Birdie: M.I.A

My cat is missing.  I know it is just a cat, but I am having a taste of what it must feel like to be one of those families who never get more closure then an "Missing In Action" title when someone is lost in active service.  It is not a very nice feeling.  One part of me is in constant hope that she will turn up, a bit spooked and thirsty after being locked somewhere for a week.  Another part of me realises that it has been about a week now since we last saw Birdie, and chances are she is not coming home.  

I have all these stupid thoughts running through my head: "has she been hit by a car or fallen from some height - did she die quickly and painlessly"....and then "maybe she is starving away in some overheated shed where no-one can find my scaredy-cat (she is petrified of people)".  And then there is the guilty feeling of "gosh, i don't actually remember the last time I saw her - that is terrible" and the even worse guilty thought of "well, that is going to save us some money on flea treatments".  I am also terrified that I am going to find her body somewhere one day.  She was not an explorer, and stayed close to home...so chances are she is not far away...wherever she is.   

Birdie is the most scaredy cat ever.  Not many people got a chance to meet her, as she would run a mile when any visitors were in the house.  She even stayed clear of me if she knew I was seeking her out -   I used to have to lock the catflap and all doors to pin her down for a flea treatment - it was a horrible chase for all of us, and when i did finally get her for a flea treatment, she won't come near me for DAYS afterwards.  I learnt over the last few months that the best way to get her was to wait until evening when the kids were all in bed and we are sitting quietly.  She crawls timidly up onto the couch beside me, then gets as close as she can to me and curls up for a cuddle.  If I pat her, she would knead her paws, dribble and purr loudly.  She just adored her evening cuddles with me, it was always so funny since she wouldn't go near anyone any other time! I would then hold her close, whisper to Marty to get the flea treatment and do it while stroking her. Much better.  

Birdie loved to sleep on our bed too, curling up every night right in that annoying spot between my legs or between Marty and I.  She never did get used to our magnetic cat flap either - she would wake us at night pawing at it to try and get it to open, sometimes taking so long to work it out that I would get up and hold it open for her!  

But the thing I will remember the most about Birdie was her funny way with child safety plug covers.  She LOVED them.  If we plugged something in, she would come sniffing around immediately, knowing the cover would be somewhere nearby.  We used to have to change hiding spots when we took them out to plug something in, because she would hunt down the usual spots easily and pick the plug cover up in her mouth and take off with it.  For the next hour or two we would hear her chasing it around the kitchen floor, and eventually find them under the fridge, stove and even in the garden days later.  

Bogey is getting a lot of extra attention at the moment, she is really missing her niece - we rescued them from two semi-wild litters born on a farm as babies, infested with fleas, cat flu and worms, and nursed them back to health.  I wanted to give them fun 'pair' names, we settled for Birdie and Bogey since Marty was teaching me golf when we got them! 

 Our kids and cats have grown up together over the last 3 years and we are all praying that Birdie is alive and well somewhere.  But for us, she is M.I.A and we remember her fondly.