Cat Follies

We are lucky enough to have an enormous apartment. It's not fancy - the building is nearly fifty years old - but we have as much space as we did in our entire house in the U.S. My best friend says that our living room is big enough to have its own zip code!

Anyway, I usually love the place. But yesterday I discovered at least one disadvantage to having so much room to spread out.

We had an appointment to take our two cats to the vet for feline leukemia vaccinations. On days like this, we try to act normal, following our usual routine until it's time to catch the kitties, put them in the carriers and head for the animal hospital. Unfortunately, cats are pretty bright, and really fast. We managed to get hold of Blackness quite easily, especially for her. (She was originally a feral cat and hates being cornered or even picked up unless she initiates the contact.) We were patting ourselves on the back,figuring it would be easy to get hold of the much larger and more laid back Mr. Toes.

Think again! We looked everywhere, but our massive double-pawed tiger had simply vanished. He wasn't behind the drapes. He wasn't behind the books in the bookshelf (one of his favorite places to relax). He wasn't behind the refrigerator (thank heavens!)

We pulled out our flashlights and looked under every piece of furniture, behind all the air conditioners, in every closet (even though they were all closed - Mr. Toes' extra digits make him an expert at prying doors open). No luck!

How can twelve pound cat simply disappear?

If we had a smaller apartment, it would have (I surmise) been easier to find him. As it was, it took us more than half an hour, and we ended up being late for our appointment. We finally discovered him huddled into a dark corner in our office. He managed to shrink himself down to about half his normal size (or at least that was what it looked like) and he was perfectly still.

Anyway, we learned our lesson. Next time, we'll close as many doors as possible before we let on that something's up. Meanwhile, the vet trip is over and both felines are breathing sighs of relief.

I thought I'd share some photos of Mr. Toes. I think they will give you a much better idea of his personality than any description I might provide.

Is this a new kind of cat food?

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