Happy Thursday First name / Lovely Reader,
Miracles DO happen!
My mom's and dad's kitty above (Tillie) is living proof. Lemme tell you the story.
It all began when I was visiting them in Texas at the end of February. I was there for a week. Tillie is a rescue cat and so sweet. She's been sick, though, with a strange kitty cold and thrush in her mouth. Her teeth will have to be removed soon. Poor baby. She was not herself.
Anyway, the day before I headed back to North Carolina, Tillie vanished. Van. Ished.
We searched the house from top to bottom. We searched the streets and open areas around the neighborhood. Friends joined in the hunt. No Tillie.
There was one five minute period when the garage door was open and we were getting in the car. The only thing we could figure was that she somehow scooted out without any of us seeing her. It seemed improbable, but nothing else made sense. Mind you, it was FREEZING outside, so we didn't think there was any chance she could survive out there. We thought she was sicker than we knew and that she'd gone off…
The only other thing we could think of was that she snuck into the attic when the HVAC repair guy was there…but we checked and checked and checked again, and left the door open for a long time so she could get out if she was in there, which--as I said, we searched so many times to no avail.
It was all very distressing, especially for my mom, who loves Tillie so much. She couldn't imagine her out there in the cold, suffering. Some time passed, though, and along comes Buffy, another rescue cat. My mom fell in love again, but still missed Tillie terribly.
And then, like a ghost in the house, she started to hear faint meowing. Now, keep in mind, a lot of time--5+ weeks--has passed by now. She thought it was Buffy, but it wasn't. She thought she was imagining it. But she kept hearing it. A neighbor came over to try to follow the meowing and eventually traced it to…you guessed it…the attic.
Tillie was alive!
She'd been in the attic the whole time. We couldn't figure out if she got in when the HVAC guy was there, or when the door was open, and my mom and a friend continued to check the house and attic for days after I left. It's truly a mystery we'll never have the answer to.
But she is doing so well! We think she must have been drinking from the drip pan under the A/C unit and tapping into her hunting skills (bugs, mice, lizards??). Who knows, but somehow she managed to survive for so long. She was thin and dehydrated, but…
She is a miracle cat and my mom is so happy with her two kitties to love.
I hope this little heartwarming story gives you a little lift. People--and cats--are resilient! ❤️
