By DANIEL SUDDEATH
Daniel.Suddeath@newsandtribune.com
August 07, 2008 11:27 am
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It’s said that cats have nine lives — but do they also have a sixth sense of direction?
Jeffersonville resident David James is beginning to think so. A little more than a week after giving a pregnant cat away to a man living on a Sellersburg farm, he found her in his backyard having just birthed three kittens.
The farm is more than 10 miles away from James’ home.
The cat’s name is Biscuit, and she, along with several other cats, were given away to live on the farm after James said he and his wife, Wanda, could no longer keep them.
The apartment complex where they live has a limit on the amount of cats residents can keep, and James said they had already reached the maximum.
“We had been taking care of them, treated them, gave them shots and fed them, but will still had to get rid of them — that was the bottom line,” James said.
He didn’t want to take the cats to an animal shelter for fear they would be euthanized.
“We all know about the high population of cats,” James said.
While stopping in one Sunday at his neighborhood convenience store, James met a man who sold newspapers and owned a farm in Sellersburg, where he kept cats that needed a home. James had been asking nearly everyone he met if they needed a cat, and was relieved that the man would take the felines off his hands and into a good situation.
James and his wife loaded up their kennel with several cats and dropped them off. He stopped by the store Sunday and asked the man how they were doing, and he was told they were fine.
James thought he had seen the last of Biscuit, but he underestimated her traveling abilities.
After waking up Monday morning, James came downstairs to find his wife with a puzzled expression.
“She had a look on her face of disbelief,” James said.
He looked out his back door and saw Biscuit — unmistakable because of distinct markings on her body — caring for three newborn kittens.
James said the man who he gave Biscuit to had no idea where he lived, so there wasn’t a chance he had dropped the cat back off at his home. Biscuit had made the journey from Sellersburg to Jeffersonville to give birth to her kittens — eight days after relocating to the farm.
“She’s still in our backyard, and very, very protective (of the kittens),” James said.
Cats’ sense of smell is comparable to sight memory of humans, said Dr. Alan Beck, director of the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine.
Beck said outside cats have a large roaming area they consider home, so it’s easier for them to find their way. All cats are sensitive to odors, which helps them with directions.
“Animals are amazing like that,” Beck said of Biscuit’s ability to travel more than 10 miles to her original owner’s home.
“We see this in animals and I think we tend to be fascinated because we can’t do it,” Beck said.
There was probably a certain amount of luck involved in the situation, since many cats that wander off never make it back home, Beck said.
The couple built a shelter for Biscuit and the kittens to keep them safe from weather elements, and now they are looking for a home for the cats.
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