+++
When Clay and I moved to Oakland in February, one of the first things that happened was that our cat Margaret went missing. The first person I called was my good friend illustrator Wendy MacNaughton. You see, Wendy and her partner Caroline Paul lost a cat several years ago. And they made a book about it (written by Caroline, illustrated by Wendy). Their book is called, well, Lost Cat, and it’s a story about stopping at nothing to find their cat Tibby when he one day disappears for five weeks, and then after he returns, fat and happy, their obsession to find out where he’d been. I read the book early last month, and I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with you.
{My favorite illustration in the book}
Losing cats is a relatively common phenomena. Cats who don’t normally go outside sometimes get out and don’t come back for days, if ever. When their owners move, cats sometimes get confused and try to go back to their former homes. But what was different about Caroline and Wendy’s story is that their cat Tibby, who was an indoor/outdoor cat, had never disappeared before for more than a very short time, and nothing had changed about his life that might cause him to leave.
{Fear about Tibby’s well being took over when he was gone for five weeks}
Eventually Tibby returns. And while some owners might shrug and just be glad when their cat returns after five weeks, Wendy and Caroline had to find out where Tibby had been and what drove him to stay away for so long (where he was clearly being fed). They begin tracking him with all kinds of technology, and that’s where the story gets absurd, but also oddly compelling. If you love your cat, you’ll relate to their story.
{Imagining why Tibby might be and what he might be doing}
{Tibby donning one of his tracking devices}
In the end, Caroline and Wendy do learn a lot about where Tibby has been and what he does when he leaves the house. In a way, this is what makes the story so satisfying to read — their crazy attempts do give them some answers in the end. It’s also incredibly silly and touching all at the same time.
The book is funny, and it’s also heartfelt. What most people don’t know is that the book is also a love story. When Tibby went missing, Caroline and Wendy had just started dating, and Caroline had also recently been in a serious accident. The stresses that would normally have caused a relationship in its early stages to crumble only cause Wendy and Caroline to grow closer and more devoted to each other.
So back to my story: where was Margaret? Wendy (now lost cat expert) told us to get some cat food and take it in and around the house, calling Margaret’s name as we held it out for her. Sure enough, we heard a meow. Margaret had crawled up into the fireplace chimney. We managed to coax her down. Covered in soot, we put her in the tub. No GPS needed, thank goodness.
Get Lost Cat here, or like I did, at your local bookstore.
Happy Tuesday.
Subscribe to this Blog