The Great Cat Escapes of 2010 and of 2008

Last night, I was going out for a late night excursion with some friends (we were craving Indian food) and because he had to be up early this morning, Hubby decided to stay home. My friends picked me up, and as I left, Hubby walked me to the door and kissed me goodbye in the doorway.

Approximately 7 minutes later, Hubby calls me to tell me that while he was telling me goodbye, Nora slipped outside. He did not notice it until a few minutes later, when he walked past the door and saw black fur out of the corner of his eye. He got her inside, and called me frantic. I asked if she was ok, and he was, and then I kind of wondered what he wanted me to do. He said he just wanted me to know. He was really upset. I was not sure why, and then, I flashed back to an incident that happened just before we started dating....

It is a Friday in August of 2008. I woke up about an hour early, and did not feel like doing anything. Nora and I lay in bed snuggling and cuddling. She will curl up in the crook of my arm, paw outstretched and head on my forearm. It is adorable. It put me in such a great mood on Friday.

On Fridays, I got home from my job an hour earlier than other days, so I thought nothing of the fact that Nora was not at the door to greet me; I figured she was still sleeping. I watched a dvd, and around 7 I went into my bedroom, and lay on my bed. I called for Nora several times, and she never came. Then I noticed my bedroom window. The screen was knocked out. Nora had done this once before, but never went out the window, as I lived on the third floor.

However, this time, she was gone. I ran outside, walking all around calling her name, to no avail. I figure what must have happened was she was climbing on the screen, it knocked loose, and she tumbled out with the screen. I was frantic. I texted several of my friends (including future Hubby), and called my mom. How silly it sounds to say my cat ran away. After I got off the phone with my mom, I cried like a baby. I have not cried that hard in a very very long time. I talked to future Hubby, and you could tell he just felt so helpless.

After I got off of the phone with him, I decided to go into the laundry room in the basement, to open a window in case she came back. This way she could get back in the building. As I was doing this, I heard her crying. I looked all over the laundry room, and in the storage units, and still could not find her. I went back by the window, where I heard her cry, and called her name. It was then that I realized she was in the vent from the dryer. I ran outside to where the vent opening was, and looked inside. There she was.

Tenderly, I pulled her out. She was shaking, and covered in lint so bad she was gray. She was shaking, and so scared. I took her back inside, and let her eat. Then I had to bath her to get all the lint off of her. After she dried off a little, she spent the rest of the night curled up next to me, happy to be home.

This was about a week before Hubby and I went on our first date, so he had not yet met Nora. He felt terrible when this happened, and I think last night brought it all back to him.

So, Nora, how about knocking this crap off, ok? You are giving Daddy gray hair.