BIG Panic at Kia Rio

Well, I was sitting in the office about 11:30 am this morning, minding my own business and working on the incomplete for the MS in Org Mgmt when I heard a noise in the living room.

It didn't really sound like Jaz when he comes slamming through the cat door at full tilt and then slides across the hardwood floor, stopping just shy of the love seat.

I went to check it out. It was my neighbor, Lee, knocking on the door. He asked if my cat just came running into the house. I am not sure, why??? I am thinking one of his dogs got in a whirl and really got after one of them.

Lee hesitated, and then asked if I had a grey one with kind of long hair. Well, I could see that someone might see Jaz as grey, especially if they are not good at colors. I said yes, I had two cats with longish hair.

He said the cat had been hit by a truck, rolled twice and ran straight into my yard. He thought it ran up to the house.

Well, I was a head spinning mess. I thanked him, ran in the house looking for Jaz and Tashi. Went outside and called around, crawled under the shrubs, called and then went back into the house. I threw on jeans, gym shoes and a long sleeve shirt and plunged into the Impenetrable Forest. I came out after about 15 minutes, with no sign of Jaz or Tashi. Snuggie has been humped up on the wool blanket on the chaise in the office all day.

I grabbed the phone, called mom and asked her to come over so I would have some help going to the vet, if needed. I got the cat whistle and started calling. Got the rose pruning shears and headed back into the IF, spiderwebs, spiders, brush and branches, fallen trees. It is "au natural" in there, except for the debris along the edge that consists of basic garbage, a car door, soccer ball and other odd items.

Still no sign of either cat. I am sweating like crazy and my heart is racing. My back is a tad bit stiff from walking around hunched over in the IF.

I go back in the house for a bottle of water, and the cat treats. I come back out and keep calling. Jaz pokes his head out of the bushes along the back of the yard. I call, he does not move. I can see his head and front legs only. I worry that his back legs are damaged. He normally runs to me. He sits still as I approach him. Odd for him. He is looking at me in a weird way. I have to pick him up out of the bushes. His back foot is a little dirty. I carry him back inside the house and inspect him. He does not appear to be hurt. I gently investigated his underbelly to see if there was any tenderness. He seemed fine.

I locked the cat door to prevent his going out, but to allowing Tashi to come in. I go out the door calling for Tashi. I head back into IF and then hear mom pull up. I come back out. She goes inside to see Jaz and then comes out to help me look for Tashi. It is now almost an hour after the accident. I worry that if he is really hurt, he is hiding and I may not find him.

I head back into IF and after about 10 minutes I see Tashi, standing up along the edge just about 3 feet inside th IF. He is normally skittish, so I am careful not to go toward him. He is standing up, that is a really good sign. I am hopeful. I make a wide berth around him and go into the yard, get the treats and try to coax him to me. Mom goes in the house so she doesn't scare him. I lose him.

I find him a few minutes later. He is a few feet away, meowing and looking at me weirdly. I hold out treats. I advance a few inches and he flees. He can move good. I go out to the steps of the house, put the treats on the bottom step, call him and I move up to the porch. After about 15 more minutes, he comes up and eats the treats. I inspect him from afar, and see no obvious signs of injury. He is eating, and that is a real good sign. He will not come to me or come inside. I watch him and feel that he is not in immediate danger.

Mom and I sit inside and talk about the cats and the garden. I feel relieved they both seem ok. I wash the IF spider and bug yuck out of my hair and towel off. I decide the boys are probably fine but I will keep a close eye on them.

I took mom down to Possum Creek and we look at the community garden plots. Only about a dozen out of 130 spaces are in use. One garden has beautiful veggies in it, the others are either sort of maintained or forgotten, and most of the plots were not used this year. The garden plots are free, yup free. We walk around, butterflies, moths and grasshoppers galore. We decide we will get a plot apiece next year and put our corn, some popcorn, and the beans at Possum Creek and use her garden spaces for the more finicky plants that need more TLC. We will stage the planting so we don't have all the things coming on at the same time. Beans take quite a while to pick, then they need to be washed and broke and then the canning takes a while. Corn is a bit easier to deal with, but we don't want the whole crop maturing at the same basic time.

We come back to the house, she leaves, and just as I am fixing my lunch, Tashi comes in the living room. I give him a treat of soft food and then pick him up and inspect him. Seems perfectly fine.

I am relieved, very relieved, but haunted because there is a significant chance that next time will be a much sadder tale.

After lunch, I got on the mls and was looking at farm type properties. I am going to start paying attention to what is out there, and for how much. I'd like to get off Route 4 in the next 2 years, rent Kia Rio out, and put the boys on a farm much farther off the road.

Well, my heart rate is recovered, and I must now get back to that incomplete I was working on hours ago...

Whew.