We have two cats: Hermione and Olive. They are both indoor kitties and are very loved. “Kitty” was one of Simon’s very first words.
A couple of days ago, Elias left the sliding door open when he went outside into the backyard. I scolded him, telling him to close the door, and explained for the four hundred and twenty second time (ok that may be an exaggeration) that we have to close the doors so the cats don’t go outside…that they are indoor only kitties…etc.
Little did I know at that time that Olive had already gotten out! I don’t know where she went, but we played outside for a bit and we never saw her. We went grocery shopping. Nathan came home and we ate dinner. We played in the backyard again. We never knew she was gone.
As bed time was approaching, Elias left the door open once again. I said as a side comment to Nathan that I hoped neither of the cats ever got out. Then I thought about it. I hadn’t seen Olive in a long time. Nathan chose this time to tell me that our neighbor kids were yelling over the fence at him to give back their “black and white” cat. Uh oh…What if Olive got out and she had been in our neighbor’s yard? (Our neighbors don’t have a cat) We searched and searched the house. She was nowhere to be found. We searched the yard and the street. We searched inside some more.
I was distraught, but we had to get the boys to bed. I thought I would never see Olive again. After the boys were asleep, I searched around our yard, and Nathan went out on his bike to search the neighborhood while it was still light out. As I searched under the deck, I heard a meek “mew.” It was Olive! She had come back!
I coaxed her out from under the deck. She was very timid and not her usual self. She was covered with cobwebs. But once I got her inside, she returned to normal. Her entire adventure lasted about five hours. We are so happy to have her back, and let’s hope she learned her lesson!
Here she is stalking a bird safely from inside!
