...because this morning Miss Billie is living on her good looks!

I've skipped my drawing class this morning. Hadn't planned to...in fact, I had the door open, keys in one hand, art board/drawing pad in the other hand and the bag draped over my shoulders. I'm telling the kitties bye-bye and I love them and to be good kitties...but I don't see Billie.

I call her. She doesn't come out and I can't hear her. I call her a few more times. Nothing.

I have windows open, but there are screens in them and I don't open them very far, so there is no way she could have gotten out without me hearing a disturbance (also, she's never even seemed interested in attempting to get out through the windows). But, I've checked every nook, cranny, and crevice in the joint and I cannot find her.

So I walk around the block. Four times. Calling her and calling her, flagging down the parking patrol lady to ask if she's seen a little black kitty. She hadn't, but liked that Billie's named after Ms. Holiday. Ran into the property manager at my apartment complex...he hadn't seen her but said he'd keep an eye out, as did a couple of my neighbours.

Come back inside and plead with Billie to just come out and let me see her, then I'd close my eyes and she could go back to what ever hidey-hole she'd found and it would remain her secret. Tried the catnip, tried her favourite toys. Nothing.

So, in need of distraction, and wanting to Google "what to do when your damn cat has disappeared" to see what I might need to do besides check in with shelters and make "missing damn cat" signs, I fired up the iMac.

About five minutes later, I see two glowing green orbs out of the corner of my eye. And there she was! Just wandering into the living room looking like she had a nice nap...though I don't see how she could have gotten much rest what with me hollering, BIIIILLLLLIIIIIEEEEE! for an hour straight.

So I picked her up and cried and hugged her and told her how much I love her and how scared I was that she was lost (and she looked at me like, "if you love me so much, why are you squishing me to death?!?"). I told her she was a terrible girl for scaring me like that and next time just meow or something when I called her.

So, now I have a little over an hour before I need to be at work and I'll likely spend most of it trying to decompress from that adrenaline rush. And reapplying makeup and deodorant after running around the block several times and crying. And I need to tell the neighbours that she's safe at home.

Bad, Bad Kitty! But I'm soooo glad she's safe.