the other night at around 2:30am while i was furiously working to finish up a powerpoint presentation, i heard a tell-tale “mewing” outside my window. now, as some of you may know, i’ve got a thing for rescuing animals (see here) but the last time i did it, ponce, my giant orange cat, happened to be out of town and therefore couldn’t protest. this time, i had to deal with his nibs.

i went out to see what the fuss was about. i found this little kitty who was really well groomed and had a collar on with a bell but no identification. i figured she escaped from a nearby home and got lost, so i walked up and down the block looking for open windows but couldn’t find any. i finally decided to take her in, with the plan to take her to the animal shelter in the morning to see if she was tagged.

i did a little net research before i did, though. i didn’t want ponce to a.) get any weird diseases or b.) be pissed at me forever. i did what [insert random/creepy cat forum blog site name here] suggested and rushed her inside to the bathroom. i isolated her in the shower with a pan of litter, some water, some food and the cat carrier i would be transporting her in in the morning. she mewed a little bit, and ponce hissed at the bathroom door once, but other than that there wasn’t much drama.

in the morning i found her on the bathroom floor. she had somehow climbed over the six foot tall tile wall / shower doors and escaped my little sanctuary. i forgot that cats can be that agile - i’ve been living with a peaceful goliath. i snapped the above pic before hopping in a car and going to the shelter in east new york.

at the shelter, the micro-chip scanner revealed that she was no stray at all. indeed she was 4-year-old lilac, from troy avenue - roughly two blocks away from my house. i have to call the shelter to see if the owners picked her up. if they haven’t after 7 days she goes up for adoption.

if you have a pet anywhere, i urge you to have them chipped. it can literally be a life saver.