My Single Mom Life

Last night, my neighbor knocked on the door, and the screen door was only open a little bit.
Well it was open just enough apparently.
Kali (kitty) made a beeline for the great outdoors and went.

Now she's done this before, and usually just makes a quick lap around the house and comes right back.
Not this time.
She was gone from around 8:30pm to 2:30am.
I sat here with my inside door open, and the screen door shut and locked so the other cats couldn't get out, and just waited for her.
I had gone out and searched with a flashlight, around the whole perimeter, called her, tapped a fork on a can of tuna, shook the cat food bucket, and she would not come back.

Finally at 2:30am, I see this hairball in the shadows, hear her tiny little "mew", and I let her in.
She knew she had been gone too long and that I was mad, because she ran straight to my room and hid under the bed.
She's now been spending the better part of the morning, licking and picking off the hitchhikers.
They are these little weed type things, that get stuck to no matter what kind of clothing, fur, shoes, one would be wearing outdoors.

I hate it when she gets out, I worry about her so much.
She is not an outdoor cat at all.
She has been an inside cat since I got her as a kitten.
She has no front claws, she is not equipped to deal with the wild animals that come out at night here.
There are possums, fox, raccoons, and the wild Florida tree rats.
I never allow her out, but every now and then, she makes an attempt at freedom.
The last time she got out was about 2 years ago, I think.
I really don't like her out there, she's my baby, and it's not safe.
I'm glad she came back, but many different bad things could have happened to her out there.
My road is not safe, that's how Mark lost Mufasa one year.
I don't think I could handle that happening to Kali.

I'm just so relieved she's back now.