Here kitty, kitty!

I cleaned the house today.  I vacuumed every carpeted room, all the wood floor and even swiffered it.  This activity usually keeps the pets busy too running from room to room--away from the vacuum.  It can actually be quite funny.

Wrigley will usually gets curious enough to come check out what it is I'm doing until the evil roaring sucking machine comes towards him--and then he bolts!  Gus, on the other hand, is quickly scared out of whatever room I make my way into.  Sadly for him, I usually end up following him into the next room (not on purpose, I swear!)  However, we have used this trick as a way to get him out of a room that we don't want him in.  Mean, I know.  But he's a cat... he's got like five lives left, at least.

So after vacuuming the main floor today, I headed upstairs.  I tackled the stairs on my way up, cleaned our bedroom, the hallway, and the guest room.  Then it dawned on me--where's the cat?  The last time I had seen him was when he ran scared out of the family room (one of the first rooms I vacuumed).  He wasn't under either of the beds, behind the armoire, in the closet... hmm...

I hollered down to John in his office, "hey, have you seen the cat?"  "The cat?" he echoed back... and we both started searching.  I really don't know how long we looked, but we searched every room, high and low, multiple times each before we stopped and panicked.  Basement? No. Under the couches? Lifted and looked.  No.  Outside?  Wait, did he get outside??? 

Gus is not an outdoor cat.  He got out ONCE, about 5 years ago.  It was up in Arvada (the old house) when John still lived with Walter.  Our stealth little feline tore through the screen of a window that Walter had open during the day (we do not blame Walter for this AT ALL).  Gus was gone for a couple of days before he was discovered in the back yard.  He hadn't run away!!  Walter opened the back door and heard a small mewing from under the pine tree in the corner of the yard.  Poor Gussers never left the yard, and probably hadn't eaten the whole time he was out there.  Needless to say, he was happy to come back inside for some food and TLC--which he got!

However, the outside in this neighborhood is MUCH different than the outside at the last house.  Poor kitty would make friends with bunnies here and probably meet his fate at the jaws of a coyote.  We were devatstated to think that he might be out there on his own.  Yet we still couldn't figure out how he would have gotten out.  We opened a few windows earlier to get some fresh air, but all screens are in tact.  However, we put on our coats and took a walk around the block anyway.  I took a can of wet cat food with me, as he usually comes running when he hears the can tapped.  Hey, it was worth a shot. 

After our walk, and a few tears on my part, we headed back inside with heavy hearts.  I kicked off my shoes, put the canned food on the counter and was ready to collapse on the sofa--I was pooped!  But when I turned the corner into the family room, I was greeted by the cutest little black and white face, and tiny little mew.  My Gusser cat!!!!!!!!  I didn't know where he was hiding, but I chased him to the upstairs calling after him and crying.  I've never been so happy to see my cat!!  I really thought he was gone.  I pulled him out from under the bed and forced a little snuggling on him.  I think he was confused, afterall, he didn't know he was lost!  Although I still didn't know where he had been hiding the whole time.  I guess it just took us leaving the house for him to come out.

John went into the middle bedroom (the soon-to-be nursery) and found the closet open a few inches, just enough for a sneaky kitty to come out.  But wait--I looked in that closet four times!  Well, what we've always claimed was proven right again today: we have a houdini cat.  I swear he can hide anywhere.  When I said we looked high and low, we did.  I would not put it past him to get on top of the fridge, or cabinets... or who knows where. 

But he's safe and found.  He never left the house, and I will do everything I can to make sure he never does.  I would have been so very sad to lose him today.  And he's getting plenty of love (and already devoured the wet food).  I love my kitty.