by Donna Swagerty Shreve
“John, have you seen Bebe?” I called to my husband. Our female Siamese cat had a definite routine where she asked to be let out every morning around 7:00 and then would return around 7:30. She was mostly an indoor cat but she did like to explore in the early morning. It was a weekend day and we were both home. When Bebe had not returned by the end of the day, we became worried. We checked with neighbors but no one had any clues.
John became obsessed with solving this mystery. He printed out flyers asking for help and a description of our beloved missing cat. John handed out his flyers throughout the neighborhood and we received no feedback that was helpful. Meanwhile I noticed another flyer at our neighborhood grocery store. Another neighbor in our general area had also lost a female Siamese and was asking for help. A few weeks later I was in a pet store and saw a different flyer. This one had a picture of their female missing Siamese and had a bit of a story to go with it. Their first flyer had produced a phone call from an unknown source. They claimed they had the cat but their 3 year old girl loved the cat and they were not returning the cat. The 3 year old had been in a car accident and had lost part of her leg. So the flyer was asking if anyone knew of a family who would have such a child. The people with the missing cat offered a new Siamese kitten to the family but they refused.
Now there were three of us who were missing their female Siamese cats in about a 2 mile radius. This could not be a coincidence. John then printed out some more flyers and expanded his search. He headed down Davis Road going north from our Stonewood neighborhood. One of the homes along Davis Road reported that they noticed a Siamese cat that was seen in their next door neighbor’s yard. John then headed down the long driveway to this next door neighbor.
John was familiar with part of this neighbor’s yard as John frequently jogged along the levee that ran along the edge of this man’s property. On this property were three large Rottweilers who were chained at three points of this property so they could roam and guard the entire property. The three dogs were aggressive and quite vocal. John had taken with bringing a dog biscuit with him when he ran along this route. As the dog rushed along side him at the end of his chain, John would throw him the dog biscuit. Soon the dog thought of John as a friend and calmed down his aggression. That same dog was rewarded with a treat and stopped barking when he saw John.
Now John was meeting this dog’s owner. Adolf was maybe 5’4” and had a handicapped wife in a wheelchair and an adult down syndrome son of about 20 years of age. Adolf told John that he was very aware of a Siamese cat that visited every night at 8:30 with the large group of skunks that lived near the levee and his property.
Adolf had had an ongoing battle with the skunks as they would come in and eat food from the dogs’ food bowls. The dog would become protective and try to attack the skunks. The skunks would escape but leave behind their unique scent. Adolf tried shooting the skunks but when they died, they release their scent. Adolf wanted relief so he would leave dog food the back of his property every evening at 8:30. The dogs were not close enough to feel protective. The skunks ate and then left and stopped stealing food from the dog bowls.
Now the question was the identity of that Siamese cat. Adolf invited us out to his backyard the next evening a bit before 8:30. John and I drove over about 8:10 to watch and see if Bebe was now with the skunks. Adolf brought out his night vision goggles that he had had in the army. He also had his gun with him. It was a summer evening and 8:30 was not quite dark. Sure enough at 8:30 about 5 juvenile skunks came out of a ditch in Adolf’s backyard to start the eating. After they had had a few minutes, the 4 adults come out to eat and the juveniles left to give the adults their turn. With the adult skunk was a Siamese cat. It had now been several months since our Bebe had disappeared. I decided to try to get closer to the eating party without alarming them. As I crawled toward them, I softly called to the Siamese cat. I can only imagine what the view must have been of this woman on all fours slowly crawling toward the group calling to the cat in high voice. The skunks certainly noticed me but ignored me until I had gotten within ten feet of them. Then they got skittish and all disappeared. I had not gotten close enough to decide if the Siamese was indeed our cat.
The next plan was to somehow trap the cat to get a close look without the skunks as security. Adolf also had a humane trap. So John returned the next day with Brad and a can of tuna for the trap which is usually a real treat for a cat. Brad was quickly joined by Adolf’s son who insisted that Brad join him on the swings that were set up in the back yard. Brad was a good sport about it but did not want to return after this visit.
After our first encounter, I looked up information about skunks in our encyclopedia. This was before computers or google. Skunks can accurately spray up to ten feet. I certainly had been in range. The next visit I was wiser and we were going with possibly trapping the cat and then pulling the trap closer to us with the attached rope.
Again we arrived a bit early and the trap was set up near the food. At first the juveniles came out and repeated the routine from our previous observations. When the adults came out this time with the Siamese cat, another cat from a near by house tried to join the party. The skunks chased off the other cat and then went to eating with their Siamese cat. I again called to the Siamese cat and she became curious and headed toward the trap. We all held our breath and waited patiently. She was very cautious but finally took the bait of the tuna. The door slammed shut trapping the cat and alarming the skunks. By some miracle the skunks chose to disappear and not leave their tell tale defense. Adolf then pulled the trap toward us slowly.
When the trap was close enough,I went up to examine the cat. She was beautiful but not our Bebe. I told Adolf that it was not our cat so Adolf said he would then shoot it. I was horrified and begged him not to. He claimed she would never survive the winter. I pleaded that he give her a chance. He then release the cat and she returned to the direction of where the skunks had gone. We thanked Adolf for all of his help and left knowing that Bebe was not returning to us.
A good six months later Brad, my younger son, and I went out to our local McDonald’s for lunch. While we were in line a stranger said hello and I replied politely but had no idea who he was. When we were seated, Brad informed me that the now long haired man was Adolf. Adolf was with his son and I am guessing that is how Brad recognized him. I then went over to Adolf and said I was sorry that I had not recognized him. Adolf then told me that the skunks and Siamese cat still come to feed as usual and the cat indeed had survived the winter.
I had my theories about who stole my cat but never solved that mystery. All three missing female cats were fixed. I am guessing they discovered she was not a breeder and then released her to the wild or decided to have our cat join their family. I can only hope that the family kept her and treated her kindly or she ended up with skunks who would take good care of her also. If nothing else I have new respect and affection for skunks.
1461 words
1/11/2022
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