Cat under a Hot Tin Roof

Chicken Soup for the Soul: What I Learned from the Cat

BY: Brenda Denton

Grow flowers of gratitude in the soil of prayer.
~Verbena Woods


On June 27th, a truck from our local charity, St. Vincent de Paul, in Phoenix, arrived to pick up a mattress and box spring set I was donating after a move to a new home. I put my dogs in their crates and watched the front door to make sure none of my four cats got out as the men loaded the items onto the truck.

Life went on until Friday evening as I was clipping everyone's toenails. I counted five, not six, sets of paws. I went searching for Milli Vanilli, my shy Himalayan cat. I checked all her usual hiding spots as well as closets, cabinets, the garage, the backyard, behind appliances, but she was nowhere to be found. I started to get a little anxious because I couldn't pinpoint the last time I had actually seen her. It's not unusual to go a day or so without seeing her because she likes to hide. I thought back to each day that week. I knew I hadn't seen Milli since the mattress and box spring were picked up. I thought maybe she had hidden in the box spring because part of the backing had come loose.

I tried to reach someone at the charity that evening and I left messages regarding Milli on every phone number posted on the website related to thrift store donations. I then called one of the thrift stores and was told no one would be available until Monday. Since I wasn't one hundred percent sure Milli really was on the truck, I also I put ads in both local papers as well as some websites for lost pets, and went to the pound and Humane Society. I also posted fliers and knocked on all the doors in my neighborhood. I couldn't find Milli anywhere so I became even more convinced that Milli had stowed away on the truck.

On Monday, July 2nd, I called the charity in the morning and told the operator I thought my cat had accidentally been picked up on the truck on the 27th and asked if they would they please find the mattress and box spring I donated and check it for Milli. I know she probably thought I was one crazy cat lady but she took the report anyway and said someone would get back to me. I am very impatient and Milli had already been missing for four days in the heat of summer in Arizona so I called back three hours later to see if there was any news. Shirley told me that someone had seen Milli on the truck on Wednesday and she got spooked and ran into the warehouse. I drove to the warehouse with Milli's picture and her crate to begin the search.

The warehouse was massive, probably the size of a football field, with thousands of boxes, pieces of furniture, etc. I was not hopeful about finding Milli. I searched for two hours, but there was so much noise and commotion that the dock supervisor suggested I come back at around seven when it would be quieter. He also set up a humane trap with tuna fish in it. At around nine or ten, I went to the security desk, and explained the story to the guard, left my name, number and asked the guard to please watch for my cat on the cameras and call me if he saw her no matter what time it was. I went home extremely discouraged and concerned for Milli's safety.

At one in the morning, I got a call from the security guard. He had spotted a cat on the surveillance camera. I rushed to the warehouse where the guard showed me the footage and there was Milli making her movie debut, looking pretty good, I might add. We went into the warehouse and looked and called for Milli but she wouldn't come out. We went back and watched the cameras. I went home around four to get my dog, who was a pretty good tracker, but he couldn't find her either. I knew she wouldn't come out with all the people working during the day so I went to work.

After work, I took one of my other cats in her crate to the warehouse thinking Milli might respond to her. No luck. The next day was July 4th and the temperature was supposed to hit 115. The only people at the warehouse would be the security staff. I made sure they still had my name and number. I had done everything I could think of to find her. I had prayed for her safety but I felt like I wasn't being heard. I wanted to call my church and add her to our prayer list but I was afraid they would ask too many questions and realize Milli was a cat. I searched the Internet for special prayers to recite for missing pets. Instead, I found a place where people would pray for lost or sick pets, prayersforpets.org.
I posted Milli's story very late on July 3rd. I believed, even though she hadn't been seen in a while, that she would be found and for the first time in days, I was at peace. I knew I had done everything I could and it was now out of my hands. On July 4th I was flooded with the most touching prayers for Milli. There were no Milli sightings on the 4th but I was still hopeful and ready to go back the evening of July 5th to resume the search at the warehouse.

On the 5th, I received a call from the charity. Milli had been spotted again and they were trying to catch her. I hung up the phone and headed back to the warehouse. By the time I got there, they had caught her, and put her under a milk crate until I could get there. She was smelly, dirty and her eyes were matted with tears. She was downright boney because she hadn't eaten in eight days. I put her in her crate from home and took her around to all the people that helped get the word out to find her. It was a very happy ending and so many things could have happened resulting in a different, not so happy ending. I was so impressed with the determination and the compassion of all the people at St. Vincent de Paul who helped find my kitty and the people who offered up prayers for her. They are amazing people who really put faith and love into action. They acted as though finding Milli was as important to them as it was to me.

Milli did have to go to the vet for hydration but she came home, ate and drank well, and slept and purred by my side all night.

This whole experience taught me a lot of things. First, always check furniture for stowaways before you donate it, but more importantly, I was reminded of the amazing power of prayer and the goodness and compassion of total strangers which I had really begun to doubt. Her adventure proved to me that God still does perform miracles and answer prayers, and how much He cares about even the smallest of creatures.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Chicken-Soup-For-The-Soul/2010/03/Cat-under-a-Hot-Tin-Roof.aspx?source=NEWSLETTER&nlsource=49&ppc=&utm_campaign=DIBSoup&utm_source=NL&utm_medium=newsletter