Cvj77z
New member
My husband & I live fulltime in our 1968 Travco, in and around Portland, Oregon. In mid April I adopted a sweet cat (I'd been without a pet for a few years at this point, and decided it was time!) who was a 2 year old Persian.. Like most Persians he wasn't the most energetic, fortunately he wasn't very skittish either, basically I'm trying to say that he seemed to adapt to the RV lifestyle quite well. In a SEVERE lapse of judgement, I left the RV (and cat) under the care of a "friend" for a part of one evening... Long story short, there was a dog involved, my kitty got out, and this wasn't noticed until I returned a couple of hours later. Of course we looked on foot in the area all night and the following day, with no luck...
Now a word about where we were parked: alongside a city park in an upper-middle class neighborhood in Portland. The park was right beside us (it takes up about 4 square city blocks), across the street was a section 8 apartment complex that probably has around 30 or 40 apartments, with 2 & 3 story Craftsman style homes on either side of it. I've seen RVs, skoolies and the like parked here fairly often, but never more than 2 or 3 at a time, and never for more than 5 or 6 days. I assume that unfortunately people do leave behind a mess some of the time... At the time when the cat got out we'd been there for about 4 days and were doing some rearranging in the RV... So there was some stuff outside on the sidewalk, definitely not blocking anything, nor was it a lot of stuff, but I definitely picked up on the way we were being looked at and treated. We did not leave behind any garbage (or anything at all) when we drove off, but sadly people jump to conclusions drawing from their past experiences... Normally I could care less about how some snooty middle aged women are staring at me, but unfortunately this time is different.
We weren't able to stay parked there for as long as I wanted to, to see if he would return, but were there for 2 more nights after he went missing. As I explained, I had just gotten him and hadn't had the chance yet to take him to the vet and have him microchipped. His previous owner hadn't had it done either. After that I posted flyers, put ads online, checked shelters, and returned to search the area. My husband asked around and said that out of 20 or so people there were two different parties who seemed a little suspicious; no big red flags though, they were likely just rude.
Now 5 weeks have passed, and I'm fairly sure that someone right in that area is keeping him. I also think there's a good chance that they knew he was mine & that he came from the RV, and they thought that they could give him a better life than me, that they were doing him a favor, and/or that I wouldn't care he was gone. That's the reason I mention feeling judged. The past few weeks I haven't been as aggressive about physically searching or posting flyers, though I've continued to search online & check shelters. Tomorrow though I'm going to return with a vengeance!! Lots and lots of flyers, and I'm going to zero in on vets and groomers in the area.
So, I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar? I hope I don't sound paranoid, but believe me, the judgement & condescension was undeniable. Whether that would make someone actually target my cat and i, I can't be sure... it makes sense that they might think I won't look very hard (ha sorely wrong), and that I'd be reluctant to file a police report (only because I have no concrete proof of ownership, like a chip). If I'm relentless about my flyers I'm hoping that they will realize they really made a mistake, or that a friend or neighbor will come forward motivated by guilt or greed (seeking the reward).
I apologize for the length of this message, I'm really giving Tolstoy a run for his money! Any advice would be much appreciated, especially if it pertains to a stolen pet, but really anything at all about what to do when your pet has gone missing from your RV. I'd love to hear your stories. And if anyone is in Portland, please let me know and I'll direct you to one of my ads. I'm not giving up. I just want my sweet boy home with me!
Now a word about where we were parked: alongside a city park in an upper-middle class neighborhood in Portland. The park was right beside us (it takes up about 4 square city blocks), across the street was a section 8 apartment complex that probably has around 30 or 40 apartments, with 2 & 3 story Craftsman style homes on either side of it. I've seen RVs, skoolies and the like parked here fairly often, but never more than 2 or 3 at a time, and never for more than 5 or 6 days. I assume that unfortunately people do leave behind a mess some of the time... At the time when the cat got out we'd been there for about 4 days and were doing some rearranging in the RV... So there was some stuff outside on the sidewalk, definitely not blocking anything, nor was it a lot of stuff, but I definitely picked up on the way we were being looked at and treated. We did not leave behind any garbage (or anything at all) when we drove off, but sadly people jump to conclusions drawing from their past experiences... Normally I could care less about how some snooty middle aged women are staring at me, but unfortunately this time is different.
We weren't able to stay parked there for as long as I wanted to, to see if he would return, but were there for 2 more nights after he went missing. As I explained, I had just gotten him and hadn't had the chance yet to take him to the vet and have him microchipped. His previous owner hadn't had it done either. After that I posted flyers, put ads online, checked shelters, and returned to search the area. My husband asked around and said that out of 20 or so people there were two different parties who seemed a little suspicious; no big red flags though, they were likely just rude.
Now 5 weeks have passed, and I'm fairly sure that someone right in that area is keeping him. I also think there's a good chance that they knew he was mine & that he came from the RV, and they thought that they could give him a better life than me, that they were doing him a favor, and/or that I wouldn't care he was gone. That's the reason I mention feeling judged. The past few weeks I haven't been as aggressive about physically searching or posting flyers, though I've continued to search online & check shelters. Tomorrow though I'm going to return with a vengeance!! Lots and lots of flyers, and I'm going to zero in on vets and groomers in the area.
So, I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar? I hope I don't sound paranoid, but believe me, the judgement & condescension was undeniable. Whether that would make someone actually target my cat and i, I can't be sure... it makes sense that they might think I won't look very hard (ha sorely wrong), and that I'd be reluctant to file a police report (only because I have no concrete proof of ownership, like a chip). If I'm relentless about my flyers I'm hoping that they will realize they really made a mistake, or that a friend or neighbor will come forward motivated by guilt or greed (seeking the reward).
I apologize for the length of this message, I'm really giving Tolstoy a run for his money! Any advice would be much appreciated, especially if it pertains to a stolen pet, but really anything at all about what to do when your pet has gone missing from your RV. I'd love to hear your stories. And if anyone is in Portland, please let me know and I'll direct you to one of my ads. I'm not giving up. I just want my sweet boy home with me!