Autumn is back and it's only February.
Autumn, the cat, that is.
The 2-year-old calico cat disappeared after delivery of a new mattress and box spring to the Crews home on Sourwood Lane in Chesterfield County on Feb. 14. Ann Crews, 61, and her husband, Wayne, own three cats, Autumn, Zoie and Miss Patty.
"They're our little children," Ann Crews said.
But after the delivery by Haynes furniture company on Hull Street, all the cats were accounted for except Autumn. The family -- people and the other pets -- was frantic. Ann Crews said she knew the cats had torn a hole in the undercovering of the old box spring that was being taken away. As the delivery men loaded it on the truck, "Zoie flew out," Ann Crews said.
"An hour after the truck left, we realized Autumn wasn't around. The other cats were going crazy," she said. "They could tell something was wrong."
The Crewses called Haynes and "they put us in touch with the distribution center in Williamsburg," Ann Crews recalled.
There was no luck with the initial search by employees, she said.
Until Feb. 20, Autumn was inside the box spring taped to the old mattress.
But a good Samaritan saved the day, and Autumn's life.
Wilbert Davis, who takes old mattress from Haynes' warehouse in Williamsburg to a landfill in Suffolk, delivered the old mattress/box spring set for disposal. As he handled the box spring, he noticed that it shifted.
"When I moved that particular box spring, my spirit told me something wasn't right," he said.
After checking closer, he discovered Autumn lying prone with front and back legs outstretched inside the box spring.
"I saw a purple collar. That's when I knew it was a pet," he said. "I was so shocked. I called the other person with me on the truck." Then he phoned his warehouse manager and said, "You won't believe this. There's a cat inside this mattress set. It must belong to a customer."
Davis, 54, said Autumn seemed "terrified" about all the birds flying around the landfill, but otherwise, "the cat was so nice."
Haynes employees got in gear trying to track the customer. Luckily, there was a record of the Crewses' call reporting the missing cat. Meanwhile, Davis did what he could to see that Autumn was fed, from asking co-workers for leftover lunch to giving water to the thirsty animal. He bought some food from a nearby store.
His compassion for the cat was based on his Christian beliefs, Davis said. "I do things from the heart. It was all through God. I can't take credit. God used me to do this." Davis, a Williamsburg resident, said he owns a shelter dog, Bear, that he's had for nine years.
Ann Crews said she's grateful for Davis' kindness. She describes him as "a very Christian man who loves animals."
She got the call Friday that Autumn had been found and would be returned on a delivery truck from Williamsburg to Richmond on Saturday. "We were bonkers" while waiting, she said. Autumn arrived on the truck at 5:30 p.m., she said.
After a trip to the veterinarian to check Autumn's health, the cat was declared OK. And Zoie and Miss Patty are "ecstatic" to have their other cat back.
Autumn, after guzzling treats and lots of water since her return, "is a lot more perky today," Crews said Tuesday.
Of the lost-and-found cat, Crews said, "It was just one of those fluke things."
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