A Fort Walton Beach, FL woman has finally found her missing cat, who was given away or dumped without her knowledge or permission.
Alex McAllaster returned from a six week sailing trip at the beginning of June to find that her beloved 8 year old special needs cat Dante was gone. When her roommate was unhelpful and reluctant to talk about Dante, Alex called the police. The roommate told officers that she had given Dante away to someone in a Sam’s Club parking lot about two weeks earlier, in May.
Alex mounted a search, put up flyers, posted online and got her story out in the local paper, asking anyone with information on Dante’s whereabouts to call her. She desperately wanted to get her cat back, and she was concerned for his health. Dante has bladder issues which require that he eat wet instead of dry food.
Alex was quoted in the Daily News saying “You could have burned the house down, I wouldn’t have cared,” she said. “But you screwed with my cat.”
Alex received many emails, calls and texts with tips, and she followed up on each one, she said. One of those tips finally panned out when she found Dante late last Saturday night.
Alex told about finding Dante in a followup story at the Daily News on Wednesday.
A woman called at 8pm on Saturday to say she’d seen Dante in a drainage ditch in front of the Walmart and she’d spoken to employees at a nearby auto parts store about him.
Alex had already checked that spot several times, but she went again with a friend later that night.
“It was midnight, pitch dark, and I saw his little shadow of a body just sitting there,” she said. “I stopped, squatted down and said his name, ‘Dante.’ He started meowing.
“As soon as he meowed, I knew it was him,” she added. “I know his meow.”
Dante lost about half his body weight during the time he was missing, going from 16 pounds down to 8. He suffered liver damage from the rapid and extreme weight loss but his vet says he will recover.
“He’s dirty, but he’s alive,” she said. “I’m so grateful to the community. I prayed every day and I just kept calling him home.
“It’s a miracle that I found him.”
Some readers may recall a similar story from earlier this year, Bronx Woman Searches for Missing Cats Dumped by Petsitter. Jennifer Ingber’s trusted petsitter dumped her two cats while she was away. Jennifer mounted an all-out search, and found both cats herself after several weeks.
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I sure hope that is an ex-roommate. I would have to have seriously hurt that individual.
That room mate needs a butt whipping !!
I hope you threw your roommate out with no place to go and no food or water and charged them with something that requires them to appear in court!!! Like animal cruelty or something–these people need to learn there are laws that protect animals–if she tries to say it bit her–then she could have called animal services etc. So GLAD you found your beloved kitty!!!!!
Iam going thru this right now. My cat has been missing for 8 days now. The night I got home I just got this gut wrenching feeling “Little” was gone. When I went in the house I noticed his water bowl had been dumped and the blanket that draped over the couch (Little has claws) was folded up and put away. My roommate never asked about him, never inquired at all of his wherabouts. He was going to dump his daughters dog at one point as I recall. Im two weeks away from moving out at his request so for him to do this was just out of pure meaness. I am trying very hard not to hurt this man. I miss Little so much. We have been together for over 6 years and never apart. I cry all day and search each night. I have exhausted all resources to find him but keep looking anyways. Im glad you had a happy ending. Please say a prayer for my brat cat Little. For him to come home and we can get out away from this ugly person.
i adopted out my cat out of necessity and she went missing in a week. I searched for her every day at about 5:30 in the morning and and at 6 pm I also got the local radio station to advertise for about her. and I must have put about 500 flyers in peoples mailboxes. then one day I was looking for her again in the evening and and I was calling for her and suddenly she came out of wherever she was hiding ! she weighed 10lbs when she went missing and and about 5 when I found her. she did suffer from hepatic lipidosis and after some meds from the doctor she was ok and now she lives with a good friend of mine and she is fine! I speak with her on skype all he time. she lives in brasil now. I love her and as soon as I move back I am going to take her back home with me! dear denise you will find her. took me a month to find maggie and I finally did!