MIRACLE!!!!!! Tom Returns!!!!

I was sick and ended up being home on Thursday. I slept the whole day, accompanied by my cats who would snuggle up to me in bed. Finally at 10:30 p.m. I got up.

Tigger lead the way to the front door. He wanted out. I opened the big door and then I heard it. That special beautiful and unique meow that I knew to be Tom's voice.

I flipped on the outside light and there he was in bold and beautiful black and white.

He came right into the house and I just laughed and cried. He was alive!

All the cats came to greet him and sniff him over.

There certainly is something to be said for prayers. They seem to really work. Seventeen days is a long time to be gone.

Tom has lost a lot of weight, at least 1/3 of his mass is gone. His orange collar is so loose around his neck you'd think someone loosened it.

I can feel the bumps of his spine down his back. He's pretty dirty too, and in the next few hours after being home he began to clean himself.

He wasn't starving when he came home, which isn't a total surprise since many of the neighbours put out food for stray cats (I'm one of them).

He's not eating as much as he should, so I'm not sure if he has other health issues happening. He's also sneezing a bit, and I've seen this before. It's a cat cold as a result of stress. I'll be watching him very closely just to be sure he's okay.

I guess I'll never know what happened to him or why he was gone so long. I just wish he could tell me. But either way, we've had a miracle here and we're very grateful to have him home.

Thanks for your prayers and good wishes!