I witnessed every pet parent’s worst nightmare on Friday and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it from happening.

We took Oliver, Cinder and Cheetoh to be neutered at a RASCAL Unit spay/neuter clinic. A local cat rescue hosted it and offered this necessary service for a deep discount. They have just a few very specific rules and one is that each cat has to be in his or her own carrier.

There are a few good reasons for this and they were very clear about it both verbally and in writing when I signed up the boys. A woman brought two cats in the same carrier and they refused to accept them like that. I can only assume this lady received the same information I did or maybe she wasn’t involved in the pre-registration process. Who knows.

I don’t know what exactly occurred but the next time I saw the woman she was outside holding a pretty black and white cat in her arms. Something happened, it got spooked, fought to get loose and took off running. She ran after it but it vamoosed in the blink of an eye.

We learned when we picked up the boys several hours later that she never caught the cat.

It was terrifying and reminded me of the day that Scout got spooked on the screened-in porch. He left me with both physical and mental scars before I could get him back in the house where he hid under the bed and slunk around the house for days.

I was lucky that this incident didn’t end badly and that I still have my boy. Here’s hoping this kitty comes back to the rescue and can be reunited with its owner.

I can’t imagine how much she must be missing her cat or how terrified her kitty is roaming alone in a strange neighborhood.