Update: 8/21/22 Lion-O is likely departed

Update: 8/21/22 

Lion-O is likely departed

Washington Park · Arboretum · Broadmoor Area

We hired Jim Branson and his dogs from Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue to help us find Lion-O. First we had to go door-to-door and ask our 65 neighbors for their permission to have access to their yards, and since they'd gotten two flyers from us already, they were fully aware of our situation and already on board.

The search was conducted on Saturday morning, 8/20, at 6am. The first dog tracks cats in general, not specifically Lion-O, took us to the back yard of a close neighbor where we found a large area covered in massive amounts of uncomfortably large tufts of soft, fluffy orange and white fur that could only belong to our Lion-O. The scene, Jim said, was most certainly not caused by a coyote attack. Coyotes rarely, if ever, leave evidence. The fur looked like it was torn out by large claws, which he said was consistent with the handful of bobcat attacks he's seen. The dog sniffed around a bit in the area for places Lion-O could be if he was able to get away and hide, but found nothing.

Jim offered to switch to the dog that tracks specific pet's scents. We took him to the yard so he could smell Lion-O's fur and he immediately led us in a straight path out of the yard, across the street, down a slope overgrown with thorny foliage, and onto the Washington Park Arboretum Loop trail. He ran up the trail and located more of Lion-O's fur along the way. He followed the scent a bit further to a bridge, ran around in the stream below, sniffing around and went back up to the trail but after a few feet, he lost the 14-day-old scent trail.

The evidence in the yard, along with the path the dog followed through the blackberry, was only more convincing to Jim that this was a bobcat attack and we decided to end the search. With a million questions and a few doubts in my mind, he agreed to come back early the next morning while it was still dark to conduct a luminol test in the yard with the fur. We did that this morning. The luminol did indeed turn the grass blue. I expected there to be a lot more blood than what I saw light up on the tips of the grass, but Jim said it was more than he’d seen in other cases and that he didn’t think this was a situation where Lion-O survived.

Of course we are devastated to think about those last moments and that he’ll never happily trot home to our whistle so he can roll around in the dirt before coming inside for dinner. But we are eternally grateful to you, all our neighbors, and Jim for all the kindness and understanding.

I have to add my glimmer of hope:

Jim said while it’s unlikely that this is coincidentally similar fur of another cat, or that Lion-O was able to escape, he’s been wrong before in cases he thought he was certain of the outcome. We’re not holding our breath, but if you see a fluffy orange cat in the future that gives you pause, never hesitate to give us a call. 🧡

Missing Post:

Lion-O was last home on Friday, August 5th in the evening. We live near the cross streets of 32nd Ave E and E Ward. He's an indoor/outdoor cat and didn't come home for breakfast early Saturday morning as usual. He is most likely near home but could have travelled or been transported if he was scared enough. He is microchipped with HomeAgain (888) 466-3242, you can call them or you can call Heather if you see him! (425) 802-5522 

Gender: Male

Age: 10

Weight: 13 lbs

Eyes: Green

Fur: Orange & White

Breed: Domestic Medium/Longhair

Want to help but you're not from around here? That's ok, you can still help by spreading the word so more people see Lion-O's picture and location. There is more information on how to do this at the bottom of the page. 

If you do live nearby, the best ways you can help us find him are by looking in and under the small spaces of your garages, out buildings, sheds, and crawl spaces under your house - and in Lion-O's case, listen for meows coming from on top of your house. 

It would be helpful to leave garage and shed doors open for an hour or two so he feels safe enough to run out. If you have dogs or territorial cats, keep them indoors for that time period when the garage or shed is open. If you have a territorial cat, it would be especially helpful to keep them indoors for a week or more.

You can also put a bowl of water in your garage in an inconspicuous spot where he will feel safe getting to it, and then if it's gone in a day or two, you'll know someone is grateful for your assistance. Putting cat food out for him is less important but would be appreciated if you have some available.

He is what is considered xenophobic and extremely frightened around people he doesn't know. If he is able, he will likely run if you approach him and may seem feral and wild. He will potentially scratch or bite if approached but is up-to-date on his rabies vaccine. Talk quietly and move slowly - try to take a photo and/or a video, and call us immediately with his location if you think you see him.  

Heather (425) 802-5522 and Nic (253) 217-2945

If you find him and he is injured or in poor condition:

Please take him to the nearest animal hospital immediately and call us after he is in their care.

The nearest 24 hour animal hospital to where he lives is:

Seattle Veterinary Specialists (toward downtown on Madison)

805 Madison Street 

Seattle, WA 98104

(206) 624-9111

For LESS URGENT injuries and conditions, his two vets are:

Madison Park Veterinary Hospital (by Starbucks in Madison Park)

4016 E. Madison Street

Seattle, WA 98112

(206) 324-4050

Madison Street Animal Hospital (by Safeway on Madison)

2215 E. Madison Street

Seattle, WA 98112

(206) 538-0890

Thank you for visiting our page - Please spread the word to get his photo out there! You can do this by commenting on and sharing our posts on Nextdoor and FaceBook and our FaceBook page @findliono. Screenshot the QR code for this blog page so you can share it. We are so grateful for anything you can do to help us find our Lion-O!