I had a bit of a miracle 5 nights ago. Nearly five months have passed since my cat Patches went missing. Because we live out in the country, there was a possibility she was killed by a wild animal, or I hope she died of old age since we didn't know how old she was. She usually comes up on the deck to eat some Special Kitty treats during supper so since she didn't show up for a few nights was unusual, till a week later she was still missing. While I asked around my neighbors if they'd seen Patches around, nobody had seen a cat like her. I still left food for her for almost a month but slowly accepted that she may have just been killed by a wild animal. 😔

It was September 22 around 8:16 PM. I was drawing until there was a familiar meow outside. I ran down to the front door and it was Patches. She was really skinny but drooling profusely hinting she was really happy as she ran in my direction. I picked her up and showered her with love as we made our way back inside and took her back to her garage and gave her a full bowl of cat food which she spent 10 whole minutes chowing down and taking breaks so she could cuddle me. I didn't want to leave her for an hour until I had built her a cozy bed and had given her some time to rest.

She's still in the garage as of right now, and I hope she stays there for a while, possibly even during the impending winter. I assumed the reason she went missing was because she was chased off by a wolf or something and got lost then during this time she survived by eating screws and mice and such. Who knows and who cares, I'm just happy to have my cat back.

Patches is sweet, chubby outdoor cat who came to live with us seven years ago when we discovered her wandering around our garage in search of food. Being a cat lover, I frequently left food out for her, which helped her come to trust me. Eventually, she decided to make my garage her home. She's a really sweet cat, but I also called her my little Warrior because she has a few missing fangs, had a ripped ear, and had a distorted meow. She does occasionally have a tendency to get into conflicts and then return home with a bleeding wound or fur that has been shredded. But she always comes back strong. I was a little anxious when she went missing since I never wanted my cats to be outside after my first cat was squashed when I was a young child. Patches was fine because she had always been an outdoor cat and had lived for a very long time before I got her. t was still quite something for her to go missing for 5 months then manage to find her way back home. And I'm happy to have her back🐈‍🥰