We have some bad news about Jane. Sam and his fishing boat were rumbling down Old West Point Road toward Leroy’s Landing when, in the mirror, he saw the back deck of the boat rise up. Then Jane, the cat, jumped out. Sam saw him (Jane’s a he cat) hit the ground running.
Sam pulled over and called for Jane but there was no answer, so he called me. I came to the river and stood at the edge of the road looking down a sheer drop-off of about 50 feet. I got that sick feeling in my stomach until I remembered how cats scratch and claw and land on their feet. I figured somehow Jane is hanging on somewhere. We had no luck so Sam continued on to fishing, hoping for better luck.
For about two weeks, with decreasing frequency, we’d go down to the same spot and yell, “Jane … Jane … ” but nothing. A hunter told me with lost dogs you take a jacket or something familiar with some dog food and leave it at the last spot the dog was known to be and that usually the dog will return and wait for its master.
This does not work with cats. I took a blanket that smelled like Jack, the other cat, and spread it under a tree and laid out some cat food but Jane did not return and eventually some other critter ate the cat food, so I brought Jack’s blanket home.
Funny, my very first thought when Jane was lost was the “girls.” Then I remembered the girls were no longer little, nor home, and that they had their own homes and their own pets. Still … I remembered losing childhood pets and the trauma it caused for the whole family.
Once, my Inky was taken away in a neighbor’s car and put out when the neighbor discovered the cat. Every night I cried myself to sleep, and every day my momma scoured the surrounding neighborhoods looking for Inky.
Inky was found one day when a lady invited my momma inside and showed her Inky, who was sleeping on the lady’s bed.
Inky came home and I no longer cried myself to sleep, so now we just imagine Jane maybe sleeping on someone else’s bed and think she finally has the good life.
Another time, I had a yellow canary named Sunshine. Momma took the cage outside to clean it while Sunshine was inside the cage. You know, mommas are always the ones to do all the work for the pets and you always wonder why they don’t want any, or any more, pets.
Well, the canary got out and Momma took off after it. She actually shimmied up a tree and caught that bird. Ever after, the neighbors talked about the day Momma took off running down the road screaming, “Come back, Sunshine!”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.