Lost and Found

The poster says it all. Yesterday, while Roger was housecleaning and I was at book club, Anja disappeared. She always hides when the vacuum is being used, so we waited patiently, then scoured the house. At times I would think I heard her--Roger didn't--and Catembe talks a lot so it was hard to tell. At one point we put Catembe in her carry box and put the box in the car and total silence fell. Since the housecleaning had included carrying things out to the trash and refilling the bird feeder, the only conclusion was that she had found an open door and made an escape. She is normally a completely indoor cat so we had no idea how she would react. *
So we wandered the neighborhood, asking people with dogs, putting up the posters, calling wistfully. Finally, around cat dinner time, we heard her distinctly (Catembe was eating at the time and not talking). It sounded like she was under the floor of the sunroom, which is impossible because it is built on slab to provide passive solar heat. We finally located the noise in a sleep sofa where we had already looked several times--including at one point partially opening the mattress. This time we opened the mattress further and there she was, quite indignant at having been left to herself for so long. She ate dinner, drank a lot of water, and settled right back in.
We seriously considered breaking our Lenten fast in celebration but since Anja herself has no interest in good wine it seemed inappropriate and we toasted her with sparkling cider (US cider--no alcohol) and settled back in to yet another cheerful evening of The Mayor of Casterbridge.

* For our British readers--US vets strongly encourage keeping cats indoors because of the risks of outdoor life, which in our case includes coyotes and foxes. In fact, the breeder made us sign a contract not to let her loose outside.