Please call or text Susan at 206.947.0962 with ANY information.

October 2, 2024 update

Linus has been missing since mid-July, and we still miss him dearly! We continue to get leads, less frequently these days and we're keeping the search efforts active. I’m still hopeful that someone will see him/he’ll allow himself to be seen or even approached, and that we'll be reunited. He’s very timid but has always been full of love. Thank you for any leads!

July 16, 2024 (original post)

Sweet Linus went missing on Sunday evening, July 14th, from our front yard. Brother Frederic and neighbor cats Tesla and Rio were gathered around the front stoop, enjoying some (finally) cooler air. I came inside to tidy up, leaving the front door ajar to allow kitty access and to appreciate the cross breeze.

When I called the boys in for the evening, Frederic bounded in, but Linus did not, even when I shook the treat jar. That is highly unusual! I reluctantly went to bed after waiting up for a couple of hours, hoping he would sneak back into the yard in the quieter hours. He didn’t. Thus began our search.

I’ll be updating this post and this blog as things transpire. Please keep us in your thoughts.

Social media outreach

• The Cats of Ballard

• My Ballard

• My Facebook feed (ghost town that it is)

• PawBoost - Paid for ad for 1 week (through July 24, 2024)

• next-door - In addition to posting to the broader community in my neighborhood, joined the nascent, dedicated group The Pet Lost and Found that is very helpful and supportive

• craigslist

• Petco Love (formerly Finding Rover)

• 24 Pet Connect (via RASKC)

• Filed missing pet reports with

  • Seattle Animal Shelter

  • PAWS Lynwood

  • Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) Helpful note: This site lets you create an alert that goes out to all (or any that you select) rescue shelters in King County. I wish I’d found it sooner :)

Other activities

• Created and distributed over 50 “Lost Cat” flyers within 5 block area (outdoors, businesses, neighbors)

  • Full page b&W PDF with QR code file

  • 4-up b&w PNG with QR code

• Canvas neighborhood at various times of day, at least once a day (early morning, mid-day, dusk, after dark,) speaking with neighbors and searching properties with permission

• Leave doors cracked open while home to encourage return

• Check house (esp basement) thoroughly at least two times a day

• Installed outdoor security/monitoring cameras for my home (that run on my home’s wi-fi signal)

• Bought humane trap and have practiced setting it up and using it

• Bought a wildlife/trail camera with cellular service to

  • monitor the humane trap when it is set (so animal is not in distress for longer than need be)

  • scout areas of interest further afield from my home and the reach of my Wi-Fi signal.

• Bought microchip reader

• Contacted 3retrievers to ask for consultation and potential dog tracking appointment

  • (8/13/24 - Haven’t heard back yet. It’s a busy time of year and this expectation was set upfront on the website that not everyone would get a callback. Mentioning it here for tracking purposes only)

• (Weekly) Met with an animal (and human)l medium/communicator regularly(I may write about this eventually and happy to talk IRL about my experience)

• (Daily) Monitor and follow up on any leads received from these activities

• (8/14/24) Contacted Bonnie at Roaming Paws Lost Pet Service for consultation. (8/14/24)

• (8/14/24)At Bonnie’s suggestion, I notified 25 vets in a 10-mile radius and asked them to keep a lookout for Linus and to post his flyer in their waiting rooms. Every single one of them returned my message and said “yes”  💜 (Ideally I would write to ALL vets in a 10 mile radius but there appear to be over 300 Google results, and looking up email addresses is time consuming.)

• (8/17/24) Conducted a comprehensive search within a 7-house radius with the help of friends and neighbors.

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]]>Linus is still missingSusan BurgessSun, 18 Aug 2024 22:08:38 +0000https://www.iheartgardens.com/blog/searchresults66997802c04ab74a17493131:6699787bc08bff4309de1d46:66c270e7ec8151339f6fdcbbA giant THANK YOU to the Earl Ave NW/NW 67th St/28th Ave NW/NW 70th St block and to my search party of friends Dana, her teens Ainsley and Nico, friend Kelly, and neighbor Joyce for showing up for us on Saturday!

Dana has written a beautiful story about our day on Medium, Looking for Linus the Lost Cat. You should read it. My abridged version is below.

