Long-lost cat comes home after 2 years
Published: June 12, 2006
She pulled off such a good disappearing act that her name should probably be Houdini.
More than two years after she slipped out of her owners’ house in the middle of the night and wandered off into the unknown, Six, an 8-year-old black and brown tabby cat, suddenly returned home Thursday night.
“It’s just crazy. It’s been two years. We can’t believe she’s come back,” said Julianna Denes of Concord Avenue.
Outside of an eye injury that likely happened some time ago during an encounter with another animal, Six is healthy, said Denes, who took the cat to the veterinarian yesterday for an exam.
This cat’s tale began one spring night in 2004. Denes and her son, Gabriel, then just about a year and a half old, were still getting used to their new home, having moved to Hamilton from Middlesex County in November 2003.
They didn’t know there was a problem with the latch on one of their screen doors — at least not until they woke up the next morning to find that, at some point overnight, Six had pushed open the door and gotten outside, Denes said.
The strictly indoor cat, suddenly finding herself in the great outdoors, apparently went exploring and got lost.
For weeks, she said, Denes searched the neighborhood for Six and asked friends in the township animal control office to keep a watchful eye out for her missing pet.
But Six was nowhere to be found.
A couple of times during the last two years Denes thought she saw Six as she drove through her neighborhood, but each time the cat was gone by the time she had stopped her car.
Denes finally convinced herself Six was gone for good.
But then Thursday night, as Denes’ son lay in his bed trying to fall asleep, he kept hearing the sound of a cat outside the house.
Denes said her brother, Laszlo, who lives next door with their mother, Margaret, went outside with a bowl of food and, just minutes later, Six was on their back deck eating and purring. They quickly carried the cat inside.
“We couldn’t believe it,” Denes said.
Where Six has been will likely remain a mystery, but judging from how healthy the cat is, Denes believes someone in the neighborhood must have been feeding her.
“We’re so grateful to whoever was taking care of her,” Denes said. “She’s just the sweetest cat.”
Denes said Six is just as playful as ever with her old housemate, another tabby named Tonto. But, Denes said with a laugh, she is still a little unsure of Sullivan, a dog the family recently acquired.
As for Gabriel, who was too young to remember Six, he is thrilled to have a new addition to the family, Denes said.
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