One of the All-Time Great Cats

Fetcher 2005-2018 

We first met Fetcher on a soccer field near our house in Maryland.  In one of Paul's many distracted moments he spotted the young kitten along the sidelines and went over to visit.  Being a sociable little cat Fetcher won over Paul's heart.  We assumed he was a stray (it was that kind of country neighborhood) and were tempted to take him home with us.  But when we tried to carry him off the field he protested, so we left him with our heartfelt best wishes.   The next week it rained quite a bit and when we next saw Fetcher he was wet and hungry and cried out fiercely that he was ready to go home with us.  

We lived on over three acres in one of the last rural areas of a county which was quickly being developed into suburbia.  Although the area right around our house was a heaven for animals with lots of room to live the outdoor life, down our long driveway was a very busy commuting road, quite dangerous for animals.  There wasn't any chance that Fetcher would be happy as a house cat, so we held our breaths and let him do his thing, knowing that this new stray cat of ours might not live too long.   

But he surprised us.  For eight years he lived the high life of an outdoor cat with the backup safety net of an always-accessible cat door leading to good food, warmth, and love from his humans.   He was a fierce hunter of mice and chipmunks and loved to leap on a tree trunk and run up it just to show off his strength.  He once fought with a fox and survived, though he did have $500 worth of vet bills.  (I think it made the vet's day, having little occasion to stitch up a cat that had bested a fox.)  Despite his warrior skills he was very sociable and loving with people, playing well with Paul and his friends and coming in most nights to sleep with me and Ben for a few hours.  He had a special interest in the many workmen that came to our house and loved to explore their trucks.  Once time a workman was most of the way down our long drive before he realized that Fetcher was hitchhiking a ride with him! 

 He loved that country life so much and handled it so well that when we moved to Colorado we thought about leaving him behind.  We were moving to a small city neighborhood quite different than the country environment that Fetcher knew and loved.   Our new house was on a busy corner, with lots of car traffic.  In addition everyone warned us that cats didn't last long here due to the foxes and mountain lions that hunted small tasty creatures like cats.  So when our neighbors, who were crazy about him, suggested we leave him with them, we gave it serious thought.  

But in the end we couldn't bear to move without Fetcher so he came along with us.  Our plan was to keep him inside, but he would have none of that.  He made it very clear (through misbehaviour) that he would be impossible to live with as an indoor cat, so we held our breaths and let him out. 

Much to our surprise, Fetcher not only survived in his new home, he thrived.  Always a sociable cat, he loved visiting with all the people that walked by our new home, especially the school children who stopped to pet him and love him on their way to and from school.   Over the past few years we met many people who knew our cat, either from petting him as they passed on the sidewalk or from finding him in their yards and even their houses.   When I went to the doctor at the end of my first year here I was surprised to learn that her daughter knew Fetcher and loved him; she had even named him "Magic."  When we went to a neighborhood party up the street, who was there already but Fetcher!  "Oh, he comes in to visit all the time," we were told.  We regularly got a kick out of watching people loving and petting Fetcher on the sidewalk in front of our house.  Occasionally we had to go out and assure them that he already had a home. 

Well, I could go on and on.  The fact is that he was one of the all-time great cats.  He brought us much joy, an occasional bout of worry (he did disappear once for three days!), and didn't wreck the house too much (there are holes in the bedroom blinds where he'd scratch to get our attention in the early mornings.)  He leaves behind many great memories and his many admirers in the 'hood will miss him.  

Although his rapid decline shocked us, we are glad that he didn't suffer very long.  

We loved him and will miss him, and are glad we had all these fun years with him.  It's hard to lose a wonderful pet, but what a gift to have had their companionship.