Meet Rally Cat, a familiar ESPN voice, as he recounts the story about how a cat got into trouble in St. Louis. (2:32).The SEARCH PARTY meets at midnight with six traps, an assortment of fish juice and five volunteers. They meticulously comb through the bushes under the light of their cellphone flashlights on a hot summer night in a St. Louis park.It is August 11, 2017, just over a day after Rally Cat vanished. Half of St. Louis is looking for a long-tail good-luck charm who entered their lives at a Cardinals game. Officials sent out a tweet to ask the public to let the professionals do their jobs. The cat was last seen here in Citygarden. This is a public park with significant foot traffic.The volunteers at St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach are confident tonight. They trap, neuter, and return (TNR), about 2,000 stray cat a year. Their intuition is that he's still there because of fear, a primal trait almost all non-domesticated cats share. Savannah Rigley, a board member, says that even if a housecat is scared away, it will stay put and not travel more than a block.A tiny silhouette emerges on a footpath at 1 a.m. After a brief pause, he looks at Rigley and then darts into the bush. Rigley, three other people and the cat are not going to come out. Amy Jordan, a former certified nurse assistant, takes the cat to QuikTrip in order to give him space.It's 3:00 a.m. Ninety-nine hours ago, a long-haired kitten ran onto Busch Stadium's field during the Cardinals' match against the Kansas City Royals. The kitten repeatedly bit and scratched a young grounds crew member, all the while the crowd roared. The cat's next action was legendary. Yadier Molina struck a grand slam on the pitch immediately after play resumed. This lifted St. Louis to an 8-5 win.If it had happened in another place, or in another sport, the kitten might have become a statistic. There are an estimated 70 million feral and stray cats roaming the United States. Baseball fans, especially those in St. Louis, are superstitious. A portion of the Cardinals' fan base believes that the Rally Squirrel, which ran across home plate during 2011 National League Division Series, would have prevented them from winning their last World Series.Jordan has a cup and a half of coffee, listens to idle gas station chatter for about 30 minutes, then returns to Citygarden. She inspects the first trap.Two little eyes shine from a streetlight and stare at her. The fish juice has covered the animal's cage and he looks like he is trying to stick his paw into a light socket. Jordan stares at him imploringly. He does something he wouldn't do with a feral or unsocialized cat. She strokes Jordan's cheek and pokes her fingers into the cage.She tells him, "Hello, little buddy." "It's going to be okay," she assures him.She doesn't know that this scruffy kitten will soon be a big deal.Rally Cat would be St. Louis's adoring companion for a long summer month. His story was as captivating as baseball. He would be adopted by hundreds. The St. Louis Cardinals wanted him and planned to keep the kitten in their clubhouse. The act of seemingly good intentions turned into a bizarre, tension-filled story about a mythic and small figure whose whereabouts are still unknown.A Facebook post by the feral-cat outreach, July 11, 2018, 11 months after his trapping, included a photo of an adult cat that was incredibly floofy.It stated that Rally Cat had been retired.A cat races across Busch Stadium's field during the sixth inning in August 2017 when the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals play. AP Photo/Jeff RobersonAlthough their encounter was brief and required a visit to the emergency room for treatment, Lucas Hackmann knew this: The cat will stay with him for the rest his life.Hackmann reminisces about the night, saying, "I mean, shoot. He barely weighed one pound.""I felt like I was floating. That cat could have run three miles with me. It was almost like you were going to blackout for a second because of the adrenaline rush.Hackmann, now 24, is studying to become a physician's aid. But when Hackmann meets people in social settings, the phone video will inevitably surface and Hackmann's friend will ask the stranger "Do you recall the cat guy?"Hackmann wishes Rally Cat had left scars. Nurses stopped by the hospital to take photos of Hackmann that night. He was an average college student instantly identifiable by his blue polo, khaki shorts and gnarled hand. He was back on the radio four hours after leaving the hospital. SportsCenter followed two hours later. Conan O'Brien did a skit about him and he would be immortalized with the cat in a bobblehead. Hackmann actually smiles while holding the cat, but this tiny statue is not an exact replica.It was Wednesday night. In the bottom of the sixth, the Cardinals trailed the Royals 5-4. The game was a sign of desperation for both sides, who were hovering at.500. The Royals' submarine-thrower Peter Moylan was summoned from the bullpen. He had two runners on and no out and was quickly locked in. To face Molina's right-handedness, he