Friday, January 13, 2023

The Kitty Caper

 A family member who shall remain nameless left without shutting the door tight.  Later, I found the kitchen door open.  And when I looked out  Buttercup was on her way in.  She is a long haired butterscotch and white cat.  She is basically an indoor cat and is only supposed to be outside when someone is watching.  But apparently, she took matters in her own hands and opened the door and went out.  It was already dark and everything is still wet from all the rain.  I don't know how long she actually stayed outside, but I'm guessing not long.

Before she ended up at our house, she was adopted by my son and his wife.  Apparently, she had been living with a cat hoarder in a place with like 50 cats or something.  Anyway, she seems to know her way around the block and wasn't about to stay out in the cold too long.

When we realized that the door was open and that she'd been outside, we went looking for the other cat.  She is still called Kitten even though she's probably seven.  She's almost all black with a little white on her tummy.  We checked all of her usual spots in the house and she was nowhere.  Then began the search outside in the yard with no luck.  Her life story is different than Buttercups.  My son's wife is a teacher and one day one of the parents showed up with a tiny kitten they had gotten for a pet.  They were keeping it in a shower stall and apparently after a week or so decided it was a mistake and they pushed it on my daughter in law.  She was tiny.  I could hold her in one hand and she is the only cat I've known since she was a kitten.  She's an indoor cat too with time outside under supervision.  She doesn't seem particularly streetwise and I don't think she even knows how to hunt.

She seemed to have decided I belonged to her even before she moved in with us.  She always jumped in my lap when  I visited.  Her favorite pose is with her head on my shoulder like you'd hold a baby.  

We kept looking for her outside, checking all her usual haunts, but nothing.  Finally we went inside, hoping she would return  on her own.  Not that we would feel calm until she did.

My husband went to sit in his recliner and then out of no where like she was working for David Copperfield, she Kitten jumped in his lap. Was she hiding in Jakey's toys spread all over the den?  Or had she gone into a closet, probably doing a kitty laugh at us rushing around looking for her.

 It's not the first time she has pulled a number like that.  When she was so small I could hold her in one hand, we were given the task of taking care of her while my son and his wife went to Hawaii.  We would go to their place daily, feed, water and play with the two cats.  Except one time we couldn't find Kitten. We looked everywhere.  My husband went out in the alley calling her name, having to go past a bunch of teenagers.  Meanwhile I looked inside  sure she was nowhere to be found.  And then she came out from under the couch and stretched as if nothing was wrong.  I can only imagine what those teens thought about my husband wandering around the alley calling "Here kitty, kitty."

At least now I can relax.  There was no way I could stop worrying until I knew she was okay.  There are owls  flying around and a few days ago we had three raccoons playing in our yard.  The night belongs to them now that all cats are inside and accounted for.

13 comments:

Patty said...

Good morning -- It's 3:45 a.m. and I couldn't sleep so got up to check email -- realized it was Friday and you'd have a post. My daughter had a cat who would hide -- she seemed to enjoy her little game!

My son had a beautiful calico cat named Kitty. She had been roaming around near a store owned by friends and they had been trying to shoo her away -- my son, who loves cats, was glad to take her. She was fully grown and the sweetest thing ever. She lived with him for about 15 years. He has a friend here who has something to do with feral cats -- he's called the "rock star of the feral community." He went to Las Vegas to check on some people who had a huge number of cats -- more than 700. Yup, 700!! They lived way out in the country. He had pictures showing literally herds of cats -- incredible.

I finished a baby blanket using an ombre yarn in a color called sea coral -- colors range from very pale to a deep shade. I used the cross stitch -- one of my favorites. Next project is a moss stitch blanket in another ombre color -- shades of green. Have you ever done a c2c rectangle? For the life of me, I can't figure out how the increases and decreases work but they do so I just go with the flow!!

Back to bed for me and, hopefully, to sleep for a few hours.

Patty said...

Me again!! I went back to bed and slept until 7:45 -- perfect!!

Enjoy your day.

Sally Morrison said...

Those cats can get the best of us. I once was cat sitting for my friend. I think she was away about 10 days. I never saw that cat once during the time. The litter box appeared unused, food appeared uneaten and the water dish never changed levels. By the third day I was sure she had gotten out. I searched everywhere in that house. Not a sign. I searched outside. I was pretty frantic and when my friend returned home that cat came strolling out about 10 minutes after she arrived. She must have had a stash of food somewhere. I have no idea what she did for a litter box. Sheesh!! Cats are way smarter than me!

Betty Hechtman said...

Patty, I'm glad you got your rest. I did make a blanket with the C2C technique. But if I were going to use the technique again, I'd have to relearn it. I do remember that once I got the hang of it, it was easy. You could probably find a Youtube Video.

Betty Hechtman said...

Sally, what a cat story! You must have been so relieved when she showed up when your friend came home.

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda, I can imagine your worry until you found the cat. It sounds like he was glad to be found. It sounds like cats are a part of your life. They are certainly interesting creatures with minds of their own.

Linda O. Johnston said...

So glad you had a happy ending, Betty, and that Kitten reappeared. Pets are definitely family, and we can worry about them a lot if things aren't as usual.

Patty said...

I didn't explain myself well -- I have no problem doing the c2c afghan -- it is just the idea of starting to shape the rectangle that I find amazing. Seems that when you increase on one side and decrease on the other, it would create a wonky-looking shape. But it doesn't -- perfectly rectangular. I've not done one with the ombre yarn -- soon as I finish the moss stitch I started today, I'm going to do a rectangular c2c -- the shading should create a pretty pattern.

Gorgeous weather in Phoenix today -- just heard from my daughter -- still raining in central California.

Enjoy your weekend.

Betty Hechtman said...

Patty, yes the C2C thing is pretty amazing. The blanket I made turned out quite nice. It was some old yarn I had and is all one color. I'm sue the ombre yarn will be more interesting.

Yes, it is raining here again - outside and inside. There is a leak in our den which comes and goes and moves around. We got a new roof not too long ago and our roofer can't seem to find the source of the leak. So, put something to catch it and live with it.

Patty said...

Water leaks can be so frustrating. Strangest one I've ever encountered was when I was administrative secretary at a Texas university -- first floor office of a two-story building. There was a water leak over our copy machine -- some way or other, water was getting in between the two floors and dripping down. I'm not sure it was ever fixed -- that was the year I retired and I never looked back!!

chkntza said...

I'm so glad the cats are ok.

Betty Hechtman said...

Patty, our roofer is going to have yet another look once it stops raining. Having a leak over a copy machine seems a little scary mix of water and electricity.

Betty Hechtman said...

Chkntza, me, too. They are both females and don't seem interested in roaming.