Missing Cat Found Found Hiding in Secret Location

Katie and Jeanne Megel along with Tamarac Fire Rescue and the cat’s owner Dixie Cortez try to coax Jesse the cat out of the tunnel along the sea wall in Section Eight of the Woodlands

By: Sharon Aron Baron

Jesse the Himalayan cat who had been missing since July 24 has been found thanks to Section Eight Neighbor Frances Weinberg who heard a cat crying on Sunday night on Orchard Tree Lane and tried to help him.

Unsuccessful, she contacted our site and described it as a gray cat.  An email bulletin went out to residents asking them about the found cat.  Not sure if this was the same cat, I attached was a photo of the missing Himalayan from Section Five. Luckily, Frances believed that it was the same cat, and contacted Dixie Cortez, owner of Jesse late that night.

Immediately, Dixie along with her husband Marcos arrived at the scene, however, Jesse hid in a tunnel near the wall along their canal behind their home.  After hearing Jesse’s cries, Dixie was positive it was Jesse that was hiding.

On Monday, Dixie tried again to coax Jesse out. She found out that a neighbor had been feeding Jesse a delicious diet of salmon cat food so it looked like Jesse may have been content living back there for the time being, or had lost his way home.

Neighbors from Section Three, Jeanne Megel and daughter Katie volunteered to help coax him out with cat toys, to no avail.   Jesse didn’t want to come out from the tunnel.

Dixie contacted Tamarac Fire Rescue who arrived at the scene, but there was nothing they could do as the tunnel was extremely long and wrapped around the canal area. They suggested that she buy a trap or try to wait it out until the cat came out himself.

Jesse catches up on some much needed sleep after his big adventure

On Monday night, Dixie was able to get Jesse out herself.  She heard him meowing in the tunnel and laid down on her stomach and reached her arm into the hole and scooped him up.

“He is still traumatized from the experience. He has lost more than one half of his body weight,” said Dixie.

So now it looks like Jesse is back at home with his owners and the other cats in his family.  Dixie said that Jesse left his private bedroom this morning and went straight to his kitty condo to take a nap.  Dixie is so thankful that Frances found her beloved Jesse that she sent her a thank you and a reward.