Speaking of cats...while we were gone pet sitter Sheri accidentally lost my Pesty Cat (Chester). She called us freaking out last Sunday because he was no where to be found. She was trying to get the poodles back into their palace and left the back door open for a few. Seems the temptation was too great. She looked, Teri and Heather came over to help her look, she called animal control, left the garage door cracked so he would come in if he came home and slept in the living room so she could hear him if he was crying in the backyard.

I cried, dreamed he and Rowdy were in heaven together, and just generally felt sick about the whole thing. He's such a baby...though he does have his claws...he's never been outside before in his 13 months of life!!

So when we came home, I went to the pound and called all the little towns around here's animal control. Noone had any info. So for the next few days I stared into the backyard with no signs of Pesty.

THEN! Thursday night, Sheri and I were on the phone when I noticed that Nancy had her front paws in the window seal and was wagging her nub. That's what she does about 3-5 times a day this time of year when we have cottontail bunnies in the yard (we affectionately call them Nancy's bunnies). So I figured she was just crying wolf, when I looked outside to see a small gray Pesty walking back towards the woods. So I ran outside (naked) and couldn't see him. I came back in and got the Pounce treat can and ran back outside (naked) and shook the can. He instantly started meowing really fast and after he figured out the dogs were not outside with me, he came running. He is so skinny, and as soon as I got him in the house he went bounding towards the food bowl where he stayed most of the night. But other than that, he's in perfect health. He must be much tougher than I thought, because 4.5 days out in the forest behind our house couldn't have been easy. Especially since one night the low was 37!! He has not left my side since he came home and runs the other way everytime I open any of the outside doors. Carson is so happy to have his brother back too, he keeps giving him baths. So sweet!

And I had said a week or so before we left that we needed to have him declawed when we came back. I am SO glad we hadn't or we probably would still be Pesty-less. But I still think we might, this was a freak deal. I could never have outside cats, I would worry way too much about the. And, yes, he is fixed. All of our fur babies are genderless.