Thumper escaped - but he came back in the night.
Thumper, one of my FIV+ cats, slipped through the sliding door to my back deck this noon-time as I tried to carry out garbage and block both Luke and Pete from dashing out. I thought he'd investiage the deck, where he has never been allowed before because the FIV+ cats don't go out, and then wait for me, so I dropped the garbage to the side of the house first. But he jumped down.
I wasn't too concerned because he just walked around the garden and came to the side of the raised deck when I called him. But Thumper has unusually short legs and couldn't jump up; my three outdoor/indoor cats have no problem. The deck is enclosed and not an exit to the garden. By the time I had gone back upstairs and walked down from the garage with an old drawer that he could use as a spring board, he had simply gone. I've been looking for him ever since.
He's been in a shelter most of his life, with me for about four months now, and not outside for at least 5 years. He can't have the rabies vaccine because of his poor immune system. Every time I hear a slight noise outside, I rush downstairs and onto the deck with a smile on my face, sure that he's come back, but he hasn't. I walked round the garden and surroundings frequently until it was dark. I go out on both my upper and lower decks about every ten minutes, calling him calmly and shaking a bowl of dry food. Nothing.
I keep putting my head in my hands and trying to send out thoughts to him, daft as that is, asking him to please come home. He's one of my favorite cats, a real character.
Please come home, Thumper, and be safe and well.
