The Ghost Cat of Sanchez Adobe

The Ghost Cat of Sanchez Adobe. Having lived in Pacifica for several years I drove past the historic Sanchez Adobe Historic site to and from work throughout the week. Built in 1842 by Francisco Sanchez when California was still part of Mexico, Sanchez lead the failed Mexican Military response to the California Republic Insurrection in 1846. His body now lies in Mission Dolores Cemetery in  San Francisco if interested. I’ve never attended a tour of the adobe which is well maintained by city volunteers but frequently saw them guiding group’s as they toured the grounds. With Linda Mar Pet Hospital just a stones throw away it became a steady stop for me and often I would look over at the adobe building and imagine it’s original occupants farming and ranching the area. One day something caught my eye as I drove past that morning, sitting inside one of the upstairs windows appeared a large orange cat. I didn’t give it much thought thinking to myself it’s probably just a stray living on site and cared for by one of the volunteers. As day’s past I saw it again, this time on the roof of the adobe just sitting there almost stoic as if waiting for something or someone?

First thing Saturday morning a received a call to meet with one of the caretakers at Sanchez Adobe. A stray cat had been hanging around the building for weeks and befriended the staff. Posters and fliers where posted but no owner came forward and they requested we pick the animal up. Surly, I thought this must be the cat I’ve been seeing over the months as I pulled into their parking lot. When the caretaker handed me a sweet brown female tabby I was surprised. “What about the orange tabby?”, I said after securing the animal to the inside of my truck. “What orange tabby?”, replied the man, looking somewhat puzzled. I explained to the man about the cat I’d seen in the window and on the roof and just yesterday walking the second story balcony? “I’ve worked here for years and I’ve never seen the cat your talking about, but if it’s inside the building I can’t have that”. Leaving a extra cat trap I carried to abate he problem I drove away and assured by the caretaker he’d call me back when the cat was captured. 

I’d almost forgotten about that orange tabby while returning home one evening but there it was sitting in the window looking right at me, so the next morning I called the caretaker for a update. “Officer”, he said, “ I’ve searched the building from top to bottom and checked the grounds thoroughly, but I just can’t find the cat your talking about”. I wasn’t surprised knowing how difficult it can be if a cat doesn’t want to be found so I didn’t mention I just saw the cat the day before and mentioned I‘ll be by in the morning to pick up my trap. The following day I zipped by grabbed the trap and continued my day running from call to call and emergency to emergency. Finally my shift was over and had time to rearranging some items in my truck. Moving the trap used at adobe to make more room for another something slid out and landed on the ground. It was an old Daguerreotype, an early ninetieth century photograph of the Sanchez family. Seated proudly on the lap of a young girl was a orange cat identical to the one I’d been seeing.

Coincidence? Maybe, with orange tabby’s by the millions it’s possible or perhaps an elaborate hoax perpetrated by the caretaker?  Or could this cat be the spirit of a Ohlone Chief or Medicine Man, after all Sanchez adobe was built on a Ohlone Indian village. But what was written in Spanish on the back of the photograph sent a mysterious message, “ My cat will live on forever’, Rosa Sanchez, dated 1846. So if you happen to visit Sanchez adobe sometime in the future don’t forget to look into the upstairs windows, you may find a ghostly orange colored feline staring right at you!