Jan 24, 2002
At first we hadn’t even noticed that Sheridan was missing. She was usually mad at us after we return from being away and would stay away from us for a few days. This seemed to be no exception: we returned from holidays on August 16 and did not see her. It was August 19th when we noticed we hadn’t seen her at all. We looked through the neighborhood, and checked the pound and animal shelter for her. There were no cats that looked like our Sheridan. Sheridan was our five-year-old grey and black cat with a brown undercoat and white on her paws and chest. She was a bit overweight and she had gotten a stomach pouch after being fixed. The experts have described her as a brown tabby; but I guess color is in the eye of the beholder.
I had to go to Vancouver for a few days with my youngest shortly after we returned, so the search continued without me. When I got back there was still no sign of her. This was over a week she was missing and the kids were convinced a car or a coyote had killed her. I was sure they were wrong and told them that someone, who really liked her, had taken her. I felt in my heart she was okay.
We continued our search for her. We checked with neighbors, and checked the animal shelter and pound a few more times. We had an ad in the paper, but nothing came of it. After about two months, I still felt like she was alive, and kept checking the pet reports from the animal shelter and checking the lost and found for her. Still nothing.
Five months later, on January 7, 2002, I had logged onto the animal shelter website and found a cat that looked exactly Sheridan. I knew it was her. The cat, now named Houdini, had her look of attitude and looked exactly like her. The next day as soon as the shelter was open, I went to see her. The cat sat in the basket in the highest cage and wouldn’t come out for me to look at her. I had a feeling it was her, but all I to see was her head. Deep inside I was sure, but I had that bit of doubt that she wasn’t her. Maybe it was wishful thinking.
I brought my husband, Paul, down the next night and had another look. Paul tried to pet her to try to coax her out but was swatted when he tried to get close. He was 90% sure it was her, he wanted to get a picture to be sure.
We asked about the story of Houdini and they said that they had found her at Pilot Mountain, a subdivision near the Hot Springs Road - a 30-minute drive from where we live in Takhini North. How could our cat have gotten out there? How did she survive? A woman had found her and tried to keep her, but her original cat was too hostile to keep the cat and so she was brought to the animal shelter. That was in late November.
The next day I picked up Paul from work and armed with about 6 pictures we went back to the shelter. Houdini was again too high to get a good look at her – she was relaxing on a towel shelf, buried deep in the comfy towels. Talking to the volunteers at the shelter, they were not sure it was Sheridan – not without a better look. We tried everything to coax her down form the towel shelf, with cat food, calling, and just grabbing her. (That was pretty dangerous, as she swatted and hissed and everyone - including us). I suggested they get hard food and rattle it around the way I used to call Sheridan for supper. It worked. Houdini came out and we could see her entirely. It was Sheridan! She had lost a lot of weight and had frost bitten ears, but it was her! I could hardly contain my excitement!
We were so happy! We could hardly wait to tell the kids. We hadn’t told them that we might have found her, as we didn’t want to give them false hope. We paid for her release and since we both had to go to work, I told them I would be back for Sheridan. I could hardly wait to get her home. I had thought of taking the afternoon off as it was so exciting that after 5 months, that Sheridan was found! I took off an hour early from work and got Sheridan from the shelter.
I brought Sheridan in and opened the carrier to let her out. She leaped out and walked around the living room, kitchen, dining room and hallway. She sniffed the baby gate blocking the upstairs and came to the baby gate blocking the basement and promptly jumped over it and went down to “her” room. I knew she had remembered the place.
The kids were so excited to see her. Cassel (4) didn’t even want to eat his McDonald’s supper before going to find her in the basement. Sydney (9) was so excited to have the old cat back and Sheridan even let her pick her up. Something the volunteers and employees of the animal shelter couldn’t do. Baby Hannah (1) was just happy to see the cat. I am not sure if Hannah remembered her or not, but she was very happy to see her just the same. The dog remembered her old friend and the new pup, we got in September, was curious of this new cat in the house. But it was Kosh, our second cat - who used to be second in the hierarchy of cats in the house before Sheridan went missing - was not happy to have her nemesis back. She did not seem happy to share the family or move out of her head of the house position and has even been a bit hostile since Sheridan’s return. Kosh had actually become a recluse for some time after Sheridan disappeared.
That night Sheridan alternated sleeping on my husband’s and my stomachs. She seemed not to want to have us out of her sight.
Some things are different with Sheridan. She runs if you move too fast and is a bit afraid of my husband when he stands up or sees her while he is walking. She will sit with him when he is sitting down, but shoots off when he stands. She has calmed down somewhat now, though.
We have not figured out how she got to be so far from home and can only surmise what happen. We figure maybe she got into someone’s vehicle that traveled out to the Hot Springs and ended up at Pilot Mountain as she tried to walk home. However she did it, we are grateful to the family who picked her up and cared for her and the animal shelter staff for the chance to have our Sheridan back.
Many Thanks
The Scholz Family