The Return of Tobias

We have four pets (two dogs: Sasha and Jiya, and two cats: Selby and Toby), and they are my little babies. I really love them dearly. In particular, I am very close to Toby, who is always glued to my side and extremely affectionate and sweet.

 My husband and I recently moved to a new town, a little over a month ago. On moving day, we were in the process of putting the animals in their respective pet carriers to transport them to the new place. Toby was NOT happy about being in a carrier, and before I could close the latch, he demonstrated some super-feline strength, busted open the carrier door, and ran outside. Crap.

Well, we figured it wasn't that big of a deal. We were planning on coming back the next day, and the day after that, to finish getting things throughout the weekend. Also, Toby often went outside during the night, and since we'd be back the next morning, we'd just get him then. We took our other 3 animals to our new home.

So, we came back the next day... and there was no sign of Toby. The day after that, again, no sign of Toby. I was extremely upset.

We continued to go back to the old place on weekends, to keep packing odds and ends (I hate moving) and of course, search for Toby. We went back at least 3 weekends, and there was no sign of him. We had friends and family look for him, to no avail. It's been a month... Toby was gone forever. My heart was devastated. My little baby.

I would cry every night, I missed him so much. Toby always slept with us, he'd nestle in between us, right under my arm. Whenever I would be quilting, Toby was always right there in my lap. Whenever I was sick or in pain, Toby was with me. If I were sad, Toby would try to comfort me. I've had cats all my life, and let me tell you, Toby was special. He was the best cat I've ever had. He was never standoffish or anti-social; he was honestly the most affectionate and friendly cat I've ever known. He loved to cuddle, he loved being pet, and he adored his belly rubbed (any other cat I've known would rip your hand off if you touched their stomach!)

He was very vocal, and when you'd enter a room, he'd meow as if to say, "hello!" He was just precious.

It had been a month since his disappearance, and I had tried to accept that he was gone. Pets get lost every day, and the chance of them returning after a month, especially if the owners had moved... it just didn't seem likely. I figured I'd never see him again. It broke my heart.

We went back to the old house one final time, we STILL had some odds and ends crap that we needed to bring before the month was up. I was in the back of the house, when I heard my husband say, "I think I hear a cat."

What?

Then I hear him exclaim, "TOBY!"

I rushed out to the door, and there he was. A month later, my cat had returned. How? I didn't think it was possible. We had left...the house was empty. There had been snow storms, and thunder storms, and yet he persevered and kept trying to wait for us.
I immediately started sobbing.

The day we found Toby again.

My husband is like, "honey, keep it down, you're scaring him!" LOL.
He looked great. His fur was still thick and beautiful, and he had no marks or scratches on him. He had noticeably lost a few pounds, and was a bit skinny. But he was alive... he wasn't dead. Tobias was back!

So, naturally, we couldn't wait to bring him to the new home. The dogs, Sasha and Jiya, were SO HAPPY to see him again. They immediately fell upon him with wagging tails and lots of puppy kisses. Selby, the other cat, however, seemed to not recognize Toby. She would hiss and hide from him. I was worried...they had always been so close, since we had adopted them as kittens at around the same time.

Toby and Jiya reunited

About a week later, though, Selby started to loosen up. It seems things are back to normal now, no more hissing or hiding.
All is well in our home, now. :)