Priia slipped out and disappeared
In the early morning hours on Tuesday, May 29 our little 6.5 pound Russian Blue named Priia (pree-ya) found the screen door was unlatched, pushed it open and disappeared into the night. I awoke Tuesday morning and as usual I went around checking on my "girls", seeing where Priia was curled up and where her sister, Kitsa, was.
I couldn't find Priia anywhere and when I saw the unlatched door I panicked. I yelled for my wife and she and I began a frantic search. We've had coyotes through our neighborhood many times and other neighbors have had their pets snatched right out their fenced back yards; one neighbor has a small flock of sheep and it's not uncommon to come upon one that was set upon by coyotes. Priia liked to dart outside when we opened the door and it was often a battle to keep her inside. She loved to run outside and would scream a victory yell as she raced past us. But I knew that if she got out at night there could be a serious problem. So with Priia outside my heart was just broken.
It's been an emotional time. We're a childless couple, I'm disabled and spend most of my time at home so my girls are a very real part of my family and my life. Kitsa is doing okay; at night she'll let out a pitiful meow and drag stuff into the bedroom. (Her sister was very noisy at night and we'd often yell "Will ya just shut up!"
Kitsa was the quiet, well-behaved older sister that never tried to get out. So now we're showering her with extra love. She's eating and not acting despondent, so that's a good sign. They were born in June 2000 and were approaching their twelfth birthday.
I've been going from window to window, door to door, looking to see if I see little Miss Priia marching up to the house, yelling as she arrives. I try to hold on to hope but will suddenly find myself choked up with grief and weeping. Jayne has plastered a five-mile radius with posters printed from PetAmberAlert.com, gone to shelters, gone to local area veterinarians, walked for miles all around the area, sat out at dusk and dawn with flashlights and candles and has ceaselessly searched for our missing Priaa.
I don't expect an answer, but I typically keep my feelings to myself and I just needed someplace to go to share with like-minded people my grief. I know that the River of Grief runs deep and dark and I've only touched the surface, but my Priia was a great companion and I just miss her so much. Thanks for letting me share these deeply personal feelings.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I understand something of your misery, as our Toni (Bedlington Terrier) 'took a hike' one day, a few years ago, and it was our very WORST day. Luckily, a passerby found her, huddled in the park, so she returned to us.
Will be thinking of you and Priia, who resembles kitten my daughter just adopted.
. . . . . we lost a pet and she returned. We were visiting in Baton Rouge, way back, maybe in the mid to late 70s. Our Beagle was with us. We let her out into the fenced yard but somehow she got loose. To this day we don't know how. We speculate a neighbor kid came for my niece and she slipped out then. In any case, a hurricane was coming. Not a big one and not a direct hit, but it got very stormy that night. Nonetheless we were out in it, calling and looking for her. Finally we had to go in because of the weather.
After the storm went by and it cleared, long about the next afternoon, the dog came back! She was muddy and stank like a swamp, but we picked her up and hugged her. She was obviously happy to be back.
What's amazing to me is that this wasn't her house and was hundreds of miles and hours of driving from where we lived. Again speculation, but we think she may not have gotten any further than a storm culvert a block or so away.
Keep the faith.
I hope your baby finds her way home soon
my little russian blue is the queen of the jailbreak, she's usually pretty easy to herd back in, but she takes off once in a while and it is upsetting.
That happened to my beautiful spirit-cat Blue Point Siamese, Sam, many years ago. I was too distraught to go to work. I called and called and called, searched under every bush, peered in garages and sheds, lurked in neighbor's back yards, anything I could think of. I put out flyers, called the Humane Society and Animal Control, everything I could think of.
Three days later, Sam showed up at the door and couldn't figure out why I was laughing and crying at the same time, kissing and hugging him while scolding him. He never did it again.
I'll keep you and your beautiful Priia and her sister Kitsa in my thoughts--I'm sure she misses her sister.
Please let us know if you hear anything.
Diane
Anishinaabe in MI & mom to Leo, Taz & Nigel, members of Dogs Against Romney, Cat Division
"Dogs Aren’t Luggage Even Though They Are Lower Life Forms--HISS!”
Today I awoke feeling better; still sad, but "pulling out of it." We still have no news of Priia's whereabouts, but we remain hopeful.
