Monkey's Big Adventure

Yesterday, some time late in the afternoon per usual, one Ms. Mabel was begging for some soft food. So, I bopped on into the kitchen and cracked open a fresh can of kitty chow. I made the usual can and clank noises as I dished up two bowls.

It took me a minute to realize that something was horribly wrong. Monkey was mysteriously absent, and that purrbox LOVES him some soft food.

I called and called, and cooed and made his special Monkey noises, and he still didn't show. I started searching the house. No Monkey upstairs...

When I made it downstairs at first glance all appeared normal. But as I stepped into the back bedroom I noticed that the screen was mysteriously absent from the window. I looked out and the screen was laying all janky on the ground. AND NO MONKEY IN SIGHT!

I called and called and nothing.

I climbed up on the deck and Griffin climbed up onto the roof to call and call and look for him.

I went completely around the block calling for him, talking to the neighbors, and searching for ways he could have gotten out of the almost escape-proof backyards on our block. Still nothing.

I tried the backyard and walked around the block again. Still nothing.

I logged on to the SF Animal Control website and registered Monkey's details (so that they would email me if a cat matching his description was picked up). They also recommended waiting until the neighborhood was quiet and then searching again.

So, we broke out the camping headlamps and searched some more. Still nothing. Pretty much at 9:30pm I was starting to FREAK OUT. I left the house shortly thereafter proclaiming that I was not returning until I found the cat. My bladder had other ideas.

Sometime just after 11 (and tromping through brush in some of the hillsides near our house where I had seen tons of cats, just not mine) I ended up coming home for a potty break.

I decided to go in the back yard one last time to call him -- I still couldn't believe he'd go very far. I called his name and made a kitty coo noise and FINALLY I heard the WORLD'S TINIEST MEOW.

I found Monkey. He had hidden under the 3 x 3' wooden walkway in our backyard. He wouldn't come out until I broke out some food, and then he basically ran into the house, ate some food, used the litterbox, and proceeded to snuggle and purr.

I can't believe how lucky we were, and can't believe we almost lost our MONKEY!