After working out a few logistics of who would do what, we found our rhythm, and together, we searched about 40 properties in just under two hours. We stopped around one p.m., and a couple of us went down to Shilshole for Un Bien sandwiches at Secret Beach. Frederic and I finished the last six houses on our route in the early evening.

While we were searching, people who were home greeted us warmly. Most already knew about Linus, having seen our posters over the past weeks, and promised to keep looking out. People who weren’t home left us encouraging notes. We also met several friendly dogs and saw some beautiful yards and gardens.

We didn’t see Linus. No surprise there. But we also didn’t see signs of any injured (or worse) animals. It didn’t seem like anyone was leaving out pet food that might attract a lost or stray animal, so it seems we can eliminate several possible scenarios, and that does bring some solace.

Equally important, I felt and feel supported and loved by our community, and I’m so grateful for that lift. It doesn’t seem that Linus is nearby right now, but I know that his path home is safe and welcoming, thanks to you all.

At the recommendation of a licensed animal recovery specialist, friends and I will be searching yards within a seven-house radius of mine. If your home falls within this range, I’ve placed a flyer on or near your front door. If you are willing to let us on your property for 5-10 minutes, I would be extremely grateful!

What we’re looking for

• Places where cats might hide (vegetation, outbuildings and structures, under foundations, decks and the like.)

• Food/water sources such as pet food left out, bird feeders, and bird baths that a cat might help themselves to opportunistically. Do you/do you know anyone who leaves food/water out for animals?

• Resident pets, if any, or anything you’ve noticed about the pets or animals in your area, cats or dogs you haven’t seen before coming around, etc.

What we’ll do

When we arrive, we will knock on your door. If you’re not planning to be home, especially if you prefer we don’t enter your property, please indicate this on the flyer we left on your door.

If you’ve given us the okay, we’ll survey your property and take photos that we will use only to determine if it seems to be a place a cat has been or is likely to hide. We will share any photos taken on request. We will leave a notice when we are finished.

It is unlikely we will see Linus during our search pass. That’s okay! Our goal is to get a cat’s-eye view of the neighborhood and identify potential areas for follow-up or further monitoring. We will ask for permission again to enter your property for any other purpose.

Why are we doing this now?

Several reasons. To start, to get additional eyes on areas I’ve already searched repeatedly and where I may not be as observant anymore.

Two, to get a more thorough view of the neighborhood using a systematic approach. Deploying a team is a resource investment to me, my friend community, and you all, and I waited to deploy it until more lightweight options ran out. As a benchmark, it has taken me about 8 hours to prepare and distribute flyers, assemble a team, and organize this search, all before the on-the-ground search starts.

Third, timing. Cats tend to hide and not eat, meow, or move when they are scared, even if they recognize a friendly person. It’s possible that if we’d done this search earlier, we’d not have found any signs. It can take timid cats such as Linus weeks to break cover to find food or try to connect with a familiar or friendly-seeming human.

Do you really think you’ll find your cat in my yard?

As much as I would LOVE to come around the corner into your backyard and discover my cat basking on your deck or enjoying a turn on your hammock or trampoline, I don’t think this will be the case. Linus is a shy, timid cat who has been displaced from his familiar surroundings. If he’s around, he’s keeping out of sight as much as possible and coming out at night to eat and drink. We’re looking for clues and getting the word out and hoping this will bring us one step closer to reuniting with him.

The following is a chronicle of some of the cats I’ve met along our journey. I receive about a lead a day, usually at dusk, when cats tend to venture out. I respond to EVERY lead I receive and visit the plausible ones in person.

Conclusion: There are many ways to look like (and at) a gray tabby.

Land acknowledgment: We are on the unceded ancestral lands of the Duwamish, a people that are still here, who are continuing to honor and bring to light their ancient heritage. Place names used here and throughout this site are those in current use by non-indigenous peoples as a result of a historically imposed and tragically successful language gap.

This one came to me a few nights ago. In a dream of course. She’ll have been gone three years in November.

