My 28 year old son, Todd and Stacey (girlfriend) decided to go to the beach just north of Brisbane at a place called Redcliffe. The idea was to have a picnic but as it was raining they thought it better to get a hamburger and sit in the car in a little cul-de-sac just at the edge of the beach. They’d been there a few times before but this time they parked in a slightly different spot.
It was raining quite heavily and the wind started to get stronger and of course the water was very choppy. Todd looked out towards a big storm water drain and noticed something struggling in the water at the exit of the drain. It was either a dog or worse, a cat. Without really questioning why, he stripped off his top clothing, shoes etc and waded into the water. Stacey watched from the car.
As he swam out through the waves he noticed it was a big (and he said really big) cat that was having great difficulty staying above the water. Todd is not a big heavy lad – he’s tall but only slim build and not a strong swimmer but he got to the cat without any trouble. He reckons it was at least 2 - 3 m deep with all rocks underneath the water but he wasn’t at all scared and he didn’t feel the cold. He said he felt a sense of calm but couldn’t explain why.
He reached out to the cat and by surprise the cat didn’t fight or even try to scratch him and merely paddled towards him. He swam ashore with the poor half drowned ‘moggy’ tucked under his arm. Stacey and Todd then wrapped up the cat and put it in the car with Stacey cuddling it. Todd dried himself off and approached a few houses to see if anyone know who the cat belonged to.
No luck there but one lady was extremely helpful and offered to ring the vets in the area and put notices in shops. Todd left her his name and phone number just in case something turned up.
They took the cat home to Stacey’s (a 30 min drive) and all the way the cat just purred and purred. At Stacey’s they showered him and gave him a blow dry. Todd said he was the most beautiful cat, so soft and cuddly and very friendly. Todd took him home for the night and stocked up on cat food from the local shop. The cat instantly made himself at home on the couch.
The next day Todd went to work and when he arrived home about 6’ish there was a phone message from a lady saying it could be her cat. Todd phoned her and asked her to describe the big puss. Bingo! It WAS the one. Todd picked up Stacey and drove over to Redcliffe to deliver the cat.
When they got there the lady was waiting with her 2 children. All were and very tearful and so happy and relieved to get back her Oscar, as he is known. In the house the family dog (a poodle) went berserk and licked the cat all over. Obviously the cat and dog are the best of mates and as it turned out the dog had been fretting for 2 days since the cat disappeared.
The lady then gave Todd an envelope and Stacey a big bouquet of flowers. They drove home but Todd said he had mixed feelings as he would have just loved to have kept Oscar but realized he meant more to the lady.
When they got home he opened the envelope and there was a $100 note with a letter. On reading the letter it so happened that Oscar was a gift from the lady’s husband 8 years ago on her birthday and sadly her husband had died earlier in the year from cancer. She wrote that losing the cat was just the worst thing that could have happened as the family was in the process of moving house. Oscar’s owner thought he may have run away due to the upheaval of moving house.
By coincidence, where this all happened is only about 500m from where I lived as a teenager from 1961- 65 and where my Dad still lives. It is the very beach where I used to do my homework, swim, play cricket with the other kids in the neighbourhood and sit and ponder my future etc. It is also where my Dad scattered the ashes of my mother in 1999.
I told Todd to contact the local TV station as it is a ‘feel good’ story but he said, in deference to the lady’s privacy, he preferred not to seek any publicity.

Author: Sandra Smith
Country: Australia
True story: Yes
Rating: 32 paws up
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