Sierra let herself in the house yesterday and we didn't realize, so the back door was standing open for who knows how long and the cats got out. Oscar, Thank God, chickened out and didn't go off the deck before he came back in, but Gina is still out there. She's so scared she won't come near us. We saw her hanging around the house a little last night, and we almost were successful in coaxing her into the house once, but the last we saw her was around 11:30. She went into some underbrush and disappeared.
Gina was a stray when I rescued her off the streets, so I know she normally would be able to take care of herself, but she now had no front claws and when I think about how she can't hunt for food or defend herself or even climb a tree to safety, I get sick to my stomach. Oscar and Gina are the first cats I've had declawed. I have learned my lesson. I will NEVER do it again. I put food out for her but it hasn't been touched. We have an outside cat, Angel, that is territorial and she'll chase Gina away before she has a chance to even get near the house. We locked Angel in the shed last night, but we can't keep her in there forever. I just have this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that Gina isn't coming back and it's killing me because I know that if she doesn't come back, it's because she couldn't survive with no claws. And it will be my fault for having them removed. I just feel terrible. She's been spoiled and pampered for the last three years and now she suddenly spent the night outside in a strange place with strange sounds and to make things worse, it's raining. She probably cold, wet, hungry and miserable. Never mind being absolutey terrified.
You know when you have a pet, you kind of take it for granted when they are young and healthy and you don't really think about the fact that age and health doesn't guarantee you'll have a lot of time with them. I mean, Sierra is only a year and a half old, but what if I leave the window open in the car just a tad too much and she jumps out? Or, what if she has an allergic reaction to bees that we never knew about until she gets stung and it's too late? That happened to someone I knew with their Husky. Right now I feel like I'm never going to let Sierra out of my sight. oh God, I don't know if I could bear it if something were to happen to her.
Please pray that Gina gets back safely. I'm worried sick and I've been crying all last night and started again as soon as I woke up this morning.