Spike's Three Dangerous Adventures!

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     My cat Spike ran away from home almost two weeks ago, but staggered home today. Boy, did he look rough! He had cuts on his face that had scabbed over and part of his left ear was gone. He was so skinny that his ribs were showing on both sides of his body. He looked so happy!

I had given up on trying to find him and was just about to board up his pet door into the garage when he stumbled down the drive way into the opened garage door. He sort of mumbled his greetings as he aimed himself at his food dish.

Long ago I stopped guessing about where Spike, an outdoor-indoor cat, had gotten to this time and what he had gotten himself into. Through the eight years he has lived with us, he has disappeared from time to time and come back the worse for wear.

1st Dangerous adventure: His first venture into the unknown was when he was a little more than a kitten, just 11 months?old. He had already been fixed at that time and he hadn抰 run away before, so we weren抰 worried. After a week we began to get a little concerned for his safety.

Spike, as with all cats, loves to sleep and has developed a fondness for taking a nap in our neighbors?garages, if their overhead garage door was left opened for any length of time. Then he would find a place to take a nap.

It was a Sunday in December just before Christmas and the neighbors left their garage door open. Lying softly in a cardboard box, Spike was dreaming cat dreams as the family left for a Christmas vacation to Grandma抯 house in Iowa. He was left behind.

Christmas day, when relatives and friends arrived for dinner, our cat was seen staring out through a picture window, two doors away. The neighbors had a pet door leading to the garage for their dog, which Spike used to gain access to their home. We couldn抰 get to him and he couldn抰 get out. The neighbors came home in another five days to find a thirsty and hungry cat that was anxious to get back to his own home.

2nd Dangerous adventure: The next time our cat ran away from home he came back a week later with cuts on his back and a badly chewed right rear leg. Besides being bloody, he looked like he was starving. After feeding him, we took him to the vet where he was examined, diagnosed and bandaged.

We saved the leg, but just barely. Spike hobbled around the house and through the yard meowing for sympathy for a month, until he figured out he was over doing it. We think he might have tangled with the raccoon or a possum that roam through our back yard from time to time. Despite their looks, they both have nasty dispositions and razor sharp teeth they will use if cornered. It抯 best for an old yellow cat to leave them alone.

3rd Dangerous adventure: The last time that Spike the cat decided to go visiting was about a month ago. Gone for almost ten days I had already put his food dish away when he slowly walked down the driveway meowing softly for sympathy.

Unfortunately, Spike was in worse shape than when he almost lost his leg to the critters in the backyard. Besides being horribly thin, he had lacerations over much of his body. Around his neck he had bite marks that hadn抰 healed, as if a vampire was having a taste test.

In short, no one knows where the cat was or what he was doing, but knowing Spike, he gave as good as he got. He is starting to gain weight and the hair that was pulled out is growing back. He didn抰 die or anything such as that, but I抣l keep my hammer handy to board up his pet door in case he doesn抰 come home the next time he disappears.