”I’m coming with you,” was the first thing she said to me when we met on my first day as a cat room volunteer at PAWS. She reached through the kennel bars and hooked a white paw on my t-shirt, drawing me to her. I already had two cats I loved, but as I watched this beautiful, feisty, intelligent creature remain at the shelter week after week, I grew more and more attached to her. Her file was flagged as “no kids in home/experienced cat owners only,” and that was a strike against her. She was mostly gentle but unpredictable and very opinionated, sometimes growling or scratching to underline the point, but usually with fair warning. I looked forward to seeing her every Sunday and made a point of spending time with her in one of the visitor rooms to give her room to play or sometimes to cuddle. One time, she wasn’t in the cat room when I arrived, and my heart sank at the thought of her being adopted by someone else. It turned out that she had a kitty cold and was in isolation. I went in to see her, and recognizing me, she jumped into my arms when I opened her kennel door. Soon after that, I convinced my then-husband that she needed to join our family.

She came home with me to Greenlake, she came to work with me at Microsoft when she felt like it, a preference she expressed by jumping in the car and not getting out of it. “Fine,” I’d say. I’d grab a zip lock bag of litter, some toys, a cat bed, and a blanket, and off we’d go, her howling the whole way across 520, but I’d remind her that she’d insisted. I’d install her in my private window office (remember when we had those in tech?) and sneak her turkey and cheese cubes from the cafeteria salad bar. Often as not, I’d return from a meeting to find people in my office playing with her or otherwise a note from someone telling me they’d “borrowed” her and taken her to theirs.

She came to Thanksgiving at friends’ (uninvited but welcome), for walks around our new neighborhood in Ballard, and, when she was very old, she flew with me across the country to live with my mother at my childhood home for a summer, which she found to her satisfaction as there were many comfortable places to sleep and hide and a whole new set of admirers.

She came with me back to Seattle, where we resumed our routine, me on Zoom call after Zoom call, her just outside on the front stoop on her cat bed, the door propped open between us. She turned 16. She’d been ill for some time with several common geriatric cat ailments but was responding to treatment well and enjoyed greeting her many fans out on pandemic walks from her bed on the front stoop. From my desk, I’d overhear people calling her name and having whole conversations with her. I loved that she had such a community. And I loved being her person.

She lost more weight. I put another blanket on her nest outside. She got thinner and thinner until one day, she could hardly hold her head up to drink from her water bowl. She spent hours on the heating pad on her favorite chair. She still let me brush her face softly with a clean, dry toothbrush but it seemed more like a comfort to me than to her. The kindest thing to do was to send her on ahead and one Friday evening in November, she left softly, purring on my chest until the end. I believe she sent me Frederic and Linus, who I met days after she died.

In my dream, I came across her in a kennel at a shelter like the one where I first met her. She looked up at me, as old and frail as she looks in this photograph, but no older.

“I’m coming with you,” she told me with a slow blink.

“Where have you been all this time?!” I asked her, surprised. She purred as I cradled her and said, “Let’s get you home.”

It took me a few minutes after I woke to remember that gone is where she’s been. She came back to comfort me as I was suffering. It worked.

Walking around the neighborhood, for solace, for steps, for enrichment with Frederic (my intrepid, dog-like cat,) I’ve noticed that certain streets seem to enforce time limits on telephone pole signage.

I’ve witnessed several instances of one of my posters for Linus being torn up or torn down. Sometimes, it’s just my poster, and sometimes, all posters on a particular telephone pole have been removed. In other cases, only the “salesy” laminated ones remain.

This isn’t weather-related activity degradation, it’s intentional. I don’t know what the needs, motivation, or criteria of telephone pole sign monitor (henceforth TPSM) are (what are you, eight?) and frankly I don’t care. My cat is still missing. Yes it is sad. I am sad. I will re-post my flyers and when it’s time to take them down, I’ll clean up after myself.

TPSM: I hope you get the day you deserve.

A couple of things that are helping me through this uncertain time, both courtesy of Coping Emotionally When Your Cat Is Missing.

Affirmation

Cats have incredible survival instincts.
They are very resilient.
My cat is safe.
They are well.
They are protected.
They are strong.
They have food, water, and shelter.
Many people have found their lost cat. I will too.
I am strong.
I am capable.
I am calm.
I am focused.
I can handle anything that comes my way.
I am looking after myself.
I am using proven techniques to find them.
The universe is protecting them.
The universe is bringing them back to me, safe and well.
Everything I do is bringing me one step closer to finding them.
I am supported in finding them.
Everyone I talk to is helping me to find them.
I am growing stronger every day.
They are found.
They are now back home.
We have been reunited.
We are overjoyed.

