HOULTON, Maine — I would like to tell you about a sweet little cat named Cupcake. Cupcake was adopted from The Ark just about a year ago. Cupcake has always been a very shy timid cat and we knew she would not be an easy adopt.
Her start in life was not an easy one , at about 8 weeks old she was thrown out a car window on a country road. A very sweet little girl saw what had happened and ran to get Cupcake without hesitation. She and her mom brought Cupcake to The Ark. This sweet little kitten was not too trusting of humans after that. Who could really blame her?
Cupcake would always hide when someone came in the room no matter what we did she would not come out of her shell. One thing Cupcake did trust was the other cats in the room, especially a little black female named Sugar.
A mother and daughter had set up an appointment to come and see our cats and hopefully adopt one. The daughter wanted to adopt a cat that really needed her and who she could help. I introduced her to Cupcake and of course she cowered in the corner.
Without hesitation the daughter said she wanted Cupcake. Her mom wasn’t too sure about the whole idea, but eventually her daughter talked her into it. The paperwork was filled out and Cupcake was off to her new home. Cupcake is now “Winnie.”
Once they got her home Winnie hid and they couldn’t find her anywhere. They asked for help and when I arrived it took a while but we managed to find her in the basement under the stairs. We put Winnie in a room with everything she needed so she could get acclimated, but Winnie refused to eat. At that point I suggested that they get another cat about Winnie’s age, a cat who was a social butterfly that could show Winnie the ropes. They really only wanted one cat, but they also wanted to help Winnie.
After much back and forth they agreed to try another cat. In stepped Sugar the little black kitten who is now called “Theresa.” Theresa did exactly what we were hoping for. She brought Winnie out of her shell. Winnie was now out and about, still a little timid but she no longer hid and really started bonding with her new family.
Earlier this month Winnie got out of the window that the air conditioner was in. It is not clear how long she had been out that day but she was outside. Winnie had never been outside and because she was so timid we were very worried. The morning after she went missing we spotted her up a tree. She was up so high we needed a bucket truck to reach her. Terrified Winnie backed down the tree and ran into the woods.
For 13 days we all searched for Winnie, we put up flyers, set live traps and had game cameras in place. We walked the neighborhood, knocked on doors, we met the people in the neighborhood some of them even joined in the search. Winnie’s mom gave us access to her home and yard in hopes of finding Winnie. We followed every lead to no avail.
The last night we set the cameras and hatched a new plan. The plan was to leave the window open until dark in hopes that Winnie would go back in the way she came out. Winnie had been spotted on the game camera two nights in a row right on the back deck at just about dusk. At dusk Winnie’s mom went to the window and called her name and all of a sudden she could hear a cry. She looked out and could see Winnie, but Winnie ran to the back yard.
She kept calling and Winnie stopped, The mom opened the door and stood back. Winnie made a beeline for the door. She ran inside and went down to the cellar. After 13 very long days and nights Winnie was now home safe and sound.This was the moment we had been hoping for! Winnie was a bit thinner but she was OK. She rested peacefully last night for the first time in 13 days so did Winnie’s mom and Theresa. Happy endings are the best.
Thank you to all of the wonderful people in the neighborhood that pulled together to help Winnie. To all of the Ark Volunteers who put up flyers and searched and to Winnie’s mom for never giving up hope. Up to now Winnie has led quite an adventurous life. We have no idea where Winnie was or what she did for those 13 days but if cats could talk I am sure she would tell us her story!
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
The Ark Animal Sanctuary is located on 101 Old Woodstock Road. To contact Lorraine Monfils call 532-7387 or check out their Facebook page.
