Bad Kitty

So, what are the odds that a cat who has been indoors for 7 years will run away when Clayton is out of town? If you answered 100%, you're correct! I think everyone knows we have 2 cats: Snackie and Abby. We put Harry down before we moved to AK. He was sick. Clayton always says that I'm a hairbreadth away from being the "crazy catlady". I don't know about that... We do love our kitties and we assumed (incorrectly, pridefully, arrogantly) that they loved us back. Well, yesterday morning, I realized I had not seen Snackie, our gray cat, the nice one everyone loves, for a while.. like since the night before. Where could he be? I looked for him periodically throughout the day but I figured he had gone under deep cover because Clay can be a little much to handle. By late afternoon/early evening, I realized he was gone. I suspect he made his mad dash for freedom on Tuesday night when Clayton was in and out of the house about a million times. By the time it got dark last night, Wednesday, I was in crisis mode. The kids and I drove around looking for him. We put up signs "Lost Cat: 9/24/08. Gray and white. Fat and declawed. Please help!!". It's cold at night right now but it's not quite freezing. Nevertheless, I worried about "The Little Prince" being outside in the wilderness with the bears, lynx and eagles. Seriously. I did put a beach towel out front and some cat food. When I got up this morning, something had tapped the cat food and left little muddy footprints all over the towel but Snackie was nowhere to be found. I called local vets, I called the pound. Nothing. No calls on our answering machine saying they had our darling boy (cough, cough). I was feeling grim... then Clayton called from Atlanta wondering the status and lo and behold, that dumb a@# cat was eating the cat food IN FRONT OF OUR FRONT DOOR! I opened the door and he looked at me like I was the crazy one as he sauntered in and upstairs. He's now bathing himself on my brand new bedding and he STINKS! UGH!!! My sweet nephew Davis told me he thought Snackie might need a few swats... I think he's right! Anyway, I can't wait to tell Kara when we pick her up from school.... Although, she did say to me this morning: "Hey Mom. If Snackie's gone can we get a dog"? HA!