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I got my new kitty today! The catlady came by at an ungodly hour (well, 9:15AM, which is ungodly for a day off) and dropped her off, along with some paperwork, food, and last minute instructions. Jeff immediately went back to sleep. I retained consiousness for another 20 minutes, and followed Snowball around the house.

Then, I took my eyes off her for five seconds. Just five. Maybe ten. Then I heard a sound from the kitchen. I jumped up to investigate, but it was too late. Snowball had vanished. I walked through the (very small) apartment five or six times looking for her. I looked under things. I looked on top of things. I looked between behind and around the things. No cat.

Then I fell asleep, and had strange dreams.

I was awakened abruptly by Jeff shaking my shoulder and informing me it was almost 1pm. Together we looked for Snowball some more, and finally discovered a tiny crack in our kitchen, between the stove and the drawers. It led back underneath the cabinets. Not large enough for us to even get an arm down, but just big enough to hide a frightened and disoriented feline.

Using toothpicks, duct tape, and a compact mirror, plus a maglight, we were able to verify that that was in fact where she was, and there was nothing we could do about it. So we decided to go shopping.

We headed down to the Clark and Diversey area, where I used to work, since they have a borders, best buy, petsmart, and BB&B all in about a two block radius. After a quick meal at Ann Sathers (and I really don't recommend the V-4 omlett, at least not until they learn to add flavor) we hit up Borders (Ultimate X-Men and the latest Victoria Alexander for me), Best Buy (Super Mario Smash for Wii and No More Heroes for Wii for Jeff . . . almost Planet Earth for me, but I resisted), Petsmart (cat carrier, cat food, cat litter, catpan liners, cat scoops, cat grass, cat scratcher, lots of catnip, and way too many toys for Snowball), and BB&B (for a much needed dirt devil. Or dirt shark, as the case may be.) Then a quick cabride home.

I really hoped Snowball would be out by the time we got home, but no, a quick check with the toothpick mirror and maglight verified that she's still back there. Her eyes are open, so at least she's still alive. I sprinkled a trail of catnip for her, and left two toys out in the open for when she finally emerges. And now I'm sitting on my kitchen floor, keeping vigil. Hopefully it won't be too much longer, as my leg is starting to cramp.