Several weeks ago, our cat Robie escaped the house when someone who was working in the house inadvertantly left the door open to come and go.  Robie was never an outside cat and was always afraid of being outdoors even as a little kitten.

I remember when we got her.  Emma and I were driving around doing some errands on a cool, gray January Saturday in 2001 when we saw a sign for kittens.  We drove to the address and discovered a little hole in the ground apartment underneath a little convenience market.  We told the people there we were there to see the kittens.  There were only 2 left: Robie and a little black kitten.  Even though this was a little hole in the ground apartment, we could tell that the cats there were well-loved.  Anyway, Emma picked up the black kitten and I picked up the little tabby.  She was such a small, adorable little kitten.  This was who I wanted to take home.

Well, the owners didn’t want to let her go so young, so we let her stay with her mommy for a couple more weeks.  Then Emma brought her home one day.  She was still tiny, but she was pretty frisky.  When we got her home, Emma’s cat – Teacake – instantly hated her (naturally, since Teacake more-or-less hates everybody).  But, she eventually acclimated to her presence.

I named her Robie after the Robie House, which is a Frank Lloyd Wright house built in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.  Robie was an affectionate kitten, always wanting her morning nuzzles.  This was before even Andrew arrived.

Well, she got out a few weeks ago and we kept a lookout for her hoping she would come back.  Like I said, she was not an outdoor cat, but the few times she did venture out she zipped right back in.  We didn’t see her for weeks, and our hope grew dim.  Hopefully, she had at least found another family to live with. 

Last week we had finally resigned ourselves to never knowing what happened to her.  THat is, until she magically seemed to appear in the backyard and scoot underneath the deck over the weekend!  Emma thought she saw her, but the cat never came out.  Then on Monday, Andrew and I saw her scoot under the deck!  Maybe Robie had come back!

Well, today our neighbor found her in their garage and we finally got her back.  She was in bad shape, though, and wouldn’t eat or drink anything.  And she seemed to be having trouble walking.  Emma took her to the emergency room for pets.

The doctor said that while she had no broken bones, Robie was very, very sick.  She came back, and we all got a chance to say goodbye.  Goodbye, Robie.  We love you.

Robie Cat Hong

January 2001 – June 14, 2007