Max disappeared on October 8, 2008 around dusk. After three hours of calling and walking the neighborhoods we gave up for the evening figuring that he would return. The following morning no Max; we figured that maybe a wild animal had injured him, but our searches did not turn up a trace. We followed all of the recommendations including asking neighbors about our cat. Six weeks passed and in a sense we had given Max up for lost; it was about mid day and one of our neighbors sort of franticly came knocking on our front door with a cat in her arms. My wife's first reaction was that one of our other cats had been injured. No, it was the next door neighbor with Max in arm. He had spent six weeks in her basement surviving on mice. Apparently the bulkhead was open the day Max disappeared and he had entered her basement, if not for a plumbing leak he would have met his death, for her basement was not finished and not commonly traveled. The vet indicated that Max had lost a third of his body weight and needed hydration. This story was a happy ending for us and our pet. But the biggest lesson learned was that when you think that you have covered all of the bases with the surrounding houses and or structures ask very specific questions as to what was open and insist that the owner at least look. This neighbor, a dog owner herself, was upset that she had not detected Max sooner in her basement.

Posted By: Kevin Ayotte, Newbury, MA - 12/10/2008
Pet Name: Max  Species: Cat  Breed: American Shorthair  Sex: Male