Ella is a PITA sometimes. Today, someone came by to do maintenance on our boiler. She sometimes hides from strangers, but she quickly decided that he was okay. In fact, while she's not much of a talker, she was standing on her feeding platform near the boiler room, talking to him while he worked.
When he left, I couldn't find Ella. I quickly noticed that he had left the boiler room door open, and there is a hole that goes from the floor of the boiler room into the crawl space, which once accommodated a pipe of some sort, I suppose. I usually keep a pane of glass over it, but workmen typically remove it so that they don't accidentally step on it or kneel on it while they are working.
Well, he had left the hole uncovered and the door open, so I was pretty sure that Ella had done what other cats have done before (see hole, climb into it). Lydia was boarded up into the wall when someone replaced our tub with a shower and made some cabinets. Both Lydia and Cutie ended up above the ceiling tiles while some tiles were being replaced.
I called to her through the hole and shone a light down, but she didn't come to the hole. The entrance to the crawl space is beneath the stairwell, and we have a bunch of stuff stacked over that trapdoor. So, I painstakingly moved all of that stuff, slotting much of it be discarded, and went down into that crawlspace and shone the light around, but couldn't find Ella. There were plenty of places where she could have been that I wouldn't be able to see without crawling on my stomach or sliding on my back, which is not something I was looking forward to. I called her, and called her, and she didn't come.
Although it seemed the workman was pretty careful about the front door, he had to retrieve things from his van a couple of times, so there was a chance she had gone out. I didn't think so because she doesn't usually try to escape anymore, particularly not in the winter, but I couldn't be sure. So, I walked around the house a couple of times, checking the backyard and the railroad tracks, etc.
Meanwhile, my wife and I both called her, tried to bribe her with treats, and searched every place we could get to. We do have a walk-in closet that's packed with so much stuff that I'd like to throw away, but my wife won't let me, largely because it's her stuff. There are places in there where she could hide. But why would she hide? She wasn't hiding while the stranger was here.
Finally, I decided to leave the trap door to the crawl space open by a couple of inches, with a board propped up that she could climb, figuring that if she were in the crawl space and wanted out, I'd probably hear her trying to get through that door, and if she were elsewhere, the opening wasn't large enough for her to get in.
So, I got back on the computer to wait. Every now and then, I'd check the crawl space again, because that's where I thought she was. I went down into it a couple more times, but no sign of Ella.
Hours later, she just walked into the living room upstairs, where my wife was. She was probably in the closet doing the other thing that cats do - ignore people who are calling them.
When he left, I couldn't find Ella. I quickly noticed that he had left the boiler room door open, and there is a hole that goes from the floor of the boiler room into the crawl space, which once accommodated a pipe of some sort, I suppose. I usually keep a pane of glass over it, but workmen typically remove it so that they don't accidentally step on it or kneel on it while they are working.
Well, he had left the hole uncovered and the door open, so I was pretty sure that Ella had done what other cats have done before (see hole, climb into it). Lydia was boarded up into the wall when someone replaced our tub with a shower and made some cabinets. Both Lydia and Cutie ended up above the ceiling tiles while some tiles were being replaced.
I called to her through the hole and shone a light down, but she didn't come to the hole. The entrance to the crawl space is beneath the stairwell, and we have a bunch of stuff stacked over that trapdoor. So, I painstakingly moved all of that stuff, slotting much of it be discarded, and went down into that crawlspace and shone the light around, but couldn't find Ella. There were plenty of places where she could have been that I wouldn't be able to see without crawling on my stomach or sliding on my back, which is not something I was looking forward to. I called her, and called her, and she didn't come.
Although it seemed the workman was pretty careful about the front door, he had to retrieve things from his van a couple of times, so there was a chance she had gone out. I didn't think so because she doesn't usually try to escape anymore, particularly not in the winter, but I couldn't be sure. So, I walked around the house a couple of times, checking the backyard and the railroad tracks, etc.
Meanwhile, my wife and I both called her, tried to bribe her with treats, and searched every place we could get to. We do have a walk-in closet that's packed with so much stuff that I'd like to throw away, but my wife won't let me, largely because it's her stuff. There are places in there where she could hide. But why would she hide? She wasn't hiding while the stranger was here.
Finally, I decided to leave the trap door to the crawl space open by a couple of inches, with a board propped up that she could climb, figuring that if she were in the crawl space and wanted out, I'd probably hear her trying to get through that door, and if she were elsewhere, the opening wasn't large enough for her to get in.
So, I got back on the computer to wait. Every now and then, I'd check the crawl space again, because that's where I thought she was. I went down into it a couple more times, but no sign of Ella.
Hours later, she just walked into the living room upstairs, where my wife was. She was probably in the closet doing the other thing that cats do - ignore people who are calling them.
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