We didn’t return home until the mid-afternoon, exhausted but relieved to be done with one more task. Walking through the door, we were greeted by our other cats, as usual. Everything seemed normal. Eden, however, was nowhere to be seen. Eden, our one-year-old British Shorthair—an all-black beauty—has been the slowest to adjust to our new house. She’d been skittish with every sound, hiding mostly in my upstairs closet & rarely ventured downstairs. But this particular morning, she’d shown some improvement, even playing a bit, which gave me hope. So, when she didn’t greet me at all after some time had passed, I figured she was still in one of her hiding spots.
But after more time, I realized something was off. Where was Eden?
& so thee search began. We scoured the house, calling her name, shaking her favorite toy—NOTHING! The house, still a mess from the move, quickly became a disaster zone as we tore through boxes, moved furniture & searched every nook and cranny. Panic started to set in when we remembered our guest had opened the front door earlier around 1 p.m. to retrieve an internet package. While he assured us Eden hadn’t slipped out, the fact that the door had been OPENED added a new layer of worry & doubt. What if she’d managed to escape?
The possibility loomed large & we frantically expanded our search outside. Our new community turned out to be full of WONDERFUL, caring people. Our neighbors on both sides immediately checked their surveillance cameras to see if they could spot Eden sneaking out. Thankfully, we didn’t see her on the footage. One man walking his dog even joined the search and swore he’d seen a black cat in a part of the neighborhood far from our house. I took off running to that location, and the man kindly drove me there to speed up the search. But again, no Eden.
Hours passed. HOURS 😭 & by this time, I was mentally and physically drained but I was on some kind of adrenaline high and I was not going to give up my search. We called her name, shook her favorite broken toy (the one she loves too much to throw away) & searched inside, outside… EVERYWHERE. The delivery had come around 1 p.m., and by the time we got home after 4 p.m - Eden had already been missing for several hours. My daughter, our guest & I were beside ourselves with worry.
I held it together for as long as I could, but when four hours passed with no sign of Eden, thee weight of it all crashed down on me. My best friend called to check in & it was then that I finally broke down in tears. How cruel would it be to move into this new chapter of our lives and lose our sweet Eden? The thought was unbearable. Anyhoo, for OVER five hours, we searched.
As dusk set in, I asked Olivia and our guest to head back outside and search again and to leave me alone in the house, hoping we might spot Eden’s eyes glowing in the dark or that in the silence if she were hiding inside - she would come out and show herself. (This was actually an excellent idea from our sweet neighbor whom suggested us to sit in silence) so I did, I sat in the middle of the room inside, the only clear space in the house that wasn’t surrounded by mess or boxes. I needed this time to connect with the universe, to find my inner calm. I prayed, meditated & asked for guidance: Where is she?
Then, like a bolt of lightening, clarity hit. Eden is HERE. She hadn’t escaped .. I knew it. No, I KNOW IT ! So instantly I marched upstairs, straight to Olivia’s walk-in closet. Now, I had trusted that Olivia had thoroughly searched her closet earlier, but something told me to check again. I moved her dresser aside, searched behind it—nothing. I was not going to energize disappointment although I had wished she was in the dresser. But then, I realized I was leaning on a stack of closed cardboard boxes. Could it be? I reached my hand into one of the boxes, where you hold the handles on the side and there it was…. WARMTH. My heart leapt with joy. I tore the box open & there, nestled deep inside, was Eden, sleeping soundly, completely UNAWARE of the panic she had caused.
I hugged her tight, tears of relief streaming down my face. I called Olivia, whom was still outside searching in the dark & told her the good news. She broke down in tears, too, overjoyed and exhausted. Eden, meanwhile, blinked at me, oblivious to thee chaos she’d caused. She had been sleeping for over EIGHT hours, tucked away in a box full of clothes, safe and sound.
And speaking of cats squeezing into the tightest spaces, I had a revelation earlier that week. Our other cat, with her fat head and body, had somehow managed to squeeze through a tiny circular hole in the laundry room where pipes run through. To our surprise, she ended up in the garage! We learned thee hard way that if a cat’s head CAN fit through something, so can their body. I had to secure that area to prevent any more surprise adventures, but it doesn’t stop her from trying. Cats are true escape artists!
So, that’s our story… an adventure filled with panic, chaos, love, and relief. We learned that we live in an incredibly KIND and CARING PET FRIENDLY community, with neighbors whom went out of their way to help. One neighbor even said her kids refused to go to bed until they had gone out searching for Eden. It feels good to know we’ve landed in such a supportive place.
Looking back, I can laugh at the irony. Eden, whose name means “paradise,” had been hiding in the most obvious place… inside a box, as cats so often do. Thee lesson? Always trust your intuition. When you love deeply, it’s that love & a little faith.. that will guide you home, even when things seem lost.
What about you? Have you ever had a pet scare like this? I’d love to hear your stories. While this was happening, I found comfort in reading similar tales from other cat owners, learning that this kind of adventure is all too common. Cats love their hiding spots & they’re experts at disappearing. But more often than not, they’re just waiting for us to find them.
Anyhoo, that’s my enchanting tale for today… chaos with a happy ending, where love and patience win in the end.
With Love Always,
Enchantress Thee Babbler
