<p>Wow, the same thing happened to me! Our cat was old and quite frail at the time. The dryer had some damp towels in it and the door had been left open for some reason. I came by, closed the door and turned it on. Knowing it was just towels, I was very surprised when I heard ka-thump, ka-thump. Brain quickly kicked in and something told me what must have happened. It was only 3 revolutions (3 ka-thumps), but I was really shaken. Cat was ok, but kids haven’t let me live it down!</p>
<p>Glad your cat was ok, too! I am more careful about checking the dryer now if the door has been left open. I have another thin, elderly cat who I could just see doing the same thing.</p>
<p>I’m so glad your kitty is OK. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened. Ugh. No washer or dryer in my apartment, and I don’t think my Ziggy could fit in the microwave or the toaster oven! He does climb into the refrigerator once in a while when he smells something tempting, so I do always check before I close the door.</p>
<p>Many, many moons ago I dated a physician who, after one particular date, thought it was “funny” to pretend to put my cat in the microwave. That was the last date we went on.</p>
<p>Years ago Ds first dance teacher told me a scary cat story. Her oldest D opened the fridge to get milk for her cereal and their new kitten hopped in unbeknownest to the D. About half an hour later, when the famiily finished eating, mom opened the fridge to put the milk away and a very cold kitty hopped out. The family was very upset to think that kitty could have died either from lack of oxygen or from hypothermia.</p>
<p>My H and I have semi-permanent custody of our 4 year old grandcat. He’s an indoor/outdoor cat. About 6 months after we acquired him, he didn’t come home one night. I had him trained to come in when I whistled for him at night. H and I whistled for him repeatedly from 9:00 until midnight one cold October evening. I was very worried as he’d never stayed out so late. I went to bed around midnight. Dear H stayed up until 1:00 waiting for the cat. When he came to bed, he woke me to tell me that the cat was still missing. He said he’d gone to the middle of the street the last time he called for him and heard the cat give a faint meow in answer. He waited for several minutes to see if he’d come or meow to him again, but saw and heard nothing. </p>
<p>Naturally, I could not go back to sleep. I figured that kitty must be hurt and could not come home. So…at 1:15 A.M. I put a coat on over my pajamas and went outside to look for the cat. As soon as I crossed the street I heard him start meowing. After walking by 3 homes, I determined which one the sound was coming from. The meowing was coming from behind a neighbor’s house. I thought the cat was possibly stuck up a tree. I tried whispering to him to come, but no luck. I was afraid I’d wake the neighbors or end up with them calling the police, lol! I decided I was going to have to go into their fenced back yard to try to retrieve my cat. It was pitch black outside and I couldn’t find their gate. So…I decided I was just going to have to climb their fence! By this time the meowing was constant and loud. As I walked through the yard I realized that the meowing seemed to be coming from a storage shed at the back of the property. I thought that poor kitty must be badly hurt and had crawled under the shed to hide. As I approached the shed I saw a low metal object around the size of a large tool box. I quickly realized that my cat was inside it. “It” turned out to be a racoon trap. I tried opening it, but couldn’t see what I was doing in the dark. I carried the cat back home in the trap - thankfully by then my eyes had better adjusted to the low light and I was able to find the gate. I presented our grandcat to my peacefully sleeping H and ordered him to get him out!</p>
<p>H and I suspect that poor kitty had been in the trap for hours. At that time of year, he usually came inside around 7:00. We got him out of the trap around 1:30. The trap owners were not home the next morning. H left the trap on a rock wall bordering their driveway. He later asked them if they wondered how their racoon trap moved from their backyard to the front, then told them poor kitty’s story. Trap owner told H he’d forgotten he even had the trap set out. He said that they had a problem with racoons getting into their garbage during the summer and he’d been catching them and releasing them in the countryside. Guess what he had his trap baited with? Most every cat’s favorite - tuna flavored cat food!!!</p>
<p>I have a silly story about finding the RABBIT.</p>
<p>As many of you know, I own a pet shop. One morning, my animal care person was in early, all by himself, and went to go get hay for the rabbits. He put his hand in and got some hay, and thought it was a little warm. The next handful of hay turned out to be a handful of rabbit. He must have jumped a mile; very funny for those of us watching. The next day was his final day before his 3 month summer break. We hid a stuffed look-a-like bunny in the hay box — and watched him jump again.</p>
<p>One of my kitties crawled up my leg & into the refrigerator when she was really, really tiny. I had no idea she was in there. I fell asleep on the couch & woke up when I heard a really faint mew. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, and then I realized it was coming from the fridge … SO glad I hadn’t gone upstairs earlier, or my other kitty would have been sister-less. I still shudder when I think what could have been.</p>