Oscar's Grand Adventure

If grand-cat Oscar's big adventure was moving from our son's house to ours, then his grand adventure was last night.

Oscar is 11 years old and quite the athlete, at least as compared to his "uncle" Tuxedo who is almost 15 and needs help accessing the bed. Oscar makes a running leap and he's there. That said, Oscar is also a house cat and since he has been here has never tried to go outside. Very good.

But he likes the windows and when he turned up missing this morning, I recalled a similar incident with cat Pyewacket, who had pushed against a window screen until it bent, then he had tumbled out, down the metal porch roof and spent a scary night under my car.

Oscar does have a hidey-hole of some sort which I've not been able to find, so when he wasn't present last night as I went to bed and I'd done a cursory search, I thought he was being stubborn and was in it. But this morning, when his food had not been touched, I began a room by room search.

Last evening, we had installed a new dehumidifier in the basement. Tuxedo had had basement adventures before, but as Oscar has shown no interest in the basement, and Tux was asleep in the den, we might have been a bit lax about the door. So, since all the screens were intact, that was the logical place for him to be. Except I'd called to him last night there. And again this morning. And I'd used a flashlight to check out the dark corners of our pier and beam house. No Oscar.

A last ditch attempt, and crying like a fishwife, I went back into the basement. Suddenly there was a meow and out he popped! He'd been in the dark and without food or water for well over 12 hours. I can't say I felt sorry for him. I'd given him his chances and he could always have come to the door and squalled.

He knew I was miffed and for the next hour, he tried to make up to me, twining about my legs and following me around. I've forgiven him and I hope he's learned his lesson about dark places. In the meantime, if we're in the basement, the door will have to be closed.