Kiely Tracking:
- Away June '98, a brief ghostly vision of her seen in late July, then
home in December, thin, hungry, demanding food and affection.
- Spent a week away in January '99 and left in March for five long months.
- We had a happy reunion in August but only for a month... gone again
in September. A brief sighting in October (running across the road away
from home) preceded her return the last week and a half of November
and then again... away.
- Home on Christmas morning… Merry Christmas to us! But alas... she
disappeared on New Years, 2000…. just home for the holidays, we supposed…
but back three days later.
- She left on Jan 8... home on Jan 19, away Jan 25, returned home Feb
7. She stayed home through the big rains but when the sun came out (Valentine's
Day) … away she went.
- To celebrate the 14th anniversary of the day that Steve and I met
(March 8), Kiely came home. A brief 8 days later, she left.
- March 26 she came home... only gone 10 days! Alas, this visit was
brief and traumatic... Kiely left the eve of March 31, chased off by
her sister-cat and suffering from Manx
Cat Syndrome and possibly intestinal parasites too. Fortunately
she only stayed away for the weekend and when she came home we put her
under house arrest for 10 days while we gave her medicine for parasites
(even though her tests were negative), hoping for the long-shot chance
she would respond. The bad news is that she didn't. At the end of the
treatment, after a long week of confining her and cleaning up messes,
we let her go out. She went and caught herself some "real" food (we'd
been trying to get her to eat rice at the vet's suggestion; she didn't
think much of the idea), and came back in to eat it in the house (in
the middle of the night). This didn't thrill us but neither does her
leaving. She ate; she went out. Under the cirmcumstances, Kiely needs
to live outside but we missed her instantly. All we can hope for is
that she'll check in often and let us know she's all right. This was
her saddest departure of all but we didn't have to wait long to see
her as she showed up in the middle of the night and in the morning seemed
quite content to sleep her day away in the house. I had just cleaned
everything and put away all the "Kiely protection". I wanted her to
go out on her own so I wouldn't have to put her out but no such luck.
When the time came to leave for work I gently carried her basket outside,
and when I left (April 14), she was sleeping peacefully in her basket
on top the dryer.
- One month later, on Mother's Day morning, I said to Steve "maybe Kiely
will come home for mother's day". And then she did!! Woo Hoo! We liked
it. She was her usual loving self, and seemed healthy. But before the
week was up I reached my limit of cleaning up after her and we put her
outside. That was May 20, 2000.
- Five long Kiely-less months went by and, oh happy day
on October
26, she came home! Yee Ha! Westi and Michael, living back at home, were
overjoyed to see her but it was their first experience with her health
problems. We kept her in long enough to get her to the vet for updates
on her shots and worm her, and then gave her a bed on top the trailer
and tried relocating her to our domain as an outside kitty. It worked
great for a week, until Penny realized she could go up there too. Kiely
checked in once or twice a day for a couple of weeks but things with
Penny got progressively more intense.On November 11, Kiely set off on
another adventure...
- ... Returning just in time for Laura's birthday. Good timing, Kiely!
Her visit lasted just a few days and we've been waiting for her return
ever since. Steve's birthday came and went... no Kiely. Christmas and
New Year's came and went... no Kiely.
- January 10... a little late for the holidays but home. She got snuggled
and loved and fed before leaving less than 24 hours later. Stayed away
a couple of nights, came home for a couple of more, during which time
she spent evenings wrapped in a towel (to keep her poison oak contaminated
fur away from me) snuggled in bed with me. What a sweetie! We worried
about her in a huge hail storm that happened on January 25th and it
did inspire her to come home in the middle of the night. By morning
she was gone. She's been home, gone and home again regularly ever since.
- Spring 2001 and Kiely has become a house cat again! Westi and Michael
determined that her health issues abate (mostly) if she doesn't eat
wet food (sorry Barney and Midnight, that means you don't get it either),
and with Penni Sue busy guarding Steve and I up at the trailer, Kiely's
life in the house is relatively smooth. Occasional forays out at night
are about her only jaunts lately... by day she sleeps on Westi's bed
or on the couch... the kids like to live dangerously!
- April 13... Westi and Michael left for Florida yesterday. Kiely seemed
to decide that there was no point in her sticking around either... we
haven't seen her since.
- January 2004. Almost 3 years later it's hard to believe that Kiely
is gone. Last week we saw a "found cat" sign at the mailboxes
and just that fast, the car was in reverse to read the sign. A day later
we saw a cat in the shadows beyond the mailboxes and spent several minutes
meowing to it trying to get a look. Reason would have it that Kiely
is gone and yet our hearts continue to hope. Kiely, we love you. Please
come home.
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