Cat escape

I am beginning to doubt the number of brain cells in my head. Yesterday Tetsu and I came back from our morning walk with Choco and dang-it-all, if three cats weren't gone again! The window was open!

How can that be? I close that window! I LOCK that window! How did it get open again? I've blamed cat escape twice on earthquake tremors claiming that the shaking of the house unlocks the window but there were no major tremors last night.

"Tetsu, do you think I'm having some senior moment?"

"Um... Honestly? Yep. I don't think that aftershocks unlock the windows. I think you forget to lock it." (He's just been humoring me when I've explained that the aftershocks are to blame.)

But three cats were gone so out we went looking for them.

Mi returns right away at the sound of our voices. So does Cleo. It's Vel who chooses to ignore us. Maybe I'd better start thinking of Vel as an OUTDOOR cat. Tetsu gave up and went back in the house to make coffee. I continued to call for Vel.

"Vel! Here kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty~~~~!"

(Tetsu calls this my Tarzan call. He can't do it.)

And double dang-it-all, if a cat didn't poke its head from the forest. A different cat! I came stamping back into the house.

"I call for Vel and I get extra cats!!!!! They don't even speak English and they come to me!!!!"

(Actually that cat wasn't interested in coming to me, he just wanted to see Tarzan.) Oh well, Vel will be in for a surprise when he meets up with another cat in the forest.

But about half an hour later Vel came slinking back into the yard and I flung the door open, scooped him up and gave him lots of hugs and kisses and baby talk.

"Good Kitty! You came home. Do you want a treat?"

I opened up a can of cat food for him. (My cats usually only get dry food.) Of course all the other cats smelled the canned food.

"Food! Treats! Mom! Mom! Me too!"

"No. This is for Vel. He was lost but came back."

Tetsu whispered in a cat voice,

"Why is it Vel get treats when he is the one who was ignoring you, Mom? Some of us didn't even try to escape and the rest of us came back right when you called. Why is it that Vel is the only one that gets special canned cat food?"

Sort of like the Prodigal Son and Dad's fatted calf feast...

Okay. So ALL of you can have canned cat food. Let's split three cans between the six of you.

(Can you hear cheers from 5 cats?)

Vel is back in his sewing room very contented and with a full tummy.