I'm having my first sip of coffee and just saw this post, so happy for you !!!!!

Yay!!!! Thanks for sharing the good news!

Hurray! I hope you got some sleep last night Aunt Jen. I am so glad Miss Molly is home!

Everytime I see your Molly threads the MSI song Molly gets in my head so I have been thinking and singing positive Molly thoughts for days. :)

What a glorious way to start the day!

Joyful tears for Molly's return that will soothe Jen and DH's hearts and mind.

What wonderful news!! I believe in prayer and am so happy yours were answered.

tina

I'm so glad she's home!!!

Thank goodness! Shame on naughty Molly for scaring ya'll like that, but she knew to come back to you.

Great news! What a relief for you & all of us here on GW! It's party time for sure. :)

I'm so happy for you!

Thank goodness! So glad she's home!

That's terrific news!

Don't you wish she could talk and tell you about her recent adventures?!

Any possibility of Molly babies in a couple months? :)

Oh how wonderful! I'm so glad this ordeal is over.

(Now, why isn't tom cat inside a nice warm house on a night like that?)

I'm so happy she's back home! :)

Another one here with tears of joy! :)

For stopping cats who may want to go near an open door -- keep a spray bottle of water nearby .... spritz cat and say "NO!!!" and "BAD CAT"

Jan

That is SUCH good news! I must've checked back 100 times for updates... Maybe tomcat escorted her home!

I am so glad that Molly came home!

I am so happy for all of you! I was so worried about her with this awful cold snap.

I'm so happy for you and I never stopped praying for her.

Thank you all so much! I'm just on Cloud 9 since she's back home. She slept at my feet all night long, and is presently cuddled up on the bed with Tiger and Tiki curled alongside her. Silly, naughty girl. Leaving this nice, comfy abode for the cold unknown!

Jan, I had actually mentioned to DH that we needed to start squirting the cats with water when they acted like they were making a move towards the door, and he said that would be "cruel." I'm thinking that cruel is having to fret and fear the worst when one does escape, so the next I'm at Target, I'm loading up on squirt bottles.

Gardeningmusician - don't say that! She's fixed, or allgedly so, according to the neighbor that we got her from a number of years ago. I'm sure that is the case, as she was in the house with a hormonally-insane male for awhile (until we were able to get him fixed), and surely if she were not spayed, there would've been Molly babies from him. Oh goodness ... no babies, please!
;-)

They usually don't go far. Cats are pretty territorial. It sounds like maybe the tomcat was intimidating her.

One time our cat got out. We searched around the yard, walked around the block, didn't find him. It was in the summer, so we had the bedroom window open. Around midnight, my husband said very loudly, "[kitty's name], come home!" and we heard a "meow" from outside. He was on the front porch. We think he had been lurking around in the shrubs around the house the whole time.

We also think his interest in the great outdoors was instigated because a cat sitter had let him outside by mistake shortly before this incident.

Whenever we have a reason to leave the front or back door open or have people coming in and out, we put the cats behind closed doors elsewhere in the house. One of them would scoot out if we weren't vigilant, so with her, we just have to keep an eye on her whenever the door is opened.

Sweet ending!

Oh, thank goodness. I've been following the weather there (not that ours is much better right now) and I was so worried about tiny Molly in the cold. I'm so glad she is home. What possesses them to resist being rescued by their own family, I wonder. This seems like SOP with cats. How is she behaving now?

She's behaving just like she never had her little walkabout! She's cuddling up to her humans and her cat brothers, and grazing from the food bowl occasionally. Little stinker. She's known as Prodigal Molly around here today!

YAY Molly!!!!

AJ, so happy for you!

I'd squirt water...can't hurt. They figure it out quickly.

Beth P.

I just caught your headline before heading back to work and yelled out "YAAAAY"

Both the dogs are looking at me as tho I am nuts!

Terrific news!

I'm so glad to read this good news! I believe in the power of prayer and I'm thankful that Molly came back to you. Be kind to Tomcat, it could be that he was her electric blanket during the night or two she was outside without a winter coat. Happy endings are the best!

Yes, my heart goes out to the big ol' brusing tom - particularly since he is certainly the father of my Tiki, whom we rescued from feralness after his mama was hit by car. (He and his brother Sunny are still semi-feral, but perfectly at home living as indoor kitties now!) We'll be filling the food bowl outside for him since he knows it's there, and I can't stand the thought of him not being able to find enough to eat in this wintry weather.

Oh thank goodness! I didn't have a chance to check this morning--I am so glad I did now!

Yay, she's home where she belongs!!!!!

So happy for you!!

I am so relieved. Tearing up as I read your report. I've been praying every day for you and Molly. Finally some good news. I know how much your furbaby means to you.

Had to giggle at the thought of squirting some water as "cruel" -- YES. I AM EVIL. ((cue the spooky music .... just teasing!!!))

Our cats have been cuddled in many layers of bedding, towels etc. since the cold weather started on Tuesday. One cat sleeps in the middle of the bed -- and one sleeps at the very top end of the mattress -- so I have to pull down my pillow and sleep in a shortened state! :)

Many thanks and blessings to you all for feeding the big old tom in this nasty, cruel freezing weather ... poor soul! Did you hear that DFW may get some snow tonight?

I have been feeding the birds and squirrels and been running out with warm water to keep the water bowl open for the birds. The poor souls were trying to get water from the snow! DH threw a bunch of cut veggies across the way onto the green belt (which is currently the white belt!)

sheesh!! can't WAIT for Saturday -- and better weather!

