“Where’s Foxy?” asks Karla. I had just finished fueling up the RV at a rural gas station about 1.5 hours north of Phoenix when Karla asked this question with a slight panic in her voice. Not being too worried about a small critter that excels at hiding, I ignored the question and prepared to head off to our next campground. Then came a statement that would upend our day: “The cat is not in the RV”.
I pulled away from the pumps and parked while we searched for our cat. Now, this is not a big RV and there are not many places for a cat to hide. Foxy is a Maine Coon cat, which is a large breed and weighs almost 14 pounds. We both looked for her throughout the entire coach. She is 14.5 years old and doesn’t jump or climb as much as she used to, but we still looked on top of the slide and the area over the cab. We even looked under the dashboard. Foxy has been traveling in RV’s with us for 5 years. She has never spent time outdoors. Both at home and in the RV she has never shown any interest in going outdoors and will usually move away from an open door. Within a few minutes it seemed abundantly clear our cat was not in the RV. The obvious thought was that she somehow escaped during fueling, so we started canvassing the immediate area with no success.
Foxy takes up most of a loveseat, weighing almost 14 pounds
We then thought back to earlier in the morning when we were leaving our campsite in Mesa. Karla and I have a normal pre-departure routine when leaving campgrounds. As we start pulling away from a campsite, she’s performing a final pre-flight check of sorts, which includes checking that Foxy the cat is sitting on the bed. For whatever reason, that check didn’t happen this morning. We could not be sure she was in the RV when we left and it was entirely possible she escaped in the campground while we were going in and out of the door, 1.5 hours south of our current search point.
Foxy always relaxes on the bed during our drives
So now we have two areas to cover. We both figured the higher chance of escape was in the morning, so we left a picture of Foxy and a phone number with the gas station clerk, unhooked our Subaru from the RV and headed south for Monte Vista RV Resort. Everyone at the resort was very nice and many went out of their way to help. The manager made color photocopies of Foxy’s picture and put up some flyers, while also posting the info to the resident email list. Neighbors near our site offered to put out cat food and saucers of milk and promised to keep an eye out.
After a few hours of searching in vain and envisioning horrible scenarios involving the local wildlife (coyotes and hawks are abundant, as are rattlesnakes) and the busy roadways, we figured we should leave and redouble our efforts at the gas station. After all, we had many sets of eyes helping us at Monte Vista, but nothing up north. The ride back north was long and uncomfortable, with thoughts of the inevitable creeping into our consciousness. Our cat is a 100% indoor cat and it’s been hours since she’s escaped. What are the chances we’ll ever see her again?
Foxy is a Maine Coon Cat
Upon arriving back at the gas station I immediately start scouring the area, calling out Foxy’s name in the hope she’s still in listening distance. Karla decides to check the RV one final time, just in case. Well, guess who was sleeping on the bed! Yes, Foxy was safe and sound the entire time, and looking rather nonplussed about the whole ordeal. Where she hid, we still don’t know. We literally tore the entire RV apart looking for her and have absolutely no idea where she was. We’re just thankful for a happy ending.
