This is the story:
Tiger was one of the many thousands of cats lost in the aftermath of Katrina. He lived with his family in the Lexington subdivision in St. Bernard Parish and was never found after Katrina; never showed up on Petfinder or anywhere else. Being a young (6 months old at the time) and declawed cat, there seemed to be little hope for a happy ending.
On May 22, 2007 (!!) Jessica felt the need to get out of the house. Well, out of the FEMA trailer where she's living with her cousin. Her drive took her down Judge Perez, through Violet and to the Lexington subdivision where she drove around. One her way back out she noticed a small cat sitting in an empty lot, and continued to sit there as she approached. She said, "Unlike most animals that have been out there for so long, he didn't run. He let me approach him."
Jessica picked up the starved, dehydraded little thing who was covered in sores but still wearing his blue collar, and took him to her mother's house. She decided that she was going to find this guy's owner and get him home.
Tiger was one of the many cats that Denise had helped search for/reunite beginning in 2005, so when Jessica sent her the photos, and told her that he was found in an empty lot just outside the Lexington subdivision, and wearing the blue collar, Denise knew that this must be Tiger and sent the photos to Lisa, Tiger's owner.Lisa and her daughters drove to Chalmette to meet Jessica and knew that the ragged little cat was in fact their Tiger. They were all overjoyed, but perhaps no one more than Tiger - as soon as was back in the lap of his young companion, he started rubbing his head all over her and hasn't stopped.
He was been seen by a vet and in spite of being very thin and weak, flea-ridden, covered in sores, and with one of his back paws split with raw skin exposed - he was free of diseases and should recover just fine. He is curled up in his new bed and purring away. And probably sleeping deeply and well for the first time in 21 months.
Tiger never wandered far from home, waiting and hoping for his people to come back. He was very much loved before Katrina, and deeply missed for the past 21 months and is finally basking in that love again.
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