Careful. Check for your kitten before leaving for work.

[Ben E Gas]

One time before work, my girlfriend was making her lunch. She had the fridg. door open. She finished, closed everything up and packed her lunch. Luckily, just as we were walking out the door, I said "where is zezu?" We looked for a minute, then realized the little rascal climbed into fridg. and got shut in. Poor guy. We always make sure we know where he is before leaving now, plus we give him a hug each time too.

So becareful when you leave your house. You wouldn't want to find kitty in the icebox on your return home. Plus, I don't think he'd be too happy w/ you.

[Kirsten]

I know what you mean... It's one of my worst nightmares that anything could ever happen to Luna because I was negligent. Before I'm leaving the house for work, I'm checking the entire place and I make sure that I can take a look at Luna and know that she's safe before I'm closing the door behind me!

Kirsten

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www.lunas-little-world.de.vu
www.cats-in-the-net.de.vu
www.pet-cemetery.de.vu

[weeze]

That's very true!! The first morning after I got Tiger I couldn't find her anywhere. I don't know what possessed me to look in the hamper but I did and there she was looking at me with her big eyes. She was able to get in but she couldn't get out! I've also unwittingly locked her in the closet a few times!

[Pam]

This is awful to confess to, but one night my daughter closed the front door only to find out seconds later that Andy was in between the front door and the screen door. And, both of my cats have occasionally been accidentally locked in closets, fortunately only for a minute or two. Guess that's where the saying comes from "curiosity killed the cat." GOD FORBID!!!!!!!

[yorkster]

I agree with you Ben. My worry is more that they will get out, and we live near a busy road (they try hard to everytime the door is open!) Whenever we leave, I check carefully where they are in the house. My husband used to think I was nuts, but now he does it too since he has turned into such a cat-lover! I found one thing that works well with one of my cats is to feed him a bit just before we walk out the door. It distracts him because he is a bit of a piggy. The other cat won't fall for it though.

[Edwina's Secretary]

About four months after Edwina came to live with us I took a two month break from working. She and I spent alot of time together, in the garden and such. Upon my return from my first day back at work I could not find her anywhere! I searched all of her favorite places. I accused my stepson, who was living with us at the time of letting her get out. We looked around outside and searched frantically again and again. Finally we found her in a closet in the basement. It had bifold doors which she had closed behind her. Furthermore, she was behind some large boxes. She came out but was angry with me for a couple of weeks!

[tatsxxx11]

My new kitten Oliver was M.I.A. for a few minutes...My worst nightmare. (Well, right up there with the 'fridge.) He had jumped into the toasty dryer and was quite comfy snuggled in the warm laundry. Yikes! I always check the closets, fridge, washer, dryer etc. before going anywhere! They are so fast!

[wolflady]

OMG!! I totally know the panic of having a furbaby getting locked someplace they shouldn't have been. I about had a heart attack when my husband and I came home from vacation one time, and my Marius didn't come running like he normally does. I called his name and I heard a very pitiful mew, coming from my powder room(half bath). I felt my heart pounding in my throat as I opened the door and had my cat come stumbling out. Now I was SURE I closed that door before we left so he wouldn't go in there. I started to panic thinking he had been locked in there the entire time (there's no food, no water!!)!! But, I went out to the kitchen and all his food had been eaten, and his litter box had been used. So, to this day, I'm not sure how long he had been in there, but thank God it couldn't have been the entire time we were gone! It appeared he had only peed on the floor once, so it couldn't have been too long, maybe a day. I have to wonder if he somehow twisted the door handle and let himself in, then the door swung shut behind him. It has the tendancy to do that... So, to this day, I always double check doors and the whereabouts of my "kids" before leaving the house!!

[4 feline house]

Amen to the dryer and fridge - I haven't ever had the dryer problem, but my old guy Zebo used to always dash into the fridge when he was a kitten, and lately Peaches had become fascinated with the fridge. She tried to jump in the freezer just a few minute ago while I was freshening my coke!

