I've name changed as this will totally out me.
On Thursday night, my darling 5 year old cat went out. she was the most timid cat, I rescued her as a kitten from an abisive household. It took her months to trust me but for the past 5 years, she has been my shadow. Scared of everything, she took huge comfort in me.
She didn't come back on Friday, I knew then that she was never coming home. I kept the faith and asked all my neighbours to keep an eye out. She had never been missing for this long. She hardly ever left the garden, if she did I knew her hiding place and she used to pop out when she heard my voice. She wasn't in the hiding spot.
Saturday morning, I started a social networking missing cat campaign. I was still half hoping she was in somebody's house (very unlikely as she was so timid) but I assed she had been hit by a car or something and just wanted to know. Tried the local vet, neighbours again. People on social networks were so helpful.
I went searching. It transpired one of our neighbours, who erected a 12ft fence lately (with spikes on top) has three dogs. Two Staffordshire bull terriers and an enormous bull mastiff. He welled up as he told me he had found my beautiful cat in his garden on Friday morning. He had taken her to the vet who were going to keep her for a few days to see if an owner enquired. She was dead. I asked if his pack of dogs had savaged her, he said not. I told him she had no chance of escape, that his fence was too high, he was visibly upset, profusely apologetic. He told me 3 times what he'd done, said he thought he was doing the right thing when he erected the fence. He took my number and said he'd get the vet to call me when they open tomorrow.
I am heartbroken. My cat was a nervous wreck, scared of her own shadow. I can't understand why she's end up in a garden with three dogs. She barely left the house, she followed me around like a lamb. I'm so upset, I feel her trauma, she must have been so frightened.
I know it's not the dogs fault but I cant help but hate them for it. I don't want to live near them anymore. My other cat (who is very old and frail) looks so lonely and keeps crying at the door for her.
It's unbelievably tragic. I'm utterly heartbroken. She wasn't just a cat, she was my friend, she was my therapy. And I miss her.