intentionally walked Dexter Fowler.The cat then ran onto the field. His back was arched, and his gait was more like a gallop rather than a sprint. After running through the outfield grass, Cain slowed down as he approached Lorenzo Cain of the Royals. He then increased his speed. Cain didn’t move from his position. Cain watched as the kitten moved towards the warning track.Hackmann was standing at the top of the visitors' dugout when the game was stopped. Everyone seemed confused. Hackmann says that if a fan is disruptive, the ushers will take care of it. Who takes care of wayward cats?He volunteered and raced onto the field with 88,000 eyes on him. His heartbeat could be felt in his head. He positioned the kitten on the warning track and reached over to grab him. This was something he hadn't considered.Hackmann's experiences with Shih Tzu and the family dog were not helpful in determining how to handle a terrified feline at Major League Baseball games. His only guidance was adrenaline, instinct and intuition. Hackmann tucked his kitten under his arm and ran. The kitten poked, poked, and thrashed into Hackmann's chest. To corral the kitten, he used his other arm and adopted an incongruous grip, which looked like he was holding a dirty diaper while running. He instinctively told himself to run to the dugout but that was where the team was. He was afraid he would drop the kitten and cause further delays. The crowd roared at every bite, scratch, and painful reaction.He didn't abandon the kitten. He instead ran over the wall and into the stands and then disappeared.Moylan, a man who loves animals, joked about the kitten calling him "an evil witchcraft-spelling feline" in an interview with ESPN last week. He said that he tried to keep his focus during that two-minute delay that seemed like it would last 20 minutes. He couldn't.Moylan said, "I watched it all." It was very entertaining.Hackmann ran to the concourse bleeding and in pain and needed to locate a first-aid station. He was eager to get rid of the cat so he placed him in the concourse and watched as he ran out of Gate 3 towards the Stan Musial statue.Hackmann was there to witness the stadium burst into flames after Molina fumbled a fastball over the left field wall. "What happened?" He asked. His phone buzzed nonstop in his pocket. His boss called him first. He checked his well-being and asked him a pertinent question: Where was the cat? The cat was gone.He says, "It wasn't a rally kitten at the time." It was a feral cat.The cat was retrieved by Lucas Hackmann, groundkeeper. St. Louis won 8-5 after Yadier Molina, Cardinals' catcher, hit a grand slam. Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesRally Cat's FIRST OWNERSHIP lasted for less than 30 minutes.Korie Harris loves cats, Christmas and the Cardinals. Harris was in a standing room-only area at home plate watching the Kansas City-St. Louis match. When Hackmann left the field, Harris knew she had to do something. Harris said that an usher told her the kitten would be put out on the street.Harris ran to the main gate, spotting the kitten.Harris said that Harris found Harris in a corner of the ground and noticed several people around him. I thought, "Hey, that's mine; I'll take it home, because he's so scared." Yadi still hadn't scored the winning run at that point. "We just left immediately."Harris' apartment was approximately a half mile from the stadium. However, the walk that night seemed to take longer. Fans asked Harris if they could have the cat. (Harris said no.) The security guards from Cardinals approached her near the end of the parking area and inquired about the cat. They asked her about the cat and she said that she was going to take him home.She had big plans for the kitten. She would take the kitten for walks in the same stroller she used to transport Mimzy Jackson, her cat. She planned to call him "Yadi." She was just a few blocks away from her apartment, close to the tall grass and greener fields of Citygarden when the cat leapt out of her arms, and disappeared into the darkness. Harris believes that Harris was startled by the noise.The Cardinals released a statement the next day about the bizarre events of the night."...as our ushers tried unsuccessfully to contain the cat," the statement stated. "A fan grabbed the cat and claimed it as her own." Our security team met her as she was leaving the ballpark and asked some questions. The cat was then left behind by the woman. According to media reports, the woman had intended to bring it home and take care of it but it was lost in City Garden. We hope someone will locate the cat and contact our office so that we can properly care.It's difficult to find out the backstory of this news release and why the Cardinals would want to return a potentially feral kitten to them. The Cardinals declined to interview Harris for the story. Harris claimed that nobody cared for the kitten after Molina's return to their home.Although her name was not specifically mentioned in the release she was still "bummed" at the way the team described it. The day after