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Travis disappeared more than a year ago, and with the help of an animal rescue group, he's back with his family.
 Carol Gough spends some quiet time with Travis, her cat. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press
But in April
2007, Travis disappeared while Gough worked in her garden. She patrolled nearby
streets for weeks, plastered light poles with flyers and printed advertisements
in her hunt for Travis. She didn’t think the cat had much of a chance of
survival, as he was born pigeon-toed and couldn’t climb trees.
But last week,
the cat came back in her life.
Most of Travis’ story for the past year is a mystery, but
this much is known: Someone took him to Tracy Animal Shelter as a stray in
October, six months after he wandered away. Shelter workers, who thought the white-and-gray
cat was a female, named him Violet. Kim Gray, a longtime volunteer at the
shelter, spotted the crippled cat and told shelter workers she’d foster him if
they couldn’t find a home for him.
“The cat walked funny, but he was a very sweet cat,” Gray
said Thursday. “I’m always drawn to the unusual ones.”
In December, the cat was adopted by a San Ramon family. They
took the cat to the vet to find out it was male, so they named him Constantine.
A few months ago, though, annoyed that the cat wouldn’t use a litter box, they
returned him to the shelter.
 Travis surveys the scene from his favorite spot atop the kitchen counter. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press
“The poor boy has had a girl name and three boy names,” Gray
said with a laugh. “It’s been quite a little adventure.”
She put a photo of the cat on the Web site of Delta Paws, a
local animal rescue group.
In the meantime, Gough and her 18-year-old daughter, who had
a hankering for a new cat, spotted a photo of Delta Paws’ kittens in the Tracy
Press last week.
The two pulled up Delta Paw’s Web site to look at other
kittens and instead spotted a familiar face.
“We zoomed in on the photo and looked at each other,” Gough
said. “We knew it was Travis.”
Since they’ve been reunited, Travis hasn’t left Gough’s
side. He’s back to his usual ways of tiptoeing across the kitchen counter and
sleeping on her pillow. The family will load him up in the car for vacation to
the mountains in two weeks.
“If it wasn’t
for these rescue groups, I would not have Travis,” Gough said with emotion. “He
knows he’s home.”
• We want to hear what you have to say. To reach Tracy
Press reporter Danielle MacMurchy,
call 830-4221 or e-mail
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But I do have to admit I found it very funny that animal shelter employees couldn't determine the sex of the animal and thought he was a she.
I also thought it was policy that all shelter animals had to be neutered before they could be adopted. I would think in that process the sex of the animal would have to first be determined.
If Travis is anything like my Bilbo was most certainly he will stay much closer to his owners after his experience. Glad he's finally home with the people who love him and at least know what sex he is.
Dave Hardesty