Poor Miney!

We did some serious house cleaning and reorganizing today. Part of what needed to be done was vacuuming the entire house. I should first point out that the cats hate it when we vacuum. They're terrified of it, and usually hide in the garage from the moment they hear the vacuum cleaner come out till several hours after it's been put back. I should also point out that Miney, although (or perhaps because) he weights nearly 20 pounds, is the biggest scaredy cat of them all.

Somehow, Miney failed to hear Chris getting the vacuum out, and wound up trapped. Chris was vacuuming the kitchen, so Miney's escape route to the garage was cut off. I should now point out that Chris had the big door open in the garage earlier in the day. When he does this, he locks the cat door so they can't escape to the outdoors. You see this coming, don't you? If not, here it is: Chris forgot to unlock the cat door.

So Miney finally worked up his courage and made a run for it. At top speed, all 18 pounds of him slammed into the door, which didn't give. He backed up and made another run. Again, his head hit the door with full force and it didn't move. By this time, Chris had the vacuum off and was trying to help, but it was too late. Yes, Miney, in his panic, made for the kitchen door, changed his mind when he got there, turned, darted between Chris' legs, and ran head-long into the cat door AGAIN. I'm not sure if he had weakened it with his earlier attempts or if he had just reached warp speed at this point, but he broke the lock and made it out to the garage. It has taken me the rest of the day to talk him into coming back in. He still flinches when anyone walks too close to the hall closet, where the vacuum cleaner is stored.