By Adam Stewart
From the Newsroom
We had a bit of a scare at the Stewart house on Sunday and Monday. Our outdoor cat, Pumpkin, was missing for about 48 hours.
My wife, Michelle, fed Pumpkin in our garage Saturday evening, but when I went out to give Pumpkin breakfast Sunday morning, she was nowhere to be found. I left the food in her dish, but I was a little bit concerned. Pumpkin rarely misses a meal.
As the day continued, Michelle and I both checked in to see if Pumpkin was around or at least had returned long enough to eat breakfast, but each time she was still missing and her breakfast untouched. We grew increasingly concerned as the day went on.
Pumpkin likes adventuring and exploring in our neighborhood, so it isn’t unusual for her to be gone for several hours, but when her usual supper time came and she still hadn’t returned, we were worried. We went around the block, calling for her and asking neighbors to keep an eye out for Pumpkin, with no luck.
We were too distracted worrying about Pumpkin to cook, so we ordered pizza for pickup. If nothing else, that gave me a couple more excuses to check in the garage in case she came home. Sunday night, I was checking on every little noise we heard outside, just in case it was Pumpkin coming home.
Not knowing where she was was the hardest part. If she had been hurt or sick but at home, we could have gotten her help. We checked with the Hutchinson Animal Shelter and posted about Pumpkin on the appropriate Facebook groups.
When I woke up Monday morning, I went out to check if Pumpkin had come home overnight, not expecting it but still hoping. Sadly, she was still missing, so Michelle and I both spent Monday worried and distracted. But Michelle made flyers to continue going door-to-door with, looking for Pumpkin, and we quickly found neighbors who reported having seen her.
Then, after delivering a flyer about a block away from home, we heard meowing. Persistent meowing, trying to get someone’s attention, our attention. It was Pumpkin, and she was stuck somewhere.
We were able to locate her quickly. Pumpkin had gotten stuck somewhere she shouldn’t have been in the first place, which is entirely in character for her—she has required assistance getting down from our roof before.
Fortunately, we were able to contact the property owners, who helped us get Pumpkin unstuck. You know who you are, thank you. It was an emotional reunion, just wave after wave of relief.
But Pumpkin, being the mischief-maker that she is, didn’t come home right away. She had been stuck for 36 hours or more, and she needed to move and explore. We gave up after a few minutes of trying to coax her home. We trusted she would come home when she realized how hungry she was after missing four meals, and we were right. I checked in the garage around 9:30 p.m., and Pumpkin had made her way home and eaten. She was there Tuesday morning for breakfast, resting in her insulated house in our garage, and she even stuck around at least until I was leaving for work.
The entire saga was emotional. We were worried sick about Pumpkin, and I felt guilty that our attempt to move her inside over the summer had been unsuccessful. When we found her, it was a relief and a joy, but also anxiety when it looked like she might make the same mistake and get stuck again.
All this over a cat. A cat that we love and feel responsible for, but a cat nonetheless. I do not know how parents do it.
Adam Stewart is the assistant news editor of The Hutchinson Tribune. He can be reached at adam@hutchtribune.com.