Well, we sort of knew this would happen, but it still stings. Poco and Diablo, our cats of ten years now, have been gone for a few weeks. With the coyotes and fischers around here, it is safe to assume they are not just taking a walk about.
They both spent their first, oh, six or so years as life as indoor cats, but ALWAYS yearned for being outside. Finally, we decided that they would be happier having a shorter life, if it meant being able to go outside when they wanted to. They survived the next few years in Contoocook, despite the VERY busy road we lived on.
Then we moved here, and were warned by everyone that outdoor cats don't have a long life expectancy around here. Still, the cats LOVE being outside (and, as a side note, Diablo was one heck of a mouser!) In and out during the day, we tried our best to make sure they were in before bed, to avoid the things that go bump in the night.
One day, a few weeks ago, Aaron mentioned that he hadn't seen Diablo for a few days. Another few days later, Poco went missing- I am completly positive he went looking for his brother.
I hope we made the right decision allowing them to go out when they wanted to, I just couldn't bear to force them to stay inside. They loved laying in the warm grass, chasing bugs around, and even tormenting the occasional song bird (I told them I didn't like that!)
Aaron and I got our two little kittens in our first apartment, they were our first living beings we were responsible for. I'd like to think we gave them a good decade. RIP kitties :(
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I am so sorry :( At least they got to be happy outside :)
I am so sorry :( that breaks my heart
I have gotten so much mushier as I get older. I can't bear your sad story! We let our multiple cats out all the time in Hillsboro while living there and only lost one (plus one guinea pig!) But ... I just don't know what to say about it. I am a bit of a fanatic about animals (I am definitely not dry eyed as I write this even!) Your description of how much they love the outdoors is so right on target. How can we deny them this? We have two cats. My older cat, Astra, was just wounded in a cat fight while only being out during the day. This house is the first time I have let her out and of course she (and Zubi too) LOVE IT. they just seem like they can't be CATS without the outdoors. Anyway, dealing with this injury was not simple and three weeks later she is still caged up in an all but padded room with a cone collar on and stitches and a drain because of the abcess. The vet and the $ and the complications have been almost a nightmare. We have decide to revert poor Astra back to an indoor cat. Which is better? A happy, expensive, shorter-life cat or a sad, cheaper longer-life cat (plus litter box cleaning!)? wah...
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