Posted on 12/15/2001 5:16:47 PM PST by sinkspur
ELLISVILLE, Fla. - A cat who survived in the Florida wilds for nearly five months after a traffic accident has been reunited with her Texas family.
Flirt, a 3-year-old orange tabby, disappeared following the July 22 accident near Lake City. Owners Ray Juarez, 13, and his brother, Brian Lambert, 16, of Fort Worth, Texas, were reunited Dec. 8 with the cat.
During the accident, Flirt's cat-carrier was ejected from the vehicle, its door sprang open and the terrified cat ran off. The boys were severely injured and spent several weeks recovering in a Jacksonville hospital.
Their mother and sister suffered minor injuries. The family had been traveling back to Texas after staying for several months in Boca Raton.
A bony and bedraggled, 5-pound Flirt was found Nov. 18 at the Ellisville home of Betty Reader. The cat's front leg was caught up in her collar, which probably hampered its ability to get food in the wild, an area veterinarian said. Flirt had shed some 12 pounds.
Reader remembered seeing fliers posted about a missing cat and was able to track down the injured boys' aunt, Terri Rayne of Rehoboth Beach, Del. Rayne drove down to pick up Flirt.
Rayne later flew to Fort Worth with the cat to reunite her with the boys.
"I'm really happy to have her back," Ray said. "She still remembers me. She slept with me Saturday night, just like she always did. I told her I missed her."
For education and discussion purposes only.
All my kitties wear "breakaway" collars, even their flea collars. Thanks for the harrowing but happy-ending story. :-)
PS Thanks for posting this, Sinkspur; great story !!
My current Kitty, affectionately named "Kitty #8" disapeared for two and a half months not too long after I got him. I obviously assumed he had disappeared for good, much like Seven did.
But #8 came home, interestingly enough... just in the nick of time. (close your eyes if you are easily grossed out) He was in serious trouble. He was a rack of bones, and had six big infected abcesses from fighting his way out of some battle he did not win. By the time the vet had shaved and lanced and stitched him back together, he looked even worse with no hair. He looked like he had been digested by something and thrown back up. The vet said that with the infection and malnutrition he had he would have died within a few days had he not come home.
(OK open your eyes) He now rarely leaves the house! (Of course neutering helped with that) Not the roamer he once was. He doesnt even really work very hard at his job as a mouser any more... What amazes me is that after two and a half months of being on his own, he had to have consciously made the effort to come home, probably knowing that he was in serious trouble?
Here he is now.
Kitty number 8 - His favorite place... in my way
Flyer.... critter ping!
Uh. . . 12 pounds is enough for 1 1/2 cats. How much did Flirt weigh to begin with?
HOTD - #8 is a lucky guy. Gilligan and I need another kitty. He misses having a cuddle partner and I can only live so long without the 'keyboard ballet' cats perform so well.
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