Cat Lost In Yellowstone Returned To Texas Family

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A cat lost in Yellowstone National Park in August has
been returned to her family in Houston with the help of some West
Yellowstone residents. Philip W. and his family were camping in a
trailer in the West Yellowstone area when their long-haired tabby,
Fluffy, went missing on Aug. 1.

Elizabeth A. said the family figured the cat had been caught by a
coyote. Her three young daughters, 6-year-old twins Tamara and Evelyn
and 8-year-old Marisa, were sad about losing the cat.

"Tamara in particular had been very upset," Elizabeth said. "Every day
she'd say, 'Mom, is Fluffy coming back?"

Fluffy somehow survived for about three months despite the coyotes,
foxes, owls, hawks, eagles and grizzly bears that frequent the West
Yellowstone area.

"It's pretty amazing," said Rick, a West Yellowstone school guidance
counselor, whose family lives north of town. "There's plenty of
predators that would want to eat a little cat."

Residents in the Horse Butte area, about a mile from the campground,
noticed the stray cat and started leaving food out for her. She had a
harness and tag, but wouldn't let anyone get close enough to her to read
it, Rick said.

Fluffy was apparently finding shelter in a garage.

With cold weather approaching in mid-November, Armstrong's parents,
borrowed a live trap and baited it with cat food. Fluffy took the bait
on Nov. 15.

"Five minutes later, my mother called the people in Houston," Rick said.
"They couldn't believe it."

Elizabeth says Fluffy "wasn't the smarter of our two cats, so we were
quite surprised. She has more skills than we expected."

Anne, a Horse Butte-area resident and retired Delta Airlines flight
attendant, volunteered to accompany Fluffy home.

On Nov. 18, Anne and Fluffy flew to Houston and met Elizabeth, who paid
the cat's vet bill a $150 air fare.

"We were all thrilled when she got home," Elizabeth said. "She's my
snuggle-bud. She loves to be held like a baby. She snuggles down and purrs."

cl wrote:

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A cat lost in Yellowstone National Park in August has
been returned to her family in Houston with the help of some West
Yellowstone residents. Philip W. and his family were camping in a
trailer in the West Yellowstone area when their long-haired tabby,
Fluffy, went missing on Aug. 1.

That's a great story, although I have to wonder about people who bring
their cat to a wildlife area that's full of cat-eating predators.

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

wrote:
cl wrote:

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A cat lost in Yellowstone National Park in August has
been returned to her family in Houston with the help of some West
Yellowstone residents. Philip W. and his family were camping in a
trailer in the West Yellowstone area when their long-haired tabby,
Fluffy, went missing on Aug. 1.

That's a great story, although I have to wonder about people who bring
their cat to a wildlife area that's full of cat-eating predators.

I'm with you! Most dogs actually ENJOY camping with their people, but
cats? I've heard of some who enjoy riding in a car, but most are pretty
adamant about staying put on their home turf. (It's true a friend of
mine once homed a kitten with a pair of archaeologists, and the cat
adjusted well to spending most of the year traveling among sites in an
RV, but "home" remained the same, only the "out" changed.)

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message
m...


wrote:
cl wrote:

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A cat lost in Yellowstone National Park in August
has been returned to her family in Houston with the help of some West
Yellowstone residents. Philip W. and his family were camping in a
trailer in the West Yellowstone area when their long-haired tabby,
Fluffy, went missing on Aug. 1.

That's a great story, although I have to wonder about people who bring
their cat to a wildlife area that's full of cat-eating predators.

I'm with you! Most dogs actually ENJOY camping with their people, but
cats? I've heard of some who enjoy riding in a car, but most are pretty
adamant about staying put on their home turf. (It's true a friend of mine
once homed a kitten with a pair of archaeologists, and the cat adjusted
well to spending most of the year traveling among sites in an RV, but
"home" remained the same, only the "out" changed.)

Once when we were camping at Lake Tahoe (California), we saw a woman in
another campsite who had a cat on a leash. The cat seemed very happy to be
there. Of course I never heard of any cat-eating predators at Tahoe.

Joy

On Thu, 4 Dec 2008 16:55:03 -0800, "Joy" wrote:

Once when we were camping at Lake Tahoe (California), we saw a woman in
another campsite who had a cat on a leash. The cat seemed very happy to be
there. Of course I never heard of any cat-eating predators at Tahoe.

