Monday night was a pretty awful, stressful night here at ChezRanger. All was resolved happily, but , wow, I could do without the lead-up to the happy resolution.
Backstory: ChezRanger, the actual structure, is a little brick bungalow built in 1935. It isn't grand, but it has a grace of proportion and flow that I think is completely lacking in modern residential design. it also has a (wee tiny) formal dining room and glass-front book cases on either side of the (wee tiny) fireplace. Out house also has a lovely L-shaped porch. LadyRanger and I often sit on the porch, undaunted by the traffic noise of the highway 100 yards away, and chat whilst consuming adult beverages. Our basement is only semi-hemi-demi-finished. Poured concrete floor with only 3 walls of cinderblock in the center third of the house. There is about a foot or 18 inches of crawlspace under the rest of the house and the L-shaped porch. It's a not-very-inviting, confined space.
One of the workmen we had in to do some floor jacking had been a tunnel-rat in Vietnam in his youth. He came out of the crawlspace looking rough. Said it reminded him of 'Nam. Kinda gives you an idea of what our crawlspace is like, though we don't have much in the way of booby-traps down there.
It doesn't sound like a very inviting place, does it?
Our cats have all thought it was just fine and dandy, though.
When we first got Maddie, we went around the house to make sure there was no way for an errant cat to wander off into the wide world. All was good. There are a couple of think metal grates in set in the brick foundation under the porch to provide some ventilation, but they were mortared in and are actually pretty darn substantial. Maddie would wander down there a bit but she was more of a person-cat. Ivy loved to walk around on top of the a/c vents and check out what was happening in the great outdoors. As she aged, though, her adventures were fewer and farther between.
Daisy lives down there. Really, she spends about probably a third of her day in the basement. Often, she'll come up and give us the news about basement, then go down and collect more. She's been pretty good about coming up in the evening when we're listening to a podcast or watching some tv (she lies on my legs as we watch).
The week before Hallowe'en, probably Tuesday or Wednesday it was harder and harder to get her to come up. One night she would NOT come out from her observation post, which is hidden from us by a section of brick wall. We figured that she was just being a teenager and let her have her "me" time. 90 minutes later she wandered upstairs and told us the news.
Monday night, the 2nd, was different. Around 8:00 we went down to get Daisy, as it was bed-time for humans and we close the basement door. We called and lured and entreated (literally; with treats). I finally went out on the porch to see if I could see her through the grating. I could not. LadyRanger asked if I had checked the second grating on the other side of the porch. I did, and saw this.
Now, imagine seeing this in the glow of a flashlight knowing that your cat is out.
It was a nightmare. We went around the neighborhood. LadyRanger even asked a couple of stoners toking up in a car if they'd seen Daisy. LadyRanger posted to neighborhood sites about the lost cat and I did a couple of circuits of the neighborhood looking for a gray cat in the dark. We really were afraid that our little indoor cat was gone for good.
I went on the porch for one last look about 10:30 and saw Daisy's eye-shine in the brush about 8 feet from the hole. She seemed to be coming home. She walked up to me and I nabbed her.
The after-action report:
It seems, over the last 85 years, that the mortar around the grate had just turned to sand. There are several cats that wander our neighborhood and I think that one of them and Daisy went nose to nose and the thing finally gave out. I refuse to believe it has anything to do with the $700 charge on my bank card, the Hilti Hammer Drill that was delivered to our address last week or the fact that our large extension cord was plugged in and dragged up into the crawl space.
We think it first happened the week before, when, as mentioned, she didn't come when we called. We think she was actually out at that point. I'm glad she came back then.
We've now got the new Berlin Wall constructed over the opening.
That's at least an 11 pound cinderblock. Backed up with bricks, rocks and a couple of stakes. I don't think she can get out. I don't think...
Thank you, Mr. Buzzkill......
We've let her down again only AFTER making several more circuits of the house looking for other avenues of escape. The other grate, which is off the ground, seems to be pretty solid. She goes down into the crawl space and looks through there.
I sniff the sweet, sweet air of freedom!
She seems a bit disgruntled at being denied the joys of the wild undergrowth next to our house.
All's well that ends well, and we are delighted and thankful to have our cat back. Now I just have to figure out who ordered this oxy-acetylene torch...
My heart will always be free
We are going to have a time keeping her down on the farm, now, aren't we?
We hope you all have a safe, happy and, above all not-terrifying, week ahead!
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