The Feral Cat and the Car

Once upon a time, we had a farm cat.

This farm cat was probably more trouble than he was worth and had the attitude of Tyra Banks and Simon Cowell combined, but he was amazing.

It was a complete surprise the day my dad decided we could get a cat. All of our lobbying over the years, and it turned out to be some nasty voles destroying our backyard that convinced him. We were thrilled.

Then Koko gave us all ringworm.

It was horrifying.

Koko and I had a special relationship. I chased him around the house, basically torturing him in a loving way and he clawed most of my skin off. It was a love only a cat and its owner can understand.

But the most memorable moment with Koko came a few months later, on a cold Sunday morning…

The family and I set off for church, a twenty minute drive, mostly on an expressway through town. About two hours later, we arrived at home and exited the car to hear this bizarre noise. It sounded like Koko when he wanted food, a weird yowling noise that earned him the nickname Mr. Yao because he didn’t seem able to meow properly.

Little tangent there for you. Sorry. Anyway.

We looked for him all around, on the porch, in the garage, on the roof, but we had no luck until my dad had an idea. He opened the hood of the car and there sat Mr. Yao, stuck among all the car parts.

Amazingly he was alright, fully intact and covered in grease. He must have crawled up next to the car engine which would have been a warm haven when he missed the last call to come back inside for the night. But much like a kid’s hand in a candy jar, it’s much easier to get in than it is to get out, even when the engine roared to life and raced down a major highway. Twice.

But then, just after about two years with us, the unthinkable happened.

The voles, the wretched rodents of our backyard which were the reason we got a cat in the first place, conspired together to take revenge upon Koko.

One day, they caught him off guard and carried him off to Madagascar, where he now lives in exile.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

- Katie