I Haz no Brainz

It was one of those nights. My youngest was scared of zombies thanks to hubby's jokes so I ended up having to move her little bed into our room to get her to go to sleep so I could get some writing done. It was an act of desperation on my part and a way to teach hubby a lesson. Zombie antics are fine with ten and eight year olds, but leave the five year old alone!

She'd finally fallen asleep when I heard a ruckus in the back yard. Yep, the kitty wars continue. This time outside.

A little back story first. The stealth kitty aka Smalls used to be a full-time outdoor kitty when we lived in Lake Oswego, Oregon, but up here in Washington she doesn't go out as much. She's getting older (13 or 14, we aren't sure because she came with our old house) and prefers were it's warm and cozy. I don't blame her with the cold temperatures that have set in.

Well, yesterday, she decided to run out the open front door. I know it was to escape the dog and get a few minutes of fresh air, except she forgot it was close to dinner time and it would be getting dark soon. I figured she'd be back once she was hungry and cold. She was. The only problem? Hubby let Chaos out back without realizing Smalls was waiting to come indoors.

The dog saw the cat and decided a game of chase was in order. Not only around the yard, but along the fence too. Chaos had a blast. Smalls not so much. Hubby said he'd never seen Smalls' tail so full. Needless to say, the cat disappeared.

I checked in the front and back yards. Called for her. Walked around. No sign of her. I knew she would not be a happy kitty out in the cold all night so I waited until ten o'clock to try again. I called her name, and this time heard a rustling in the neighbors tree and a few soft meows. I finally found her sitting up on the back fence, looking sad, cold and hungry. Her meows were pathetic, but would she come down like a good kitty? Nope.

So what do I do? I spend way too much time trying to coax her down. Me in my pajamas and barefeet. (Note the title of this post.) I got cold so retreated inside for a moment, but Smalls continued to sit there and cry so I hurried out again. I tried again. And again. And again. Still barefoot. I really need to keep shoes by the back door because this is not the first time I've had to do this. I'm sure it won't be the last.

Finally I'd had it. I was tired, cold and still had pages to write. I'd spent over a half hour trying to get her down. This on top of my zombie damage control earlier. I told Smalls I loved her, but enough was enough. I wished her a goodnight, shut and locked the back door and turned off all the lights downstairs.

Wow! I've never seen a cat move like that. She was more cheetah than tabby. She ran off the fence and raced toward the door as fast as her four paws would carry her. I cracked the door open and she darted in. A big sigh of relief on both our parts!

Of course, I'm sure she'll be telling the other two cats how she played with Mommy. Grrrh! But at least she spent the night inside, with her tummy full and a nice warm place to sleep. And I didn't have to worry or keep getting up all night to see if she'd come home.

Have you ever had to coax an animal inside? Any tricks you know to make it easier to do?