Hi, my name is Laura and I am looking for this cat, whom I was fostering in Redwood City (on Regent Street) during the first week of July 2011. On the fourth of July, she got spooked by fireworks, and escaped from the room where she was being fostered, through a broken window (I thought it was sealed up well enough but sadly it was not).
I have seen her on several occasions since the day she got out. But so far she has been too smart for a regular cat trap (she is not feral but very, very guarded). Thanks to people who have called from my fliers on poles and the small fliers I've been handing out, I've seen her in several locations, including at the Petco Parking lot, on Palm Avenue, on Regent Street, and on Redwood Avenue. She's also been seen in Palm Park, by the YMCA. She seemed to be staying within a fairly small area, around Hudson/Palm. The next time I see her, I will be enlisting the help of a woman who does a lot of feral cat trapping and rescue, and knows how to bring smart kitties like this one, back to a safe place.
My stepdaughter named her "Aurora." Because I only had her for 4 days as a foster cat, she never got to know her name (so if you find her and call her by that name, she won't recognize it). Her previous owner never gave her a name.
Aurora is about a year and a half old, and is already pregnant with her SECOND litter of kittens (she may have delivered them by now). She used to live in the east bay, on a busy street, with lots of other feral cats. I asked her "owner" in May of 2011 if i could please take her and some of the kittens from her first litter, to find good homes through a Cat Rescue Organization I do volunteer work for. I even told him I could get them spayed and neutered and bring them right back. He refused to let me take any of them, saying he was attached and couldn't decide on what to do. I warned him that it was likely that with so many cats on his property, they could get hit by cars. I warned him that the mother cat (Aurora) would get pregnant again very quickly if he didn't let me take her to get spayed. I left my phone number and never heard from him, until I checked back with him a month later.
Sure enough, the mother was pregnant again and one of her babies from her first litter was hit by a car. It was so sad. He finally agreed to surrender the mother cat to me, with two of her kittens. My plan was to foster the three of them, and find them all good homes. I also planned to foster Aurora's babies, as I have in the past (I have found great homes for many cats and kittens through the Homeless Cat Network).
On July 19th, a young kid who sounded about 12 years old, called me and said he had her at his house, and would meet me at Hoover Park, in exchange for reward money. He refused to give his phone number (it was an unlisted number) or location or any details about the kitty, but he insisted it was her, she had all the right markings and was pregnant.
I was all set to leave, when he called and said when he tried to pick her up, she scratched him and ran and he couldn't find her. I asked him for details about where she was and he said she was in a hole, and that's all he would tell me. Then my phone went dead, and he never called back. It was really upsetting, especially that he wouldn't give any details about where he was. The fact that he said to meet him in Hoover Park (which is at least a mile away where she was last seen) makes me think she is no longer in the close range where she had stayed for the first two weeks since she left. Yes, I realize the whole thing could have been a prank call, but he really did sound legit, and I don't see why he would have had any motivation to lie. I realize kids do get bored during the summer, but I also like to believe most kids aren't EVIL.
I feel responsible for her disappearance and feel terrible about the fact that she is in an area she is unfamiliar with. It must be very stressful to live the first year and a half of your life at one place, then get shifted to the other side of the bay and have absolutely no idea why. Then, to have people chasing after you and trying to trap you on top of it has to be horrible. There is no way to explain to a feral or skittish cat, "Look, I'm not going to hurt you or try to cook you for dinner. My plan is to get you spayed and make sure you and your babies find safe homes and get veterinary care and lots of food for the rest of your lives."
If you see her anywhere in Redwood City, PLEASE CALL ME ASAP (But PLEASE LAY LOW, don't make a lot of noise or shine a flashlight in her face or do anything that might spook her, or she WILL RUN - which could be very dangerous if she is spooked and runs into traffic). Right now what she really needs is love, and the best thing would be to feed her a very small amount of food (like a tablespoon) if you have it, and stand back for a few minutes. I will be enlisting the help of a woman from the Homeless Cat Network to bring her back home.
There is a reward for her safe return.
She also has a tendency to hide under cars. That is primarily where I have seen her.
Thanks so much for reading this story. If you do see her anywhere in Redwood City, please call 650-260-2269. People have been extremely gracious and helpful so far. I am hoping that with just a few more calls, we will be able to get her back to a safe place (by the way we do have a plan for reuniting her with her babies, if she has already given birth). It really concerns me that she has been crossing busy streets like Hudson and Woodside, so I am doing my best to try to get her back to a good home.
I have two cats who used to be extremely feral, but they are now very happy, healthy and loved. I believe every kitty deserves shelter and a good home, and I would like to see this happen for Aurora. I do realize there is a chance I may never get her back, but I still think it's worth trying. To quote my favorite line from The Shawshank Redemption: Hope is a Good Thing.
Thanks very much for reading this.
Sincerely,
Laura
