By Monday night I was homeless, everything I owned smelled like smoke, and one of my cats was missing.
There was a fire in my apartment building, originating in the apartment below my next-door neighbor. I found out when apartment management left a message on my voicemail (my ringer was turned off because I was at The Lovebug's preschool) that there was an emergency situation and they had my cat (singular) at the office and were recommending it see a vet as soon as possible. I called back to find out more, and mentioned that I have two cats. The sound of concern in the man's voice and how quickly he said he would tell someone to look for cat #2 hit me pretty hard - clearly this was a bad situation.
I had no choice but to take The Lovebug with me, and ask her dad to meet me at my place. We showed up at the office to find Min in the cat carrier, clearly traumatized (she wouldn't make eye contact with me at all) but otherwise seeming okay. Bennett still hadn't been found.
When I was able to enter my apartment I was very relieved to see that there was only smoke damage; nothing was burnt. There was quite a bit of soot in the bathroom, which clearly at least one of the cats ran through.
Seeing that made me very sad, imagining how terrified my two kitties (both very skittish on their best days) must have been as the apartment filled with smoke, firefighters forced the door, and then so many strangers searched for them.
I eventually found Bennett, hidden half under the couch and half under a pillow on the floor. [Aside: It was a little unnerving to learn later that several members of the office staff searched for him, because when I mentioned off hand that I had found him I was met with an astonished, "You did? WHERE? We looked everywhere!" Talk about incentive to be a better housekeeper - you never know when half of management will be rooting around your place!] I carried Bennett out to the car (I only have one cat carrier, and Min was already in it) and he struggled against me most of the way. As my boss and I tried to get him settled into the car he bolted into some thick, thorny brush (well after dark). I haven't seen him since.
I've posted "Missing Cat" fliers, and walked around in the rain (it has been cold, windy, and rainy ever since) looking for him. At this point I just don't know what else to do.
My fabulous bosses offered me a place to stay immediately, so I've been a live-in nanny all week. The Lovebug thinks it's great that Min is in her basement, even though Min hides whenever she hears that tell-tale giggling shriek. I'll be moving into another unit on Saturday, with the help of a moving company management is hiring. I think most of my stuff will be okay (the smoke smell quickly washed out of the clothes I have on hand, so I figure it should wash out of the rest). I'm hoping I can salvage my bed (the one I just got in November) - the bedroom didn't seem to be as smoky as the living room, so maybe with some airing out the bed will be okay. Overall I feel lucky that it wasn't worse (even with the missing cat, at least I got to see that he was okay before he ran away).