the game, she did a radio interview. After that, reporters began to harass her by knocking at her door and showing up at her workplace. Anonymous strangers accused her of trying capitalise on the cat's good fortune to make money and blamed her for the Cardinals' disappearance. People saw her as a cat-thief.She said, "My phone just started going insane." "I don’t want to be part in the drama. I had to leave work. I was constantly being contacted by the news."I just sat in my house and began to go through the rabbit hole, looking at what people had said about me. It was horrible. I was crying. I wanted to make sure that the cat was okay."Harris was conflicted. She was upset at her team, but also worried about how they would treat her.Harris is one example of the passionate Cardinals fan base. She sports a Cardinals tattoo on one arm. Six months out of every year, Harris longs for six more.After being away from the ballpark for several weeks, she was unable to move and felt numb. She was afraid that an attendant would check her monthly pass and tell she to leave.Harris decided one day to go incognito. Harris straightened her curly hair and wore large sunglasses. She flashed her pass.She says, "Nobody noticed me."After scoring a grand slam against Peter Moylan, catcher Yadier Molina is celebrating. Jeff Curry-USA TODAY SportsTNR women are often described as crazy cat ladies. This connotation implies that the person is lonely, single, and surrounded with felines. This subset of animal advocates is actually detached from the actions they take, or else they would be living with 300 cats. To reduce overpopulation, they trap and neuter cats before returning them to their colonies.Rigley, one the volunteers who searched in Citygarden for Rally Cat, stated that rescuers and TNR people often get confused.Rigley states, "We are tougher." Rigley says, "We'll go places alone, and we'll even go to places that we have never been to before, and we'll set traps down dark alleyways." We can even return cats to their owners when it is difficult, even though we don't have the means.A group of STLFCO women decided to call it quits at 3 AM on Friday, August 11, 2017. The group shared their encounter with the silhouetted cat via a Facebook messenger chain. Jordan was also included in the conversation and suggested ways to trap him."Goodnight RC wherever your are!" Someone typed at 3:12 a.m.Jordan sent a message less than an hour later."Got him !!!""The photo showed the kitten looking up from its cage. The women compared the colors of the kitten's fur and the photos that were plastered everywhere on Rally Cat while their partners, husbands, and possibly some cats slept next to them.He was smaller than the kitten who ran out onto the field. Jordan brought the cat to Terri Zeman's home, where Terri placed the trap in a clawfoot tub in her newly renovated bathroom. Zeman gave Jordan half of a can seafood Fancy Feast and shut the door.A bull's eye on his right side was the only distinguishing mark that proved he was Rally Cat.STLFCO tweeted at 7:31 AM.We did capture a kitten overnight at @CitygardenSTL. We will try to determine if it's #Rallycat.They didn't know what was coming next. Within an hour they would be on the radio, and by midday they would have been so overwhelmed with requests that they would have to hold a news conference at a storefront that is used for community yoga. The cameras were fixed on a kitten locked in a metal cage.They had no idea what Rally Cat was. The veterinarian performed a health check on him that day. He was given leather gloves and a bamboo scratcher for testing his temperament. He wasn't necessarily feral. This is a term for unsocialized cats that are afraid of people. He wasn't a lapcat, however. He was 4 months old and was healthy.The Cardinals shared a photo on Twitter of the kitten that afternoon. "The #RallyCat was found!" It said.In early-to-mid august, the Cardinals were flying high. They beat their I-70 rivals and won eight consecutive games that week. After a poor start to the season the Rally Cat game brought St. Louis within one game of the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs.After the game, Mike Matheny, who, coincidentally manages the Royals, confessed to reporters that his cat-loving ways were not what he believed.He said, "But I sure like it,"The St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach rescued the kitten. St. Louis Feral Cat OutreachTHE TEAM QUICKLY arranged a "Welcome home" ceremony at the ballpark in late August and a "Rally Cat appreciation day" in September. Although the relationship between STLFCO and the team was good from the beginning, the women were skeptical about the idea of placing the kitten in the midst of all the other players. What would you do with an animal that had spent 24 hours hidden in the bushes?Rally Cat would need to be kept in quarantine for a minimum of 10 days due to rabies concerns. The first sign that things were getting out of control was the news of the rabies hold. Five people claimed that they were bitten by the kitten to be able to