VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1

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It was love at first sight in September, 2000 when I adopted a cute little 4-monoth-old black and white tuxedo kitty. He was so scared, huddled alone in the back of a cage out in front of Petco, shaking at the strange sounds of people, dogs and traffic. The adoption clinic volunteer told me 'Mr. Tux' had been rescued from a feral cat colony when he was 10 weeks old. As soon as I held him that was it! He cuddled up to my neck, relaxed his little body and started to purr. He had me wrapped around his little paw from the start.

I took Mr. Tux home and placed him in his own room with everything he needed: a bed, food and water, a litter box and toys. The plan was to keep him separated from Paprika, my elderly orange tabby for a few days so he could get used to the sounds and smells of his new home before we tried to integrate him into the family. But the little guy had a mind of his own: what he wanted was snuggles! And he was very vocal about it. So out he came into the family room and onto the first available lap!

We renamed him Figaro and he stole our hearts. What a lover he is! He follows us around the house, wants to be with us all the time and can't get enough affection. And he's a talker. He eats treats out of our hands. He doesn't just like to sleep on the bed - he demands to be under the covers!

I always had an open door policy for my cats but had agreed to keep Figaro indoors for safety sake. We did take him out on a harness and leash which was probably a mistake because then he wanted out from that point on. Finally we did let him out during the day and then kept him in at night. That seemed to work

fine until one day when he was about 18 months old he didn't come home. It was about a week before Christmas, 2001. It was a stormy night with rain, wind, thunder and lightening. Bedtime came and no Figaro.

We looked around the neighborhood for him, called him, knocked on doors. Nothing. I made a flyer with his picture on it and distributed it around the neighborhood, visited the local animal shelter and looked for him there, leaving a poster on their bulletin board, just in case. It was a very sad Christmas that year, with Figaro's stocking hung on the fireplace mantle, empty.

Days turned into weeks and still no Figaro. We adopted another little black and white kitty but nothing could make the sadness go away. I cried and prayed,

"please God, just let him come home!"

One Saturday morning around 5:30 my dog started whimpering and when I went to the door to let her out, there was Figaro! He was skinny and limping badly but he was home! He'd been gone a whole month. There were tears of joy and a call to the vet. We took him in and discovered he had lost 30% of his body weight and had two broken legs - one leg had a compound fracture and an orthopedic surgeon had to be brought in for the surgery. It was a long, expensive, traumatic road to recovery.

I believe it was truly a miracle as well as an answered prayer that Figaro was able to make it back home. I will never take another chance by letting him or any cat outdoors again. I understand now that it's just not safe out there for cats. It was determined that he had been hit by a car. It could have been a coyote which is how a friend of mine lost her beloved cat.

Figaro and his little sister Phoebe have cat towers looking out windows at bird feeders, toys and lots of attention to ensure they are not bored. I'm so grateful to have him home and to be given a second chance to do the right thing. I hope sharing this experience will get the message out to others that cats belong indoors.