We have cat!

[mousme]

Eight days after the introduction of the dog, Smudge has made an appearance. I got home this morning from a work thing I can't talk about in public apart from making these teasing oblique references (I can't help it, sorry!), and after a quick in-and-out so the dog could pee, I brought him back in to feed the ravening horde.

As I was doling out kibble, I heard a very plaintive yowl coming from the basement that sounded exactly like Smudge. Yes, I have lived long enough with my cats that I can tell their voices apart (S. found this astounding, but to me their voices are as distinct as any of my friends' voices). I left George, Pan-Pan and Sergent upstairs to nosh on their kibble and went downstairs to check. Sure enough there was Smudge in the middle of the floor, yowling miserably at me as though he hadn't a friend in the world.

He seems none the worse for wear. I checked him over for signs of dehydration and starvation and found none: his skin is still elastic to the touch, no tenting, and he still has a healthy amount of flesh over his ribs. So he's either been sneaking upstairs for food and water when I'm not here/asleep, or he's found some other source of food and water.

We attempted a foray upstairs, but the dog showed a little too much interest in him, and so Smudge took to his heels. Unfortunately, he panicked so hard that he triggered the dog's chase reflex and it all went to hell pretty quickly. The cat is now gone once more. Oops.

Upside? He's healthy and not dead. There is hope.

Comments

[mousme.livejournal.com]

See, I didn't think it was weird, either. They're all very distinctive to me. George has a high-pitched, plaintive meow ("Eeeeeeeyoooowoowwoowwwww!" "Eeeeaaaaauuuuuww!") whereas Pan-Pan trills ("Mrrp? Mrrp! Mrrr!") and has a shorter meow ("Mrrow!"), and Smudge has a lower-pitched yowl ("Oowoowwowww!").