So this is the conversation I’ve had with the cat all morning. She hangs out by the back door meowing and meowing until I let her out. Then she walks onto the back porch, yowling:

“The dogs have been kidnapped!! Call the police!” she laments to me.

“They’re at Dad’s house. They’re coming home this afternoon,” I reply.

“The dogs are gone! Oh, where are our poor dogs? Have you noticed the dogs are missing?”

“They’re at Dad’s house. They’re coming home this afternoon.”

“Look! Look! I call for them and NOTHING! The dogs are missing!” she continues to scream vainly into the neighborhood.

“They’re coming home this afternoon!!” I’m frustrated by this point and go in. She eventually comes in again after bemoaning our terrible misfortune to the universe some more and calling vainly for the dogs. I shut the back door behind her, then repeat the cycle over and over and over and over and over…. I can’t wait til the dogs get home and she quits meowing!! She’s very persistent. Or to quote Matt’s last comment to Raven: “Oh for f***’s sake, Raven!! It was cute to begin with but now it’s annoying.”

So we’ve been gone for two weeks and a bit to Italy. We loaded the cat up with food, water, and lots of litter, and left her on her own with my sister coming to check on her.

Now, guests will never admit to this because she runs from everybody except me, Matt, and the dogs, but she is actually very sociable and very affectionate… with us that is. So this has been her behavior upon our return:

For the first hour she wouldn’t come near us or talk to us. She stayed hidden in the closet til we searched for her, and then she dashed out to hide under the couch.

She finally forgave us for leaving her alone for two weeks and came out from under the couch, crying. She has been meowing ever since and purring– alternately complaining about us leaving her for so long and being ecstatically happy that we’re back. She slept with us in the bed last night purring all night long, and beginning her endless meowing if either of us made any kind of move that indicated that we were remotely awake.

But we haven’t gone to pick the dogs up yet. We got in late last night and we’re going to my Dad’s house today to get the dogs. So Raven keeps wandering into the back yard and howling for the dogs. She’s just the saddest kitty ever. She stands on the steps in the back and meows and meows for the dogs. I wish we could tell her that they’ll be home today. She’ll find out soon…..