Pumpkin Reunited

Very late into the evening of April 6, a big, beautiful orange tabby cat was clipped by a car on the road that runs adjacent to our property. Despite a broken pelvis, the kitty somehow managed to drag himself to the front of our barn, where we found him during our nightly check on the horses.

I rushed him to an emergency veterinary clinic and, despite early indications, the doctors and technicians managed to save the cat, "Pumpkin."

An exhaustive door to door search, fliers, listings at the local animal shelter, Craig's List, and other places didn't turn up Pumpkin's owner. So, after a week of intensive care, Pumpkin came home to Sweetgrass to be rehabilitated. At the time, the prognosis was full recovery after six to eight weeks of cage rest.

Yesterday, I took Pumpkin in to have a couple of staples removed from his leg and the doctor and technicians were amazed at how swiftly he's healed. They told me he was lucky to have a new owner like me. It seems Pumpkin is a charmer everywhere he goes and I've grown quite fond of him.

The day after I took Pumpkin to the ER, I had stopped at a house across the road. A man and two children came to the door and the man told me they did indeed have two orange tabby kitties. After I gave a description of the injured cat, the man dismissed me. He did, however, take my phone number.

So today, two-and-a-half weeks after I rescued Pumpkin, my phone rang. The woman at the above house identified herself and told me she thought I might have her cat. I invited her over and sure enough, my patient, "Mason," belongs to my neighbor.

Apparently, Mason has been off and on MIA since his family brought home a dog six months ago. He disappears for days on end and then, after some time, usually comes home. His owner told me she's been turning Mason and her other kitty out at night, since "cats are nocturnal." Hmmm...

On our corner of the planet, putting a cat out at night is a dangerous practice with so many coyotes foraging for food. I gently told the woman that I always make sure my cat is always in at night for two reasons: the road and coyotes.

I have to admit that I was more than a little put off by this woman to start with, but I was wrong. Her father is dying of cancer and that alone is enough to distract a person beyond words. She has a kind heart and has already settled up with the vet clinic and promised to reimburse my expenses, too.

For now, Mason Pumpkin is still my patient as his family is going on vacation until May 5. I've come to love this fellow and I'm truly glad he'll be reunited with his purrson soon.

Who knows? My big orange flirt may swing by for a visit now and then.