“Everything comes to those who wait… except a cat.”
Mario Andretti
Today I had a cat go missing, I heard the familiar sounds of predators growling and barking in the dark forest. Named after a mistaken reference to a (should be forbidden forest) Harry Potter place by my kids or maybe me. It is a dark and thick stand of spruce and willow trees at the back of my property. It is very hard to walk through, compounded by the deep sphagnum moss on the floor of the forest.
About that cat, her name is Deakes, as soon as she could crawl she crawled on my lap and stayed there for 17 years. She knows how to sit when I play on the xbox not interfering with my access to the controller. Rarely causes a fuss with the other cats, but really hates being picked up.
At night she crawls under my blanket and keeps me warm. It is rare I let my cats go outside now, we need another dog. The last one died of old age. I still miss her. She would bark the predators away. Even lunging at a coywolf that tried to attack me when I was in the dark forest. I managed to load a bullet into the rifle and get a shot off before that cross breed (wolf coyote cross extremely aggressive) got its teeth into me. I missed the shot hitting a small tree beside its face. It was close enough to me and the tree that I could see the splinters stuck in its face. I never saw that one again.
I knew I would have to make the trip into the forest to make sure that Deakes wasn’t suffering. I grabbed the rifle and a few bullets and head into the forest. Now you ask why would a breathless, broken old man head into a forest full of predators all alone just for a cat? Deakes is my friend I would do no less for any friend, animal or human.
After breaking many branches and slogging through the deep moss and having followed all the tracks and trails I headed home. And there she was waiting for me on the back deck. I surmised that the predators had attacked, and she managed to find safety. Usually, that is on the roof. I leave a ladder up year-round for that purpose. Another cat had managed to get up there but Deakes did not.
I should mention that I did say a prayer for her return as I have other times she went missing, and God has always returned her to me. Other cats not so lucky, like my poor old pan another story for another day. Deakes is now sitting beside on my chair as I type this. Thanks
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