Tonight as we were leaving the shelter after a long day of work, a tricksy cat darted out into freedom.
An initial attempt to recoup the cat resulted in said cat darting across the fairly busy road and into the woods on the other side. I followed, trying to be nonchalant while waiting for an opportunity to tackle her.
The cat meandered through the trees with her tail held high, keeping juuuuuuust far enough in front of me. She lithely trotted across fallen birch logs while I clomped through the trees behind her, leaves and sticks cracking under my giant feet. She would stop and wait for me to get closer, then take off again.
I had to keep very focused on the cat because she is of course the exact color of dead leaves.
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| She was obviously plotting her escape early on. |
As we went deeper and deeper into the woods, I had many different thoughts going through my mind. Including:
- How far do I go before giving up?
- OW STICK IN MY EYE
- I'm going to come across someone's house soon, right? How far down the rabbit hole are we going?
- If I finally do catch her, will she come quietly or will I have scratches from both the woods and cat claws?
- Oh good lord, I hope I can find my way back or I will never live it down.
Just when I was contemplating giving up the ghost, the cat let me get close enough to make my move.
GOTCHA
Once I had her scruffed and in my arms, I turned around and paused. I could hear the road and I have a fairly good sense of direction, so I wasn't too worried. But I had been concentrating so hard on following the cat, going right left right right left double back left left right, that I could see how easy it would be to get lost.
But I didn't! Huzzah! I came out of the woods maybe 20 ft from where I went in.
After the cat was safely back in the building and I was in my car driving home, I reflected back upon the situation. How many stories have I read about following a magical animal deep into the woods to discover a wardrobe to another world, or that I have magical powers, or a species of intelligent trolls to teach me the secret of life?
WHY COULDN'T THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO ME
And that is how I searched and rescued a cat today.
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