Ah, the move. The move went well, overall. TR girl and I picked up the truck at 0730. We then went back to the old place, packed up the boys, and moved them to the new place. I had litter. I had litter pans. I had blankets for them to sleep on. I had Jasper’s pot. I had their water dish. I had their food dish. I did not, however, have their food.

We headed back to the house. TR girl called Randy; he told her Little Matty was there as well. By the time we got back, they had loaded the washer and dryer in. TR girl stayed outside to direct the loading. (Seriously, if you are moving, hire her. Girl can pack a truck.) Cdub showed up, and we started loading electronics in her van. More friends showed up; one was sent to feed the cats (she knew where the new house is.) We loaded up the truck, Cdub’s van, a pickup, and the cars and headed over. Then unloading. All of this was done by 1230. I fed them lunch; Randy and SG decided beer was necessary, so they went and picked up two 12 packs. (I still have beer. Come on over.)

TR girl and I dropped off the truck, ran to Lowe’s, and went back to the old place to empty out the fridge. (Actually, before all that she unpacked my kitchen. Thanks TR girl! I just found my measuring cups!) Randy napped. We came home, cleaned up, and head over to The Cap’n and 2.0’s for dinner. (They were all, “You are moving today. Come have dinner with us. Then, you don’t have to worry about it.” (They live about 3 blocks away.) It seems like not a big deal, but not having to worry about dinner was an enormous help.) While we were at dinner, Jbabe came over to clean out her freezer (Jbabe is now my landlord.).

We got back, let the cats out of the room I’d locked them in, and were doing some unpacking when Randy said, “Why is the back door wide open?” (There is a door from the kitchen to the laundry room. This door has a cat door in it. There is also a door from the laundry room to outside. This door does not have a cat door in it.) I figured Jbabe must have left it open when she came over.

About a half and hour later, I realized no Jasper. Could not find him anywhere. TR girl and I looked outside. I called him. Nothing. We searched the house again; it was getting late and we all were exhausted. TR girl was all, “Well, maybe he’s just hiding in the house somewhere.” We went to bed.

That night, I heard Ri making lots of noise. I went out into the dining room, and he was chasing a mouse. The mouse gave me a look that said, “Help?” I told him, “Not my problem.” However, at this point I realized Jaz was outside- he wouldn’t have missed the mouse action.

Sunday morning I got up and went outside. I found Jaz’s collar on the patio. (Both TR girl and I are certain it was not there the night before.) No Jaz. I was very upset. Randy was the next one up, and I told him I’d found the collar, and then I started crying. I calmed down, and he headed out to the kitchen. I told him I’d made coffee, he said, “OK.” I realized he’d been gone way too long to make coffee- he’d actually gone outside to look. Randy is not a cat person.

Figuring Jaz was lost, and feeling there was not much that could be done, we headed out to breakfast. Driving back, we saw The Cap’n coming in from his run. I stopped and told him what had happened and asked them to keep an eye out.

When I got home, I called Jbabe. She didn’t answer, and I was not in any state to leave a message (it would not have been a nice message) so I called Mom. I said, “Hi.” She said, “What’s the matter?” I told her the story, and she said, “He hates outside. He didn’t go far. He’s probably just hiding under a bush.” With her on the phone, I went outside to look. Jbabe called back, and I hung up from Mom to talk to her. As I was telling her the story, I heard “Mew?” from a bush. It was Jaz. I hung up the phone, went in, and pulled him out.

Then Jasper faced a dilemma. He was scared from being outside, but he hates to be held. He decided to fight me the entire way back to the house. Am scratched up. The relief of finding him far outweighed a few scratches.

On Monday, my boss asked how the move went.

WG: The moving went well, but I lost a cat the first night.
Boss: Did you get a cat back?
WG: Yes, thankfully.
Boss: The same cat?