hold him.Christine Bowen, president of STLFCO, says that everyone wanted the cat. "They used different strategies."The women believed that if a popular organization could bring attention to the suffering of America's 70 million stray cats, it would be a good thing. Purina offered to send a cat behaviorist to design a playhouse for the cat at the stadium.Miscommunications caused problems in the team's relationship with the feral-cat volunteers. The women felt outmatched. Rigley states, "They're multimillion-dollar corporations." They could easily crush us, if they wanted." They wanted all meetings to be attended by their five board members. These were people who had day jobs and could only meet at night.Ron Watermon, the Cardinals' vice-president of communications at the time, phoned to inquire about the kitten a few days later. He called Lindsey Slama to inquire about the kitten. She was a volunteer and a huge Cardinals fan. Watermon was naturally thrilled to speak to her -- she loved her local baseball team as a child. She told Watermon that it would be great if one of the players adopted the cat so he could live in a real home.She wonders if Watermon may have misunderstood that to mean permission for the team's adoptive adoption. Watermon, who is a communications firm and is not with the team anymore, declined to comment on this story.The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an essay by Tony Messenger titled "Rally Cat Finds a Home, But What About Other Cats in St. Louis?" Louis" This was not Messenger's opinion piece, but it was certainly informative. It gave an insider's view into STLFCO’s work. One line seemed to be offensive to the Cardinals. It stated that Rally Cat would be adopted after he has recovered from his 10-day bout with rabies.Messenger said that "It caused a little bit more stink."Watermon spoke shortly thereafter to the newspaper and referred to the kitten "our cat" in an interview. He also stated that the kitten would be returned to him. Watermon stated that Mike and his players were looking forward to caring for the kitten.STLFCO responded by stating that it was shocked at Watermon's bullying tactics and that no decisions have been made regarding the cat's future placement. Watermon retorted by calling their statement "childish". The feel-good story quickly turned into a full-blown fight.A group of volunteers, who had quietly given their time to cats that nobody wanted, were now involved in a heated argument over one stray kitten. It didn't matter if you were a cat lover or a baseball fan, who was right and who was wrong. STLFCO's home address was actually that of one of the volunteers at the time. For days the family heard people shouting obscenities and occasional "I hope you live!"Rally Cat was staying with Zeman. But now, the women were worried that he might be stolen. They moved him three more times.Rigley states, "It was too obvious that he would be there her house." "If you are part of the St. Louis cat Mafia, then you will know Terri is at Terri's home."RIGLEY CONCEDES That they were likely a bit paranoid at times. They immediately put a microchip into the cat and registered him with St. Louis Feral Cat Organization. Rally Cat was euthanized in a cloak and dagger manner, at a mobile spay/neuter clinic. The events are held at a community centre and attract people from outside their circle. This meant that the women couldn't trust anyone. They placed the cat carrier facing the wall and covered it with items. Then, the veterinary tech took the cat to the spay-and neuter van.It was a momentous occasion. A week later, on Aug. 24, the "perceived bullying” salvo was over, the women wanted the media circus to stop and Rally Cat to be left alone. They just wanted to return to their normal lives. Albert Watkins, a well-known St. Louis lawyer who is a loudmouth, was called by the group to help them communicate.Watkins represented the women in pro bono. He stated that his sister does TNR work, and that he didn't fully appreciate the "sensitivities" of cat people until he saw two dead cats in her freezer. She said she wanted to give the cats proper burials, but that she needed to wait until the ground thawed.Watkins communicated quickly with Rally Cat, using cat puns and quick statements.The Cardinals did not protest. Rally Cat Appreciation day was held by the club in September, but without Rally Cat. Watkins claimed that he shared an Italian meal with an unidentified Cardinals management member who "rules over the roost." It was cordial. Watkins stated that the Cardinals gave money to the feral cat outreach after the dinner.Watkins states, "Not enough to purchase a Caribbean island," but enough to ensure that a cat that was open to the public eye was cared for."An ex-member of STLFCO's board said that they received $1,853 from the Cardinals in September 2017. This was part of the already-promised proceeds for Rally Cat Appreciation day. The gesture was still seen by members of the nonprofit as an olive branch. They didn't have to fight anymore.On Aug. 13, the Cardinals' eight-game winning