We used a service called PetAmberAlert.com. I was a bit skeptical of it, but my wife was so distraught (blaming herself for failing to latch the door) that I couldn't voice my skepticism. What I discovered is that the service is absolutely amazing. We had several neighbors call us after they received a phone call telling them of her disappearance. One neighbor spent part of the day just hunting around on his property; other neighbors called with their support and encouragement. The service also sent e-mails and faxes to all of the veterinarians within a 10-mile radius. With all of the posters up all over the area, the phone calls to over 200 local neighbors and the information sent to the vets, we feel we've done the best we can do. Now all we can do is wait and see if there is a happy resolution.
All of your responses have been encouraging and have done quite a bit to make us realize we're not alone. It's times like this that the Democratic Underground really seems like a wonderful community and not just an online BBS.
Again, thank each of you for your thoughtful comments.
When we were both a bit younger...
I'm always hearing of cats going on walkabout for even up to a couple of weeks all the time. Even normally indoor cats. When I was a kid we had a couple of cats that were mostly indoor cats. Sometimes in nice weather they liked to sun themselves on the patio, but they never seemed inclined to venture past there. Then one day during the summer Rusty disappeared for a week and a half. I thought he just had to be dead because he wasn't even showing up for dinner (Rusty NEVER missed a meal!). Then after nearly two weeks he showed up at the back door just in time for dinner. We have no idea where he went or what he'd been doing, but he looked none the worse for wear. He hadn't lost any weight, had no scratches or other injuries, and he looked like his normal self except for a blob of grease on his head, but he sometimes would get grease on himself anyway because he liked to hang out with my brothers when they worked on their cars and would rub himself on the underside of the cars. It was the only time in his life he ever disappeared like that. Once he came home he went right back to hanging out on the patio with the other cat just like he always used to as if he'd never been away. We never figured out why he left, what he was doing while he was gone or why he never did it again.
One of my neighbor's cats when I was a kid used to take off for close to the whole summer every year. Once the weather started turning he was back every year though. Once in awhile one of us kids in the neighborhood would spot him at a distance, but he always ran away, so he must have still been hanging around the home base all summer. No one could ever figure out how he was eating and keeping himself in good shape all summer, but he always looked just fine when he came back at the end of summer like clockwork every year. Personally, I suspect there was another "home" that he had during the summer where some kind person was seeing that he ate and generally looking out for him, and just got used to his showing up during the summer and leaving at the end of it every year.
Hang in there. Priia could just be on walkabout and show up at the door soon like she'd never been away. I don't know that much about cats. I only lived with any when I was a kid, but from what I recall from that and from neighbor's and friend's cats it seems like nearly all of them either regularly or once in a blue moon will go on walkabout for a couple of days, weeks, or like Rolly for a long time as he did every single summer. As far as I recall, all of them came home or were found and taken back home. I can't recall a single one that left and was gone for good. I think the odds are pretty darn good that either Priia will come home on her own or someone will find her and return her to you.
I'm sure you're frantic and missing her, but just try to hang in there and give it a little more time.
for you and Priia.
A neighbor just knocked on the door, said she saw a gray cat run into our culvert and it may be Priia.
It was!
You can imagine the tears of joy in this house!
Thank all of you for your encouragement and support. It's a wonder I can even type this, I'm shaking with joy so much.
Have a great weekend.
I know I will!
I've had cats go missing (though sometimes only apparently, when they vanished inside the house for hours) and it's an awful feeling. One cat disappeared for a week in the middle of winter when it was way below zero and we feared he'd frozen somewhere -- but eventually he turned up at the back door, none the worse for the wear. So I know exactly how happy you are to have Priia back.
i'm so glad to hear that 
I came across your thread just this morning. Having had the benefit of knowing that Priia is now safe, I found it to be a great read-
Uhm, not sure if that is the best way to put it, because of course, I would never wish the angst of a missing pet on anyone. But you described the experience in a way that all of us pet lovers can truly relate to. I've had a cat go missing before, and it felt just as you described in your OP. I'm just thankful that I had the benefit of this update. Also, I couldn't help but smile at the thoughtfulness of your neighbors. They must think very highly of you.
Thank you for sharing your story. I'm so very glad that it had a happy ending. Your 2 beautiful girls are very lucky to have 'parents' like you and your wife. Btw, my cat is my 'kid' too.
There is nothing left to say except:
