Bad Bad Kitty!

I don't think my family has ever had strictly indoor cats, and I've never really adhered to that idea for my own animals. It's true that, on average, they live less than their indoor counterparts, but I think there's something to be said for quality of life vs. quantity of life. Why do humans take planes and trains and eat bacon? I bet you those who don't would live longer too!

So all this to say that I like to let Khaleesi go outdoors, and she does very well about exploring for a little while and then coming back inside.

On Sunday, I let her roam around. I was ready to leave to do shopping and it had been a few hours and I couldn't find her, which wouldn't be the first time something like that had happened, so I left the back door open for her and left, expecting to find her inside when I came back. She wasn't. I wasn't worried.

Finally, after showering, dinner, and working on my puzzle, I was getting sleepy and now WAS concerned I couldn't find her. I walked around the block and went down the middle alley and came to the back of my own house. I kept calling for Khaleesi and I heard her respond, so I figured she was back in the yard. I hustle home (wasn't interested in hopping the chainlink fence) and go to the backyard and call for her. I keep hearing her, but can't find her. I figured that she was stuck in the neighbor's backyard, blocked by a chainlink fence. Her meow sounded oddly distant, like maybe she was stuck in their shed? Or in the trashcan? I got a flashlight, changed out of my pajamas, hopped the fence and went creeping around my neighbors backyard. Every time I called for Khaleesi she would respond, but I COULD. NOT. FIND. HER!!! It was driving me bonkers... not under bushes, in the shed, next to the house, nothing. I don't know what finally sparked it, but I thought, "I can hear her right here, but she's not on the ground. Is she... up?" and I point the flashlight up and there she is. About 30 feet up the tree, balancing way up top, and meowing, meowing.

She is waaaaay too far for me to rescue. (I tried). I tried coaxing her down but she wouldn't so much as take a step, just turn this way and that on the branch that she was on. By this time it was about 11pm. I have no idea what to do. None. And she is crying. What the hell do you do? I think about calling the firemen but even I know that's a dumb idea. I feel so dumb that this is even my problem right now. I text the guy I'm seeing who suggests calling animal control, so I do, but they won't dispatch at this hour since it's not an emergency, which I find completely valid and legit. But I ask, "do you know if someone could be dispatched for this during normal hours?" and her response "I don't know. You'll have to call back then." And me "That's fine, but when I call back, do you know if someone would be able to be dispatched for that?" and her "I don't know. I just work at the call center." kthxbye. I call the city's 311 line but am told that "The City of Riverside is closed." Didn't even know cities could close. But there you have it.

I feel awful. I have to go to bed. There is literally nothing I can do. And how am I supposed to walk away from my crying kitty and go to bed? She has slept in my bed with me every night since she was a kitten. I felt awful. I couldn't sleep well at all, knowing that Khaleesi was out there in the cold night perched on a tree 30 feet up. I kept waking up and trying to pet her, and then remembering she was a moron in a tree and wanting to cry. Suddenly all those love songs about waking up and trying to find your beloved in the bed but you can't... suddenly it all made sense. I kept hoping that she would find her way down and I would wake up to her hopping up on the bed with me. No such luck.

I got up an hour and half earlier than usual since I couldn't sleep, and went outside terrified I'd find her dead on the ground. She wasn't.

This picture is very zoomed in so you can actually see her!

She was still up in the tree, and now, she was meowing in utter distress. Loud and constant and really freaking out. I called 311 again who were actually open, and I told them look, this was embarrassing, but my cat was stuck in a tree and what could I do. The girl sounded like she was laughing as she told me basically nothing could be done, no one would dispatch for that, that the cats would come down on their own. I told her my cat was indoor cat and really seems in distress and I just truly don't know what to do. She gave me the number for animal control with a laugh, saying I could try, but they wouldn't come out. Thanks! I know it sounds like I'm a gray-haired, withered old lady in 1950's America, but what are you supposed to do when you listen to your baby in distress and you can't rescue her?? I felt stupid, but they also felt insensitive.

I went back outside to her, and as I was staring up at the tree, my landlord showed up, backing a truck up into the backyard to work on one of the units. I told him my damn cat was stuck up in the tree. The backyard neighbor then came out to say hi and I told her the same thing. (Not that they needed me to tell them, Khaleesi could be heard a few blocks around). She told me this happened to her cat before and she called the fire department and they said just wait for the cat to come down, there aren't dead cats lying on the ground from not being able to get down. My landlord said if the cat came down while he was around he would put it on my back patio. It all made me feel a little better, but I felt likea jerk walking away from her freaking out. As I drove away for work, I could even see her above the roof, perched in the tree and crying.

Well I got a text from my landlord around noon who wrote: Your cat came down half way.then got stuck again. We      use a 16 foot ladder and     grab him. I sure he will not do that again. We are cat        heros!

I am so lucky he was around with that ladder and could get her down! I usually go to the gym on Mondays but I had to go straight home and see the Khaleesi. She is definitely subdued and seems like she is legitimately recovering from trauma, and even skinnier! But she's home now.

I have half a mind to lock her in a dungeon after this!

P.S. Happy Birthday Rafster!