I drove up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway tonight to do a memorial tribute to my friend who passed away a week ago. As I was driving to the spot I planned to go I noticed something in the road. As I passed it I could tell it was a cat, alive but I wasn't sure if it was hurt or not. The truck in front of me also pulled over. As we went back to check on it it just got up and took off. We looked down over the bank into the brush were it ran but couldn't see it. By the way it ran it was evident that it wasn't hurt. It was a beautiful, very small, young dilute cali-torti! I was heart broken thinking about this little thing alone on top of the mountain fending for itself. But what could I do but go on...so I did.
As I was headed back, at dusk, when I got to the same place that I saw the cat I noticed something in the grass on the side of the road. I wasn't sure it if was a groundhog or what, but decided to look just in case it was the cat. Sure enough it was. I tried my best to get close but it would run every time. It would let me get about 8 feet away, crouch down and then run. Then turn around and look at me and do it again. I tried a dozen times to get close but it eventually ran down into the brush again. So I cursed and went back to my car. When I looked back lo and behold there it was right at the edge of the road!! So, I back up and it doesn't move...I get out and it doesn't move. Good! maybe I can catch it! Nope, as soon as I start getting close it trots across the road and heads in the opposite direction. I tried following slowly, crouching down, making myself small but with no luck. It trotted on faster until I couldn't keep up. At this point it was getting dark and I could barely see so I had to give up.
That was tough, having to leave that little precious thing up there, but what else could I do? Even if I caught it I don't now what I would have done, I was in my convertible and didn't have anything to put it in except a cloth shopping bag, But I had to try!! I just hope and pray that it stays safe or finds a home.
Almost had another stray on my hands tonight
- Tina B and crew
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- Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2003 9:48 am
- Location: Virginia
Almost had another stray on my hands tonight
Tina B and "what a crew!"
How we behave towards cats here below determines our status in heaven ~Robert A. Heinlein
How we behave towards cats here below determines our status in heaven ~Robert A. Heinlein
Re: Almost had another stray on my hands tonight
Any chance you can go back and check to see if she's still there? Do you have a trap or can get one in a hurry? Canned tuna? You know where I'm going with this...
I don't know the locale, but its possible she was with someone in a car, the person stopped for some reason, she escaped? If you kept seeing her on the roadside, this is just way too dangerous for her!. If you have food with you, maybe she'd be hungry enough to come for food.
I don't know the locale, but its possible she was with someone in a car, the person stopped for some reason, she escaped? If you kept seeing her on the roadside, this is just way too dangerous for her!. If you have food with you, maybe she'd be hungry enough to come for food.
..........Traci
- Tina B and crew
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- Location: Virginia
Re: Almost had another stray on my hands tonight
Traci..it is almost an hour from where I live. If you aren't familiar with the Blue Ridge Parkway it runs along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mtns so this area is pretty secluded however there are homes within probably a 5-10 mile radius I would quess. I thought about going back...but to trap her (assuming it is a her) would be difficult because of the distance from where I live. I would have to make the drive back often or stay up there. If I had been in a different car and had some food with me I might have persisted last night but being so secluded it was pretty darn dark. I am trying not to feel guilty about this but it isn't working. Right now it would be tough for me to take on another stray...both financially and time/stresswise. I hate it. .and I am tempted to go back.
Tina B and "what a crew!"
How we behave towards cats here below determines our status in heaven ~Robert A. Heinlein
How we behave towards cats here below determines our status in heaven ~Robert A. Heinlein
- Tina B and crew
- Posts: 2536
- Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2003 9:48 am
- Location: Virginia
Re: Almost had another stray on my hands tonight
Oh...and it isn't a frequently travelled road. Mostly recreational use. Speed limit is 45 but a lit if people go slower due to curves. Still a danger though. My guess is either she strayed far from home or someone dropped her there. I get too angry to even think about that one.
Tina B and "what a crew!"
How we behave towards cats here below determines our status in heaven ~Robert A. Heinlein
How we behave towards cats here below determines our status in heaven ~Robert A. Heinlein