My wife, Vida, and I own an apartment in the French Riviera on the 5th floor of a building facing the Mediterranean Sea in Nice.
It has a large balcony with the most spectacular view you could ever imagine.
Vida loves it so much she stays for a month at a time.
Only one problem, what to do about our pet cat, Sam. A month is too much time to be away from our little guy, so Vida decided Sam would become a world traveler.
We went through the required steps, getting the vaccinations, contacting the French Embassy, getting the forms filled out by the vet, and buying the appropriate cat carrier.
Vida booked a flight on Delta. It’s the only airline to fly directly to Nice, and allows you to bring your pet right in the cabin with you.
Sam was a great traveler, slept almost the entire time with out any artificial help, and didn’t make a peep at all. But that’s not why he’s called a flying cat!
When I met up with them at the apartment a week later, everyone was settled in.
Sam was doing what he does best, sleeping and eating. And Vida was busy working on the flat, getting it ready for a great summer in the Riviera sun.
Sam, being curious as all cats are, loved to look out the sliding doors to the balcony. From his perch on the scratching post, he could see the Sea, look at the birds, watch the boats and the swimmers; it was a wonderful view that kept him entertained for hours. And we were always careful to keep the doors closed, or at least screened in so he couldn’t get out.
But one night Vida and I had guests until very late.
When our friends left at 2 in the morning, we cleaned up the flat, said goodnight to Sam, and went to the bedroom.
I don’t know exactly why I decided to go look for Sam before retiring, but when I did, he was nowhere to be found.
Now everyone knows that mousers have a way of hiding in plain sight. We are always asking, “Where does Sam go when Sam goes away?”
But this time was different. He was nowhere to be found.
My heart sank as I ran down the stairs, hoping against hope that he hadn’t fallen off the balcony into the sidewalk below.
Sure enough, I found him cowering in a pool of blood, on the cold pavement, five stories below. He was breathing hard, and I was very afraid he wouldn’t make it.
I picked him up as carefully as I could and took him upstairs and handed him to my wife.
I scrambled for the phone book and searched frantically for a vet in the area.
Luck was on our side…there was an emergency clinique veterinaire just 5 minutes from our flat.
We bundled Sam up in a towel and rushed him to the animal hospital where the nicest woman vet, who spoke enough English to understand us, gently took our little guy and disappeared into the examination room.
Before taking him away, she said that kitties are constantly jumping from Riviera balconies (apparently trying to catch a bird passing by) and that’s why they are called “flying cats.”
Two hours later she came out and told us to go home and wait…she said she had done all she could do for now, and we needed to wait until the morning when the rest of the staff came in, to get a better idea of just how badly he was hurt.
She couldn’t assure us that he would even make through the night.
We didn’t sleep at all, and at first light, we went back to the clinic praying that Sam was ok.
The vet came in and told us he had a hard night…he had broken his leg, had internal injuries, and his face was all cut up. We could see him for a few minutes, but he needed an operation soon.
When we walked in he was lying on a cold steel table shivering hard and looking all beat up, but at least he was alive.
Vida and I pet him and talked to him for a few minutes before we were ushered out by the doctor.
3 hours later, they came out of the surgery and told us Sam would be ok…his internal injuries were fixed, but his broken leg couldn’t be set…he would forever have a slight limp. We could take him home in a day or 2.
Sam had just lost about 6 of his 9 lives.
We took him home, cone on his head and all, and took turns staying with him day and night for 2 weeks. We watched every single episode of Law and Order on DVD until he was well enough to be left alone.
Sam stayed close to us day and night until he was all better…then he resumed his cat like duties…
Eating, sleeping and generally getting in trouble.
Suffice it to say, he will never go on vacation with us again.
And that’s the story of “The Flying Cat"!
