About a year ago, I took a day off from work to repair my bathroom floor. My toilet had been leaking for some time, and I finally realized that the floor had rotted. The toilet was listing to the left, and I knew I had to either repair the floor or install a seatbelt.
A friend took the day off to help me. We got started around 6:00 AM, and by 6:00 PM, we had made absolutely no progress.
Another friend (a more competent friend) stopped by after work to help and then things finally started happening. We got the old floor up and, around midnight, we put in the last piece of the new flooring. I still had to replace the tile before the plumber returned the next morning to reinstall the toilet, but I could handle that on my own.
Throughout the day, I had periodically checked on my three cats to make sure they hadn't slipped out the door on one of our many trips in and out. At midnight, I did my final "cat locate". Princess Two was in her throne/bed. Hobie was in his favorite spot on top of a suitcase under my bed. But Little Kate, my mischievous calico, was nowhere to be found! I searched from the attic to the basement three times. No Katie. I got a flashlight and checked under the bushes in front of my house. No Katie. I opened cupboards, pulled books out of the bookcases, checked the microwave and the dryer. Katie had disappeared! I was nearly hysterical, sure that my indoor cat had darted outside and was in serious danger.
I searched again. Finally, I just stood outside the bathroom and called, "Little Kate!" in desperation.
I heard a faint, "Meowwwww".
"Little Kate," I called again.
"Meowwww"
I got down on my hands and knees and called, "Katie?" to the bathroom floor. This time I heard a louder "Meowwww" coming from the floor.
Yes, Katie was under the newly laid floor. At midnight, we had to rip up the floor again. As the last piece of wood came up, a little orange and black head popped out. Katie jumped out of the sub-flooring, sat down, and started cleaning her face as if nothing had happened.
The moral to this story: Lock up your cats when you are doing home repairs. If there is trouble to get into, they will find it.
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