...three weeks ago.
Scratch had been with her for 13 years. He was getting old, but still very active. He was one of the nicest cat I've known, if a little annoying with all the in/out/in/out/in/outing that he did. He was a hunter.
I warned her often not to let him out all the time. I warned her that we have
raccoons that are just plain deadly. 
We have cars, eagles, all sorts of things that can take nine lives away in under nine seconds.
But, Scratch continued to go in, out, in out despite my warnings.
(let me add that my ex wife worked as a vet tech, and I've heard the stories of horrid things that have happened to animals brought in, who were let outside)
Three weeks ago I was outside at night, when someone let him out the back door. He came down the back steps, meowed like he wanted to be let in again. When I opened the door, he trotted off telling me
"haha, just kidding..."
Come morning, he hadn't come home again. We chalked it up to one of his adventures. He'd gone off for a few days just after we moved in here... Come evening, still no signs. Come the end of the weekend, we were getting worried.
We started checking craigslist and the shelter postings. Nothing. We walked the neighborhood, calling his name.
On Saturday morning she got a call. Someone had found his collar. Being chewed on by some coyote pups about two miles away.
Coyotes.
We went and collected the collar, which was pretty badly mangled. She holds out hope he escaped, but I know there's no way for the collar to have come off...without his head coming off.
While we were collecting the collar, we looked through the brush where the pups were, since they were in someone's back yard. The den is literally 20-30 feet from the man's gazebo, but we were unable to get close enough because of the thickness of the brush. We could hear the pups. Once we moved away from the den area, they came out with mom and dad on another part of the hill.
I don't know what she expected to find there, but if she'd found anything it would have been a carcass of long black fur. Maybe a bone or two.
She's been in tears ever since, her head not accepting that he's gone, with her heart telling her the awful truth.
In 2009 one of my cats went missing for about an hour or two. I think she got out the back door when it was left open, or she could have been hiding in the house. I was a basketcase until she was found.
I love my cats, and do not let them outside.
I feel awful for her.
Bye, Scratch. It was nice knowing you.
