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Yesterday I was driving from the farm to my place in Michigan, and had made a couple of stops -- gas, dinner -- and was listening to the radio when I thought I heard something that wasn't exactly part of the music. Turned the radio off. Sure enough, there it was again. And again. And again and again and again and...
"MEW! MEWMEWMEW!! MEW! MEWMEW! MEW! MEW! MEW! MEW!"
*what the...????"
I was about a mile from a rest area, so I kept going and got off the freeway, stopped the car and popped the hood. Get out and open the hood.
Lying on top of the battery was The Kitten. It was STILL IN MY ENGINE COMPARTMENT!!! The Kitten who originally hid in there at around 11:30 am on SATURDAY is still there at 9:30 pm on MONDAY. TWO AND A HALF DAYS AND OH, 450 MILES LATER!!!
I am not kidding. Same little gun-metal gray with darker stripings, fluffy Kitten. (Note how well the color matches the engine?) Kitten sees me seeing it and jumps up and dives back down into the compartment. Crap. Getting dark and no flashlight. I finally have to give up on trying to find it and get back in the car and head back on the road. To the protesting accompaniment of "MEW! MEW! MEW! MEW!"
The next exit is less than a mile, so I get off and spot a Walmart. Go in, get kitty food, flashlight, batteries and some cheap plastic divided dish I can put food and water in. Back to the car, put batteries in flashlight (meanwhile hoping that maybe THIS time it occurred to Kitten to GET OUT OF THE ENGINE while I was away), and put a handful of food and some of my bottled water into dish -- since I don't know when it last had anything to eat or drink, but it wasn't when the car was in my garage!). I pop the hood, put the enticements on the ground under the car, and use the flashlight to see if I can find where Kitten is hiding.
An hour and a half and two very helpful families later, all we've established is that Kitten is indeed still in there. Because right around the time when they'd ask "are you sure it's still there" we'd all hear a loud "MEW" from somewhere in there. 'Yup, I'm sure."
Finally, coming to the conclusion that no, I'm not spending the night in the now-closed Walmart parking lot, I close the hood, pour out the water, put everything back into the car, and head back to the freeway.
"MEW! MEWMEWMEW!! MEW! MEWMEW! MEW! MEW! MEW! MEW!"
Me, to the corner of the dashboard: "You should have thought of that when we had everything open! Now just curl up and go to sleep!"
Another hour and a half and I'm at my place, pop the hood again, look for Kitten again -- nothing. No Kitten, no sounds -- not unlike say, Saturday morning to Monday evening. Eventually I just put the food and water down and hope that if Kitten is still there, it can get to it.
This morning it hadn't been touched, but that no longer makes me think Kitten isn't there. And of course it's a holiday 'mid-weekend' and nowhere is open to see if a professional can remove a few things so we can look under/in them.
I think this really does fall into the "only me" category.
"MEW! MEWMEWMEW!! MEW! MEWMEW! MEW! MEW! MEW! MEW!"
*what the...????"
I was about a mile from a rest area, so I kept going and got off the freeway, stopped the car and popped the hood. Get out and open the hood.
Lying on top of the battery was The Kitten. It was STILL IN MY ENGINE COMPARTMENT!!! The Kitten who originally hid in there at around 11:30 am on SATURDAY is still there at 9:30 pm on MONDAY. TWO AND A HALF DAYS AND OH, 450 MILES LATER!!!
I am not kidding. Same little gun-metal gray with darker stripings, fluffy Kitten. (Note how well the color matches the engine?) Kitten sees me seeing it and jumps up and dives back down into the compartment. Crap. Getting dark and no flashlight. I finally have to give up on trying to find it and get back in the car and head back on the road. To the protesting accompaniment of "MEW! MEW! MEW! MEW!"
The next exit is less than a mile, so I get off and spot a Walmart. Go in, get kitty food, flashlight, batteries and some cheap plastic divided dish I can put food and water in. Back to the car, put batteries in flashlight (meanwhile hoping that maybe THIS time it occurred to Kitten to GET OUT OF THE ENGINE while I was away), and put a handful of food and some of my bottled water into dish -- since I don't know when it last had anything to eat or drink, but it wasn't when the car was in my garage!). I pop the hood, put the enticements on the ground under the car, and use the flashlight to see if I can find where Kitten is hiding.
An hour and a half and two very helpful families later, all we've established is that Kitten is indeed still in there. Because right around the time when they'd ask "are you sure it's still there" we'd all hear a loud "MEW" from somewhere in there. 'Yup, I'm sure."
Finally, coming to the conclusion that no, I'm not spending the night in the now-closed Walmart parking lot, I close the hood, pour out the water, put everything back into the car, and head back to the freeway.
"MEW! MEWMEWMEW!! MEW! MEWMEW! MEW! MEW! MEW! MEW!"
Me, to the corner of the dashboard: "You should have thought of that when we had everything open! Now just curl up and go to sleep!"
Another hour and a half and I'm at my place, pop the hood again, look for Kitten again -- nothing. No Kitten, no sounds -- not unlike say, Saturday morning to Monday evening. Eventually I just put the food and water down and hope that if Kitten is still there, it can get to it.
This morning it hadn't been touched, but that no longer makes me think Kitten isn't there. And of course it's a holiday 'mid-weekend' and nowhere is open to see if a professional can remove a few things so we can look under/in them.
I think this really does fall into the "only me" category.
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Only you, Bit. Only you. *g*