Conference misery::feline_v1

2416.0. "PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE" by GENRAL::BALDRIDGE (Spring is here!) Fri Apr 28 1989 17:46

In a reply to note 2404 I indicated that our ancient (15 yrs) cat Ada
had disappeared and I wanted to share with all you noters an unusual
experience that went with the disappearance.  First, I need to give
a bit of background:

We lived in Albuquerque 15 years ago and had two really ancient (18 yr)
Siamese cats (Booba & Sister) and our dog, Misty. At that time, we were
sorta on the edge of town and someone dropped off this cat, who found
our garage. I wasn't too keen on having another cat, but allowed the kids
to feed it for awhile.  It was really the dog, Misty who decided that we
should adopt this cat, so Ada was added to the family. (The story of her
name might make another note, if anyone is interested.) Anyway, Ada proceeded
to have several batches of kittens over the next couple of years until we
were able to catch her at the right time and have her neutered.  In fact,
one of her kittens, now 14, Doobie, still lives with us. Ada was always
a mostly outdoor cat in Albuquerque and even when we went to live in
Puerto Rico for two years. When we moved to Colorado Springs in 1983,
we moved to an area that has lots of scrub oak, coyotes, rattlesnakes, etc
and we decided all the cats (4) should become indoor kitties. This didn't
prevent Ada from constantly trying to convince us and our guests that she
REALLY should go out.

On with the story;  on Mon, Apr 10th I took my wife, Jane, to the Emergency
Room at a nearby hospital after suffering severe lower intestinal pains
since the previous Friday nite. By Wed, Apr 12, it was determined that she
has a severe bowel obstruction and she was operated on that evening. (She
is home now and recovering very nicely.)  On Sat, Apr 15, I was able to
get a couple of fellows to assist in interchanging two sofa-beds between
the first floor family room and the basement rec room.   Apparently, the
door from the family room to the garage was open for a short while
(Naturally the garage door was open, too!) and this is when Ada slipped
out. 

Ada had gotten very, very frail over the past year and the vet said her
kidneys were failing, but she was happy and not in pain.  She rarely came
down stairs for breakfast and I didn't even miss her, what with trips to
the hospital, etc, until Sunday evening. I told all of the neighbors
and their kids and offered a reward.  When I went to the hospital that
evening to see Jane, I had to tell her about Ada's disappearance.  That is 
when Jane told me the following:

	About 3:00 A M Sunday morning while Jane was asleep in her
 hospital bed, she was awakened by the 'bump' of Ada jumping up on the bed
and hearing Ada say "Meroup".  Jane felt beside her, but there was just
the hospital bed and she knew that Ada had come to say Goodbye.

    I am really moved by this - I don't know what to say other than
    there is so much out there that we cannot comprehend.

    I hope this doesn't mean you've given up looking for Ada;  cats
    can often turn up after weeks of being lost.
    

    
    
    That is so sad!!
    
    I've got tears in my eyes...

    How touching............and beautiful............and sad.
    
    Cats do have a special way about them.
    
    I am hoping you find Ada ............ but I will understand if you
    don't.
    
    Sandi (mom to Lightning, DejaVu & Thunder)
    
    

    Spine chills too!
    
    Its funny, I lost my Tom a couple of months ago and over
    the last month Ive been having some really vivid dreams 
    about him,nothing sinister, just dreams that he is somewhere,
    dont ask me where cos i dont recognise the place,but he is
    doing exactly the same things as he did with me but with another
    bunch of cats,but everytime i dream, i dont fail to wake up with
    a rye smile on my face as if he was saying " And you thought I was
    gone, huh, buster!"
    
    That cat always was crazy...
    
    Phil

    Well, it has now been six weeks since Ada's disappearance, so I
    guess we'll have to admit what we felt was true all along.
    The neighborhood kids have looked everywhere (we have quite a lot
    of open brushy country around the area), but to no avail.
    
    We'd feel a bit better if someone could find a body, but that doesn't
    seem likely now.
    
    As my wife often said, She'd been living on fumes for quite awhile.
                              
    Goodbye to an old and dearly loved friend.
    
    
    Chuck

    Chuck -
      I'm sorry there wasn't a happier ending to this story.  I hope
    it helps to know that a contribution will be made in Ada's name.
      Nancy DC