PURRFECT SPOTS - The story continues...

 The Cat - Life with Casey

Casey was a little black feral cat. He would run when I would approach, but not too far as he knew that I had food. I could see him peeking at me through the bushes, but not too close. He would wait and make sure I was gone before he would come to the porch to eat.This went on for several weeks. Each week I would stand closer and closer to the porch until I was almost beside him. It was interesting to watch how he would get braver and braver each week. Plus he was beginning to fill out and grow. He was finally getting the food that he needed.

When my cats would be out, he would come and try to play with them, but they would hiss and spit at him. They didn't want him in their territory. (Bamboo is on the attack in this picture.) I imagine he would have done the same if they had gone in Karen's yard which was essentially his yard! One day I was in his yard getting ready for feeding and he came towards me. What a step of faith! I thought I have finally earned his trust. I reached down to touch him and he swiped my hand with his paw and hissed. Well, maybe we need a little more time. However, each day I could get closer and closer. I was thrilled. He knew his name and would come when I called if it was around feeding time. I tried to find where he spent his days, but he did a great job of eluding me (most of the time)!

I never expected what came next – Hurricane Opal! On Sunday, this tropical disturbance was wandering around the Bay of Campache near the Yucatan Peninsula. The forecasters said it needs to be watched! This was October and the weather was cooler, so we thought that we had made it through the summer ok. Tropical Storm Erin had passed through in August, but was just a very heavy rain storm so we felt blessed. But Opal was different. By Sunday night it was getting stronger and moving and it was heading right for our coast. It continued to strengthen and became a Category 1 hurricane on Monday, and by Tuesday at 2:00am it was a Category 3 hurricane and law enforcement was ordering evacuation of our area.

We got on the road at 4:00am and headed north. We had all our cats with us except for that little black feral cat, Casey. I had no idea where he was. I called and called before we left, but no sign of him. I left lots of food and water bowls for him as I had no idea when we would be back. This was a bad storm coming – it was now a Category 5 – the worst of the worst. I knew he had been in the wild and had survived so far, but a hurricane was a different story because of storm surge and high winds. My heart was heavy, but I prayed for his safety. We had no idea what we would find facing us upon our return.

To be continued………….

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