You know how it goes…  your instincts tell you something is wrong, but you’re busy, and you don’t listen.  I swear I’m going to LISTEN, from now on!

Tuesday night when I was fixing the plates of canned food for the cats, some part of my subconscious noticed that Dreamy wasn’t up on the counter, “helping” me fix the food. 

Now if she was the ONLY cat that did that, I definitely would’ve figured out something was wrong, when she wasn’t there.  But her father, brother, and several other redheads participate in this activity, so apparently my subconscious didn’t speak loud enough for me to truly notice that there WAS one redhead missing. 

The evening went on, and as I was going to bed, that little nagging subconscious thought was there again, but once again, it didn’t make it to a conscious thought.  Except that I did actually say to my husband, Rob, "Have you seen Dreamy this evening?".  Of course he told me he had, and that she’d probably already gone upstairs to the landing, and was curled up taking a nap.  Since these naps occur in the furthest reaches of the landing, behind the carriers, etc., I didn’t go looking for her, since I can’t ever FIND her in one of those spots, anyway… 

My first mistake.

Yesterday morning before work, same issue.  Fixing plates of canned food, no Dreamy.  Asked Rob again if he’d seen her, got the same answer.  Raced out the door to work. 

Second mistake.

When I got home that night, I actually LOOKED for her.  No Dreamy anywhere.  Rob gets home. We search the entire house.  No Dreamy.  I told him she HAS to have gotten out of the house. He tells me that isn’t possible. 

But wait a minute . . .

Tuesday when he got home from work it was absolutely gorgeous outside, so he’d opened all the windows and the sliding glass doors (screen door in place).  I told him she must have slipped out the front door. He tells me no way, the screen door was CLOSED, and she couldn’t have gotten out. 

I go outside to search anyway, . . . and so does he.  I went left out the front door, and he went right.  I was just heading down towards the barn to see if she might have gone in there, when I hear him yelling for me, so back I go to the other side of the house. 

Dreamy is in the crawl space under the house – answering him as he calls her, but she won’t come out far enough for him to reach her. 

I go in the house to get a teaser, which she also won’t come to. 

I tell him that HE is going to have to go under the house to fetch her out – so he goes in to change into some grubby clothes…  of course, as soon as he’s out of sight, she comes to me.  She loves her mom.  <g>

GEEZ . . .

So apparently she’d been out since sometime Tuesday afternoon/evening.  I know she’s in the house and safe (yes, I DID confirm that when I left for work!), so I can laugh about this now.

The very first thing she did when she came in the house was run to the litter box, to use it.  Apparently she doesn’t believe in just going “outside” . . . too cute! 

She was also very hungry and thirsty. 

I’m too old for this kind of trauma!!!

And next time my instinct tell me something . . . I will listen VERY carefully . . .