Incident Report

 A few days ago, our cat got out. This happens periodically, but not enough that we have erected any sort of barrier or gate to prevent such an event. We have a general response which is to stay calm and assume that the crisis will end in much the same way that it always has before: our cat back inside the house. 

When this most recent breech occurred, I arrived home to the news after the cat had a half hour head start. We adopted him from the neighborhood, and don't expect that he will wander too far afield. There are about four places where he might land, all of which are a short walk from our front door. 

Nevertheless, I went into house protection mode. I become unsettled easily when things are not in a particular order. The cat not being inside is one of those elements of chaos that set my nerves on edge. I went outside to check on those places where I have often seen the cat making good on his moments of relative freedom. Not the back fence. Not in front of the apartments next door. His two landing spots across the street were devoid of his presence as well. I returned home to stare out into the front yard alternately with trips to the back door to see if he had showed up there. 

My wife kept a calm vigil, reminding me that the cat has been with us for three years and has always found his way home before. Usually this return has accompanied meal time. But as darkness began to fall her composure began to slip as we each pondered all the possible fates that lay outside our control.

This is when I started thinking about the pending government shutdown. This happens all the time. We expect that common sense will prevail and once Congress reminds itself that they need to come home in order to eat they will do the right thing and make the budget work. Even though all kinds of danger exists for us all if a compromise is not reached, the cats on Capitol Hill will stay out as darkness falls. They have all kinds of cat concerns to look after beyond the obvious one: providing a budget to keep the government from shutting down. 

Eventually, the phone rang and the neighbor across the street let us know that our cat had come by to hang out on her back porch. My wife walked over to retrieve our pet, our house pet, who seemed less than pleased about being dragged back to the confines of the place where he has been kept warm and fed and safe for the past three years. Where there is always a warm lap in which to sit, and any number of places to rule from his roost. Crisis averted. 

For now.