Sheltering in Place

[King Bob]

I discovered a cat under the house. Heard it meowing loudly and went outside to see, and realized it was coming from under the kitchen. Went down there and saw it way in the corner. Naturally it was in the corner farthest from the entrance. It took three expeditions to get it out because it kept going back and forth between the distant corners, but it finally headed toward the door. (I called animal control after my first failure, and they told me that they won't go under a dwelling.) I closed the door in case it was outside nearby and did a final sweep and saw nothing. Then I took a walk and saw a cat down the street that I swear was the same one, and it was one I haven't seen before. We heard a meow yesterday but thought it was outside. It must have been under there for three or four days at least; the door fell open about then. There are no holes it could have gotten in through.

There's not much clearance down there, and I had to crawl and wriggle under the ducting. I'm tired and kind of beat up. Fortunately I am apparently not claustrophobic.