LindsayD

Thank you, Marty, for the article and thank you, Kay, for your heartfelt response. The not knowing is so hard - trying to find the correct balance between holding out a little hope but also moving toward acceptance that she's likely gone forever. As the days pass and I move closer to that acceptance I will definitely memorialize her in some way permanent here in the desert and in a way that I can maybe take with me as well. I'm feeling an intense amount of guilt for being her mom and not being able to protect her and keep her safe. If either of you have any advice for how to deal with that part of things, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

My husband and I are traveling in our camper with our 4 fur babies: two 14-year-old whippets and our two beloved kitties. Our kitty, Aquila, snuck out of our camper two nights ago and we haven't seen her since. We are camping in the South Texas desert, and there are lots of coyotes around here. I bet I've walked 20 miles in the last 2 days looking for her and calling to her. I've looked under every building and pile of rubbish I can find. We're going to post flyers tomorrow and check with the shelters in the closest town. My mind is going to the worst places possible- of a horrible death via coyote or bobcat, or of her alone and searching for us in the unfamiliar desert. I'm hopeful that she may just be hiding somewhere and that she'll find her way back to us, but the more nights she spends outside the worse her survival chances become. The idea of never knowing what happened to her or if she's out there somewhere is absolutely paralyzing me. Anybody have tips for dealing with the grief of a lost pet where there's no closure?