Cat Tale

One of our cats, Frosty (guess what color he is) decided to go on a bit of an adventure. I know most of you are thinking, well, that's not too unusual. Cats are like that. Yes, but let me give you a little background.

Frosty is, perhaps, the most skittish, most wussy cat I know. In our old place, he was an indoor only kitty, venturing outside no more than three feet from the door that had better be open or he'd panic. No, really. If he happened to be outside (accompanied by an adult human) and someone accidentally shut the door, he'd freak.

I preferred the cats staying in at our old place because we were close to a somewhat busy road. Not to mention the occasional eagle cruising overhead. But when we moved, our new house offered less traffic danger, so my husband let the cats out.

I was nervous about this, even without the risk of them being run over, because we still had eagles and the added threat of bears. Yes, bears. In the neighborhood. But with plenty of hiding places and Frosty's tendency to dash from cover to cover, I figured he was safe despite his "unnatural" white "Here I am! Eat me!" fur. It was the bolder cat, Mouse, I was concerned with. Knowing her, she'd walk up to a bear and become kitty vittles.

So anyway, Frosty and Mouse were outside, with the front doors ajar in case they needed to come in. Mouse wandered in on Saturday evening, but not Frosty. I stayed up until midnight, periodically calling to him. Nothing. Next day, nothing. Day after that, gulp, nothing.

Crap.

The kids were upset, but my husband and I told them that cats do this sort of thing, that perhaps he was at someone else's house (unlikely, given his skittishness about strangers), anything we could come up with to ease their fears. He even told them of a cat he had in Nome when he was a kid that disappeared for three weeks in the dead of winter. The cat returned with frostbitten ears and a bit on the thin side, but she was fine. Great inspirational story, hon. But inside, I figured Frosty was a gonner. I was sad, as he's a decent enough cat. The kids were sad. Mouse was sad, but I think mostly because we didn't let her out anymore. All in all, a sad household.

Until last night. Yep, Frosty wandered up to the porch yesterday evening, none the worse for wear. His ears are a bit red, perhaps from mites, but otherwise he looks fine. We believe he was under the house, but why didn't he come out? Why didn't he make any noise? What did he eat? And my husbands biggest question: if he was under there, what did he tear up?

Frosty may be answering those questions, as he has been quite yammery since coming home. My girls want to celebrate by giving him tuna water today at lunch. He'll like that.

And he and his compadre, Mouse, better like the view from inside. No more outdoor cats.