Are YOU my mother?

Seattle Animal Shelter called late Friday afternoon to tell me that a cat that resembled Linus had been brought in that day. (I reported him missing and dropped off a flyer at the shelter earlier in the week.) The woman on the phone said he was a young cat and had been found in Greenwood, which is several miles from our house, both details made me doubt this was Linus but I still hoped. I rushed to the shelter when it opened the next day.

Any child who’s grabbed the blue-jeaned leg of an adult while out in public, expecting to see a parent only to look up and realize it’s the leg of a stranger knows what happens next.

It wasn’t him. But no, I didn’t recoil in terror, although that is a frequent outcome of the above scenario. Instead, I was profoundly grateful that they had called me, just in case. And I was happy to visit the not-Linus kitten so that he knew that someone was looking for him. And he sure was sweet.

Leads mean the system is working, that people—animal rescue and the general public—are finding and going out of their way to help lost animals find their homes. And that gives me hope.

A couple of details made me skeptical this was Linus. First, he was found several miles away which doesn’t seem likely for Linus. Second, he was estimated to be 8 months old and Linus is two and a half. But it’s important to follow every lead.

As soon as I saw this sweet guy, I knew he was too young and small to be Linus. A microchip scan confirmed. He’s a beauty and I sure hope his people find him. The most important thing though is that h'e’s safe in the meantime.