Spatters has been in the kitchen and except for a brief encounter with Sherman has remained in her box. As things do happen, another item arose: a leak under the sink. We removed all the under-sink items, sopped up the water and located the source of the leak and called the landlady. No big deal. We closed things up and went about our day.

A few minutes later I went to the kitchen, noting the sliding door was ajar. I checked her box, sure enough, Spatters was gone. This prompted a search... no, two... three searches of the townhouse. No Spatters. No one had gone outside. No windows were open. Hmmm.

The last place (and aren't they always there) was under the sink, but no cat. Looking a little closer I found a hole at the top inside of the sink cabinet. It was probably a hand hole use during the installation of the cabinets and yes, it was big enough for a cat. Mirror and flashlight in hand, I crawled beneath the sink, positioned myself someone kind of upside down-sideways a shined the light throught the hole. Two eyes reflected in the mirror. Spatters was between the cabinet and the wall.

First it was felt that the cat could jump back out when she got hungry, but that would have required a 90-degree turn in-flight to position her head before striking the underside of the counter. Quick brainstorming decided we should cut a small escape hole for the cat's use.

After doing so (and ensuring I hadn't cut the cat or myself) a cursory examination of her new habitat showed holes in the sheet rock behind the cabinets leading into the dead space between us and the neighbors. Not a good sign. Should Spatters "explore" further she might get trapped, injured, or worse.

More cutting. Shift in position. Push an arm through the hole, turn left... reach... react to the scratching.... ignore the hissing..... and Spatters was pulled to freedom.

Did someone say this was going to be interesting?

Copyright © Dave
February 7, 1999