streak came to an abrupt halt with a 6-3 defeat by the Atlanta Braves. They lost five of seven of their next seven games. St. Louis couldn't match the pace of the first days of August and was four games away from a wild card bid.It's four years before the anniversary of Rally Cat's first night, and Rigley Zeman, Bowen, and Zeman are at a mobile spay and neuter clinic close to the house where Rally Cat stayed his first night.There are tables containing cats in different stages of anesthesia. Many of them are wild and would normally run against the metal walls. They are now docile and zonked out.Bowen's husband, who is outside waiting in the car, is supposed to drive them on errands. He has learned to adapt when a cat calls and is now conducting business via his phone.STLFCO will spay/neuter almost 50 cats outside in a mobile van. They'll then eat dinner tonight and return to their outdoor colonies tomorrow. Rigley claims that the colonies are all around; people just don’t see them.Rally Cat has been spotted almost four years ago, but the women still protect her. They reach out to their owner when asked if ESPN could meet Rally Cat. The owner replied, "It's not possible."Random people continue to ask for the cat's adoption. In March, an Ohio man emailed with a photo of Willow, his long-haired cat. He claimed that his grandfather was a Major League Baseball player in the 1930s and would be willing to spend any amount to help a famous cat of baseball."Would it be possible to reach out to Rally Cat’s owners and let them know that I’ll offer them a few thousands dollars and am willing to drive from Ohio, St. Louis, to pick him up?" The man wrote."Goodness knows Cleveland is the USA's luckiest city.Just this week, a cat fled from security and grounds crew members during eighth inning at Yankee Stadium. Adam Hunger/Getty ImagesA cat ran onto the field at the Baltimore Orioles-New York Yankees match on Monday night. The crowd went wild as a few workers attempted to control him. The cat was not to be found. He ran back and forth, ran between his legs, and climbed up walls.Jackson Galaxy, a Cat Behavior and Wellness Expert, hosted the Animal Planet program, "My Cat From Hell." He received many texts that night. Galaxy stated that Rally Cat, the Yankee cat, and any feline who runs onto a field is just trying to escape.Because they offer shelter and food, they are lured to stadiums. Galaxy was discussing with his colleagues recent reasons why feral cats who live in hiding suddenly find themselves on the field during a game, in front of thousands. He said that a cat might fall asleep under a tarp, and then wake up at the worst possible time. Maybe someone throws the cat there.Galaxy stated that the cat in New York had been so stressed and run so much it was able to die.He says, "Let's pretend it was a dog in that field." "We would be able read the dog and understand their fear. We wouldn't shout, we wouldn’t push them on, and we wouldn’t laugh at their fear. We'd feel sorry for the dog. We don't get cats."After being fostered for a month, the kitten was adopted by a family. The STLFCO board members only provide the number of someone who is near the adopter. However, after speaking for over 20 minutes it becomes clear that Rally Cat's contact person is actually the owner.Although she agrees to a FaceTime call, she isn't certain it will work. The cat who used to have his own news conference is scared of people taking pictures of him using their phones. On a late-July afternoon, a large tabby appears with a long mane. His owner said that he is in a good mood today.For a while, he was nicknamed "Mongo" by volunteers at STLFCO. He hasn't been called "Rally Cat" in nearly four years. His owners were cautious about drawing attention to him and have not told many of their family members his past. He is called R.C. but he is often called his full name when he gets into trouble. Rally Cat.A family had to lose a cat they loved a few months prior to the arrival of their new kitten. The feline filled that void. He is especially close to the preteen boy. He loves to lie in his catio and is often accompanied by one of the family dogs. He is a dog-like personality and loves to drool when he's happy.The Cardinals are not the only ones who can be spurned and spooked by cats. The Cardinals are not a special team. They are just a random, uninterested, drooling creature that saw this symbol of luck, prosperity, and hope as a way to get fans into a frenzy.A spokesperson for the Cardinals stated that they had moved on in an email reply to interview requests.The summer of Rally Cat had a purpose. The feral-cat outreach was able to increase donations, which enabled them to double their annual TNR. It gave a home to a scared stray kitten.Rally Cat's adopter doesn't like baseball but she does attend a few games every year because it's something to do in St. Louis. She'll sometimes stare into the center field and imagine her cat scampering towards the warning track.Elizabeth Merrill works as a senior writer at ESPN. She can be reached at Elizabeth.Merrill@espn.com.
