A crazy cat and daddy’s love

If you’ve ever tried to convince a cat lover that cats aren’t loveable, well, good luck with that. Our family owns and loves three cats because our youngest member is a proud card-carrying cat lover. But this week our family’s love for felines was tested. Oh, how it was tested.
We received a flyer in our mailbox that explained about a little girl who was grieving a missing cat in our area. There were two pictures of the lost little gray and white feline and a phone number encouraging us to call. Our younger son embarked on a personal mission to reunite the poor lost cat with his grieving owner. You can imagine his pure joy when less than 24 hours later, a little gray and white cat was discovered eating food from our cat’s bowl outside. Our son managed to pet the cat but when he tried to pick him up, the frightened feline ran for the woods. Game on.
The next 24 hours found our youngest member of the family determined. He began by rigging a very sophisticated cat trap that involved a cage, a piece of rope and a watchful eye. We caught two raccoons. He spent time walking through the woods with a flashlight and shaking cat food in a cup. Jonathan longed to call the phone number and assure the girl we had captured her missing little love. The cat did come up occasionally for food and water but we could never manage to capture it.
Before going to bed one night, my dear husband looked out the window and saw the little cat eating from the cat bowl. He didn’t have time to grab gloves or make a complicated plan of capture. He made a decision. He was gonna get that cat and put it in the sunroom if it killed him.
I’ve lived on this earth for 47 years but I had no idea what would happen when a determined 230-pound man went up against a 2-pound cat who didn’t want to be captured. But I know now. Phil came in the house lookin’ like he’d been in a knife fight with a ninja Rottweiler. His hands were scratched and bitten to the point that he could hardly move them. His pants were torn and he was bleeding profusely from a cat bite to the leg. The amazing thing? He never let go. Phil held onto that cat even when the cat was chewing on him like a dog chews a bone. And he deposited him into the sunroom just like he had planned.   
If you’re wondering if the owners were excited that we found their missing cat, well, not exactly. As we examined the picture more carefully, we realized the cat we had and the cat they lost were two different cats. I know. It gives new meaning to the term “adding insult to injury.” If you’re in the market for a cat who doesn’t expect a lot of cuddly human contact, we have the perfect cat for you just waiting in our sunroom. Phil went to the doctor for shots and tests and even an x-ray of his hand. It was that bad. But I know why he did it. He didn’t care about the cat. He cared about the boy.
For more information about Lisa Smartt, visit her website lisasmartt.com.

Published in The Messenger 1.12.11

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