Scariest Thing Ever Happened Tonight

[Synirr]

Tonight my cat, Circe, wouldn't come inside when it got dark like usual. I tried to call her in at about 11:00 and she didn't show up, which is very odd for her, especially when it's cold outside. I went to check the storage room of the garage to see if she had gotten shut in there, and when I called for her I heard her meow... but it was coming from the junk pile in front of my dad's truck, not the storage room. I called a few more times and she answered but didn't come out of hiding and her voice sounded strange, so I leaned down to see what was wrong... and saw blood behind the truck's tire! I went to get my dad to move the junk and find her, fearing the worst, and as he moved a big heavy box out of the way and saw the cat he said...

"That's not Circe...."

At which point Circe walks into the garage and just looks at us all like "Sup?"

Turns out the "blood" was actually motor oil, but in the dark garage it had everybody fooled, especially since our other two cats were indoors at the time, so I mean, what other cat could it have been?? It was some random black cat, probably a stray. It was acting very strange, and I'm afraid it might have rabies, which would explain the "weird voice". My mother and I fed it and it wouldn't stop meowing constantly even while eating. It would gurgle out a meow with a mouthful of food and was just acting very erratic... thank goodness all our animals have their current rabies vaccinations. We just left it in the garage hoping it'll be gone by morning

 

[zelandonia]

That sounds pretty scary! I'm glad your cat is ok!

Do you see a lot of rabies in Texas?

Is there any way you can call the local humane society to come pick up the stray in case s/he needs medical attention? (or if it is rabies so that they can humanely euthanize her and reduce the risk of it transmitting to people or other animals).

z.

 

[timmystood]

Scary I can imagine.
You'll probably have that stray around a lot now it knows there is food about.

 

[lljdma06]

Poor thing, glad it wasn't your cat. We have a lot of strays in Miami too.

 

[Dave781]

Sounds weird. Least alls well.

 

[WILDER]

Glad your cat is ok, sad about the stray though, poor thing, is there anything to be done.

 

[Synirr]

That sounds pretty scary! I'm glad your cat is ok!

Do you see a lot of rabies in Texas?

Is there any way you can call the local humane society to come pick up the stray in case s/he needs medical attention? (or if it is rabies so that they can humanely euthanize her and reduce the risk of it transmitting to people or other animals).

z.

I haven't heard of a lot of rabies in our area, no, but my dad has occasionally seen coyotes and other nocturnal animals out during the day and acting strangely when he was hunting, which would suggest rabies. We'd have called the humane society if it hadn't been 11:00 at night on a Saturday, but ya know... we knew she'd be long gone come Monday.

Scary I can imagine.
You'll probably have that stray around a lot now it knows there is food about.

I doubt it. The way she was acting something was seriously wrong with her, she probably won't be able to really remember about the food and may even be dead soon. We don't mind strays anyway, so if by chance she wasn't sick (unlikely) she's welcome here

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Maybe it's retarded? The only rabid animals I've ever heard about was a rabid racoon that chased my mother till she got animal control. For it's own sake I hope it sticks around so you can maybe get it help, or put down if it needs to.

 

[rdd1952]

If you seriously suspect rabies, you should definitely call animal control. Rabid animals are very dangerous, not only to other animals (your cat) but also to people, especially small children who try to pet them. And from what I've heard, the shots for rabies are not fun. If you're a true animal lover, it's a hard decision because the only way to test an animal for rabies is to put them down (at least that's the way I understand it). But on the flip side, since you've fed it, he/she may hang around and you don't want a rabid cat around that could harm your cat or your family.

 

[Synirr]

The issue of calling animal control is a moot point now. Like I said, we saw this cat on a Saturday night so there's no way we could have called then or the next day, and as suspected, it was long gone by Monday and we haven't seen it since.

 

[MAM]

Um, the cat is gone now, but the way you described its behavior reminded me of when my cat from childhood, got into the neighbors garage and got into the anti-freeze. You said you found the cat by the truck and there was motor oil on the ground. Maybe you should check to see if any anti-freeze or other fluid leaked from the vehicle as well. You wouldn't want your own cats getting into something toxic............ I could be totally off track, and like you said, it could just be that the cat was rabid, but better safe than sorry on both fronts.

 

[Synirr]

We did check for antifreeze and there was nothing . We use some kind of antifreeze that's supposedly less toxic than conventional brands anyway, though I'm not sure how much of a difference it really makes. It's possible the cat got into it somewhere else, though.

EDIT: Found this while looking up the brand of antifreeze we use (It's Sierra, BTW)... interesting, and has a humorous title
Why Is Antifreeze So Delicious?