Mile Marker 11

Yesterday my husband and a co-worker went on an 18-mile hike on the Bull Run-Occoquan trail. A few hours into the trip, he called me via cell phone:

"Peggy? We've got a small problem here."

Thoughts of sprained ankles, empty gas tanks, flat tires, and other emergencies flashed through my head. The reality was not nearly as dramatic, but it was just as challenging.

About halfway through their hike, at mile marker 11, my husband and his hiking companion had come upon a small cat taking shelter in the base of a hollow tree. As soon as it had seen them, the cat had meowed, trotted over to them, and started rubbing against their legs. When my husband and his co-worker tried to continue on their hike, the cat meowed some more, then began following them.

Whenever my husband and his hiking companion started to pull away, the cat would meow at them until they stopped long enough for it to catch up. For the next seven miles, the cat continued tagging along after them. As they walked further and further, the cat began to grow tired and move more and more slowly, but it remained determined to stay with them. Whenever my husband tried to pick up the cat to carry it, though, it would struggle until he put it back down.

At first my husband and his hiking companion were worried that they were removing someone's pet from familiar territory, but they did not see any houses nearby. They also noticed that the cat did not have a collar and appeared rather thin. As the cat continued to follow them, they eventually decided that, whether the cat had been abandoned or it belonged to someone but had gotten lost, it needed food and medical attention.

My husband and discussed what to do. Since I am highly allergic to cats, we would not be able to take care of it ourselves, but we did not want to take it to a shelter that might euthanize it after all it had been through. We decided to call a friend who has owned three cats (and still has one) to ask for some advice, then contacted a no-kill shelter and a feline rescue network. In the end, our friend -- perhaps touched by the story of the cat's determination -- decided to take in the cat herself on a trial basis. Whether or not the new cat stays with her will depend on whether or not it will be able to get along with her old one, and of course whether the cat was abandoned or merely lost.

Thank goodness my husband and his co-worker decided to go hiking yesterday. Who knows what might have become of the cat if they hadn't.