Lost and Found

I got home from work yesterday and the first thing I noticed was that only one of the cats greeted (accosted) me at the door. They're usually ravenous by the time I get home and follow me around till I feed them. But there was only one.

Maybe the other one was sleeping, so I grabbed the bag of food and shook it, a surefire way to rouse a sleeping/hiding cat. But no luck. So I opened the bedroom doors, thinking he was stuck in a room all day, but nothing. Then I began opening all the cabinets, drawers, and closets. Still nothing. I went out into the hallway, walked up and down the building stairways. Nothing. I couldn't imagine where he could be and was afraid I'd find him dead under a couch or behind something.

So I went to my bedroom to change out of my suit and it hit me. When I left that morning I had opened one of the bedroom windows as it was to be a nice day. I didn't notice this immediately as the drape for that window was closed. I pulled back the drape and sure enough the window was open and the screen was gone. I had neglected to make sure everyone was out of the room before I left.

I grabbed the bag of food and headed to the back yard, sure that he had escaped the confines of the yard and was enjoying catting around the neighborhood. I shook the food and called his name but he didn't come running and I searched the yard front to back. Nothing. Then, all of a sudden, I heard a plaintive wail. And there he was. Crouched between my fence and the neighbor's. And he was yelling/crying at me like forget about it. He was wedged in pretty good and I had to force my arm thru the fence to grab him by the scruff and lift him out. As soon as he was in my arms he dug his nails into my shoulder, clinging for dear life, and continued to yell at me.

We got back into the apartment and his brother immediately began licking and cleaning him. Then they ate a bit and headed to my bedroom where they curled up together and slept. But he's been following me around ever since, not letting me out of eyesight.

Two near disasters in just as many days. But good stories nonetheless.