Maxwell P. Kitty Cat's Big Adventure

Max got out this evening without anyone noticing (he's very good at slipping out) for some 30-60 minutes. By the time we did notice he was gone it was dark out and he was nowhere to be found. I really thought it was going to be the end of Maxwell as he's pretty damned clueless about cars and unfriendly people.

I quickly checked throughout the house and yard for him but couldn't find him. So I asked my brother and niece if they had seen him. They hadn't, so we all started to look. We did a couple searches close to the house and garage, but no Maxwell. I was pretty upset by this time because I figured Max was or would soon be a goner. We decided to widen the search area for him and went out the front of the house while my brother and niece checked the ally that runs behind the house.

I'd call Max a few times and then stop and listen for him, but got nothing. Then my cell phone rang -- "we got him!" my brother told me. I was sooo relieved. Max is old and used to the country and has hyperthyroidism so sometimes he gets these intense urges to go places even if he doesn't know his way around. I guess much of that is standard cat activity, but it was very worrisome anyway. So I come back to the house and my niece was there holding Max and he was purring away and just looked very happy with himself.

She found him walking down the ally meowing his fool head off. Or at least he was trying to meow. He must have been doing it a while because he seems to have lost his voice a bit. And sure enough, he was walking smack dab down the center of the allyway looking around like "wow, look at all the stuff. I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore." She said he was headed back towards the house so I imagine he did hear us calling him. I shudder to think about where he was and how close he was to getting squished.

Anyway, he's now sacked out in front of the heater reliving his big adventure.