Little Trouble Maker

We have a cat named River.

We've had him over a year now & it's kinda nice having him to play with.
He sleeps a lot and you'd get the impression that he's sort of a
sloth, but surprisingly, he's quite quick when he wants to be.
He can catch birds flying in midair and could catch HUGE rats!
He loves playing with a laundry clip tied to a yarn,
and he's got this cute way of tapping you with his paw when asking for food.

Monday morning, I heard my sister looking for River.
I didn't think it was uncommon for him not to be seen.
I thought maybe he's just out hunting for birds or rats
or probably doing his business on the sand.

Usually, you'd see him comfortably sleeping on the floor somewhere in the house during the afternoon.
But afternoon came, and still River wasn't home.
Evening came, and still no sign of him...

Still I wasn't worried [that much].
I thought maybe he's out skirt chasing.
He's a boy after all. He's sorta got needs ~_~;

Tuesday came & left without River.
Just then I thought something is odd...
You can't possibly think about mating when you're hungry, right?
Plus, Tuesday night was a stormy & windy night,
even cats would take shelter from that than be all lovey-dovey over roofs or under the bushes.

Wednesday morning came and I'm glad that the storm only lasted for a night.
The Sun is up, and it was a perfect day to look for a lost cat.

The first logical step to take was to ask the neighbors if they saw him.
Even more logical choice of whom to ask is the neighbor who lives where River usually hangs out.

Luckily, that neighbor was outside when I came out searching.
I felt even more lucky when he said that he's got River when I asked.

I was thankful & relieved that I found River as soon & as close by
and that I didn't have to search the whole subdivision for him.
I was so thankful & relieved that I failed to respond to the details of what really occured...

River wasn't lost...
River wasn't found (by That Neighbor)...
River was caught!

Here's my account of what I think really took place:
- Monday morning, River wandered off across the street to That Neighbor's place.
- River probably got there while That Neighbor was having breakfast.
- Being all tame, River probably jumped over their dining table asking for food like how he is to us.
- That Neighbor probably mistook River jumping on the table as an act of wanting to steal.
- That Neighbor probably chased River with an intent to hurt him & cat instict probably told River to run for it.
- While the chasing happened, a plate or two probably fell & broke...
- River was caught & caged outside...

That's how I think things went down.
I'm just glad that gratitude & relief overcame me & prevented me from talking back to That Neighbor.
Seeing River caged like that all scared & soaked from the previous storm and from his own pee,
and the fact that That Neighbor held him captive for almost three days without even telling us wasn't very nice & would make any pet owner pissed.
Partly, it was River's fault for trespassing but it was kinda mean & stupid for That Neighbor to keep him that long.
[and I even thanked him for it...]

Lesson Learned:
- Be a more responsible pet owner & keep your little trouble making cats inside the house & often / always supervised.
- And old neighbors who are always wearing a cap to hide their balding head could be threateningly mean & stupid. ~_~;