you’re grounded!

last night the girls and I called our kitty Gazoo in at the usual time — when it starts to get dark. She didn’t come. Unusual for her to not come, but not unheard of. As the night got later, we became more and more concerned. Rob and the girls searched all the nearby streets; no sign of her. The girls and I huddled in bed and cried. Too fresh in our memories is the death by dogs of our kitty Betty. We left the door open all night; I didn’t sleep much.

Gazoo showed up at our hose two years ago on the evening of the hamlet Halloween Party. She walked into the house and made herself at home. Since then, she has turned into the best kitty ever. She loves her girls. She lets the girls dress her up. She plays with them. She taps her tormentor on the mouth as a warning that she has had enough. She is soft and cuddly. She doesn’t pee, poop, puke, or scratch anywhere except where she is supposed to. She wipes her feet before entering the house. She loves to help feed the turtle. It seemed somehow sadly fitting that this sweet kitty that walked into our lives on Halloween just as mysteriously disappeared on Halloween.

Though all day I kept hoping that I would see her when I turned around, she never came. Rob and the girls again went for an extended walk around the block. Gazoo never wanders that far from home! I can’t ear very well right now, but I went out just before three to try again. I heard a noise. Bird? Cat? Then I heard it again. Definitely a cat meowing. But from where? The shed next door? Nope.

Then Chloe, who came out to help me, looked up. And there was Gazoo, stuck up in the top of a tree between our neighbor’s house and the house that backs up to theirs. Rob got out the extension ladder and jumped the fence. The tree was not a big one — it couldn’t really support the ladder. Once Rob was at the top of the ladder, he was still five feet away from the cat. By extending the ladder a bit more and cutting some branches, he got closer. But Gazoo inched away from him.

Finally, he worked on cutting the branch that Gazoo was on. By weakening the branch, he could get the branch closer to him. Camille and Chloe stood way down below — our neighbor’s yard is six feet lower then the yard they back up to — with an outstretched blanket, just in case. But Rob managed to grab Gazoo and carry her down the ladder.

We brought her in the house, gave her food and helped her to dry off. There had been a terrible wind and rain storm in the morning — we have no idea how she managed to hold on way up there on those little branches! Once she was comfortable, she thought she might go outside again. Rob looked at her and said “No! You are grounded!”

Thanks to everyone who sent good thoughts our way while she was missing.