Escape Artist

Little Miss trouble maker.

The day the horses came to live with us is the day Little Miss decided to explore the property a little. In my excitement to see the horses I didn't make sure the side door was shut all the way. This wouldn't be a problem if the only animals we have were Leia and Midnight. Leia would simply follow me around and eat horse food, and Midnight would sprawl out on the porch to soak up some sun. Little Miss, on the other hand, is not one to sit still and ponder life, she is more of the get out there and do things type of person, err cat.

An open door to the outside world with no humans to supervise her was just the opportunity she needed to explore her unexplored world. Which, for her, means the empty wooded lot next to our house.

After thoroughly welcoming the horses I came back to an open door and a missing cat. I checked her usual wandering locations to find absolutely no sign of her. This is when I started to freak out. Little Miss might be an adventurous cat, but she is an adventurous cat with no front claws and no idea what a poisonous snake is. To her a snake would be something fun to play with, something that looks similar to the strings I let her chase around the house.

After walking around the empty lot with a bag of tuna fish and no sign of a missing cat I knew it was time I went into the unexplored woods. The woods down in the south are not the same as the woods up north for a couple of reasons. One, the undergrowth is much more dense and prickly. Two, there are poisonous snakes. Three, there are poisonous spiders. Four, THERE ARE POISONOUS THINGS IN THERE THAT ARE WATCHING ME AND WANT TO EAT ME!!!

I may have been a little scared to go into the woods. For a girl who grew up in the woods of northeast Ohio, this is kind of hard to admit. Once I made it over the fence and through the densest ivy/weeds/may-be-poisonous-creatures-looking-at-me I started calling for the little run away. After a couple minutes of wandering around calling for the escape artist (and possibly freaking out the neighbors) I heard the most pitiful cry I have ever heard. Someone was lost, and didn't know how to get back home. I followed the cry, she followed her name, and we met beneath a scary looking fallen try that was sure to house a poisonous snake.

That cat was so happy to be found and so scared of something in those woods. She would not let me put her down until we were safely in the house. And she has not left that house since, although not because she didn't want to. I am not about to go searching for her in those woods anytime soon. She can stay inside for a little while longer.