I found her today!!!

She was trapped in a neighbor's garage. I can't tell whether she was
there the whole week or not. I was about to get in my car a few hours
ago, when I heard a cat yowling. It didn't actually sound like her,
but I went to check anyway, of course, and it was coming from a garage.
In fact, it was a garage I'd checked last weekend (I had called to her
from outside the garage door), but she hadn't responded at that time,
so that makes me think she wasn't there last week. But it's hard to
tell. Maybe she was asleep the previous time I was there.

This time, she was crying loudly, and the more I listened, the more
it did sound like Smudge. I walked around to the side of the building
and saw a window. Looked through, and there she was! I can't describe
the feeling I had when I saw her there.

I couldn't open the window, and the garage door was locked, so I ran
around to the front of the building, which was on a different street.
Rang the bell, and a bunch of people were having a Shabbos gathering.
I felt bad about crashing their observance, but this was an emergency
to me, so I got someone to let me into their garage. But it was the
wrong garage! I was at the wrong house.

Finally, I figured out which house belonged to the garage she was
stuck in, and I rang that bell. Nobody was home, though, and it was
hard to tell if there had been anyone there for a while. They could
have been away on vacation, for who knows how long. You have no idea
how loud her howling was - if they had been there, they certainly
would have heard it.

So I came home (while Smudge continued to yowl loud enough for the
entire neighborhood to hear), and called Animal Control. No answer.
Called non-emergency police and asked what I could do. They said,
"You can't do anything, all you can do is leave them a note." You
have no idea how frustrating that was! They also said they couldn't
help, as it would be illegal for them to break into the garage, also.

I went back over there and tried to figure out how I could get her
out without actually breaking anything, including any laws. While I
was doing this, one of my neighbors, who has been apprised of the
situation since Smudge went missing, came over and we tried to brainstorm.
Then another guy who lives on our street showed up, and we pulled on
the garage door together, outward so that it came out at an angle
big enough for her to squeeze through. She was frantic to get out of
there - her paws came first, then her head, and then the rest of her.
I grabbed her and picked her up, and she was purring up a storm.
Then brought her back to my place.

She looked OK, although she had a few scabs on her face, so I brought
her to the vet just to make sure they weren't injuries from a fight,
that might get infected. Turns out she'd lost over a pound (and she's
really scarfing down the food!). They also took a blood sample to make
sure she's not suffering any kidney problems, due to possible
dehydration (and she is 9 years old, so that could happen) and sent
me home with subq fluids just in case. I'm sure it will help her feel
better. The vet didn't think the scabs were anything worrisome, she
probably got them trying to free herself from the garage, or wherever
she was.

Poor girl, she's had quite a tough week! And so have I. We're both
really relieved that it's over now. I'm just going to let her sleep
it off, and eat as much as she needs, give her the fluids, and cuddle
with her as much as she likes! What a relief!!

Thank you all for your "get home now" purrs - I'm sure they helped!

Joyce