Ever Lost A Cat In The House?

My story is about this guy above. On the second day of my husband's hospital stay a month ago, I had gotten myself ready to leave to visit him. At that time we still were putting both cats (well, they are still considered kittens at 10 months of age) in their own room when we left the house. They are currently allowed the run of the house at all times, no longer having to be locked in that room any more.

Well, the time had come when I wanted to put them in their room so I could leave. Dakota came running as soon as I called her, but Junior didn't. He usually shows by the third time I call his name. This time he didn't. And so the panic set in.

I continued calling him all the while going over in my mind that it was impossible for him to have gotten outside. I remembered I had seen him long after I had gone for the newspaper.

For the next hour I walked throughout the house (it's a rancher, thank God) calling him till I was almost hoarse. With a flashlight in hand, I checked every nook and cranny I could think of, including behind the dressers. I thought maybe he had gotten on top of one and had fallen down the back, got wedged between the wall and it, unable to move, and stopped breathing. I have a wild imagination, but when it comes to my babies, it is what it is.

With tears streaming down my face, I checked every place again. There wasn't even a faint meow or a whimper to be heard. I fully thought I would be finding a dead cat somewhere.

I finally decided to look under one of the couches in the main front room where I keep all my beanies and NASCAR things. I had to move a lot from the front of the couch before I was able to use the flashlight and peer underneath. And there the little devil was...looking right back at me all scrunched up underneath that couch. I was able to coax him out eventually.

Something must have scared him prior to sending him under there. What it was, I'll never know. And couple that with the fact that just the day before, four strange people came into his house and took his best buddy away, so he was feeling very depressed and stressed not knowing why he went away and left him behind.

When it was all done I was drenched, including my hair, and we have air conditioning. Meanwhile Dakota was waiting, wondering what all the fuss was about:

When I came home and left them out, they got on with their lives and back to doing what they do so well:

I've never lost a cat before, but if I do again, next time I think I'll know better. And I must not forget one thing: scared cats do NOT answer to their name.