Very glad to hear she made it back and seems just fine too after her ordeal in the cold.

Our solution to escape artists is "airlock" entries. Both porches are enclosed. It took awhile to become consistent about doing a cat check before opening the outer door, but it does work.

Glad that you're going to feed the tom. I used to think of cats as fairly solitary except for mating and raising young, but that's not always the case. A neighbor let one of their cats run free (totally irresponsible in a high density urban neighborhood). That kitty became best friends with a cat two blocks over. They visited back and forth like a couple of kids!

A squirt of water is not cruel - in spite of what DH or the kitties tell you! Some cats catch on faster if you make a hissing sound when you do it. I had one cat who learned to respond as though squirted if I just made "the sound" and pointed a finger like I was squirting.

Well, I guess sometimes a girl just has to be BAAAAADDDDD!!!

Glad there was a happy ending for you all.

God heard your prayers as well as everyone else's prayers. So happy that your sweet Molly cat is back. As an mom to 7 cats and 1 dog with at least 1 or more cats always looking to get out, I really understand what you went through. I have had a cat or two disappear for several days over the many years I have owned cats. I have to be constantly vigilant for any possble escape. Thanks to God for having your baby come back home. She had her adventure but decided that you love her best.

Wow, good news and a happy ending, I'm so glad!

Try a sheet of tinfoil in front of the doors. Trick I learned is to keep it flat as possible (so it's not pronounced) but maybe crinkle and wrinkle it a bit so it's noisier when they step on it. I did that on a couple pieces of furniture for our newest addition, worked like a charm! First time he jumped up and landed on the foil, it freaked him out & he's not tried since (I can tell by things being in their place & not being knocked over, lol.) Might be extra reinforcement for the times they sneak up to the door when you're not looking or not able to be there with the squirt bottle. ;)

I've had login issues, but had been following the saga, glad to hear a happy ending, especially in light of this weather we're experiencing! Congrats!

She's currently lounging on the bed, but I caught her having a mid-morning snack a little while ago ...

Poor Tom, I wish he had a home. Not saying it should be yours, but there he is outside in the weather.
I could never volunteer at a shelter, it would break my heart.

I'm so glad you're feeding him.
(maybe some frontline come spring?)

OH!! look at that big old sweetie pie face -- out in the cold snow! :( He just looks like he needs a wee spot in a forever home ... poor old soul!

And yes indeed -- look at pretty Molly too! Lucky gal!

"I had one cat who learned to respond as though squirted if I just made "the sound" and pointed a finger like I was squirting."

Spit take...

Thank goodness Molly came back. I have been following this thread as well.
Can I say "Tom" has earned a doghouse for watching after her so well? They do sell the insulated ones to help him stay warm/dry......... My friend cares for a feral cat on her property. She got him an insulated doghouse and this special rubber frisbee thing she puts in the microwave each day to keep him warm. It stays warm for @15 hours after warming in the microwave for just a minute or so. She puts it under a blanket in the doghouse each evening.
Sorry, but he looks so sad and alone out in the snow :(

I know ... he does look like a little lost soul out there under the bushes, doesn't he? Of course, I can't say for sure whether or not he actually "led" Molly back home and acted as her protector - or if he may be part of the reason that she stayed away for three days - but no matter. He is what/who he is, and it breaks my heart that he obviously doesn't know what it's like to cuddle up with someone who truly adores him. He's extremely timid. Feral, or quite close to it. As I think I've mentioned elsewhere, he definitely is the father of two kittens that we took in (kept one, rehomed the other). The son of his that we kept saw him through the front window the other day and totally freaked. (I wonder what was going through his little cat mind?)

Great idea about getting a little insulated kitty-house for him. We left the cat carrier out on the front porch and he could get in there if he wanted. I'm guessing it might make him feel too confined so close to where "the scary humans" live. Then again, he could be using it when we're asleep. We'd never know.

Tom looks exactly like my Raptor. My guess is that Molly was afraid of him. Tom's are hugely territorial animals and many like to start fights.

Last Summer a wild Tom out here bit a hole in my Lizzie's ear, it got really bad, but I caught it just in time.

I love me some Tom's but they're a PITA to the tamed cats who only want to play in their own yard. :(

Happy Molly's home!

Dear Auntjen, I am so happy for you. Your Molly is a beauty. Enjoy her and love her! Best to you all.

What great news! I knew she would make her way back. Looks like she had a great protector. I love that pic of him.

Years ago my Kiki girl got out. She was totally indoors. It was about 107 that day. I came home and doggy was going crazy in the house, begging to go outside. He kept coming to us to get our attention. It was really bugging us. Then I followed him outside to the bushes. There under the bushes was my Kiki girl. She was panting so hard. I scooped her up and rushed her inside. She layed on the vinyl floor the rest of the day and doggy left her alone. Funny how they sense that kind of stuff. She never went near the door again.

Hopefully Molly has learned her lesson and the others are scolding her.

I love happy endings like this!

I'm late to the party, but am SO GLAD AND HAPPY that your Molly is back. I know exactly how you felt when you grabbed her, as I felt the same when enticing our indoor cat in after he got out & was gone for a week. Whew!!!

I'm so glad you are caring for "Tom" too.

I can't tell you how big of a smile I just got!