Goodbye, Dooley.

 

Well, it appears we are minus one cat. Dooley, our 14 year old orange and white cat has run away from home and we fear may have met his end in the freezing and stormy weather we had the night he vanished.

Friday, March 19, we had a beautiful day and all of us were running in and out of the house, occasionally leaving the back door open for extended periods of time. The spring weather is awful tempting to Dooley and he got curious and slipped out on us. Nobody had noticed he was outside until I went to take some trash out and discovered him staring at us through a window. When I opened the door to let him in, he ran away instead. I grabbed a flashlight and followed him around the house until he disappeared in some bushes. I figured he would get tired of hiding from me and eventually come back to the door. He didn't. I went out once more and saw him sitting in the driveway with his back to me. I walked towards him and he ran away again. This was the last time I saw him.

Dooley has been looking sickly lately. His appearance has been looking more frail and he has been throwing up in the house a lot. We figured he may have sensed that his days were numbered and decided to spend the remaining time he had away from us. The other possibility was he was having such a good time outside that he couldn't make it back to the house before the bad weather hit us that night. He also may have found refuge with a neighbor, but all we can do is speculate since he has not come back.

We made some posters and placed them around the neighborhood in hopes that if a neighbor knows where he is, they will know how to contact us. But, we have received no calls. With each passing day, our hope diminishes.

Dooley began his life with Pam's folks as a kitten. He followed them home one day while they were out walking. He remained with them until Pam's mother took ill with cancer. While she was undergoing treatment they decided that having a cat was not going to be good for helping keep the house clean and sanitary. So, Dooley moved in with us and he has stayed with us ever since. He has always been a sweet cat with a mischievous streak. He loved people and sitting in laps. He also loved to take items and "wash" them in his drinking water bowl. He also would drop certain types of toys in the toilet for us. He kept life interesting.

We're sad to see him go. We still hold onto the hope he might still return, but there are many hazards out there for a house cat. We have many wild animals in the wooded area behind us. Dooley does not have adequate defenses at this age. We fear the worst, but hope for the best. That's all we can say for now. If this story enters a new chapter, I'll be sure to post another update.