Yes, I’m a smart gal, but today I was outwitted by a cat. For the past few months I’ve taken on some cats from a local shelter that are housed at our nearest pet store. Animal Control was taking care of Wednesdays but had a reorganization so I immediately volunteered. Aside from signing a waiver stating that if I was stampeded by a herd of moose while walking over there, the non-profit organization does not know or care that I exist.
The staff at Petco, led by the lovely Ladena, has treated me well and let me do my job without complaint. Until today. I have three cats and six areas to clean and also socialize the adoptable cats. The bottom two are the hardest because I have to get up and down from the floor a number of times to change litter, water, food, and clean the premises. All went well with the first two. Then Garfunkel was crying and staying in the adjoining “room” while I knelt down to change litter and sweep. He came over to see me and placed one foot outside the enclosure whereupon I put my hand on his chest to nudge him back in.
All of a sudden he bolted so fast it was all a blur. He went into the store and under the shelving, where there’s about a 6″ gap to the floor. My arms were not long enough to get him from either side. I felt horrible for letting him escape and only hoped he didn’t get out to the parking lot where he could get run over or become feral. It took four of us to get him and as I locked him back in his enclosure, found he had injured an employee. Also that he’d escaped this weekend and it took nearly two days to find him and put him back (that’s probably why he knew where to go!).
There is a round hole between enclosures with a screw mechanism so you can keep the cat on one side while you tidy up the other. I use it all the time but he lulled me into thinking he was a shy one, instead he was a crafty one with escape his primary goal. If I’d known about his Houdini-like tendencies I’d have been much more careful. Lessons learned. All are safe, poor Jared was injured and I don’t know whether it was tooth or claw, he wouldn’t accept any bandaging. This was my worst experience all year with this volunteer gig and hope it goes better in the future. Thanks to the staff for helping correct my error, as my being there is supposed to make their jobs easier, not more difficult. Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 
As to the name Garfunkel, perhaps the cat was just “Looking For The Right One” or planned to travel “99 Miles to LA.” Dee