There were some open fields and farmland right across the street from the subdivision that my old house was located in. Some people had told me that occasionally some coyotes could be spotted in the field. Although I never saw them, one night I thought I heard them howling.

During the summer months I was in the habit of leaving my deck door open about 6 inches, day and night, allowing my cats to come in or go out whenever they wanted. One hot summer night when Mike and Ike and Jerry were about 1 year old I was awakened at about 3:00 AM by the sound of some animal being attacked. I jumped out of bed and tried to locate my cats. All three were in the house and safe, so I closed the deck door and went back to sleep.

Sometime the next day I decided to go ahead and open the door again. That night Jerry disappeared.

It seems like I spent 2 or 3 hours a day for the next couple of weeks roaming around the neighborhood looking for Jerry. I looked for her (or her body) out in the field. I looked for a body alongside the roads. I would get out of bed at 4:00 AM, when it is nice and quiet, and ride my bicycle through the neighborhood calling her name. I didn't know whether she ran away or she was lost or dead (the hardest part was not knowing).

I eventually had to give up and stop looking for her. I am assuming that the coyotes got her, but I don't really know for sure. At least one other neighborhood cat disappeared about a week later. After this incident, I no longer let any of my cats out at night. I wish I had more photos of her - the one above is one of only three which exist (and it is the only one which shows her face).

After Jerry disappeared, I was a two-cat family for a couple of years - until Pookie and Simone arrived.