Joy

Sammy used to enjoy road trips. I have one of those carriers with an
extra door in the to, and she used to ride standing up in the carrier
and watch the countryside go by. I used to take her on rides and then
let her lead me around as she explored.

Unfortunately when she was diagnosed with a heart condition, she
started associating the carrier with TED. Now whenever she sees the
carrier she's off hiding under the bed.
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj

wrote:
cl wrote:

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A cat lost in Yellowstone National Park in August has
been returned to her family in Houston with the help of some West
Yellowstone residents. Philip W. and his family were camping in a
trailer in the West Yellowstone area when their long-haired tabby,
Fluffy, went missing on Aug. 1.

That's a great story, although I have to wonder about people who bring
their cat to a wildlife area that's full of cat-eating predators.


I know I wondered about that too. At one point in the past I was
considering do that with my two cats - traveling around the country when
time permits in a RV. It was for that reason and a few others that I
gave up on that idea. I also did not think that they would really enjoy
it much they would probably want to just stay at home with a catsitter.

cl

cl wrote:

wrote:

That's a great story, although I have to wonder about people who bring
their cat to a wildlife area that's full of cat-eating predators.

I know I wondered about that too. At one point in the past I was
considering do that with my two cats - traveling around the country when
time permits in a RV. It was for that reason and a few others that I
gave up on that idea. I also did not think that they would really enjoy
it much they would probably want to just stay at home with a catsitter.

Yeah, not every cat can be Harri Roadcat. I'm sure all of mine would
hate it. And that's even without being allowed outside in a dangerous
area!

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:

I'm with you! Most dogs actually ENJOY camping with their people, but
cats? I've heard of some who enjoy riding in a car, but most are pretty
adamant about staying put on their home turf. (It's true a friend of
mine once homed a kitten with a pair of archaeologists, and the cat
adjusted well to spending most of the year traveling among sites in an
RV, but "home" remained the same, only the "out" changed.)

I once read a column by this man who used to take his cat along on his
sailing boat for long trips in the summer. Not only did the cat enjoy
being on the boat, and exploring every new harbour they landed at and
then return to the boat, but the cat also enjoyed going for a swim every
morning with its (I don't remember which sex the cat was) human.
Apparently the cat used to watch its human take a dip every morning, and
after a week or so of watching, just jumped in the water and swam
alongside him. Hmmm, I'd better not let Caliban see this, or he'll get
an inferiority complex.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban.
In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.

wrote:
cl wrote:

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A cat lost in Yellowstone National Park in August has
been returned to her family in Houston with the help of some West
Yellowstone residents. Philip W. and his family were camping in a
trailer in the West Yellowstone area when their long-haired tabby,
Fluffy, went missing on Aug. 1.

That's a great story, although I have to wonder about people who bring
their cat to a wildlife area that's full of cat-eating predators.


Yellowstone does allow campers and RV's so this is not surprising to me.
Cats stay in the RV (but oopsies happen, as in this case) - probably
less expensive than a pet sitter or boarding, and easier on the mind
since you have the pet with you and are not constantly wondering about
all of the "what if...".

--
^..^ This is Kitty. Copy and paste Kitty into your signature to help
her wipe out Bunny's world domination.
--
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy
former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) comcast (dot) net
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

Magic Mood Jeep ? wrote:

wrote:
cl wrote:

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A cat lost in Yellowstone National Park in August has
been returned to her family in Houston with the help of some West
Yellowstone residents. Philip W. and his family were camping in a
trailer in the West Yellowstone area when their long-haired tabby,
Fluffy, went missing on Aug. 1.

That's a great story, although I have to wonder about people who bring
their cat to a wildlife area that's full of cat-eating predators.

Yellowstone does allow campers and RV's so this is not surprising to me.
Cats stay in the RV (but oopsies happen, as in this case) - probably
less expensive than a pet sitter or boarding, and easier on the mind
since you have the pet with you and are not constantly wondering about
all of the "what if...".

Did this cat get out accidentally, though? I didn't get that feeling
from the article. I thought they let the cat roam in the area. I don't
have a problem with people taking their cats with them on vacations
or whatever. It depends on the cat. Some like to travel, and I do agree
with you that if the cat enjoys traveling, it's easier on the people to
just bring it along. Putting the cat on a leash for walks in an area
is sensible, too. And in some cases, just letting the cat roam free
makes perfect sense, such as in the case of Marina and her family and
their cats on the island. But if these people were doing that in
Yellowstone, then they're damn lucky they got their cat back!

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)