'm so glad I did. I'm noticing in this photo how big he got, how nice his fur is. He really is a loving, friendly cat. I love the way he would snuggle up in bed next to me, always under my left arm. I like how he played so gently that he never ever used his claws. I hope that he's been kidnapped by some family who just can't bear to give him up. The alternative is too distressing.
I haven't given up on Bingley. I do hope he comes back. But I felt Knightley would do better (and certainly I would) if there was another cat in the house. I wanted to get one right away, before he became established as a solitary cat. So I decided to do something about it, and did -- (next entry).
So I determined not to panic this time. I would wait for him to come home (of course, looking around the neighborhood and calling, too). When he failed to come home, I rationalized that he'd been shut in a garage by someone who went on holiday. Then everyone who was gone should have come back, and still no cat. So Monday I put out the alert to the shelters and started putting up signs, etc.
Bigley is still gone. My local animal control officer was very nice, and confirmed that no one had been brought in who met Bingley's description. I was particularly glad to hear that he wasn't on the DOA list, as being hit by a car or caught by a coyote was high on the list.
Anyway, this man told me (and the shelter people volunteered it as well) that sometimes people just hang onto cats that they find, looking for an ad in the paper or a poster or something-- in other words, trying to find the owner themselves instead of bringing the pet into a shelter, where they would be scanned immediately and the owner located. In this age of microchipped pets, it really is best to turn the pet in. But apparently lots of people don't do that.
So this led to a sad holiday and subsequent week for me. The first time Bingley went missing, Knightley was... well, ecstatic. He purred all the time. It seems he really liked being the only one receiving my attention. But this time, he didn't seem so glad. In fact, as the days passed, I think he grew kind of lonely. I have to leave him alone all day while I work. I have had only one cat at a time all my life until I picked up these two guys. After seeing them play together, sleep together, groom each other, I became a firm believer that cats really do need a cat buddy.
This entry shows the last picture I ever took of Bingley. I took it primarily to show off the new lamp I'd bought from the glass-blower in Salida, and now I'm so glad I did. I'm noticing in this photo how big he got, how nice his fur is. He really is a loving, friendly cat. I love the way he would snuggle up in bed next to me, always under my left arm. I like how he played so gently that he never ever used his claws. I hope that he's been kidnapped by some family who just can't bear to give him up. The alternative is too distressing.
I haven't given up on Bingley. I do hope he comes back. But I felt Knightley would do better (and certainly I would) if there was another cat in the house. I wanted to get one right away, before he became established as a solitary cat. So I decided to do something about it, and did -- (next entry).