I'd like to introduce you to Comet.

When we came to town eight years ago for our first house-hunting trip and first met him he was but a wee kitten. He belonged to the HR Manager of the company that Danny went to work for and they also happened to live in our new neighborhood.

We got to see Comet grow to be a HUGE cat – and I don’t just mean fat. He is long of leg, body and has an enormous head. He also happens to be one of the prettiest cats I’ve ever seen. He’s mellow and sweet and as he got older he developed a fascination with vehicles. He likes to ride and he likes to lounge in vehicles and would get in anything that was left with its windows down!

After about three years or so Comet’s family decided to move about three miles away to a home on a wooded lot of about four acres. It’s a lovely place – quiet and isolated. Something that you think a cat like Comet would love.

Comet’s buddy Tubby thrived at the new house, but not Comet. The country life was not for him – apparently he felt that a subdivision was where he belonged, and his old house was where he wanted to be. He came back EVERY DAY for MONTHS ON END. His owners would come get him. And he would simply come back the next day. I cat sat one week and I took him home FIVE times in a seven day period.

It always amazed me that he could cover that much territory that fast!

They tried everything. Old wives tales involving butter on his feet. They tried it. Complicated routes home in the dark. They tried it. Comet still came back. Nothing seemed to work.

For a while, the new owners of Comet’s old house were amenable to him moving in with them. They were cat people and liked him well enough. However, I think he wore out his welcome when they came home one day and found him devouring a headless bunny on the leather seats of their Mercedes Kompressor convertible.

Comet even tested the waters here for a bit. Coming in through the pet doors, making himself at home and helping himself to the cat food. I really liked him and was open to him moving in permanently. But apparently my cats must have had a meeting and decided that he was one too many. He came in through the pet door just before daylight one morning and my felines ganged up on him and beat the crap out of him. Literally. They all tied up at the base of the steps and when we got there and got the lights on – it was spewed all over the floor, the walls and the stairs! We caught a glimpse of Comet as he ran out the cat door and none of our cats had a trace of crap on them!

So, Comet’s family lived in the house in the woods for about eighteen months and then decided to move back to a subdivision. And you know what – he seemed happy again. He liked it. There was activity around, people to see, things to do, I guess. I’m not really sure what the draw is for him, but apparently there is some need there. He’s been in his subdivision for about four years now and seemed pretty settled.

But...about six weeks ago, Danny and I were walking in the back of our neighborhood and we stopped to chat with some new acquaintances. I noticed a cat at a house across the street from them, and that cat looked JUST LIKE COMET. There were several kids playing outside, so I asked about the cat and they said it was theirs. But it walked right up to me, let me pick it up and it had the most distinctive purr. I could have sworn it was Comet!

Sadly, Comet’s family has gone through a tough time, the Mom and Dad have split up and we don’t keep in touch with them like we used to. However, I came home and called the Dad and asked about Comet and he said that he was at his former wife’s house the last time he remembered, so I let it drop.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago – Comet’s former Dad called to say that in fact Comet has been AWOL for quite a while! I slipped down to the house and took pictures of the kitty and emailed them and 'lo and behold, it was Comet.

I wonder what prompted Comet to pack his bags and leave his home of four years and travel cross-country over four miles to return to the neighorhood of his youth? Don't you wish he could tell us?

The end of this story is this…Comet will finally get his wish. The little kids where he has taken up residence are crazy about him; he is hell-bent on living in THIS subdivision. His original people have finally given in to his will…