It's been five long weeks and Slinky is still missing. I've been holding out, hoping that my next blog post would be a warm and fuzzy reunion story... but no such luck. It's been really painful to realize that I'm "getting used to" her not being here along with all of the usual daily routines that come along with that. Slinky was a very active part of our household (as you can see, she even supervised our renovations) and after ten years of companionship it's very hard to adjust to life without her.
I've been truly floored by the kindness of strangers - perhaps it's because we've encountered some pretty unkind strangers in the past, but I've been moved to tears by how friendly and helpful people have been. From neighbours asking if Slinky is back and making suggestions about where to put up posters to strangers calling at one in the morning (actually that scared me pretty bad, but the person phoning was so sure he had just seen Slinky that it was easy to forgive him), I'm eternally grateful to one and all. I've appreciated all the thoughtful and sympathetic shelter and vet staff I've interacted with over the past several weeks, I even made a new friend at the local paper when I called to place an ad.
Friends have also shared some pretty insane (and somewhat comforting) cat-came-back stories... returning after weeks, months, even over a year! Slinky, please don't take that long, I don't know if I could bear worrying about you all winter. As it is, every time it storms at night (and it has a lot, lately) I cringe and hope so desperately that you have found yourself a kind, temporary family that is feeding you and letting you indoors at night. I glance out the windows all day, and every black shadow I see makes me stare intently - until I realize it's a squirrel. Every night I flick on the backyard lights in case you show up at the door, and I hesitate to close the bedroom windows when I go to bed in case I won't hear you meowing to be let in. Slinky come home. I'm not giving up.
Keep your eyes peeled for a sweet little black cat who loves to trill-talk and snuggle up with her family every night - we miss her so, so much, and we're still holding onto the hope that she'll come home. Thank-you so much for all the help, advice, anecdotal stories, shared experiences and support. It's helped a lot.