News : Sax the Cat returned to his home, 5 months later

"Lost: Small orange/white tabby, orange eyes. Very sweet. Microchipped. He was seen at 1015 Golf View Drive, near the Country Club. We would like to alert all residents in that area to keep eyes peeled for our little orange-and-white boy. He has white forelegs, a ringed tail, and weighs 6 pounds. We set a live trap at the site.... we ask that anyone who sees a similar kitty please put him in your garage and call _______ Or PLEASE take a photo and text to that #."April 23, 2020, was the day that this notice went out asking for help from everyone in the area. There was no response. In May, several posters went up around town asking people to please keep their eyes open for the missing cat. Still no response.Sax was an out of towner, a Cedar Rapids resident belonging to Kathy Cook, so he was unfamiliar with the area. However, he was able to sidestep all those who were trying to catch him. His visit to Vinton was to bring him to see the veterinarian a family friend, Dr. Clyde Wilson.June passed. Then July and August with no word.Finally, in September, he arrived at the home of cat owners Alan and Karen Buseman. Sax started hanging around the back door of the Buseman home. The Busemans love cats and have indoor cats of their own so they couldn't ignore the cat that had appeared. Shortly after the cat started to arrive, the couple started feeding him and making friends with the stray cat. After finally winning the cat's trust, they were able to get close enough to pet the stray. As a rule, the couple never feeds stray cats. But this one hung around.Working against the couple was their back door. The couple's back door has a window that runs almost to the bottom of the door. Sax, the stray was able to look in and see the Buseman cats being fed in the kitchen. Alan said, "How can you tell a hungry kitty that is giving you, the look, "No?" You can't." So the couple kept feeding him. The couple also began to search online to see if they could locate the owner. In the meantime, Kathy Cook had given up and taken down a post on a lost pet site a couple
of weeks earlier. But when Karen Buseman did a Google search of lost cats, the cat still popped up in the search results. Finally, on October 3rd, the Busemans were able to contacted Kathy and explained what was going on at their back door. As soon as she could get there, Kathy immediately came down from Cedar Rapids and fortunately the cat was willing to come in so they could catch him and he could go home.Just to verify that this cat, missing for over 5 months, really was their Sax, Cook verified his identity via his chip implant.The Cook family is over the moon with happiness. Sax, well, he's content being spoiled again after his bout with living on the streets. The Cooks said that the people of Vinton have been extremely nice, and they appreciate all the efforts that people made to find Sax.Sadly, just 3 days before the Cooks were able to bring Sax home, they had to have a 17-year-old cat put down, so the timing couldn't have been any better. Now both the Busemans and the Cooks are praying people and believe that God answered their prayers, even if it was for the return of a cat. After all, Matthew 10:29 says that God sees the sparrows when they fall, so why wouldn't He see a live and well, albeit missing cat they all agree.As for driving from Cedar Rapids to Vinton for a vet visit, well, the Cooks say that they appreciate Dr. Wilson's loving care and they don't mind the drive for that reason! Of course, they will probably hang on to Sax a bit more tightly in case he decides to try to tour the town again.