Our beloved 15-year-old cat Miso has been missing for four days now. She’s a neighborhood fixture at 16th and Harrison, camping out on the sidewalk in front of the Gables co-op, where she offers her cute self to passersby for petting and rubbing on legs.

My wife and I are beside ourselves with worry. Miso has never gone missing before, and what’s worse is each passing day is a day she has missed her meds, without which she’ll soon get very sick. We’re blitzing social media and saturating the neighborhood with flyers and posters–500 so far and I’m on my way to the copy shop after I post this.

This little kitty has had a firm hold on my heart for one third of my life. I know there are bigger problems in the world and tons of human suffering right here in Seattle right now, but that doesn’t diminish the pain of not knowing where she is or what’s happening to her. The thought of her being trapped and slowly expiring in a hot garage elicits real anguish.

But one bright spot in all of this has been the outpouring of empathy and assistance from friends, neighbors, and even strangers. We’ve received dozens of leads from anonymous eyes on the street. Others have joined us in search parties. One young man we’d never met but who knows Miso from his Saturday morning walks to Victrola donated 200 color posters and helped us flyer door to door. It’s hard to stay cynical about humanity when you see the community stepping up like this.

I get choked up just thinking about how many folks stopped to offer help and sympathy as I made the rounds putting up posters this week. If you want to thaw the alleged Seattle Freeze, print some copies of our flyer and go out stapling. You’ll be talking to people in no time.

I’ve never felt so fortunate to call Capitol Hill home. Deepest thanks to all who have expressed concern and given of their time and effort. We’re not giving up until we find her. Anything you can do to spread the word would be greatly appreciated: www.tinyurl.com/findMISOnow

Thank you all!