…so finally, after coaxing Bimbo out of the basement with a trail of fish bits – Bimbo learned she could get out of the basement (which is actually more of a huge crawl space and furnace room [and, if U haven’t realized by now how Bimbo acquired her name – U haven’t been paying attention]).
The next couple-of-times that Bimbo got herself into the basement – she managed to strut out when I opened the door. But then, she decided to do a five-day basement stint – and didn’t get any food or water during this period – as we hoped to dissuade her from going back in there. She didn’t after that.
When the rains came, Bimbo discovered that she could get into the attic through one of the ventilation ducts and then had a new “nest” of sorts.
By now you are probably wondering why Bimbo was not a house cat – what with our coyotes, and owls and hawks and such – but the fact of the matter was – was that Bimbo would shred the furniture — when she was of-a-mind to grant us a house visit. Plus, she had her own house to hang out in – a four hundred square foot guest house (where she took her meals). Now this guest house did attract Rocky Raccoon – who pissed Bimbo off and caused her to avoid the guest house forever (though raccoons do wash their hands – they aren’t that worried about keeping anything else neat and ordered). Still, Bimbo expected to be fed outside from then on. I also think Rocky finally got taken by coyotes – as he stopped coming around — even when Bimbo’s food was outside: more accessible than ever!
But we just don’t think Bimbo could have been taken by coyotes (like Rocky possibly) – as she was the most hyper-vigilant creature I have ever encountered. She was skittish beyond belief – a survival mechanism that we felt developed during a suspected, abusive, first-5-weeks-of-life — before she arrived at the pet store, reportedly on Death’s Door. And while with us — Bimbo flourished – acting like, and being treated like, a queen – what with Giti’s fish and chicken scraps and my mother’s EVERYTHING scraps. Bimbo also had her own private jungle next door; a multitude of escape routes; great eating; and, safe spots. She even began to allow herself to be brushed by three different people.
Then Giti and I decided to visit the folks in Florida for Christmas – and Neighbors Andres and Elanore were to feed her — as they had done for us one long weekend before (besides – they told us that Bimbo often came to visit them). Neighbor Sepp also told us that Bimbo would hang around his place — 1 house, and one vacant lot, down-the-road – so she got around, I guess…
But oddly – on this particular Christmas vacation – Bimbo went into the attic on the morning we left – only to return because Delta said that we hadn’t paid for our flight which we had used our SkyMiles for?! And Bimbo remained in the attic for 6 days – not coming out on her own (her bad attitude perhaps coming from roofers working on Her roof to stem water leakage).
We had to drug her AGAIN – to get her out.
Then everything got back to normal…until a pair of big rats began to set up house in the guest house attic. I begged Bimbo for two weeks to take them out (after all, she’d taken out a number of rats already), but she didn’t get serious until she watched me plant a couple of rat traps under the point of entrée. The very next morning – one VERY BIG mama rat lay dead on the patio. The next day – the dead papa rat — whose neck had been snapped in the trap – was deposited, trap-and-all, in the same spot as the mama rat had been left.
We fussed over Bimbo that night – combing and trimming her and giving her aheckova dinner – yet she looked at me later as-if-to-say: was that the best you can do?
And that’s the last time we saw her.
Brother Paul says the mama rat gave her rabies or something;
Neighbor Elanore says the coyotes got her and no more pets for us;
Neighbor Norman – who already has our Sammy cat — hasn’t been seen since Bimbo’s disappearance; and,
Giti and I think Bimbo found a place more to her liking…
Who knows? I just have recurring dreams of Bimbo’s return – because she seemed to be the cat’s meow…