I know this isn't going to seem funny to everyone, but it kind of is, in a sad kind of way. This lady called me on Saturday and was like, did you ever find the cat on the flyers? Then she proceeded to tell me about a cat that had been living in her woodpile. She was like, she's a pretty good size cat (most of the people who have called have been talking about cats that are smaller in stature and under 8 pounds), she's been out there a while. She tells me she's pretty sure it's my cat and then says, "It's dead and I put it in the garbage." She said there's a parking lot for the apartments next door that backs up to her yard and it looks like a kid hit it and then threw it in her yard. She said she put it in some garbage bags and threw it away because she couldn't bury it, as she broke some of her fingers. Then she asks her husband how long it had been living in their woodpile and he says three months. She was like, well he says three, but I think it's only been two and the flyer says missing since September 4th, so that's two months. Yeah, two months. Her husband is talking steadily in the background but I can't make it out and she starts arguing with him, but maintains that it has been two months since September 4th and that she thinks it was my cat and she just wanted to let me know if I never find it, that that's what happened. I thanked her and got off the phone.

I started telling Shannon and when I mentioned living in a woodpile, Shannon emphatically stated that Fuzzy Tail would not deign to live in a woodpile. I think she's right. She's probably in someone's house, being cool. At any rate, I don't think the cat that lady had living in her woodpile for two or three months was my cat. It's still sad that it died, but it was most likely not mine. I kind of felt like she should have lead off with the dead part, so as not to get my hopes up. But what do I know? I've only told two people that a cat was dead and Marie was not lost before that. Anyway, Grace has been gone almost a month, so, short of her new owners losing her, I don't think I'll ever find her. I keep dreaming that she shows up on the porch, talking loudly and being adorable. But unless she slips out the door at her new house unexpectedly, that's not likely to happen. The first couple of times I had that dream, it made me really sad when I woke up. I've stopped reading on the porch, hoping she'll wander by, instead of reading inside. I've stopped walking around the neighborhood, peering closely at all bushes and under porches. The lack of walks also means that Kazoo has gained back all the weight he lost when the search was fresh. Oops.