The Day I Thought I Lost My Ginger Boy

I used to be pretty judgmental when people talked about losing a pet. I never understood how it could happen — until it happened to me. I had relatives over one day, and in all the noise and movement, one of my cats disappeared. I searched everywhere — under the bed, in every corner of the house — and nothing. I panicked. I cried. I posted on social media, hoping someone had seen him. A woman replied saying she thought she saw an orange cat on the other side of town. I drove over in tears, terrified and angry at myself for being a “bad pet owner.” When I got there, it wasn’t my cat. On the way back, I asked a neighbor if she’d seen him, and she said, “I hope a coyote didn’t get to it first.” Hearing that shattered me. I couldn’t stop imagining my beautiful ginger boy in the mouth of a coyote, suffering a horrible death. I went home heartbroken. I was answering a message from someone who felt bad for me when suddenly I saw a shadow behind me. I turned around — and there he was. My beautiful ginger cat. He had been trapped in the closet for two days, dehydrated and scared. In that moment, instead of being angry, I just hugged him. I thanked my lucky stars he was alive and back in my arms.