Sam and I adopted a new cat last weekend.  We specifically adopted Shadows (given name.. Not the one we would have gone with… I call him Mister Shadows) after one of Sam’s coworkers told us about him.  Her coworker volunteers at the Cleveland APL and Shadows had been there for more than a few months.  However recently he had nipped at several of the volunteers and was at the point where if he did it again they would have to put him down. 

After Angelo passed earlier in year we had talked about the possibility of getting a new cat. Maisey also had grown quite attached to me, and that left Sam feeling like she needed a cat to bind with like she had with Angelo. In her own words Sam wanted “an old cat who realizes that Sam is it’s last chance at feeling loved” and would
immediately cuddle and bond with Sam.  As good of reason for adopting a cat as any.

Shadows wasn’t that cat Sam wanted, but he was a cat in need and we wanted a cat. Shakes is a young cat, two and half years old. He came to the APL from a hoarder home, and had nipped at people so we knew he’d need some time and probably like to hide. We brought him home and put him in the spare bedroom to acclimate – we couldn’t let him out at night in particular until we’ve seen him around the guinea pigs – but left the bedroom door open while we were home in case he was courageous and wanted to explore. 

He was not. He quickly found a corner in the closet to make his own. One day last week we came home and couldn’t find him at all… Turns out he crawled inside a suitcase that was on the floor to sleep.  It was cute.  He loved being pet and while not super outgoing would come and rub up against and beg for pets.  So things were going good.

UNTIL HE FIGURED OUT HOW TO OPEN THE ACCESS PANEL IN THE ROOM.

He first got in there yesterday.  He apparently pawed at it until he pried it open. It is pretty disgusting in there.  But the only place he can get to is the inside bathtub frame. We spent hours during by it yesterday until he crawled out to eat, when we grabbed him, put the cover back on and put a 30 pound bin of car litter in front of it.

Despite being annoyed we gave him lots of attention and he went back to sleeping in the closet. I didn’t see it but while we out in the living room we heard him venturing out into the apartment as well.  All was good.

UNTIL WE WOKE UP THIS MORNING AND DISCOVERED HE HAD SOMEHOW MOVED THE 30 POUND BIN OF CAT FOOD AND GONE BACK IN.

It’s five o’clock and we have been taking shifts waiting for our apparently super strong cat to come back out for the last five hours.  We can hear him moving around in there and I even got a picture of his beady little eyes starting at us mockingly.

Hopefully he comes out tonight. And we will have to do something extreme to make sure he can’t get back in there.