Speaking of Zebo - the first day I got him, he followed me into the bathroom when I took my bath, even jumping up onto the rim of the tub. For whatever reason, I don't even know, I didn't drain the tub when I got out. About two hours later I noticed I hadn't seen the little guy. I asked my roommate, and she hadn't seen him either. I started looking for him. I didn't see him in the bathroom, but I did notice I hadn't drained the tub. When I reach down to pull the plug, I saw Zebo, in the tub, hanging onto the shower curtain, literally for dear life! This happened 18 years ago, and it is still so vivid in my mind because it was so traumatic for me.

[nsweezie]

I lived in an apt with my cats Clyde and Scooter. They are both strictly indoor cats. I had the window in the bathroom open once, I didn't notice that there was a small hole in the screen. I shut the window, and went to feed the two cats, but they were no where to be found.
I searched everywhere, finally I went in the bathroom, Clyde and Scooter were perched on the ledge outside the window. Both of them were really scared.
Now I am really careful when opening a window. It seems that no hole is too small to escape out of.

[karlicat]

I hav a story about my cat- 3 actualy. Once a few years ago (Rainy is 14 now) my dad was getting something from under the house, which he never really does. Rainy got curious (it sticks with them even in their old age) and got herself stuck under the house. The underside of our house is not a basement, it's about a foot and a half high and you can only go about 15 feet deep into it because of the junk and, I swear, millions of spiderwebs. We thought she had gotten run over by a car, b/c she was gone for 4 days! poor meows But then we heard the telltale scratching and yowling from *somewhere* in the living room (over the part where she got stuck) and my mommy figured it out while we were at school, and we had a nice surprise.
SECOND STORY
A year later, I think, my cat was being chased by my 5yearold sister who didn't know better then and still doesn't now. Rainy Was running from her, and there was a pile of motor oil in the garage floor. The poor kitty was going so fast she didn't see it and couldn't stop anyways, and got DRENCHED in motor oil except her head. :O We tried washing her with soap a lot, but ended up having to take her to the vet, and they washed her 8 times with Dawn. Anyway, this was so traumatic for her that she ran away for a few days, and she eneded up stuck under my NEIGHBOR'S house! that scared us big too!
THIRD STORY
Well, my dad was putting some stuff in the trunk of our car, and the trunk was left open for about 10 minutes while my dad went inside. He came back out and closed the trunk, and my family got in the car to run errands. We went to Home Depot and had to load something else in the trunk, and the trunk was left open again. On the way home, I heard something like we had run over an animal or something :O and i said "Hey did you hear that??" and they hadn't heard anything but then it happened again and still nobody heard anything but me. Then something started bumping around in the trunk and THEN everyone heard it. When we pulled into our driveway to unload the trunk, MY CAT'S FACE WAS POKING OUT FROM THE SPACE WHERE THE HINGE FOR THE TRUNK GOES!!! That was the worst moment a cat lover could have. We were scared she could have gotten squished in the trunk hinge things, or she even could have run out when the trunk was open at Home Depot! My sister was small so she climbed in the trunk to figure out how Rainy got in there, and there was a slightly larger space in the back . We actually got her out through the opening that her head couldn't even barely poke through. And on top of that my kitty isn't senile, crazy or mean, she is just as loyal and friendly catty as a regular 14 yrold healthy outside cat!

[Ben E Gas]

It's a good thing our cats have nine lives. Glad to here your kitty is OK.

[kachuma]

I know a beloved cat that was killed after it went into the space under a fold out couch while the fold out bed was open. The cat's owners unwittingly closed the heavy metal fold out bed into the sofa and killed their own cat. Imagine the horror. I hope all beware that after company visits and sleeps on the fold out couch that they not close it on their own but wait till you make sure the cat isn't hiding under there.
Sad story, hope it prevents further accidents.

[Pam]

Kachuma...I thought about that very thing the last time I had company and was putting the sofabed back together. I said "where are the cats!" What a horrible thing for those poor people. I would just die if I was ever responsible for causing pain to any of my animals. What a thing to have to live with. Thank you for posting this warning.

[karlicat]

Kachuma, that's horrible! I just wouldn't be able to live with my guilt and grief! Thank you for the warning!