On New Year's Day, we did have beans again for dinner and remembered to set aside three beans each for good luck in 2026. Shortly after sunset, my husband took the beans out to the edge of the woods, next to a fallen tree that was a favorite walking spot for Matcha. He set down the beans and said out loud to the dark, among other things, that we hope Matcha is safe. My husband didn't tell me this until late in the afternoon the following day.
On the morning of January 2, around 11:15am, I received a text with two photos of Matcha and then a message from someone who said she had found our cat. It was clearly recognizable as Matcha, looking very much like he did seven weeks ago. Having entered the acceptance stage, and hoping just that someone was caring for Matcha, even if we didn't see him again, I was overwhelmed with relief and started crying with joy right away, completely useless except for securing the cat doors to keep Mack and Daisy indoors. Meanwhile, somehow, my husband got the lady on the phone and exchanged information with her. We gathered up the cat carrier and some kibble just in case, and I threw some chocolate bars in a bag, and we got in the car.
The story of Matcha's rescue became even more amazing as the story unfolded. He was in a patch of woods in a cul de sac of a neighborhood two miles north of us. How he got there and whether someone else cared for him along the way, we will probably never know. The lady noticed him just before Christmas and started feeding him dog food. There was another stray cat there as well, but Matcha was friendly and the other cat seemed feral. He ate as much as she would give him, wet and dry dog food, and then at some point she bought some cat food and made him a dog bed to sleep on in their screened-in porch. That was the scene when we arrived-- their dog in the house and Matcha set up on the porch, a big plate of food and a bowl of water right next to his dog bed. He looked healthy and happy.
At some point, their daughter had looked on Facebook and found our post on the Gainesville Pet Finders the Original page, with our contact information. As soon as we got there, I handed the chocolate to their daughter and we set about the business of greeting Matcha.
We took Matcha to the vet clinic as soon as we could and the doctor said he was in good shape, no injuries. He had lost 1 1/2 pounds. We grabbed a bit of lunch nearby while they were keeping him for a while. They took a blood sample and urine sample, and we had a fecal sample for them and took it over the next morning.
It came in texts throughout the afternoon that the lady and her daughter had become very attached to Matcha already and were thinking of adopting him. It was good of them to look online for us.
Matcha has to be kept separate until we know about FLV and parasites, which should be soon. He really wants to be out in the mix with everyone, but we are waiting for medical clearance. My husband has gone to great lengths to allow the other cats to have a little time outside in the morning. And last night he kept Mack and Daisy upstairs with him so Matcha could spend the night snuggling with me. He did a little exploring but mostly he was with me the whole night, just like old times.
Everyone has been so kind along the way. I texted everyone I could think of who knew he was missing, and the response was the same-- happiness and relief that he had been found. I even got a text from a neighbor I barely know who had heard the good news.
On January 2, while Matcha was at the clinic, we went around to all the signs we had posted in Kenwood and Haile and my husband wrote with a red sharpie, "Found. Thank you." I got the idea several weeks ago from a neighbor who walks her dog near us and notices things. On January 4, we took the signs down.
Reunited, miraculously.
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