Meet Eleanor
Eleanor, on a visit at my house in Jan 2020.
As you know my closest friend Lynne passed away recently. Lynne, of course, had a cat, Eleanor. Lynne and I always had an agreement that if something happened to one of us, the other would take in the other's cat. Well, that time came. However, it turned out to be a real challenge to save Eleanor.
Saving Eleanor
Because Eleanor would not come in when called or respond to the offer of treats, Lynne made her an indoor only cat. That meant that the kitty had no knowledge of "outside", making her highly vulnerable to being lost should she get out. I believe Lynne passed away on the 30th of November, the police came on a welfare check on the 1st, and the coroner came on the 2nd. During these visits the doors to the house were left open and Eleanor could have disappeared at any time. Perhaps too frightened to show herself, she did not escape. But after Lynne was taken away Eleanor found herself locked up in the house completely alone. Fortunately, all the neighbors knew that Lynne had a kitty and they actually broke the coroner's seal on the house to get in to feed her. Meanwhile, I had my obligation to rescue Eleanor, but was trapped by musical commitments I had made all the way through the 9th. No one saw Eleanor during this time but the food disappeared so the assumption was that she was in the house, somewhere.
A plan falls into place
Once I was clear of my musical commitments we had to figure out how to get Eleanor out of the house, but also I needed someone else to take her in for me. Because of Mr. Me's cancer and all the side issues he is having around his treatment, I knew that I couldn't bring her here. If I had to, I would have to put her in a cage to keep them apart, but just introducing another cat at this time would stress Mr. Me even more so I had to seek other options. That's when I began to lean on friends from my junior high school and high school days(!). Initially, in contacting people I found no room at the inn but I did get a maybe (I asked for both a permanent home for Eleanor or a temporary one until Mr. Me is through his treatments). Still, I had no way to temporarily house her until I could get down to Southern California to pick her up. Then one of my contacts suggested boarding her at a vet and gave me a list of places to check. That's when things began to fall into place. I located a vet willing to board her for a few days and my junior high school friend was willing to step away from work and transport her there.
Setting the plan in motion
With everything place, a trap had to be set for Eleanor. There was really no other way to get her out of the house. She had too many places to hide. A neighbor, who had keys to the house, also had a trap that she'd used in the past. On Monday afternoon, the 15th, the trap was set for Eleanor. The next morning, I got the message, "We have Eleanor". Because the carriers that Lynne had were no where to be found, Eleanor had to stay in the trap until she got the the vet. No doubt being trapped frightened her, plus the somewhat lengthy confinement probably made it worse. Right away I contacted my junior high school friend and he left work to pick her up and take her to the vet. As you can see, Eleanor was alone for a very long time (over two weeks) and probably was confused and upset by that as well.
Next, I needed to get down there (about a 400 mile drive) to pick her up. However Mr. Me's condition made it difficult to leave right away. In fact, it was during this time that I thought I was going to lose Mr. Me because he was not eating, so my trip kept being delayed. Finally, late Thursday night I was able to get him to eat by putting baby food on a finger and offering it to him to lick. He almost finished a jar that way! I left food out overnight and Friday morning it was all gone. At that point I felt confident that I could fill dishes for him and leave him alone for a day while I drove down to LA to get Eleanor.
Rescue and the long drive
I headed out on Saturday morning at 4:30am. The weather was fine and the traffic was fast. I got to LA at about 10:30 or 11. First I had to take care of some other business, but I kept an eye on the clock because the vet would close early at 3pm. I had been told by the vet that Eleanor had not been a very good guest, and in fact they wondered if she was feral. I knew about her early life and that she had not been properly socialized, but Lynne had gotten her to the point where she was almost like any other normally socialized cat with some exceptions (clipping her claws in particular). Fortunately because they had told me about how aggressive she was being, I brought heavy leather gloves that were used once before in capturing a cat. Lynne used them in capturing Cali. One of the staff members had fairly good relations with Eleanor and could pick her up, but Saturday was her day off so she wasn't there. When the vet was unable to get her into the carrier that I had brought, she asked if I could come back Monday when the other technician was there. I couldn't do that. I had to get back to Mr. Me! So they let me go in to the section where the cages were to try to do it myself.
I was hoping that Eleanor would recognize my voice since Lynne and I talked every day and she usually put it on speaker phone. My trying to reassure her did little. Next I tried putting the carrier in the cage with the opening facing her, hoping that she would simply step into it. She sniffed but backed out. Finally I knew I'd just have to grab her. I put on the gloves, the vet held the carrier and I grabbed her. Believing she was fighting for her life she bite me, but with no effect on the gloves. I got her into the carrier and we were off! Actually I had to stop for gas first, but eventually on the way back, about 1:30 in the afternoon.
Then the next part of the plan came into effect. A friend from high school offered to take her in so I didn't have to create a stressful situation for Mr. Me at home. Next stop: the San Francisco peninsula. This time the drive was much longer. I was more tired, it was mostly after dark and I had to take routes that I had not taken in decades in order to get Eleanor to her next destination. Nevertheless she handled it very calmly, mostly sleeping but occasionally calling out because of curves in the road and such. Because my large carrier was lost somewhere in Lynne's house, I had only a small one to carry Eleanor in, making the need to get to her next stop all the more urgent.
Eleanor in the carrier while I took a break at Frazier Park.
Arrival!
Quite tired by the time I got to my high school friend's place in the city, I don't know when I arrived, perhaps 8:30 or 9pm. We brought Eleanor in along with all her paraphernalia that I had purchased before the trip (kitty litter, food, cardboard scratcher) and set her down still in the carrier. We decided it would be better to keep her confined a little longer while I visited, had something to eat, and then left to go home. Eleanor was definitely still on alert, hiding if she heard a strange sound, and generally looking anxious. But I knew that she was in good hands and had no qualms about leaving her with her new friends.
I headed out close to 11pm, now every tired, in a place where power had gone out in large parts of the city, leaving many intersections with signal lights not working! Nevertheless I ran the gauntlet successfully and stopped on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge to take in the view at 11:15pm. At that time I learned that Eleanor was out of the carrier and not showing the signs of aggression that I had seen earlier in the day. Hooray!
Home again
After that, in a light rainfall, I followed familiar roads for the last 60 or so miles home, arriving about 12:30am Sunday, completing a trip of 870 miles. Mr. Me hadn't eaten all his food as I had hoped. I think putting out multiple bowls might have confused him. But he was OK. Shortly after this I hit the sack, too tired to even turn out the lights!
Mission Accomplished!
But only with the help of many
There is no doubt that Eleanor could not have been saved without the help of so many friends. It is something of a miracle really. That she did not escape when the opportunity came, that Lynne's neighbors were willing to repeatedly go into the house and provide food and water for Eleanor. That luck would have it that one neighbor had a trap that could be used to get her out when the time came, that friends were flexible enough to jump to action when needed and then provide a safe place for her in the end. I am grateful to all who helped me keep my promise to Lynne.
~~~ Kim