Visualization

Imagine your home surrounded by a beautiful golden light. It acts like a bright beacon, guiding them home from wherever they are.
See your cat protected by an orb of electric blue light.

Take a deep, slow breath.

Feel the love you feel for them filling your heart.

Imagine a fine, silver thread extending from your love-filled heart to their love-filled heart, linking the two of you together.

Smile and think happily about everything you love about them:

• how you met them

• why you wanted them to live with you

• the day you brought them home

• the things they do that touch your heart

• the funny things they’ve done

• the cheeky things they’ve done

• them eating their favorite food

• them playing with their favorite toys

• them sleeping in their favorite place

• their miaow

• their purr

• their fur

• their paw pads

• their whiskers

• their tail

• the photos and videos you’ve taken of them

• the companionship and unconditional love they bring to your life

• how deeply you love them.
  

Hear them purring with contentment when they feel the love you have for them filling their heart.

See them relax when they know you are going to find them.

See yourself finding them.

Feel the absolute joy and relief in your heart when you find them.

Say out loud what you will say to them when you find them.

See yourself holding them.

See yourself stroking their fur, looking into their beautiful face, smelling their beautiful fur.

Hear them purring in happiness and contentment – they’re so happy to be back home with you.

See them walking around your home, happy and relaxed.

See them eating their favorite food.

See them grooming themself afterward, washing their face first, then the backs of their ears with one paw, then the other. See them groom themselves all over, in their favorite spot, safe at home.

Feel the pure, exploding joy in your heart that they are back with you. Breathe in the happiness and relief.

Breathe in pride in the work you put into finding them, in your never-give-up attitude, in your disregard for the naysayers. Be proud that you were determined to find them—and you did.

You found them. They are safe. They are well. The worry is over.

Take in the deep breaths of relief that they are home.

See yourself sleeping soundly, free of worry about them, with them safely back with you.

Feel the love you feel for them exploding from your heart.

Express gratitude that they are back to continue their life with you.

Express gratitude that you share your life with them.

Express gratitude that the search is over.

You did it. You found your cat. Congratulate yourself. And celebrate.

Update November 7, 2024: This scam is alive and well. The same person, with the same story, called today. I played along, and when he asked for the last four digits of my cat’s microchip number, I gave him a random string of four numbers. He pretended to be consulting his computer, and after a moment, he “matched” the number to Linus’, and I called him on the scam and said I’d given him a fake number. He hung up. I sure hope he crossed me off his call list.

Update July 31, 2024: I’m proud to have been able to contribute to the news story on KUOW about this important issue.

I had a good cry after breakfast (I know,) realizing that it had been two full weeks since Linus went missing. Snotty, messy crying. Face down on the bed. Scared the other cat crying. It was the first time I’d let myself think about the possibility that he might not make it home to us. Frederic eventually joined me on the bed, and we breathed together, he purring, and eventually the sadness abated.

Minutes later, I was splashing water on my face when my phone rang. It was a private number, but given the circumstances, I answered. The caller said they were from Seattle Animal Shelter and that they had Linus in custody, that he was hurt and being evaluated by the vet. I said I’d be right there (the shelter is 10 minutes away), but he said no, they were closed to the public but maybe they could get special permission later.

He then left to “go talk to the vet” and put me on hold. Suspicious but hopeful, I wrote down a couple of questions to ask and pulled up Seattle Animal Shelter’s website while I waited. The caller clicked back on and said that Linus was critically injured, paralyzed in all limbs due to a shoulder injury but that a time-critical surgery would almost definitely be able to resolve it. Now I was pretty sure this was fake. A dislocated shoulder?

”What’s your name?” I asked.

”William Taylor.”

“William, the number you’re calling from isn’t the number for Seattle Animal Shelter.”

“Um, I’m at the vet’s desk. If you want, I’ll call back from the front desk,” he offered.

“Yes, please do that,” I said, wondering how he was going to pull that off and hoping that he would manage to.

