Gizmo Was Found!

Gizmo Was Found!

Our latest trip to Oklahoma, just a few months ago, was just as necessary as all the other previous trips. And this time, we had a special passenger, Gizmo. Gizmo is our cat, as no other, except maybe Tumbles, another cat we had that was amazing in his friendliness. Gizmo may even be Tumbles reincarnate. Never-the-less, Gizmo is a petite long haired gray tabby that we rescued from the animal shelter. Unfortunately, we wanted to adopt her sister also, but by the time we returned with cash, her sister got adopted, but we still brought Gizmo home.

What is interesting about Gizmo, she is an extremely loving cat, loves everyone who comes to our house to visit, and gets along with EVERY person she would meet. Since we are moving to Oklahoma, we would rehome her with the person who would care for her when we went away from home for a few nights, I’ll call them Terry. Gizmo came out immediately to greet Terry, to get pets, and in turn, Terry loved Gizmo. We thought it was a purffect (pun intended) match. I asked Terry if they would like to adopt her, and they enthusiastically agreed. We thought that would be the best for Gizmo.

Although we missed Gizmo, we knew it would be easier for the cat. Well, to our shigrin, two weeks later, Gizmo showed up at our back sliding door. Why were we so surprised? Yes! Because she was 2 miles away in her new home and found her way back with the threat of dangers such as mountain lions and coyotes, bad weather with no food or water. We greeted Gizmo with open arms. She was glad to be home, and (by this time), all the other cats were in Oklahoma and she was now the queen of the roost. But we knew something was a foul. I immediately called Terry who said they went to work, and had put Gizmo in a secure room, but deduced Gizmo must have been let out by a family member. We told Terry that we would keep her for a bit, and see how it goes.

After several months, we began setting up plans to take another load out to Oklahoma, and asked if Terry wanted to try again with adopting Gizmo, as Terry had moved 30 miles away since the last time we talked. Terry wanted to try again. They picked up Gizmo, and drove away, as I was confident it was a good placement. We now had a neighbor coming to take care of our garden, with no animals to care for, we were leaving for Oklahoma with everything set.

The day before we were heading out to Oklahoma, I received a text that said, “Good News! Gizmo has been found” …..What? Gizmo was found? She is supposed to be with Terry! What does it mean, “Has been found?”

Immediately, I tried to contact Terry, but didn’t receive an answer. After, I tried to contact Terry’s mom, again no answer. Then I called the company who sent me the text, trying to find answers to this mysterious text…they answered. I asked for details, and all they could tell me is that they were contacted by the Animal Control that Gizmo was scanned for a chip, and they received positive identification that Gizmo was found. More questions were in order, but unfortunately the company couldn’t tell me anything more, just a phone number of someone who may have more answers as to where Gizmo was located. Entering the numbers into my phone as fast as possible, a lady answered. “Hi, my name is Mary, and you are the only connection that may help me locate my cat, who apparently was found by someone?” She cheerfully answered, “Yea, that was me”. “Do you know where she is?”, I continued. “Yes, she is safe with me. She is in my house, in a kennel with food and water resting comfortably”, she assured me. Oh, thank goodness, at least she is safe. “May we come pick her up?” I inquired. “Oh yes, absolutely, here is my address….”

The detail I have not mentioned is that we were actually driving to town to get supplies for the next day’s trek, but instead after receiving the text, our focus shifted instantly to bringing home our beloved cat.

Once we arrived at the kind lady’s house, I’ll call her Marie, she began telling us a crazy story that I really couldn’t wrap my mind around. Her version went like this: Gizmo showed up at her house a week ago, at first from a distance, but then she started getting closer and closer to their sliding back door. Marie had two dogs and a cat, and Gizmo wasn’t scared of her pets. Marie realized the cat was hungry and friendly. She began feeding her, but realized her fur showed evidence of being lost. She posted on social media with a picture and description looking for its owners. Marie continued, “believe it or not, someone showed up to see if it was their cat, Gizmo”. But this mom and child who came, upon seeing the cat in Marie’s kennel, said, “No, that’s not Gizmo”, and left the cat behind.

After a week, and no one claiming Gizmo, (yes, it was Gizmo), Marie decided to get the cat’s health checked, flea medicine and a rabies shot. She took her to the ASPCA (American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals). Once there, the personnel asked if Marie had scanned the cat for a (tracking) chip, she responded, 'No’. They scanned her, and of course our information showed up through the chip, thus we were contacted. Quite an amazing story. We profusely thanked Marie for not giving up on Gizmo, and seeking to care for her, inside which eventually led her back to us. Right there, I made a promise to Gizmo, that she will be going to Oklahoma with us, and that she will never be rehomed again.

A couple of things I’d like to express:

1. If you find an animal, please take them to the authorities to scan for a chip to reunite them with the family.

2. Be understanding and compassionate to the animal, as I admittedly was so worried about the stress of relocating her to Oklahoma, I didn’t understand that the first time she returned to us, was her saying, she wanted to be with us.

3. Be very careful rehoming your animals. No one, with rare exception, loves and cares for your animals as you do, (even if you pay them).

To summarize this story: I immediately blocked Terry and their mother from my contacts. I didn’t want to hear their side of the story, because no matter what, I had asked them if it didn’t work out with Gizmo, to contact us, and we would take her back in a heartbeat. My intention was not to get rid of Gizmo, but to give Gizmo a chance to live with someone who told me they loved her. IF they knew, truly knew and cared for Gizmo, they would have realized, yes, it was Gizmo in that kennel. And if they didn’t want her anymore, for whatever reason, I would have taken her back, no questions asked. But to not COMMUNICATE with people, results in a situation where many can get hurt, including an innocent cat.