Cats

Sometimes, when we let the dogs out to do their business, we forget to close the door right away. Sometimes, the cat sneaks out just to say he could see the big wide world outside and then sneaks right back in (we've caught him sneaking back in).

Tonight, we heard a cat crying outside the window to our computer room. I look around and don't see Mischief anywhere and he's usually sleeping right under or near my chair. So, Matthew and I get up and look around the house for the cat who we swear we have just seen but, he's solid black and sometimes I'm seeing shadows when I think I'm seeing him. We searched everywhere and didn't see him. We looked out the front door and the back and still didn't see him. Matthew did see the neighbor's cats but Mischief was no where to be found.

I decide that I'm not going to panic. We've played this game before.

I walked into the laundry room where we keep his food and other paraphernalia and grab his food bag and start shaking it. The dogs come running immediately but he's still no where to be found. At this point, I'm a little concerned.

I walk into the living room to start looking under tables and there he is, standing beside the love seat, looking up at me like, "Hey, mom! What are you looking for?" This is the most infuriating expression you can see on a cat's face. I promise you.

When I was younger, we had a lynx-point Siamese named Tygra. Right before my 13th birthday, we moved into the house that my parents are living in now. We let the cat into the house while we were moving furniture in and out of it and he disappears. My mom and I search the house from top to bottom and can't find him anywhere. My dad and his brother search the neighborhood and can't find him anywhere. At this point, we are supposed to be leaving for my birthday party and my mom and I are both sobbing. I decided to search the house again and go into the rec room where there are boxes stacked everywhere in front of my mom's recliner. And, there's the cat, coming out from under the chair. "Hey, mom! What are you looking for?" I never realized until that moment that someone could laugh and cry at the same time.

Two months after Matthew and I married, we moved into the house we are living in now. The day after we moved in, I drove to my parents' house to get Mischief who was living with them (we got him when I was a senior in high school). The next day, our refrigerator was delivered and the door had to be held open for a while to get it in and setup. After the deliver men left, I looked all over for the cat and can't find him anywhere. We had a recliner sitting in the kitchen until we could find a place for it and I, remembering Tygra, looked underneath it. No cat. I had some other errands to run but I drove around the neighborhood looking for Mischief while I head towards the apartment we were leaving. I couldn't find him. I called Matthew at work and told him what was going on. I was very upset at that point and he left work early to make sure I was okay. We drove back home and looked for Mischief again and neither of us could find him. Matthew noticed the recliner in the kitchen and, even though I told him I'd looked there already, he picked up the chair to look underneath it. Out comes the cat. "Hey, mom! What are you looking for?"

Infuriating animals.