In Loving Memory of Tiger, Tiny and Streak

Missing Since April 7, 2002 (Update - Found - Adopted neighbor three doors away.)

Streak, Tiger and Tiny were strictly indoor cats. But on April 7, 2002, Streak, along with his brother Tiger, escaped out the door when we were bring in groceries. Tiger came back the next day, but Steak never returned. As the months passed, with no signs of him, we were afraid that he was dead.

On a Thursday in July of 2004, what we thought was a stray cat, wandered into our yard, begging for food. She was very skinny, so we gave her some food and water. When we got ready to go inside for the night, she wanted to come in. However, I wasn't willing to let her in my house, because I wasn't sure what was wrong with her. We didn't see her again until the following Thursday, when she showed up once more. We gave her food and water again, but I still wouldn't let her in. My husband and daughter saw her over the weekend, but then she disappeared again.

Then again, on a Thursday, she showed up. But when she did, she was with a black tiger cat that looked a lot like Streak. I called out "Streak", but the other cat only looked up, then ran away into the neighbor's yard. The cat we had started calling Calico Thursday was looking a little better, and not so skinny, so we took her to the vet to get her checked out, and then brought her home and let her come inside. Benjamin was NOT happy, so she spent the first night closed up in our bathroom. After she was inside with us for a few days, some neighborhood boys came to our door, looking for a missing cat.

Seems they had been watching a neighbor's cats three doors down from us, and one of her very old cats hadn't come home for a few days. Since the actual owners were on vacation, I told the boys I would keep her until the owner came home. I wanted to talk with the owner, to see why she was so skinny, before I decided if I would return her.

When the owner came home, I spoke with her and found out that the cat's name was Odie, and she was 23 years old. The reason she was so skinny is that she had some health problems, mostly due to her advanced age. Their vet had told them, that she wouldn't live for much longer, and most of the time, when they let their cats out during the day, she never wandered further than their backyard.

Calico Thursday (AKA Odie)

Since the owner wasn't neglecting her, I gave her back, because even though my daughter had become quite attached, Benjamin (her current cat) definitely wasn't fond of Calico Thursday (AKA Odie).

But in the course of speaking with her, the conversation got into the tiger cat I had seen that looked a lot like Streak. Turns out that when he ran away, he was hanging around with some other stray cats, and she adopted him, because she didn't realize that he was our missing cat. So Streak has been living three doors down all this time. She offered to give him back, but I told her no, if he had wanted to come back, he would have. And that Benjamin definitely would not get along with another male cat.

Calico Thursday (AKA Odie) came to visit me a few more times that summer, each time I would feed her and give her water, but I wouldn't let her in the house. Eventually she didn't come around anymore. She was a very pretty cat, and I was glad to give her some extra attention during her last few months, before she passed away.

We miss you Calico Thursday (AKA Odie) but are glad that you helped us
discover that Streak is still alive, even though he has adopted a new family.