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About 5-6 years ago on a random Friday, I was woken up in the middle of the night by a cat loudly meowing in my back yard.
I don’t own a cat.
I don’t own a cat.
I tried to ignore it for a few minutes, but eventually realized that it didn’t seem to be going anywhere, so I threw on my robe and stumbled downstairs to see what the fuss was about.
Sitting there, five feet off my back step, was a small grey and white cat. He had a collar (no contact info), and didn’t seem to be particularly interested in leaving.
Earlier that day, I’d been out walking my dog, and for reasons I’ll never fully understand, I stopped to look at one of the “missing pet” signs that often appear plastered to the side of community mailboxes. I don’t think it was a new, but I’d never noticed it before.
From the look of the sign, it had been there for awhile. Someone was missing their cat. A small, grey and white cat. I made a mental note and continued on my way.
As I stood on my back step, foggy from sleep and staring at this cat, I thought to myself ”...there’s no way this is the same cat. Not a chance.” But it did look kinda familiar. And it was friendly. Let me walk up and give it a little pet and even pick it up.
Knowing I’d never forgive myself if it did turn out to be the same cat, I kicked my dog out of his crate, put my new friend inside and figured I’d go down to the mailbox and double-check in the morning.
Morning rolls around, and I walk down to the mailbox to take another look at the sign. It really does look awfully similar. So I take a picture and go back to my house to compare.
Now that it’s safely ensconced in a crate, it has zero interest in coming out. So I compare as best I can and HOLY SHIT I THINK THIS IS THE SAME CAT. I excitedly call the number and tell the woman that answers that I think I found their cat.
She isn’t nearly as excited as I thought she would be. She sounds skeptical. How sure am I? Did I compare it to the sign? When I assure her I had, she grudgingly agrees to come by.
She arrives and comes inside, and I open the crate. She takes one look inside and instantly starts to cry. It’s Hank. She tells me that he’s been missing for weeks, and they’d received a bunch of calls that all turned out to be different cats. They’d given up on ever finding him.
A few days later, she shows up at my door with a thank you card and some toys for my dog. I kept that card on my fridge for over a year.
I’ve found that the universe will often present opportunities to do good things if we’re willing to pay attention to the world around us.
And if you see a “missing pet” sign? Snap a photo. Just in case.
And if you see a “missing pet” sign? Snap a photo. Just in case.
