Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Ballad of Moo Kitty or "Why I didn't sleep for the last 3 nights"

Three nights ago our beloved Moo kitty got out.What was going to be a relaxing evening of eating take out and watching bad TV, turned into a stressful evening of fitful sleep and a full on kitty hunt with flashlights through the neighborhood.
The door didn't shut all of the way behind Jon when he returned from picking up take out and Moo got out. He was feral when we took him in a year ago, and panics at strangers and any loud outside sound. When I saw the door was open I went to find the cats. They were both standing about 6 feet from the door looking shocked to be outside. As soon as Buddy spotted me he ran back inside, but Moo panicked and ran in the opposite direction and vanished around the corner.

We looked everywhere, all night. Jon slept on the couch with the door open in hopes he would come back on his own. I woke up at 2AM and then 4AM to look again.
At 7AM I got up and went out in my PJ's and called for him again. This time he meowed. I found he was holed up in the neighbors crawl space under their house. There is only a tiny entrance, so it is impossible to get to him, but you could see him and pet him through the hole. (At one point the biggest ugliest Wolf spider came out that hole that I had been sticking my arm in all night. I won't even tell you how much THAT freaked me out.)
I sat with him for a while and he eventually came out enough for me to get him by the scruff. I went to pick him up and he freaked out at the smallest movement, took a chunk out of my arm and sprinted to the wooded area behind the house. It is all fenced off and very dense so I could not follow him. He meowed at me and watched me all pitifully from the other side of the fence, but I could not get to him.
Night two and three he spent back under the crawl space. Yesterday I rented a trap from Crown Hill Pet Supply. They were great. They rented it to me for only $3.50 per day and gave me tips on how to get him.

Last night I was up every two hours to check the trap. He was sleeping about a foot away from it with zero interest in going in. I finally put food in it and went to sleep. I got up around 7AM and ran out to the trap. Somehow, Moo got in the trap, ate all of the food and didn't trip the door, so he was well fed and escaped! I was so sad, that meant he was full and less likely to get back in the trap. I decided since I was renting it and had today off, I might as well give it one more try. I set it again with tuna and went back to getting Darian ready for school. At 9:30 I had to leave for the dentist and checked one last time, the trap had been tripped and a seriously angry Moo kitty was inside.
I actually cried because I was so relieved to bring him back home safe and sound. All of my muscles hurt from the stress of not sleeping and hunching down to talk to him in the crawl space. My back was so sore yesterday I almost could not get back up after crouching for a few hours.
Bringing him home was almost funny. The sound he was making from the cage was more human sounding than feline. He was MAD! When I got him in the house and he realized where he was, he calmed right down and headed to his favorite hiding spot in my clean clothes. Now he is passed out cold, probably exhausted from his ordeal. I'm so happy he is back home safe.
 

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