Roast dinner and trifle make one fat cat............

I am not sure if it was because Jonesy was a tom cat that he wandered so much? The girls, Ripley and Peanut, would perhaps stray over to the next door gardens, but no further. To be honest does anyone know what your cat gets up to while they are out? Well we didn't realise the extent of Jonesy's territory until he went missing one summer. Because of 'duckling-gate' everyone in the family knew Jonesy would nosey on down to the river, and when he didn't come back on evening when we called for him my heart sank. Although my husband slept, I certainly did not and even went out during the night to 'whisper call' his name......you can't really shout a cats name in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep! Jonesy and the girls were as regular as clockwork in coming home from their forays, especially where food was concerned. We used to rattle a box of cat crunchies as we called their names, and that was the cue for lots of scrabbling and thuds as the three cats would haul themselves over fences from where ever they had been sunning themselves, to come home. Well the girls had come home, but not Jonesy, and I was worried. Being a total gut bucket meant he liked his food, and never missed an opportunity to wolf down some titbit! This was not normal behaviour for him, and  to be honest I was scared he had fallen in the river. The next morning he still hadn't appeared, and I hated having to go off to work not knowing where he was. After two nights of no cat we couldn't stand it any more.......he was obviously stuck somewhere, locked in somewhere, or he was hurt! We were going to do everything in our power to find him. I typed up a note which stated "Lost.......our cat Jonesy is missing........" etc, along with our telephone number, and printed out enough to weigh down our arms. Then my husband and I went from door to door in the immediate neighbourhood, and across the main road, knocking on doors and giving out the notes, or posting them through letter boxes. That was when we learnt how well known Jonesy was. It seemed EVERYONE knew our ginger cat!! It also appeared he was loved by everyone, and the little old lady that lived round the side road said she fed him and that he would sleep in her sitting room. Amazing! No wonder he had a rather rotund tummy. I even walked down to the caravan park that was based at the side of the river and left a note there for their notice board. It was the note at the caravan park that proved to solve the mystery of where Jonesy had got to. It took over a week of frantic worry before a phone call put our minds at rest. The caretaker at the caravan park had seen Jonesy wandering around, and not only that but the holiday makers there had thought he actually lived in the park because he was so content there. In fact it was a passing comment from a holiday maker that had first alerted the caretaker to the new cat on the block. When she rang us Jonesy was actually in one of the caravans, and the holiday makers had shut him in so we could collect him. Well, we raced down there with the car and cat basket and could not believe what we found. Sprawled out in the caravan sitting room, purring his head off and looking like the cat that had got the cream, was Jonesy. Indeed he had got the cream, along with a roast chicken dinner and trifle, so the holiday makers told us. It seemed that he had taken a liking to them when they arrived at the park....latched on to them...got fed and watered...and put out to go home at night. Except the flipping cat hadn't gone home. Another holiday maker had fallen in love with him, also fed him and allowed him to sleep on their bed at night. Why come home when you were being pampered like that? They all realised he belonged to someone because of his collar, but each had thought he went home when he wasn't with them....in fact all he did was yo yo between them and ignore us!! Great! Abandoned by a cat. We did get apologies from the amused holiday makers, and a warning that they came every year for two weeks, and that they had seen him the previous year but he had not stayed so much. Hmmmm, something to look forward to......a cat who goes on holiday from his family. Well we took Jonesy home, and actually kept him in for a few nights to get him acclimatised to home again :-)

He never stayed away at night again......probably the pampering he got when home, tuna to eat and prawns and cream, was enough to make him realise we had missed him. Certainly the hugs and loving cuddles we gave him must have worked. At the same time the following year he vanished again for two weeks, but came home late in the evenings. My boss and his wife were actually staying at the caravan park temporarily while they were waiting to move into a new house...and yes, they saw Jonesy. We got the phone call from them and went and fetched him home......one content and fatter cat!