HUGE Scare!

Stupidly, stupidly, stupidly on Monday night, I opened the apartment door a crack as I was cooking and was alllowing the heat to escape...I put up a huge wire shelf (about 3/4 of the way up )in front of the open door so the cats wouldn't get out...
Well, obviously I didn't think that through and Lovey must have climbed the shelf and gotten out the door.

I then closed the door and proceeded to fall asleep on the couch until early a.m when I toddled off to bed.

Breakfast time arrives and NO LOVEY! Only Rocky came a runnin'....I panicked and thought back to the door being open...I darted out the door and proceeded to check every nook and cranny of the three floors of my building..
NO LOVEY!!!
I was shaking and going crazy...

I knocked on each apartment door (my bldg is cat friendly) and asked each of the tenants that were home if they had seen him..They all said no....

I called the humane society and filed a lost report, I phoned every vet in my area....no sign..but they would watch out for him...

I spent hours and hours scouring my back lane, my front street, the street over and the street over and the street over...calling and calling for him...

I would go home periodically to see if he was meowing at the door (I thought someone must have let him out the door to outside)...

Then I went up and got these high definitiion colour posters with his picture and a message on them later in the evening...

I am just desperate at this point...Then, I walk into my building (after standing OUTSIDE my bldg and calling for him for an hour) and I am walking up the stairs and see a dark figure sitting under one of the stairs next to my apartment door!

ITS HIM!!!! He was very very scared but none the worse for wear...and I just hugged him and hugged him and promised him I wouldn't do something so stupid again....He was very relieved to step foot in the apartment and Rocky ran up to him and kissed him saying " where you been, brother? was it fun? huh huh???"....I think that someone in the apartment DID in fact take him into their apartment and realized he wasn't nice to them or their cats or something like that (he isn't friendly to strangers) or that someone let him outside and then he got back in again later....I just don't know...He did have a couple of different smells on him though...

Ahhhhh..One good thing has happened this week...

I am so glad he is home..ITs pouring here today and I can't imagine what would have happened if he was outside in this....

Oh, thank God you found him!!! He must have missed you!!!

Gosh, you must have been so frantic and paranoid. Glad to hear Lovey is back, safe and sound!

Susan

Oh, I am so glad he came back home!!!

Thats got to be every fur parents nightmare

Thanks goodness he's home

Thanks
It was the biggest sense of relief and just "ahhh..thank you!!!!" I have ever had..
I wonder how far he went really..Its weird..He just dissapeared into thin air...I mean I checked every nook and bush and tree and behind every fence....I called for him in and outside...I would think he would come running..but maybe he was too scared to come out until it was night and dark...

It is everyone's nightmare and only other cat owners know how it feels. I am so glad he is home safe.

How awful, you must have been worried to death!! Very glad to hear your boy is back home safe and sound though

I know the feeling when they are missing!! Bakker "hides" he can see use but unless we are really observant we can't see him as he won't come to us when we call him. I think its a game he likes playing.
Its so maddening!!

Gosh I bet you were frantic! I'm glad to see your story came complete with a happy ending!
I understand the feeling of panic. I'd have been panicing too. Poor thing! I"m glad everything is good in your day now!!!!!

I'm so glad your furbaby is safe and sound and you don't have to worry about him anymore. Lovey, don't scare your meowmy like that again sweetie.

OMG I'm glad he's home and safe! Gizmo has gotten out twice. Once we had let her out on the porch with us, and the neighbors went out through the other door and didn't latch it. We walked around the neighborhood for a couple hours looking for her, and when we got back to the house, a neighbor said they saw her near the door and let her on the porch. She looked at me like "Bout time you guys get here. Open the door!!!"
The second time, she was out for several hours, but his beside the house under a chair.
Right after we moved in here though, she hid and was missing for several hours. I was so scared, new neighborhood, new place, poor kitty! She must be terrified! We found her hiding behind a box though, she was just scared of the new house and the mess from moving. It sure is terrifiying, though!

Amber

So glad to hear all turned out ok!!