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First, a bit of background …<\/p>\n
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Sandy came with the house, more or less. Vin thought it very clever of me to find us a house with a built in cat — although Sandy was no house-cat! — who eagerly adopted us. He’d belonged to a neighbor (who I’ll call Frank), who still lives next door but isn’t around much. Frank is a nice guy … he hadn’t abandoned Sandy; rather I think they’d drifted apart on account of Frank’s long (work related) absences. Sandy would still go over to visit Frank, and at one point over a year ago Sandy went missing for a week … apparently the poor cat had been accidentally locked in Frank’s house, during which time the smoke detectors began chirping. (Yow — that would drive ME nuts, too!) From then on, Sandy became extremely nervous indoors — he’d come in to eat, and to keep Vin company once in a while, but he had to keep us in sight. Sandy was a fixed male, but he’d spray, and that became a real problem once we’d adopted our kittens — so we’d get nervous too, when he was inside and wandering around.<\/p>\n
Sandy vanished over 10 days ago — we’ve been hoping he’d show up since, but every day that hope grows increasingly futile. We saw Frank one morning and went out to chat across the fence — no, Sandy wasn’t locked in his house again (which of course we’d been hoping.) We put up a few “missing cat” signs in the neighborhood, but haven’t heard from anyone. We don’t know how old he was — almost certainly 10, at very least, if not older. He seemed to be in good health and good spirits, though we suspect his vision wasn’t 100%.<\/p>\n
We live in coyote country, and they’re getting bolder lately. We even saw one in Frank’s front yard in broad daylight a few months ago … but Sandy had survived for years before we moved in as an outdoor cat, so he knew the risks. We had various safe and comfy spots set up for him outdoors, and would let him in on blustery nights — he’d yowl at the front door in the wee hours occasionally — although one of us had to sit up with him till he went out again.<\/p>\n
Sandy seldom missed a meal — he’d famously come in for several breakfasts, and dash in for a snack almost any time we opened a door. So we knew pretty quickly that something was wrong, when a whole day went by with no Sandy. He was a sociable cat, with startling blue eyes and a long fluffy coat. A sweet disposition, yet fiercely independent — he seemed like a kindred spirit — we were blessed with his companionship for two full years, and our lives won’t be quite the same without him.<\/p>\n