We found Owen! The prodigal son has returned and the house is full of rejoicing. Tonight we feast on fatted scallops and fancy expensive cheeses.
During the long 10 days that Owen was missing I did a lot of research into lost cat behavior. Here are links to some good information on finding a lost cat (or dog): great essays by
Sharon Talbert and
Kat Albrecht; detailed profiles of feline temperaments and how they influence where your cat may be at
LostAPet.org; tips for successful search techniques by
PetRescue.com; and general resources on feline behavior and health from the
SPCANOVA.org. For local folks, the New River Valley has a great
Animal Shelters Online site with links to Animal Control and Humane Societies on Floyd, Giles, Pulaski, and Montgomery counties - including a
listing of lost and found pets. There are numerous national missing pet databases, such as
MissingPets.com, where you can post a lost or found pet for free.
We don't know for sure, but suspect that Owen was chased from his home territory by an aggressive feral cat that hangs around our house looking for scraps. We found him hiding out in the ruins of an old abandoned house about 200 yards from home. We hadn't seen him on a search of the same place a week earlier because he was probably still in survival hiding mode, only venturing out days later when his belly started grumbling. He's skinny and worn out from his adventure but happy to be back home, safe and sound.
V-Day is only two weeks away!
