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| Rhody with Dash 3-11-12 |
This morning Jason started following Kiki, staying behind her a few feet. That is what got him in trouble before, when she slapped him and scratched his ear. Apparently the wound has healed and he has forgotten how painful it was.
I heard a sound coming from the stairs. When I checked, Kiki was a few steps above Jason. She was throwing a warning meow at him. He was watching her, rubbing his cheek on the railing, like, “Oh, come on pretty girl. I just want you to be my “girl” friend”. She isn’t having any of it right now though. I think there may be potential friendship at some point.
Charlie and I both came to the top of the stairs to see if we could get Jason out of his predicament. I was afraid if I started down, Kiki would run and Jason would chase, like he does. But, Kiki defused the situation herself....she went down the stairs, passed Jason and he didn’t pursue. I do think he’s smarter than we give him credit for.
I’m still seeing the chiropractor every two weeks on Tuesdays. On Monday, I was working in the garage, trying to organize a stack of paper bags. There are too many and I pulled some out to recycle. I think I bent over too much and strained my back because I started having quite a bit of pain.
When I went to bed, I couldn’t get comfortable and that is usually not a problem. It seemed that I couldn’t find any position that didn’t ache.
I had my regular chiropractic appointment the next day and I was ready for it. On the drive over, I thought maybe I would move my next appointment to three weeks to see if I could go longer between visits. I was feeling brave, even though I was in pain. I knew the pain was temporary because I had overdone it the day before.
With the treatment, I was expecting more pain before relief. I got just what I expected. Doctor said “Boy, you really messed it up this time”. But, he worked and adjusted and twisted and pounded. I huffed and puffed and breathed and tried to concentrate on just the breathing part. I had it down pretty good until he moved to my other side, which was also sore. That caught me by surprise and I forgot everything except the pain. He said, “Does it tickle or hurt?” I said, “Both!”
When he was done, I felt like a new person. It’s amazing how he knows exactly how to relieve my pain. I’m going back in two weeks, not three!
Everything was fine when I got home. I was pleasantly surprised that Charlie had done some chores around the house that I had been thinking needed to be done. I felt good.
It was not until later that we noticed that Rhody was not in the house. Then I remembered that he had run out the patio door that morning when I had let Lexi out before I went to the chiropractor. He’s done that before and usually by the time I go and get a bowl of dry food to leave on the patio for Lexi, he’s at the door ready to run back in.
Since he wasn’t there, I put the food out and was distracted because I was about to leave for my appointment. It was 10:20am.
We went out and searched the yard, but Rhody was not there. We came back in and searched the house again and the garage. It was dinnertime, so if Rhody was near, he’d be in the kitchen waiting to be fed. He does not miss any meals.
Our yard maintenance guys had come and gone earlier. It was now after 5:00pm. Rhody must have been traumatized with the mower, etc. He gets really afraid of just noises that come from the neighbors.
Charlie had been in the yard that afternoon working and he said he had not seen Rhody.
Everything was on hold. Both of us went out and walked up and down the streets calling Rhody. There was no sign of him. The sun was going down and it was getting colder. Charlie went to all of our neighbors on the cul de sac and put out an “all points bulletin” on Rhody. They all know we have cats and it’s a major thing if one of them can’t be located.
Rhody didn’t have his collar on, so he had no I.D. His collar also has a bell on it so we would have been able to hear him if he was hiding and moved. When the cats go out “legally”, they always wear a collar just in case.
The little boy across the street plays every afternoon on the cul de sac. He has one of those battery powered cars that he rides up and down and all around. It’s very noisy and when you’re trying to find your very frightened cat, it’s annoying too.
I went up the hill to the street behind us to see if Rhody had traveled in that direction. We figured that when the yard guys were here, they had left the gates open, which was fine, but that is probably how Rhody left the yard. He has never tried to leave the backyard before. But, if he was scared......anyway, when I returned, Charlie was sitting on the bench in front of the house, and the little boy was there talking to him.
I went back to the backyard, hoping that I had overlooked some hiding place. Our yard isn’t that big, so there’s just so many places Rhody could hide. We left both gates open so Rhody could get back into the yard if he came back. I called my yard guy and asked him if the guys saw a gray cat leave the yard. He said he’d check with them. He called back and said, yes, they had seen a cat run from the yard. Of course, they had no idea that Rhody was not supposed to be out in the first place.
When Charlie came in, he said that when it got quiet out front, we might be able to hear Rhody meow if he was there. It went outside a few times and then said he was going to walk up the hill again. It was dark by now and he had to take a flashlight. I suggested that he take Sheila with him. If Rhody was hiding, she would be able to see or hear him in the dark.
I went to the cat patio to give Lexi her thyroid medicine. As I walked out, I saw Rhody at the door. When I went towards the door to let him in, he ran to the back patio. I went around to open that door for him. He rushed into the house and I didn’t have a chance to touch him. He was definitely ready to be home!
Charlie and Sheila were out looking for Rhody so I stepped outside to let them know that Rhody was safe. “Dad! He came home!” I could hear the relief in his voice when he answered me, “Oh...good”. The neighbor was in his garage and said something like, “See, there was nothing to worry about!” Easy for him to say.
Charlie and I both knew that neither one of us would sleep that night if Rhody was still missing.
To be continued..........
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