Found: Cat

Two completely different responses to us attempting to locate the cat's owner.

First, a woman and her boyfriend called us today in response to the found cat ad we placed in the Sacramento Bee. Dawn fielded the first call as I brushed my teeth, and informed her that the cat was a he and not a she as the woman claimed. End of call.

Thirty seconds later, the woman calls back, claiming that her boyfriend thought it was a he while she thought it was a she, and so can they please see the cat in person?

Dawn hands the phone over to me and I talk with her for a while, requesting her to describe specific markings on the cat she lost so I can feel confident that I'm a) not wasting our time meeting in person, and b) not giving the cat to someone who's not the owner.

The back and forth between the two people isn't encouraging. Their cat has four white feet, it likes to sit in people's laps a lot, it sneezes a lot, it's sweet, it's not active, it's 1-2 months old. I tell them this cat doesn't sneeze, ever. Oh, it didn't sneeze that often, every once in a while. I tell them that this cat is active. It doesn't phase them--can't we just meet you in person to see the cat? I ask them to describe distinguish markings on the tail. It might have a bit of white on the tip (it doesn't). I ask them if they have photographs of their cat to share. Photographs! she exclaims, It's only two months old! What day did you lose the cat? Maybe 1-2 weeks ago. Can't we see the cat? *sigh*

She's hysterical that we're not caving in to her (now apparent) demands to show her the cat. I go back to talking with the boyfriend, tell him we'll call him back because I have to take Dawn to class, get his number, and hang-up.

During Dawn's class, I talk with a friend who has significant experience taking care of cats and she lets me know how large a 1-2 month old cat is--it's obvious our cat's not their cat, it's much larger.

Later this evening, we call them back after running errands. They're not home. I leave them a message letting them know that the cat we have can't possibly be their cat because it's obviously not 1-2 months old, and we're not interested in showing them the cat.

We leave to go to the gym and when we return we find a message on our machine from this woman stating, Hi, this is --- responding to your call about the cat. I don't care about you adopting the cat, I just need to know where it is! I don't know what planet you're from, but when you put an ad in the paper that describes my cat perfectly.... and then it cuts off, end of message.

Ok, obviously I'm not calling her back, ever. Yeesh!

This is the text of the ad in the paper: Found: Cat gray and white, near --- and ---. . Yep. Perfectly, just like the five million other gray and white cats in California.

Second, we saw a lost cat paper pie plate ad on a pole near our house and called the number. The man who answered the phone was the nicest guy, humorous, and after a few questions it was obvious it wasn't his cat that we had found. $50 reward if you do find it! he said. Complete 180-degree response from our encounter above.