While waiting for him to “call back from the front desk” I continued looking on the SAS website. William hadn’t asked for money yet but I had a feeling that’s where this was going. Sure enough.

William called again from a private number. He claimed that he had called from the front desk and gotten my voice mail.

”No you didn’t,” I said.

“Yes I did. Look at your call history. Ma’am, we know from the microchip that it’s YOUR cat here, and we need to authorize a treatment plan so we can give him the best chance of survival.”

“Of course yes, authorized. May I please have the name of the treating veterinarian?”

“Uh, I’d have to uh, look at the paper work, and uh, it looks like it’s “Dr. Curtis?”

“I’d like to speak to them.”

“They’re very busy here. Look, we just need to go over the billing and we can get started.”

“Billing?”

’Yes, B I L L I N G. The vet has to get paid.” By this point, I was more angry than sad. I told him that I’d found information on the SAS website that indicates they never ask for payment upfront, and I read the quote from the website back to him.

Finally, I had the satisfaction (and presence of mind) to add the following.

”On the very off chance that you are in custody of my animal, I hope you show some compassion but I think we both know this is a scam and what you're doing is cruel."

He hung up without another word. There is a special place in hell for you, William Taylor.

I have been working around the limitations of technology for many years and thus I will provide a hyperlink. Here you go: Finding Linus Google Map.

Land acknowledgment: We are on the unceded ancestral lands of the Duwamish, a people that are still here, who are continuing to honor and bring to light their ancient heritage. Place names used here and throughout this site are those in current use by non-indigenous peoples as a result of a historically imposed and tragically successful, language gap.

For now at least. Frederic is a very helpful young man and up for almost everything but he did not enjoy testing our humane trap. So I'm grateful to him for it. I tried it with a shoe but I wanted to see how I would do with the live animal in case I ever have the need to contain Linus when we find him.

I've decided to keep all of the materials I've amassed so far and be the neighborhood source for lost cats after this ordeal. Stay tuned.

Finding a displaced pet can be exciting, emotional, and probably doesn’t happen to most of us frequently. Thus, I offer the guidelines below about how to interact with THIS particular animal, assuming (and hoping) that it is him. Anything you are able to do to get the word out is helpful and appreciated.

Question: I see/saw an unfamiliar cat that looks like Linus. What should I do?

Answer: Please note the geographic location (neighborhood and cross streets), contextual location (behind a garage, in a tree, under a bush, etc.), what he was doing (hiding, running, eating) and disposition (relaxed, scared, angry, dirty, etc.) as best you can. Then, contact me and Seattle Animal control and share this same information.
Please take a photo if at all possible. I will follow up on all plausible leads but sometimes I’m able to rule out a match via a photograph and this saves time and heartache.

Contact me

• Call or text: 206.947.0762

• Email: iheartgardens@gmail.com

Contact Seattle Animal Shelter

• Email: animalcare@seattle.gov

• Direct: (206) 386-4294

Question: Can I approach him?

Answer: IF YOU CAN, YES! However, Linus is a gentle, affectionate cat, but he is very shy. He knows and responds to his name around the home, but I’m told that displaced cats don’t respond to their names, especially if they’re scared or injured. Talking in a soft voice from a safe distance away (8-10 feet) may help calm him. Leaving cat food or treats in a quiet, sheltered location (under a bush, a quiet corner of the yard) where he can see and smell them may help keep him in the immediate area until his person (or animal shelter) can respond.

If, however, approaches you and you are able to safely contain him in a kennel, garage, shed or other enclosure, please do!

Question: Can I feed him?

Answer: Yes! Feel free to leave out canned or dry cat food (or irresistible human food such as tuna fish or shredded cheese) where he can see and smell it. If you have a bag of cat treats, often shaking them or crinkling the plastic will tempt him. Linus doesn’t have any dietary restrictions, but even if he did, we’d throw them out the window at this point

Question: What if he runs away before I can do any of these things?

Answer: That’s ok! Please contact me anyway. If you’ve been reading this site, you’ll know that I’ve already had many “false positive” sightings. I will follow up on any reasonable lead. I truly believe that animal care and rescue is a symbiotic system and that what comes around goes around. It might not be my pet this time, but if I can help reunite someone else’s pet with their guardian, even by offering information or hope, I am happy to do so.

