Catnapped!

What part of "Meow" don't you understand?

Leroy was a loveable five year old Blue Cat. He went missing one day, during those troubled times leading up to our inevitable rendezvous with destiny. 

Missing pussy cats are not as common in our time as they were during the time we now refer to as the great forgetting. The big difference between then and now is, nowadays we can pretty much scratch out malevolent intent as a potential reason for any pets disappearance.

As for Leroy, his owner had searched and searched, but alas her loveable feline was nowhere to be found... and there had been much 'hope' of finding him considering he had once been 'microchipped' by a vet. 

In the end he was 'FOUND!', but not because of some hi-tech control mechanism, but by some good ol' fashioned human kindness, courtesy of a nice family who had only lived a few blocks away. 

The family had taken Leroy in and had renamed him "Thomas", which was not such a strange name for a cat in those days,  considering many human children were being given names like Felix, Sylvester, Grover or sometimes even Bower.

An identity tag would often make it easier to identify the residence of any particular cat, but these methods of imposed control were idealistic considering there were often 'other factors' at play whenever a beloved pet would 'go missing'.

More often than not, if a cherished cat went missing, you would then see a photocopied 'Lost Kitty' poster stapled to a tree or taped or to a lamppost, usually with a picture of the aforementioned Kitty looking bright eyed, adorable and cute. But if you were to have looked closer, you also would have noticed that on most of these 'Lost' posters, the animal in question would also be wearing an identity collar.

Why did people feel a need to impose this undignified yoke upon their furry friends. This practice was a left-brained linear mindfuck in the extreme, based on the supposition that if someone found your pet, they would then call the number on the collar and return Paws or Boots back to it's rightful owner. 

What many of these people didn't take into consideration was that pets, animals, and cats in particular, are survivors, and have been for millions of years. They know where their loving and tender vittles come from, and if they were ever to disappear, it's safe to say it's certainly NOT because they simply "got lost"

Sometimes it was a case of having been taken by another family/person, who either wanted to keep the animal for themselves (either because they thought the animal was homeless, or because they were just plain selfish). A collar would have helped in the former case, but not in the latter. It also wouldn't have helped if the animal was trapped or dying or if it had been 'catnapped' by some teenage mutant deranged sicko.

Even if your pet had been taken in by a kind family, unless the animal was being forcibly kept indoors, it would always return of it's own accord if it preferred your company (and food) to that of the new family. Cats aren't in the habit of wandering too far away from their food source (a few blocks at most). They can at times be dumb, but they're certainly not stupid!

If a cat goes missing, there is also another reason it may have done so…which is that It simply found an owner it liked better than you. You may think you own your cat, but your cat has a very different view regarding it's personal sovereignty.

Possibilities for missing Kittties

-Cat has simply "lost it's way": This is not possible, unless your cat is old and has memory issues.

-Cat is trapped: Therefore a collar and microchip become useless.

-Cat has been run-over or has dropped dead of a kitty coronary: Once again, collar and microchip are pretty much useless

-Cat has been catnapped by a teenage mutant deranged sicko: Then, the collar and microchip are very much useless

-Cat has been catnapped by extortionist: The collar and microchip become USEFUL, but only to the catnapper, and only once a hand$ome 'reward' for Kitty's return has been posted!

The best way to keep a cat, or any pet, from going astray is lots of love, attention, and food. Any self-respecting feline is not going to pass up a good gig, and should it ever go missing, a collar or microchip just ain't gonna do you all that much good.

And to think, there was a time when some people were proposing mandatory identity cards and microchipping of human beings?!  Good thing we didn't go down that road!

Future CT   Village 5, Nova Avalon.   Year 17 P.T.E.