About six years ago, I adopted a cat through a shelter in Southern California. Maya was flown out here. She had spent the majority of her life in a shelter and she arrived here shocky. For several months she was upstairs and I was working with her. Gradually she came out of her shell and one day she went outside and became our shop cat. She loved it out in the shop, she would sleep in the rafters at night, and when Mike came down in the morning to work, she would climb down and snuggle with him while he worked.
Then we had a freak straightline wind and the shop (part of it collapsed) when a large tree fell over in the wind. We thought she had died, and mourned the loss. But tonight, when I went outside to feed the dog, Maya was sitting on the porch! There is no mistakenly the muted tortie colors she had. She stared at me for a few minutes and when I knelt down and called to her, she came over slowly. Just before she reached me, she bolted out the door!
I put food out for her, and hope she does come back