Senior Cat Pumpkin Found After Missing For THREE MONTHS! WRITTEN BY WENDY MONGILLO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT H.O.P.E. (HOMES FOR ORPHANED PETS EXIST)
I
t was election night, November 2, and in an instant, Pumpkin dashed out the door after seven happy years of living inside. Her devoted pet mom could not believe what she had just seen! Pumpkin had never tried to get out before. Because Pumpkin had been adopted from H.O.P.E., her pet mom called to ask for help. They suggested she make flyers, and distribute them throughout the area, and offered to loan her a trap to put outside her house. H.O.P.E. cat adoption associate Katelyn went over and searched the woods, looking for Pumpkin. Another Adoption Associate Len decided to make it his mission to help find this missing cat. He suggested a trail cam would be helpful and sure enough, it showed hungry dogs, other cats, a racoon, a fox, and many squirrels looking for a free meal, but no Pumpkin.
On January 18th, two and a half months after Pumpkin went missing, she was spotted in the neighborhood! Len set up the trail cam with the permission of the neighbors and saw all kinds of critters including a cat who sure looked like Pumpkin in the middle of a flock of turkeys who were sharing their birdseed with her! The trail cam enabled Len to see what time of night Pumpkin was active.
saratogaTODAYnewspaper.com
Len immediately went to work designing a heated container to house the humane trap. This is a critical step for catching cats in the middle of winter. Cats can easily freeze in an unheated trap. He baited the trap and left it by the neighbor’s shed where the cat had last been seen. In the morning, Pumpkin was in the trap, but when he picked it up, the door loosened, and she got away! (Len had received several bites from Pumpkin, but nothing deterred him.) He decided to put out some other heated “cat houses” with unset traps and food so Pumpkin would get used to entering and eating inside them. There had been snow for Len to track Pumpkin’s movement, so he knew the best places to set the trap after she got used to going in to eat. It worked and Pumpkin was finally trapped!!!
She had gone from weighing almost 13 lbs. to 6.5 lbs and was dehydrated, but she was OK!! The vet said she had done remarkably well. The cardiologist said her heart condition had actually improved with the weight loss. Pumpkin and her mama (and H.O.P.E.!) would like to thank all the fine folks who helped get Pumpkin back home, especially Len who was “all in” from the beginning. SF
SPRING 2021 | SARATOGA FAMILY | 65
