Rose and I came home a little later than usual on Tuesday evening. It was a bit colder than it had been recently and I forgot my jacket at work, plus I had to go to the bathroom, so I didn’t wait for Rose while she got the mail. I noticed the squirt bottle was not outside the door like it was supposed to be.

Since we bought that bottle, Frankie has been better about trying to run out the door. I try not to squirt him with it because I don’t want him to associate me with unpleasantness, but I will squirt it at the ground just so he will hear the sound and stay away. It has worked well lately. So well, in fact, that Frankie usually stays away from the door so the bottle is not even necessary. That is what I was hoping for when I opened the door but it was not to be.

I opened the door and held the bag I was carrying low to block any would be escape artists but a gold flash slipped under the bag and into the bushes next to the house. I looked to see who it was, hoping very much that it was Chris, but then I saw Frankie and yelled to Rose, “Frankie’s out! This is bad.”

We spent the next ten minutes trying to catch him without success. I kept trying to get on the other side of him to force him in the other direction but he was too fast and smart for me. We eventually lost sight of him and decided to go back to the house and regroup. I still had hope that he would tire and head back toward home. I fed the two cats that were not naughty that night, went to the bathroom, put on a jacket, grabbed a flashlight and a paper plate with some cat food, then Rose and I were back outside looking for the trouble maker.

We walked a little past where we last saw him but he was nowhere in sight. The last time he escaped I stood in one spot and waited for him to show himself so I thought that might work again. We walked back a little toward our house and stopped and waited. It was then Rose heard our next-door neighbor calling. She was standing at the edge of our property with Frankie in her arms. We hurried back because we knew Frankie didn’t like to be held and wouldn’t last long.

As expected, he struggled until he broke free and was loose again. He ran to the condos next to our property and hid under a vehicle there. I was able to coax him out with the cat food and slowly put my had out to “pet” Frankie while he was eating but he didn’t trust me and was off running again. This time he didn’t get far before our neighbor grabbed him and held him until Rose could pick him up and bring him home.

While I don’t exactly appreciate having to chase Frankie around at night in the cold, there was a positive side to this story. Frankie came back to the house on his own, which is a bit of a relief knowing that I can worry less about losing him.

If you haven’t read the previous “escape” stories, Check out:
Frankie’s Big Adventure
This and That
We’ve Created a Monster
Bad Cat Frankie