“Are you missing a cat?” she asked, rising up on her tip-toes and wobbling her head back-and-forth as if she knew how this conversation would end.
“No, ma’am.” I answered.
“You’re not?!”
“No, our cats are right here,” I said.
“Are you sure?” she pressed. “There’s a cat in my basement, and I only see two cats here.”
“I’m not lying; we only have two cats.”
Stunned, Ms. Gulch stared with disbelief.
“After your first visit, we decided it would be best to move our cat to the country. There’s no way she’s in your basement,” I explained.
“Well, the cat in my basement looks exactly like that cat,” she said, pointing another one of our cats.
“Obviously, my cat isn’t in your basement because she is right here. It isn’t the cat you identified last time because she’s now living in a barn 30 minutes away.”
“Well, whose cat is it?” she asked.
“I don’t know. But we’ve done all we can do to help you,” I replied. I certainly wasn’t going to assist in her cat hunt.
She thanked me and drove away.
I guess it wasn’t Buster terrorizing her afterall. Am I a terrible mother or what?
Leslie Wiggins 
8 responses to “The Return of Ms. Gulch”
Go back and get Buster……you should call her Ms. Gulch but then immediately say her correct name or apologize and say, “oh I’m sorry I thought you said your name was Ms. Gulch.” š
Wow I probably shouldn’t have said that out loud. Love ya.
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I wouldn’t have the nerve to say that to her. Besides, I think Buster is happier living in the barn….plenty of food and critters to chase. At least, I hope she is. Hannah was really angry about it. It’s been a good learning experience…
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Agree….I can definitely see where that could be a learning experience for the children. I wouldn’t be able to say that to her either my heart is too big I guess….but the thought would still cross my mind. š
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Argh! This makes me sad & angry! Sad that your sweet girl had to lose her beloved pet because of a busybody, blameshifting woman & angry because her identification was wrong in the first place! You’re not to blame; she described Buster perfectly. How were you to know that there was another cat that looks just like him roaming around the neighborhood? If she came back, I’d tell her that perhaps she should take some responsibility & leave her door closed! No cat or any other animal would be able to poop in her basement if she took this simple measure. There now. That’s off my chest. š
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I agree. And she did describe Buster to a T. I guess there’s more than one strange cat roaming the neighborhood. I should have told her to try keeping her basement door closed, but, honestly, I was afraid I couldn’t be very nice about it if I started making suggestions. We did our best to help her, I think.
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So sad!
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Go get Buster back!
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Awww. I vote for at least asking Buster if he wants to come back. š
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