and heartwarming. People didn’t call for the reward;
they called to say they’d seen a black cat on a certain
street or behind a house in their neighborhood.
They also called to see if Suzy had been found.
There were many cat lovers calling and following
the weekly search.
I wondered what Suzy was doing. Was she looking
for us too? How was she getting food? How did she
manage to keep from freezing in the frigid weather,
especially at night?
I felt frustrated by my inability to help with the
search. As I sat in a warm house with plenty to eat, I
recalled how Suzy exhibited a caring attitude toward
our family and how I came to be the recipient of this
special attentiveness at a time when I truly needed
a little extra TLC. In the spring of that year, I had
surgery that required several months of recovery.
I would spend almost all day out on our balcony
enjoying the pleasant weather. Suzy would follow
me and sit either in my lap or at my feet. If she
left for a “break” and I took one too, without her
seeing me leave, I would hear her pitiful cry as she
searched the house for me. Her meowing sounded
very worried, as if she’d lost one of her kittens.
When I would answer to let her know my location,
she would run to where I was and then seem to
settle down happily.
lovers who had phoned, we realized Suzy had been
wandering the housing area for food and shelter but
would return each day to wait under the bridge for
us.
Simon and I drove to pick up Chris and Suzy at my
parents. Thankfully, Suzy was just a little thin, but
she seemed to have suffered mentally. In fact, she
acted so different we wondered if we had the right
cat. Before, Suzy had always maintained a sweet
expression on her tranquil feline face, her eyes open
wide and trusting. The cat we brought home was
wild looking and hissed angrily when held. From my
counselor training, I recognized the symptoms of
emotional trauma.
I told Simon and Chris that we had to give Suzy
intensive loving treatment to break through the
anger and hurt she felt. We all took turns picking
her up constantly, ignoring the hissing when Simon
or I held her, and cradled her in our arms. We would
hold her and say, “Suzy, we’re so sorry we left you.
We didn’t know you were waiting for us.”
After three days, she appeared to forgive us and
went back to acting like her old self. Some people
say cats can’t love. But, in my opinion, if a cat can
suffer hurt and anger like our Suzy, then these
emotions came from the love she felt in the first
place and her thinking she was loved no more.
Rain slashed against the window near me, jarring
my thoughts. My mind returned to the special need
that now surrounded our sweet Suzy. I had just
gotten off the phone with Chris and could hear the
disappointment in her voice. Another day passed
with the hunting party feeling as though they were
but one step from the elusive Suzy. The days
passed slowly.
Finally, several weeks after we had returned home,
we received a joyous call from Chris. A ten-year-old
boy had thought to look under the bridge where the
accident occurred. Suzy was curled up . . . waiting.
She had been missing three weeks. Piecing
together all the information from the concerned cat
www.myranour.net
Myra is a published
author with Ellora’s
Cave & New Concepts
Publishing. She is also
CEO and co-owner of
BTS, including BTS
Book Reviews emag,
btsemag.com, and
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December 2013 | 19