The Day Baby Disappeared

This and That

Alas!  my friends… yesterday was the day that was discovered
the Madness of Mrs. Gradmama…the ordinarily sedate
and virtuous…and really quite rational if dubious–poet.
Not that any mystery, or doubt had every existed,
among friends and relatives who knew her.

But here I cut to the spoiler and reveal right here…
this tale has a happy ending!

Baby, if there is anyone who didn’t already know, is my Cat.
Actually the youngest, and handicapped little creature,
dear to my heart (even if not the only…)

Day before yesterday Baby got outside, which is unusual…
she is very vulnerable, can’t climb trees, can’t run very fast,
and falls over in a slight breeze.    So she was not really
missed right away….until bedtime during the locking-up
and adjusting of lights and doors.

So the Mad Woman Searching For Lost Things* returned, and
after searching the house several times,
and walking around in the dark (with a flashlight)
in nightgown and sweatshirt…at midnight…
as the neighborhood cats watched silently
from their assorted beds.

By noon, after extended searches of the grounds,
assisted by the aforementioned outside cats
from their vantage points of reconnaisance…
stationed at intervals around the property,
obviously their assigned guard posts…I have
witnessed this Cat Guard operation before.

The triggering event was the harrowing happening
of two of the indoor cats getting into the back room
of the basement, the craft room and all purpose “stuff” room.
The usually cool and sophisticated Gradmama lost it–
crying uncontrollably and screaming like a crazed banshee!

But after a few seconds of that the distraught woman decided
that the whole thing was ridiculous, and plans
needed to be made immediately for lunch at Rubin’s,
where indeed, an excellent delicious Gyro and
slice of Almond Cake soothed the temporary Melt Down!

After discussion with St. Anthony, (patron saint of lost things,)
and appearance of at least a dozen red cars (and trucks) …
and a breath-holding drive the five miles home…
imagine the anguish and disappointment
of getting home and … still no Baby!

Another tour of the area, including a stop off to chat
with the horses that came to see what the excitement
was about (they live in their huge barn two “doors” down,)
and a sense of resignation… Gradmama headed for
the computer to write something astute.

Lo! and Behold!… sitting on the front deck, peering into the house
through the screen door…was Baby!    The other cats greeted her
return in their various ways…some even awakened…Toby was really quite rude…and after the happy reunion Baby got the old lecture on the worry about her being “dead in a ditch somewhere,” and “what in the world have you been doing!”
traditionally delivered to wayward kids…

Baby was quite nonchalant about the whole incident…

DSC04661

* https://mumbletymuse.com/?s=mad+woman+searching

 

21 thoughts on “The Day Baby Disappeared”

  1. I can relate a little bit. Our kitten was missing when I was pregnant, and hormones were running high. I was distraught. Hours and hours later, the kitten came out from under the bookcase, stretching after a long nap.

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    1. oh yes! I love it…I knew you would understand. ha! It says something about human nature I guess when we watch a movie (or news report) where humans are just being destroyed right and left…but the loudest cries are “oh no! not the dog!” people getting eaten by zombies is bad, but horrors…not the dog!

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  2. Having had a few babies of my own “disappear” throughout the years, I can certainly understand the frustration and panic involved. The police informed me more than once I could not file a Missing Person Report. Something about the missing in question not being a ‘person .’ ~sigh~

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    1. Baby is actually more than a year old, but she is handicapped and unable to fend for herself effectively. The missing person report…that’s fun…the police always insist on details. 🙂 My husband was fire chief, and he used to tell callers that he “never saw a cat skeleton up in a tree,” although they did rescue puppies and kittens (and even birds) now and them. My hubby didn’t like cats–until one adopted HIM…it had lost its eye and needed protection while healing, but after a few weeks Bob got attached. 🙂

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  3. This story reminds me of the time that I lost my toddler from the house. I had half the street out looking for her. I’d looked around the house several times, but decided to do it again. Lo and behold there she was, fallen asleep behind a bed. I was a bit embarrassed but everyone was relieved.

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    1. I was going to add the time that my five-year-old daughter went missing, having been invited to watch TV with some kids in a new neighborhood we had moved to… I still get that feeling in my stomach just thinking about it. Another time a seven or eight year old was missing…I was having a royal meltdown! Nearly called out the National Guard when she came up from a nap … in her own room … and stood there asking what all the excitement was about. (There’s that stomach flip again…)

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  4. So glad Baby is safe and sound! I know that fear all too well. One of ours went missing once and we found that he had accidentally been locked in the neighbor’s storage shed. I also know that feeling you mentioned when you found them in your craft room … I did exactly the same when one knocked over one of my hand-painted canisters recently. Ah, the joy of being owned by kitties! Wouldn’t trade it for anything. 🙂

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      2. me too haha…sometimes it feels good to just stand and scream and cry like a nut…but I always manage to do it when I’m alone, with only my cats to marvel at me. 🙂

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      4. the last time I fell I was glad people were around, as I might not have been able to get up. It’s still possible that I broke my nose where my glasses frames set at the base of forehead…that hurt sooo much!

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