Heartbreak Hotel part 2 (or, Goodbye Blakeley)

So, as you may know, VOMD and I found a beautiful, if underfed, cat last week and brought him to the vet. We were  originally told that he has no microchip but when we went back to get him his shots and so forth, we found that he was microchipped after all.We were crossing our fingers  that the "owner" wouldn't call  the vet back,  but unfortunately she did. Yesterday afternoon (4  days after  the vet called to say they had found her cat) she called back and came to retrieve him.

It has been a long time since I have been so sad. She told us when she arrived that she lets him run around outside without a collar and that she has not registered him with the city. A tag only costs $13 in Hamilton, and getting a tag allows strangers to call you when they find your cat, and ensures 1 free ride home for your animal friend  from the city.

I am a little bit glad, in a way, that  we got to care for him for a while, because I  am hopeful that his caregiver has learned a lesson and will take better  care  of him in the future.  But at the same  time, I desperately wish that we could  have kept him  in our lives. He is such a sweet, playful, affectionate boy who deserves a forever home that takes care of him properly,  doesn't let him get too skinny,and reports him missing if he is  ever to run.

A little advice to other cat "owners"  out there: if you love your animal friend, especially if you live in or near an urban or high traffic area, make  him or  her and indoor cat. A neutered, domesticated animal does not have the necessary skills to survive healthily outside and is very likely to either be hit by a car, get in a fight with a stray or ferrel cat, or simply starve. It is not cruel to keep a cat indoors, as long as you give them ample opportunities to exercise, feed them healthy food, and give them the attention and entertainment they need. it is far more cruel to let them wander and risk them being  injured or killed.  Blakeley was lucky because two caring animal lovers  found him,  took him to a vet, and gave him good quality food and plenty of love. But most cats left outside will not be so lucky.

Bye for now.

-J