Roadmap Out Of Lockdown Step 4 - Day 3

Six Dinner Sid, aka Jasper!

Another busy day, and another hot one (31), for Matron today, GP home visit etc, etc, but thankfully less frantic than yesterday. Even had half an hour to myself, so sat in the garden and painted my toe nails, as you do!

The Saga of Six Dinner Sid, for anyone interested. Be warned it does go on a bit!

On Monday, after Sid spending the last three days in our garden from dawn to dusk, constantly begging for food and attention, I texted his owner as I was concerned that he wasn’t returning home at night and was worried about him out in this heat. (Luckily I’d kept her phone number from when she responded to the paper collar.) https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2852265083835254294

That night she replied that she’d been really worried as she’d only seen him once in the last week, and asked me to stop feeding him to encourage him to return home. She did thank me for contacting her and for looking after him.

I explained that, in this hot weather, we had the doors open all the time and Sid kept wandering into the house. The only way to get him out was to lure him out with a few biscuits. I asked if she would like to come round and collect him from our garden. I even offered to take him back to her house. No response.

The next morning she rather shirtly said bringing him home wouldn’t help as he knew his way home and that I must stop feeding him. She even quoted the children’s book Six Dinner Sid!

Once again I politely explained that I wasn’t giving him enough food to survive, that I just gave him a few treats to get him out of the house as he was upsetting our cat. I even told her that he was there at that very moment, crying and scratching to be let in, and that I’d had to bring Toffee in and shut the door.

I got no response to my message. If my cat had been missing a week, I would’ve been round like a shot to collect it! For the rest of yesterday, we had to keep the doors shut and were sweltering in the heat, as Sid spent the day sitting outside the door crying pathetically. It broke my heart, and what with all the other stresses of yesterday, really upset me. Early evening he gave up and disappeared.

Today at lunchtime I received the abrupt text, “Where are you?”

I repeated our address and politely explained that I wasn’t complaining about Sid visiting, just that I was very concerned about him. As Sod’s law would have it, I told her that we hadn’t seen him since yesterday evening but that I would let her know if we did.

She then explained that she was increasingly worried about him as he wasn’t getting his medicine. She said she knew he hunted and could look after himself but would obviously like him home. Why the chuffing Nora did she not come two days ago when I first contacted her?!

Anyhoo... Sid turned up at 5.30pm this afternoon, gave him a few lip-smackingingly-good biccies to keep him here, sent a text and she came round. Her opening words in a very snotty tone, “You’ve got my cat!” Sid’s reaction on seeing her was dilated pupils (a sign of fear in a cat), and he tried to run away. When she picked him up he was fighting to get away. (I’ve had to carry him out of the house several times and he’s never struggled once.) She went on to say he was a farm rescue cat so wandering is in his nature and that we’ll probably see him again. She was very aloof and not once did she say thank you, though her teenage daughter had the good grace to do so. I’m not convinced he has a loving home, though I do hope I’m wrong. I’ve done all I can. I’m sure it won’t be too long before I see Jasper again...

Take care, stay safe and well...