Angus

Almost two years ago, a stray cat wandered into our lives and stole our hearts.  Two days ago, he disappeared and now our hearts are broken.

On her morning walks, Jude first noticed Angus on 12th Avenue, as a kitten, hiding under a tarp that covered a car outside a vintage clothing store.  Evidently, he noticed her every morning because after a few months, he followed her home and appeared on our back deck.  He was scared of us, and everything, at first, but over a few days we made friends with him.  Soon enough, he was sitting in our laps in the wrought iron chairs we have on the back deck.

I named him Angus because he had a pair of giant balls of which he seemed to be very proud.  Angus Young was the lead guitar player of AC/DC.  One of their old songs is "Big Balls."  It's a silly song, filled with double entendres.  The boys loved it when they were young, although they didn't really understand it.  That's how Angus became Angus.

He was a true neighborhood cat, splitting time between our house and, apparently, another house a few streets away.  We had him vaccinated and, ultimately, neutered, and over time, he began wandering the neighborhood less and staying with us more.  In the end, he became our second cat and learned to coexist with Mini T, or she learned to coexist with him, actually.

The boys have loved having Angus around because he turned into a lap cat, at least with our family.  Also, he took turns sleeping with various members of our family at night.  One night, he'd sleep with JP.  The next night, Joe.  Then, Jude or me, and so on.  He was and is, I guess, just a really cool cat.  

Sunday afternoon, he went outside and by early evening, he hadn't come back.  That was unusual for him and, for some reason, I had a bad feeling that he was gone.  Sure enough, he stayed out all night Sunday night and we haven't seen him since.  The boys are torn up about it, as are Jude and I.  

I went to Animal Control yesterday and he wasn't there.  I've checked the Pet Emergency Clinic in our neighborhood to no avail.  I even posted a photo of Angus on Facebook, a desperation move if there every was one.  

It's rainy and cold this morning and our hopes that Angus will return are growing dimmer by the hour, sadly.  I'm going to try to believe he is in someone else's house in the neighborhood, warm and fed, and most importantly, content.

In the end, it may be the Angus was ours for just a little while, in the scheme of things.  Still, he brought our family a lot of love in the time we spent together.