Cat's Name and Description
Lex the Tuxedo Cat
What I Should Have Known About my Cat
She was a feline Houdini
My Dumbest Mistake
We were moving from the Northwest to California and driving with our kitty, Lex. She loved to ride with us in the car -- she was a good traveler -- but she was anxious when confined to the pet carrier.
So we thought a kitty harness and leash might be a safe way to keep her in the car if the door had to be opened at rest stops and gas stations.
When we got to the Rogue River, the harness was put to the test. And it failed! Or rather, we failed. We must not have put the harness on correctly, because our beloved kitty twisted herself free and ran into dense cover adjacent to the Rogue River rest stop!
The Results of my Dumb Mistake
I guarantee you, I was ready to set up a homestead at the Rogue River. I could have never left without her. Ever. I would have given up my job and all of my material possessions to camp out there for the rest of my life.
So, yes, we were traumatized. It was getting close to sunset, and our cat -- our "kid" -- was lost in the shrubs at the Rogue River. We called her to no avail. She never did respond to calling, though. She was her own, beautiful, independent spirit. My boyfriend crawled through brambles looking for her.
Then I remembered she almost always responded to a certain trick: blowing on a blade of grass. Remember that trick of creating a high-pitched whistle by stretching a blade of grass between your thumbs? That sound used to bring all of our neighbor cats running to us. We figured it was worth a try.
We issued a few high-pitched tones and what do you know, she cried out from a distance. The challenge was getting close enough to her to grab her because her usual M.O. was to create a game of chase. She'd come within view, then race off again -- a 'come and get me' ruse she enjoyed.
Fortunately, somehow, by some universal good graces, the forces colluded to bring her within arms length. My boyfriend snatched her up. The two of us had never before and have never since had such a tight grip on a cat . . . as we rushed her back to the car.
What I'd do differently
- Where do I begin? It was such a silly thing to do. Given my cat's known "hide and seek" behavior -- and my inexperience with harnesses -- and given how precious my cat was to me. It was pure foolery to put her anywhere near such danger. Even with a harness or a leash attached. I know there are cats trained in this way, but mine wasn't. And the stress of a new place, freeway noise, all of those factors combined to create what could have been the worst nightmare of my life. To this day I think of that incident whenever I'm weighing an animal's temporary inconvenience (e.g. carrier) versus potential repercussions.
