I agree and much kudos for dealing with that in a rational way. After losing a cat myself, I felt very discouraged.. We don't have a cat-door but we let ours out whenever we aren't home and at night. There's always that fear that when I open the door the next day, he won't be somewhere on that porch. But, it's been a year or two and he's still here.

He even brings us presents! Not that we ever.. use them..
 

Jay, I'd say you're doing very well under the circumstances. I grew up with outdoor/indoor cats. None of them lived to old age for various reasons, but we always managed to find them. Closure is a good thing. Get it however you can. The joy you found in Indy you will continue to find in the spirit of your comic strip. Indy, Tigey, and Nonie have made me laugh for several years now. Know that you have friends all over because of those precious kitties.

Juli (human mom of two)
 

Re-reading your blog made me cry again. I'm glad you added the ending. The first time I read it I thought that Indy had died. I didn't realized he had gone out one day and never returned. I'm sorry for your loss and I hope you've found closure. I assume from the blog you found Indy's collar and that is all. Maybe it's enough.

Thanks for the Mows and keeping Indy and Tigey alive on the web!
Pam
 

Man,sorry to hear Indy wandered off. When I was a child, we had a cat who would disappear for weeks at a time. Maybe he'll turn up again. I live on a very busy corner, so I have to keep my 2 cats inside, which they don't seem to mind much. The 2 cats my parents have are outside/inside cats, one of whom does wander in the neighborhood (the 2nd one actually comes inside to use the cat box). Its also possible that he was spotted and picked up by someone, especially if he wasn't wearing his collar. You might check the local vets and animal shelter to see if anyone turned in one that looks like Indy.


Thanks for the great strip. i see a lot of my cats (Cosmo and Blaze) in Tigey, Indy, and Noonie.

Blaze and Cosmo send a huge Meow and a big purrrr to lighten you day.
 

my baby tink was stolen from me by who knows who and all they returned was her colar with her tags she loved going in and out of the house she spent most of her time on a tree were she can see the front and the back yard
 

When i used to live out on my grandma's property we let our cats go outdoors/indoors becuase there was a lot of land and we were 10 acres back from the nearest road. Sometimes my scuba would go missing for days and then he'd just show back up. But i always kept my babykitty inside... she was my lap kitty. She curled up with me every night and ran away from every open door. the few times she slipped out she would freak out and hide under the house until we could coax her back inside.

Another reason all my cats are indoors only now is becuase we were living in a townhouse a couple of years ago and someone left the front door open and all the cats got out> we had 3 at the time and when i got home the only one in the house was my babykitty. She was just sitting by the front door looking around. Scuba was playing in the bushes and he came as soon as i called his name. After all.. he used to be an outdoor kitty so he was pretty smart. But my ditzy kitty was gone.. and i never saw her again. I put up signs and i called her and i called her. She never came back. She had been outside before when we lived out in the country but she would always come back... so i don't know what happened to her.


One of the reasons i keep all 4 of my cats indoor only now is because they can't pick up parasites and i have a huge screened in porch they can play on (They love it) I also live in a suburb now which is very close to a very busy road and i don't want to risk my kitty's getting hurt. Also the city we live in has a leash law.. no animals are aloud out without a leash.
I am a firm believer that unless you live out on a lot of land and in an area where you are far away from any roads, then you should keep your cats indoors if you really care about them unless you are going to leash train them (wich i did try at one point) If you live on a farm that is a different story but my baby's live inside where it is clean and safe. I know this is safer for my daughter as well, who is 7 months old. I can rest easy knowing that if she pets the kitty's she's not going to pick up any parasites.
 

wow. im sorry you cant find him... indy will be missed. i cant let my cats outside no matter how much they want to... my neighbors killed the mother of one of my kittens and i cant let that happen to them. but i know what you mean by letting them roam free.
 

Kudos to you for being so rational about Indy. Growing up with my mom, we've always had a cat in our lives, she even made my step-dad let her have one - though he's allergic! Anyway, I know how awful it feels to have a lost or deceased cat. They have become part of your home and family and it's always sad to lose one. The great thing about cats, though, is that though they leave a lasting paw-print, most of his or her “servants” (or owners to use humans) are able to find another cat. Usually the new cat is a lot like the old one, too (my mom has had like 5 or 6 black cats at different times - my friends always used to ask me if she was a witch).
Also, you are right that cats love the outdoors. Apparently, if you get a cat from the Humane Society (god bless those guys), you aren't supposed to allow the cat outdoors. I'm not sure how that's humane, so we've never done it (shhhh... don't tell anyone).
Anyway, kudos and thanks for the strip. I just discovered it and I love it. Hugs :)
 

Oh, my...I've been reading The Mows on and off forever. I lost my Bagheera a few months ago. The people a few doors down drive too fast on our street, I think he got bumped. I had moved to Santa Maria over the Summer for school/work. I was only gone for a couple of days went I got the call from my mom. I just found out about Indy and Tigey, I started crying at the first mention of him seeing Tigey, by day four I brought my laptop to my mom (who also loves The Mows.) We read and cried together. At one point as I was reading I remember saying "Why does God even give us cats?". Then I thought, the amount of sadness and pain we feel from losing them is so much more outweighed by the joy and love they've brought into our life.

I'm so sorry about Indy and Tigey.

Take care.

Jessi
 

my fiance's cat got lost, he was gone for about 2 months, but luckily he had tags and some lady had been feeding him and gave us a call, she lived 6 miles away!! Don't give up on lost cats, you might find them, like how we found our resourceful kitty !
 

so my cat dissapeared shortly after i left for college. However about three months later when i went home to visit he came back. He was a little beat up and he still goes in an out as he pleases but he always comes back...so there could still be a chance for his return.