I thought we had lost Boots.
This afternoon Addie said “Granny, I can’t find Boots!” I know he has a tendency to blend in and not be found when he wants to hide and a little of Addie goes a long way with Boots so he spends more time out of sight when she’s here.
I’ve told her over and over NOT to use the front door but if she wants to go out, to go through the laundry room, shut the pocket door behind her, then go into the garage, shut that door, make double sure Boots hadn’t escaped and then go out either the garage door or walk through door to get out. Every time she starts to go out the front door, she says “I’ll be careful!” I tell her that we don’t even go out that way for fear of Boots escaping. I had been in and out getting chickens ready to smoke and if she couldn’t find me, I could see her opening the front door and yelling for me and possibly letting Boots out.
When she told me she couldn’t find Boots, I ran down to the sewing room and couldn’t find him. He’s usually sitting in one of the windows, but he wasn’t. I checked to see if he was sleeping in the bed downstairs. I searched behind the pile of batting. No cat. I wasn’t sure if some of the doors downstairs had been opened and Addie closed them when she first started looking for him so I checked all the downstairs rooms. I checked the food storage room, the closet under the stairs, the bathroom. No Boots. I was really in a panic. I kept asking her . . are you SURE you didn’t open the front door? She was sure. I haven’t ever known her to be dishonest with me but if she thought she lost Boots, she might not tell me. I told her how important it was that I know where to look so if there was a chance he was outside, I needed to be out there. She kept telling me she had not opened the front door.
I take the key out of the deadbolt at night and I had never gone out that door today so when I found the key where I put it last night, I felt fairly confident that she had not opened the door . . but where was that cat??
I went outside several times and called him, knowing that was probably a waste of time.
Almost five hours we looked for him – under beds with flashlights, inside the showers, in the closets, on top of everything. I’ll admit – there were a few tears because I thought he was gone.
After not seeing him for almost six hours, he came waltzing into the family room. He had either been in Addie’s room or in our bedroom. I know cats are masters at hiding but I thought Addie and I had looked EVERYWHERE more than once.
We were two happy girls to see that cat.
Vince said “We need to get a collar on him with our phone number” and I said “We need to get him microchipped!” Vince said “Let’s do everything!” I laughed . . neither of us ever wanted a cat.
Addie was trying to make me feel better and she said “Granny, if we don’t find him, I’ll get you a new cat for Christmas!” She was being so sweet – I didn’t tell her I don’t like cats at all . . I only like Boots! 🙂
I’m going to put that front door key in a different spot so Addie doesn’t know where it is and I won’t ever have to worry about her having opened that door again.
Sharon says
They make tracking devices. I’m not sure about what they come in, it I’m sure Vince can find out. Maybe a collar with a bell. Or get a treat bag out. That works for my dogs. If there’s food, they’re there. Lol
Dottie Newkirk says
So glad he was found (or should I say reappeared!!).
Several years ago, we took our cats with us on an rv trip (they HATED traveling) to a big rv event. We were super careful about opening the door to make sure they didn’t sneak out. We had gone to an event, came back and got read to feed the cats. The girl greeted us right away, her brother didn’t. Not much room or a place to hide in a small place, but, he was GONE. We weren’t sure where to look but decided to open all the cupboard areas in case he was hiding in one. Lo and behold, he had snuck into one of them and had gone to sleep. He was pretty indignant that we had “locked” him up.
Sandi B says
Be still my heart! I’m so glad he decided to FINALLY reveal himself.
Judy Laquidara says
Me too. I was really trying hard to hold it together in front of Addie but I was sick thinking he might be lost and it’s going to be so cold here tonight. I was so happy to see that sleepy cat come out of one of our bedrooms.
Sandi B says
I instantly heartened back to an incident with our elderly dog. We had to travel out of state and my folks took care of our dog. My Dad, who was legally blind, decided to take her out to do her business before they all went to bed. Dad didn’t tel anyone he was doing it. They no sooner got outside when there was a lightning strike and thunder clap. It terrified her and she took off. Dad went in the house and got everyone. They looked for her all night. They called us about 2:00 am to tell us.
When the local animal shelter opened in the morning, they said “yes, we have her.” Apparently, she’s run up to the very busy main road. A man with a couple of kids saw her, stopped, and she ran to him (VERY UNCHARACTERISTIC!!). They kept her overnight and then took her to the shelter when it opened. His kids really wanted to keep her. It was shortly after Thanksgiving. So, we took them a very generous thank you (so he could do something special for his kids Christmas). We cried all night.
Boots. What a mess you are!!!
Linda Garcia says
We have a walk in closet with double rods. The shirts on the bottom rods go almost to the floor. One day I walked into the closet and out comes one of my cats from between the shirts on the bottom rod. She stretched and sat down to take a bath. I think she had been sleeping there for some time. I never knew she slept under there. Another place she likes to hide is behind the toilet in the master bath, and of course always under the bed. They are masters of hiding spots.
Judy Laquidara says
We have the same setup and that’s where I kept thinking Boots was because a couple of times when I was frantic and running here and there looking for him, I thought I heard rustling in the clost.
Nelle Coursey says
Does he have a chip? That would be a good idea in case he got out and someone found him. They check for those now at the vets and at the animal rescues.
wendy says
Please be careful about hiding the key for the front door, if there were a fire and Addie needed to get out she would need that key.