By Susan Ho
Based on a True Story
IT all started after my father suddenly passed away in his sleep. Family members decided that our Mom shouldn’t live alone in the house where she’d been feeding Tuxedo, a black-and-white cat.
Since my husband and I needed to move from Mississauga near Toronto to London, Ontario (several hours away), we wanted Mom to move in with us. Being somewhat semi-retired, I could take care of her.
Tuxedo, a shy and easily frightened cat maybe five or six years old, would come to Mom’s house, chow down, clean her whiskers and then leave. After several years, she’d let Mom pat her, but only discretely. Any sudden movements sent the furtive feline fleeing.
Previously, we had no desire to catch her, although we knew that she relied on Mom’s feeding. If Mom went away for a day or so, the neighbors said that Tuxedo would wait a long time before leaving the front porch. She could demolish the food from two medium-sized cans in no time. If Mom felt ill and didn’t leave food outside, she’d find Tuxedo waiting early the next morning. Nobody noticed Tuxedo roaming nearby so we assumed that she didn’t hunt on her own.
If Mom traveled to visit my brothers or sisters, I’d stop by to feed Tuxedo. In time, the cat allowed me to pat her gently.
When Mom decided to sell her house, we wondered what to do about poor Tuxedo. We couldn’t just leave her. Maybe she wasn’t capable of hunting anymore. Sometimes we noticed patches of missing fur, likely due to attacks by other animals. More aggressive cats sometimes chased her. Leaving Tuxedo out there, alone and vulnerable, could become the regret of a lifetime.
We schemed that I’d become the bad person to grab her at feeding time. Gradually, we moved the food dish nearer the front door. I’d go to Mom’s place and wait.
Surprisingly, I succeeded on the first try! I grabbed Tuxedo by the scruff of the neck and rushed her into the house as she bit and scratched, fighting for her life, she thought. Being wary and well prepared, I wasn’t hurt.
Tuxedo lived indoors until last summer when Dougie, a cousin from Denver, visited. Mom’s air-conditioner failed. One night Dougie opened all the windows, and Tuxedo escaped through a slit screen.
So upset that I wanted to cry, I vowed to find her again before Mom vacated the house. Knowing that the cat needed to return for chow, we left dry cat-food outside.
I asked a veterinarian for tranquillizers to calm Tuxedo if she appeared. Three months passed without progress. We decided that she must have left the neighborhood or died.
Then one night, she came back! Trembling in excitement, we frantically prepared food, mixing in a tranquillizer pill as advised by our vet. Tuxedo ate the whole dish and wanted more.
Slowly, she turned groggy, yet I couldn’t get near her. She still moved fast. We followed her around the house. When we cornered her, she vaulted a fence and vanished.
We despaired, but then she reappeared, chomping at a catnip plant in Mom’s garden. I tried again, again and again to approach her without luck.
For hours, we scampered through the neighborhood trying to keep her in sight. At 3 a.m., we gave up, knowing that she was too sly to doze off within our reach.
Then on a memorable day, we found Tuxedo perched on the front porch, waiting as if nothing had happened.
Abandoning caution, I mixed a little of her normal food with two of my own prescription-strength sleeping pills.
Aha! That seemed to work, but not quite! I still couldn’t catch her. Yet she lingered, looking for more food. Funny cat!
Wondering if I’d gone crazy, I added more medication to food. Again, she finished every bite, almost crawling to elude me, before chewing at the catnip plant.
Slowly but confidently, I approached her. She’d turned her back.
Reaching down, I gripped her body. I did it!
By then, she couldn’t struggle much. Poor thing! Still, she tried to bite me.
Tears flowed from my eyes. There and then, I started to thank God for the miraculous return of this wayward family member.
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