08/04/2026
This past weekend was supposed to be one of the highlights of our year.
We were supposed to be in Springfield, Massachusetts, attending our annual TICA Regional Cat Show. We had been looking forward to it for months. Everything was planned⊠or so we thought.
Our goal was to leave between 3 and 4 p.m. on Friday, but as anyone with animals knows, things donât always go according to schedule. We spent the morning packing the car and getting everything ready. By around 1 p.m., the car was loaded, and all that was left was giving Kitty Kat her show bath.
Now, Kitty Kat has always been wonderful for grooming. Sheâs calm, patient, and has never given me much trouble.
This time was completely different.
The moment she went into the grooming sink, she panicked. She tried to jump out twice. I use a large stainless steel grooming sink, and when she tried climbing over the side, her paws slipped underneath the edge. What I didnât realize was that the underside had a sharp bevel.
She ended up slicing open two of her paw pads.
There was blood everywhere.
I managed to stop the bleeding on one paw fairly quickly, but the other just wouldnât stop. I finally had to use Kwik Stop to get it under control. After drying her, I thought we were finally in the clear⊠until I noticed blood all over her again. One of the cuts had reopened, and I had to hold pressure on it for about 15 minutes before it finally stopped.
At that point, all of the blood meant she needed another bath.
Thatâs when my mom quietly said, âMaybe you shouldnât take her. Maybe take another cat instead.â
The problem was⊠we didnât have another cat in show condition.
Then she said something Iâll never forget.
âMaybe it just wasnât meant to be this weekend. God works in mysterious ways.â
I smiled, but honestly⊠I didnât listen.
I gave Kitty Kat another bath, finished drying her, loaded her into the carrier, and around 7 p.m. we finally hit the road toward Massachusetts.
Our two oldest teenagers had stayed home to take care of the animals while we were gone. Our oldest son had gotten a brand-new bike the day before, and according to his dad, heâd been out riding with friends all day.
By 8 p.m., he still hadnât come home.
His phone was off.
We started getting a really bad feeling.
We kept texting and calling our oldest daughter to see if heâd shown up.
Nothing.
By 9 p.m., we were already about two hours into the trip, but neither of us could shake the feeling that something was wrong.
We made the decision to turn around.
We arrived home around 10:30 that night.
He still wasnât there.
We called his friends.
His ex-girlfriend.
Anyone we thought might know where he was.
No one had seen him.
Around 11 p.m., we drove around town searching for him ourselves.
Nothing.
That was one of the longest nights of my life.
Every parent knows that sinking feeling when your mind starts imagining every possible scenario. We barely slept. We just waited⊠hoping weâd hear the front door open.
Saturday morning, with still no sign of him, we filed a missing person report with the New York State Police.
Hours later, they were able to ping his phone.
He was nearly 80 miles from home.
Our hearts dropped.
Thankfully, they found him safe.
It turns out he had run away and was trying to make his way to Indiana to meet an online girlfriend.
The troopers brought him home later that evening, and Iâve never been so relieved to see one of my children walk through the door.
Looking back now, I canât help but think about everything that happened before we left.
Kitty Katâs unexpected injury.
The endless delays.
My mom telling me maybe it wasnât meant to be.
At the time, it felt like everything was going wrong.
Now, I canât help but wonder if those delays happened for a reason.
Had we left earlier like we originally planned, we would have been much farther away before we realized our son was missing. We may not have turned around as quickly as we did.
Sometimes what feels like an obstacle is actually protection.
This weekend didnât end with ribbons or titles.
Instead, it ended with something far more importantâŠ
Our son came home safely.
And for that, Iâm grateful beyond words. â€ïž
