A Fremont wildlife mystery: What happened to this friendly missing cat?
DEAR JOAN: I live in a gated condominium complex, and one of the residents had an extremely friendly cat. I can honestly say that this was (and hopefully still is) the nicest cat that I’ve ever met.
This cat would prance toward any and everyone in the complex, regardless of their age or size. Her approach was not aggressive, which was appropriate for her petite-size — she probably wouldn’t tip the scales beyond 5 pounds. Her greeting was so quiet it almost sounding like a “beep” as opposed to a “meow”. You could pet her anywhere on her body, and she wouldn’t flinch or pull away, let alone ever open her mouth to nip.
When birds or squirrels would be in her immediate presence, I never witnessed her going after them. She would even hang out with one of the dogs in the complex.
She and her owners have lived here for a little over 4 years. According to her owners, the cat, named Nala, has had roughly the same daily routine without much deviation. She sleeps into the afternoon, does whatever she does in the house and then asks to be let out. She roams around the complex freely without a collar, tag or chip. She returns home usually before midnight. She rarely ventures outside of the gate.
There was only one time that she didn’t return home at night; she was gone for roughly a day, but then returned. With all of that being said, she has not been seen since early evening on Aug. 2.
At around 8 that night, my mom heard what she described as a disturbing and agonizing “scream” coming from what she thought was a cat behind my building.
The cat’s owner has filed a report at the shelter for a missing animal as well as posted flyers locally and posted on social media.
We have a theory that since she is so friendly and has no form of identification or contact information on her, someone thought she was a stray and took her in, but I’m wondering if she had a fight with a raccoon or an opossum and was badly injured or even killed. Would the animals have dragged her somewhere? Is that in their nature? Could a large bird such as a turkey vulture have picked her up? What else can we do that we haven’t already done?
Chad, Fremont
DEAR CHAD: There’s a chance that someone found sweet Nala and decided to make her their indoor cat, but there’s also a chance that she met with a bad end. Cats face so many dangers, and Nala, being so petite, would be no match against most wildlife.
If another animal did attack Nala, the most likely culprit would be a coyote, and it might have taken her body back to its den. Turkey vultures, of course, don’t kill, and they tend to eat dead animals where they find them, not cart them away. Raptors, however, would have no problem flying away with a 5-pound cat.
When cats are sick or injured, their natural instinct is to hide. They may succumb to their injuries or illness but be so well-hidden that the body isn’t found.
It sounds like you’ve all done the right things in trying to locate her. If she is found, I hope her owner will keep her indoors. She also should be chipped.
Contact Joan Morris at jmorris@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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