God is a Cat Lover

I'm going to try and make a long story as short as possible. And yes, it's another cat story.

So Thursday afternoon the kids and I were in and out of the house playing and both the front and back doors where left open for extended periods of time. This is bad for two reasons: flies get in and cats get out.

Molly and I were playing the the playroom and we heard a cat pawing at the door to get it. I went to go let who I thought was Felix in (Figaro avoids the playroom like the plague) and found Figaro. She came in, sat next to me, rubbed me and seemed very discontented about something. It dawned on me that I hadn't seen Felix in hours and I went around the house calling him. He usually comes when he's called but didn't. I searched the house EXTENSIVELY, opening closets, cabinets, everywhere I could think of. After about 30 minutes of searching I was sure that he had gotten outside and was gone.

I called Drew at work and he immediately left to come home and help me search. My parents showed up from Maryland and began searching as soon as they arrived. The next 5 hours were spent driving, biking, and running around the neighborhood looking for our wayward pet. I traversed many backyards and spoke with many neighbors I've never met before. I called every vet in the area along with the ASPCA and Humane Society. I printed "Lost Cat" fliers and had the activities coordinator of the neighborhood send out an email to everyone telling them about poor lost Felix.

Finally at 8:15, a tearful mommy was tucking an even more tearful Molly into bed. There were hugs and kisses, and then Molly said her prayers. She very solemnly asked God to take care of Felix and bring him home soon. As soon as she finished we heard the tiniest "mew." Drew and I looked at each other and I said, "was that a cat??!!"

Molly's bed is a trundle with drawers. I began pulling the drawers out one by one and out came Felix. I had changed the sheets on the bed early in the morning and while I had the mattress off, he must have gotten stuck behind the drawers under the bed in about 4 inches of space. He had been trapped back there for about 12 hours.

Needless to say there were lots of tears and hugging and screaming and joy! Thank you to everyone who looked (in vain) for our missing cat who was never really missing at all.

The funny thing about the whole misadventure was this: Felix is just a cat. He chews things and keeps me awake at night. He costs us googobs of money on food and litter and vet visits. And when I thought I would never see him again, it was a horrible, horrible feeling. Guess I love the little guy after all.