LOST? RAN AWAY? ATTACKED BY EVIL PREDATORS AND EATEN?

In this country living, there are wild animals, coyotes to be exact and when prompted by hunger they will gang up and eat smaller animals such as baby goat kids, small dogs or cats.  I don't think this has ever happened to one of my cats, or at least i pray it hasn't, but occasionally one will go missing and i wonder what might have happened to them; did they find a new home?  Not possible, they got it too good here, they would never trade this livin' in for say, an indoor life! Did they get eaten?  One will never know. Did they get hit by a car?  Usually we will find their carcass.  We have lost several cats by disappearance, they have gone missing, never to return.  I usually notice this after a day or two when i don't see them around.  My mind is always on point with my cats as they are the most wonderful, entertaining creatures; never a dull moment when you have some kittens around!

Friday night i got concerned; Cheeto had not graced us with an appearance for awhile. I say graced because if there ever was a narcissistic cat - Cheeto is the epitome!  He reminds me of that  greasy guy that enters a bar wanting to pick up a lady, who swaggers over to the bar, leans against it with one arm, while asking, "Hey, baby!  What's your sign?"  Cheeto slinks into a room, leans up against an arm of a chair and says, "Well, you can admire me now."


I went to bed Friday night, begging and praying that Cheeto would return in the morning.  But he did not wake me up at 8 am which he usually does by crawling up to my side with a little purr/meow combo (pureow) and laying down beside me.

I was getting depressed, this could not happen!  This cat is my buddy!  When he chooses of course, but the one who chose me! And if anyone knows a cat, they know that they will choose their human, not usually the other way around.

So i got on my chore clothes on and slunk out the door: unhappy, scared about what could have happened, worried that he might be hurt, laying on the side of the road.....

Until it finally hit me! When i thought about it some more, i realized that i had not seen the two outdoor cats, Winky and Woody, either.  So here is where i start thinking that there must be a coyote pack on the loose - and they are feasting on my cats! But if coyotes were taking my cats, i wouldn't have NOT seen all three for a couple days - coyotes would pick one by one off at a time.  So where the heck could they be???

That's when i thought of my office.  I haven't been out there in awhile (too cold)  and this has happened once before when we got all that snow last time:  the cat door was blocked and they couldn't get in!  Well, maybe, I think, that the snow or something had blocked the door again and maybe, just maybe, they were locked in!

As i approched my office door i looked down at the cat door and didn't see any obstruction, i proceeded to try and open my office door, as it was quite frozen shut, and as i was prying the door open i heard them!

MEEEEEOOOOWWWWW!  I saw Winky first.  She had that pissed off look on her face like she usually does and then i saw Woody, who just rolled over and purred (she's been doing that a lot lately - i guess being ferrel and then fixed, it kinda softens you up).  Then i thought, "Oh my!  Could Cheeto be in here too?"  I have never seen him go into my office but it certainly couldn't be outta the question.  So i called for him, "Cheeto? Kitty, kitty, kitty!"

And i heard him!  My beautiful burrito butt boy - Cheeto!  There he was in all his glory!  Looking a little bedraggled, but fine.

Now what had happened is that in the infinite, brilliant wisdom of the cat door corporation, they devised a door so that with a slight click of a switch, one can either let the cat in only, not being able to return outside, let the cat out only and not let him return to the inside, or lock the door completely.  Now, i ask myself, "Myself?  Why the hell would you want to lock a cat door to go one way?  If your cat came home and found the door locked, wouldn't he be pissed?  If he wants out and can't, isn't that a bad thing? Isn't that why you got a cat door?  to let him out AND in????"  Well, anyway, the door must have been jolted at some point, in some way as to move that switch over just enough to lock the cats inside.  I quickly popped that damn piece of plastic off, and crushed it to pieces, never to be used again!

I got them all out, made sure that Winky and Woody had food and water (no water for  few days is not a good thing), and brought my big boy into the house.  I then brushed him down, gave him food and water, and let him be.

Well, perhaps this turned out to be a humbling moment for my Cheeto burrito butt boy- my little man, my big boy- because he hasn't left me side since, slept with me all night Saturday night (which he never does - he's always out galavanting), and he hasn't even left the building except to go to the bathroom.

Could it be that great of a traumatic event to turn a narcissistic cat into a wimpy, momma's boy?
I doubt it, he's too good for that, and too good looking.