Question: I found an injured or deceased cat that could be Linus. What should I do?

Answer: I’m so sorry. Both of these situations are emotional and stressful. Please take care of yourself first. When it feels right, please contact Seattle Animal Shelter, as they are best equipped to advise and act in an emergency. And, if the animal turns out to be Linus, they will also be able to contact me (Linus is microchipped.)

Please know that most pet guardians want to know what happened to their missing companion, even if the outcome is sad, and they are grateful to those who help them find closure.

Question: What if the cat I found isn’t Linus?

Answer: Good question! If I come visit your cat and it’s not Linus, I’ll do my best to determine the status of the cat and whether any further intervention is needed using the process described [link TKTK].

Question: How did you learn all this information about missing cats?

Answer: I’m very grateful to the Ballard pet-loving community on Facebook, Nextdoor, and other virtual networks. In addition, the following resources have been invaluable:

• Roaming Paws Lost Pet Service

• Missing Animal Response Network

• Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue

• Canopy Cat Rescue

• Community Cats Podcast: How to Use a Paper Collar to determine if a cat is stray or … wandering

• Long-term search strategies (over 10 days) from Pet Radar.

Mere days ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed of going to the trouble of installing security cameras at my home. It would just be one more thing to keep up with. These days I want less IoT in my life, not more.

Alas, this is yet another step recommended by animal rescue professionals as a precursor for setting a humane trap for your pet. Why not just put out the trap, you might ask? I did. After all, it’s MY yard. Answer: you want to get a sense of who’s been coming to your yard and only put out a trap when you have a positive sighting of your pet. Oh.

So we became a surveillance family. It took a couple hours to set up, install app, hang up, test, and adjust three cameras. And only a couple hours after that to become annoyed by a slew of notifications on my phone every time a leaf blew in the wind or someone walked by the front door. Now, the system is on only at night.

So far no Linus.

I've been carrying the treat jar on our searches to no avail. Today, I upped the ante, adding an open can of tuna, which I stirred and clanged intermittently with a metal fork, to our repertoire. This brought out one not-Linus cat, two raccoons, and two murders of crows (Earl Ave NW vs 28th Ave NW is a situation.)

Later on in the day, I attended an open house on our street and got a good look around the house and property.

Still no Linus.

Seattle Animal Shelter called late Friday afternoon to tell me that a cat that resembled Linus had been brought in that day. (I reported him missing and dropped off a flyer at the shelter earlier in the week.) The woman on the phone said he was a young cat and had been found in Greenwood, which is several miles from our house, both details made me doubt this was Linus but I still hoped. I rushed to the shelter when it opened the next day.

Any child who’s grabbed the blue-jeaned leg of an adult while out in public, expecting to see a parent only to look up and realize it’s the leg of a stranger knows what happens next.

It wasn’t him. But no, I didn’t recoil in terror, although that is a frequent outcome of the above scenario. Instead, I was profoundly grateful that they had called me, just in case. And I was happy to visit the not-Linus kitten so that he knew that someone was looking for him. And he sure was sweet.

Leads mean the system is working, that people—animal rescue and the general public—are finding and going out of their way to help lost animals find their homes. And that gives me hope.

There are many companies out there that will allow you to create a QR code but then they CHARGE YOU TO KEEP IT ACTIVE. Not once mind you, but on a subscription basis. C’mon! This feels egregious.

Thankfully, this one company I found clues you in to the fact that you CAN create a free QR code in Chrome. Only for a website and only in Chrome. But you have to use the  DINOSAUR brand logo. For free I’ll take it. I love dinosaurs. Feature not bug.

I got a text with a potential lead about Linus from about 7 blocks (and two major road crossings) away. This seemed far for him to have wandered but I’m following every lead and the photo looked a LOT like him so of COURSE I went over.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t Linus. Kitty was about half his size and weight, likely female, and had white boots and Linus does not. She also approached me without fear and after I said hello and gave her a treat, tried to jump in my bag.

The people who found and have been looking out for her will bring her to the nearby shelter so she can be seen and re-united or re-homed. So grateful that there are so many animal (and cat!) lovers in our community.

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