On Wednesday January 4 I was supposed to go back to work after Christmas break but, unfortunately I was sick. I had a doctor appointment in the morning because most schools won't pay you if you do not come to work after a long break assuming you just want to extend your vacation.
When I got home from the appointment (sometime around 11), I took Ollie out, ate a quick lunch, and then crawled in bed and slept all afternoon. It wasn't until I woke up about 5 that we realized Nia was not in the apartment. All afternoon Zack assumed she had been in my room with me. We decided she must have snuck out the door when I took Ollie out at 11.
Our search lasted 3 hours and with each passing minute we grew more and more desperate. I tried to hold it together for Zack but inside, I was devastated. As I walked around and around and around our huge complex I felt as if we had failed as cat owners and I wondered if I would ever be able to feel her soft fur again. I felt like I would never again be able to experience her crawl into my lap for a nap or crawl onto my chest for a cuddle.
While this was happening, I had totally forgot I had a load of laundry in the washing machine and so about 8:30, when I walked by the laundry room, it jogged my memory and I put the clothes in the dryer and walked back to my apartment. It was dark and there was nothing more we could do so Zack and I sat outside with a dish of cat food and water and I grabbed his hands and we prayed. By this point she had been gone about 9 hours and my hope was that someone had found her and would take care of her.
Suddenly Zack says to me, "I hear her meowing." I listened and shouted, "I hear it too." We flew down the stairs and followed her meows until we found her in the bushes outside of the laundry room. We picked her up and both started crying like a couple of babies.
We think that she saw me walk out of the laundry room and was calling to me. Now, every time we open the door we have to look down to be sure she doesn't slip out.
We love our little Nia
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