The great escape and secret adventures of Murphy

We have a cat named Murphy but we call just call him Murph.  He is a long-hair orange male cat.  He is so sweet and laid back.  He loves people, loves to be petted and he purrs so loud.  All the other cats, and even Giselle the dog, love Murphy!

This is the look that captured our hearts...

We adopted Murphy just after Hurricane Katrina.  The SPCA was looking for homes for their animal inventory so that they could take care of pets from New Orleans.  So, off we went to the SPCA in The Colony.  Monica held just about every kitten in there and was about to choose a really rambunctious little female kitty.  However, we noticed this orange kitty in the bottom cage was just calmly looking at us with big pleading sad eyes.  We decided to take him out and once we held him, we knew that he was the one.  He was so soft and cuddly.

His SPCA name was Gonzo... which just did not suit him at all.  Murphy seemed like a more appropriate name to us and that is how he's been known ever since.  And he IS such a Murphy.

Murph and a few of the other five cats were always curious about the outdoors, sneaking into the garage or onto the patio.  So we knew that during the construction that we would have to keep a very careful eye on the kitties.  Most of the time they were isolated in the bedrooms.  Once we got windows and doors we started letting them out in the evenings when no workmen were around.  They really enjoyed exploring the new addition.

However, last Wednesday when it was time to rustle up the cat herd at bedtime, Murph could not be fournd.  We looked everywhere, even the attic.  No Murph.  We figured he was just hiding somewhere and proceeded to get ready for bed.  Andy went upstairs to close the windows.  Usually having the upstairs windows open was not a problem.  Even Murph wasn't crazy enough to jump from a second floor window.  But Andy realized that just outside the open window was the scaffolding that the bricklayers were using.  We suspect that Murph saw his opportunity for a great escape, climbing out onto the scaffolding, then over to the roof which was then an easy jump from a low corner of the roof.

We looked around the house and outside.  Anna thought she saw him but could not get him.  We figured he would get hungry and be waiting at the door in the morning as Murph rarely missed a meal.  Thursday morning came and no Murphy.  We kept a look out for him and Anna walked the neighborhood looking for him.  He picked a real lousy time to run off as we all are so busy with the renovation, the wedding, work, etc that is was difficult finding time to look for him.

On Saturday, Anna made a poster and Monica had it printed and hung them around on Sunday morning.  Every time we went outside or driving in the neighborhood we kept an eye out for the big fluffy orange cat.

Monday morning Andy heard a cat meowing but couldn't really figure out where it was coming from and figured that it was Karen's cat Marty as she was getting ready for work.  Later he was outside and distinctly heard meowing again.  But could not find any cat.  He looked in the bushes, around the house and up and down the street. But no Murph.

At lunch time Andy was in the back just about to pop a scrumptious frozen pasta meal in the microwave for lunch when he heard the meowing again.  He looked out the window and sitting on the window AC unit staring at him was Murphy.  He ran out and looked into the bushes and there was Murphy.  Andy pushed his way into the bushes and Murphy promptly jumped down and disappeared.  It took a bit but Andy finally found him hiding under some patio furniture that was stored on the side of the house for the construction. 

It occurred to us that he may have been hiding out there this whole time just laughing at us as we frantically looked for him.  That would be a Murphy thing to do.

Murph didn't come out at first, but Andy finally was able grab him by the collar and drag him out.  He held onto Murph very tightly until they got into the house.  Murph immediately ran toward the master bedroom door and promptly walked in as if nothing happened.  Silly Murph. 

It probably doesn't need to be said but Andy immediately texted everyone in the family to let them know Murph was back.  This made everyone's day.

Murph contemplating his adventures... but happy to be home!!

Welcome home Murphy!!   We all missed you.