'splain this one to me

How does one lose a full grown cat in a 2 bedroom mobile home???

Well, my mom did. She honest to God could not find her new baby that she had just brought home from the shelter.

She adopted a 2 year old male cat. He was loving and beautiful and in dire need of a new home. She is loving and beautiful and in dire need of unconditional love and endless entertainment. I told her she should have gotten a little white dog instead but of course the mold was broken when Shelbs was born.

Anyways...she brought home "Smokey" on Thursady afternoon. He has been friendly and affectionate but once left to roam around he became elusive. She found him hours later hiding under her bed. SHe brought him out and played with him and he was receiving of all of her attention and returned it in kind.

Then Friday night she couldn't find him. He hadn't touched his food and he had not used the litter box. She searched everywhere. Finally she noticed a gap near the dryer vent but didn't really think too much of it. SHe went to work on Sat and still hadn't seen him. Sat night he still was missing. Hmmmm....a 2 bedroom, 70 ft trailer and the effing cat is missing. I talked to her on Sat night and she was feeling pretty bad about the whole thing.

Sunday morning while getting ready for work, she hear scratching. Near the heat vent in the kitchen. Well, at least she knew he wasn't dead, but she did have to go to work. She called me from work later on and was almost in tears over the situation. My brother works 16 hour shifts on Sat and Sunday so he couldn't do anything. I felt liek I needed to try to do something, so I went over.

I pulled out the dryer and could see that the dryer vent was shredded. I think Smokey shredded it and that's how he got down under the floor. I used a flashlight and a mirror to try to see if I could see him under the floor. THe whole time I was shaking his food bowl and calling to him....all to no avail. THen I went back out to the kitchen and I could hear him. Right by the heater vent. I unscrewed the vent and pulled the staples out from the sheet metal and got it pulled back enough for Smokin' Joe to come up out of his hiding spot. SUCCESS!! I called Mom at work to let her know that Smokey was rescued. She was beside herself with relief.

I cuddled with him and petted him for a few min. Then I put the vent back over the heater and stuffed a towel in the dryer vent so he couldn't get back down in there and I left.

Later that night mom called.

"you won't believe this"
"what?"
"We can't find Smokey again"
"No way!"
"Way"
"WTH....he HAS to be there. I made sure the bedroom and bathroom doors were shut so I know he's not in there"
"I know. I can't figure him out and I don't know why he hates us"
"He doesn't hate you, he's just acclimating"
"Well, it would be nice if he acclimated where we could keep track of him"

She finally said not to worry and that she'll keep me updated on the cat saga.

A little while later she called back. It seems the little bastid clawed and pulled the towel out of the dryer vent hole and went back under ground.

***sigh*** cats!!

He came back up through the kitchen vent this morning. My brother is going over today to fix the dryer vent and the kitchen vent so he can't get down in there. I guess they should have named him PITA (pain in the ass). That was Lucy's name when we got her but she hasn't been nearly this much trouble.