10 April 2023

Pas de nouvelles, mauvaises nouvelles

No news. Walt and I have talked to all the neighbors and nobody has been able to tell us anything. We've walked all around the hamlet calling Bert's name, but with no result. We've looked in the ditches and all around our yard as well as the yards of two neighbors who were away for the weekend. We've left Bertie's garage window open in case he's still out there and wants to come in. I think if he were out there and could get here, he'd come in. It's cold outside in the morning and he absolutely hates the cold. One of his favorite wintertime perches in the house was on top of a warm radiator up in the loft.

I had been fearful that this would happen one day — that the cat would just disappear, and we'd never know what had become of him. I think I was preparing myself, but that doesn't make this any easier. Bert had become more and more affectionate with us over the past year or two. He wanted attention and loved being petted. He and Tasha got along really well and slept together at night up in the loft. I can't tell if Tasha is missing him, but when I say his name her ears perk up and she looks toward the stairs to see if he's coming up from the utility room. Yesterday morning on our walk, I was calling out to Bert, and Tasha would put her nose to the ground and run around in big circles trying to pick up his scent and find him.

28 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry to hear this. It's such a worry when a cat goes missing. Fingers crossed here for Bertie's safe return.

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    1. I don't think he will be back. I have a theory about what happened, but I'll never really know. Hope Daisy is doing well. Losing a pet after 13 years is like losing a member of the family.

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  2. Take care of yourselves, and know you provide a great life for your furry family members.

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  3. Oooow, so sorry you don't know anything yet, Ken. Do hope you'll find out though, or better: that he''ll turn up again - you never know with kitties! Thinking of you and Walt - and still hoping!

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    1. I think it's pretty clear now that Bertie is no longer of this world.

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  4. So sorry, Ken. We've lost two cats like this, it's heartbreaking. Tasha knows, too.

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    1. I know Tasha knows. She was adopted by Bertie back in 2017, when she was just 10 or 12 weeks old.

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  5. oh no I was hoping for good news today. Are there any owls around there? but he first disappeared in the day if I remember. Awful not knowing...ugh

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    1. Bert disappeared sometime between about 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., when we normally gave him his evening meal. It was at that hour that I realized something had happened to him. We hadn't seen him since the morning.

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  6. Oh, no. It's so odd to me, to have him just wander off and be gone. Dear Bert! One time, our (male) cat somehow hitched a ride on a vehicle of some kind... they found him wandering around at the Rescue Squad (that was our firehouse/ambulance building) in a whole different town! He had a collar with our phone number, so they called us.

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    1. Was Bert around when you were here in 2017? He would never tolerate wearing a collar. We tried, but he always came home without it. You were lucky.

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  7. The worst part is not knowing. I’m so sorry he’s gone
    BettyAnn

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    1. I think I know but there's nothing I can do about it now. It is sad. I don't think it was old age that killed him.

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  8. Hope you find your guy and that he's well.

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    1. Thanks, D. Bert hasn't come back for three nights now. And he hates cold weather, so he would come back not only for food but for warmth, if he could.

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  9. So sorry for you. They are indeed like a family member.
    Linda from Alabama

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    1. Yes they are family members. I have a lot of photos of him.

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  10. I, too, was anxious to hear good news this morning. Is there a french rescue or pet refuge for lost pets near you? Perhaps a local vet might have been called about an injured black cat?

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    1. Good ideas. However, one of the reasons we took Bertie in was that the SPA (Société de protectrice des animaux) said they had too many cats in their shelter and couldn't take in any more.

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  11. I am hoping for good news. Such a worry. -- Chrissoup

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  12. People say that cats run off and hide when they’re about to die. M, Bertie is seventeen and that is an old age for a cat. Still hoping he is OK. I just cried and cried when my dog was poisoned by neighbors.

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    1. Web sites I've looked at say the human equivalent of 17 cat years would be about 84 or 85 years.

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    2. chm that is terrible that anyone would do that! Was that in Salton or in VA?

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    3. No, David.It was in Paris in the early ‘50s.

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    4. "People say that cats run off and hide when they’re about to die." I've heard that too. And it's also true for other animals.

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  13. The flowers are beautiful, and so was Bert. You had him in your life for a good long time, but it's hard when something you love is gone. -- Chrissoup

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