Ivy went out through the dryer vent, again.  She'd done it last year, and
was gone for a week.  Fortunately that time a neighbor girl found her and
took her in.
 
We THOUGHT we'd adequately ferret-proofed the dryer vent.  But obviously
we hadn't.We looked for Ivy under the shed, under the house, under the
neighboring houses and sheds, in woodpiles, in a ditch, and everythwere we
could, and we made these rounds five or six times.  (We put up signs, too,
and an ad in the paper and called Animal Control.) We didn't find her.
 
The weather this weekend was cold and wet.  It snowed most of Saturday and
rained slush Sunday.  We live next to the forest, and there are raccoons,
coyotes, and even owls that eat small pets.  And the neighbor dogs kill
cats, and my cat kills rats...this was scary.
 
We put out Ivy's litterbox, a bowl of food, and a box with a blanket.  She
came home last night--I found her around midnight in the box.  I think it
was the smell of the litterbox that led her home.  She had lost weight, was
very hungry and was scratched and bruised all over.  It looked as if she'd
tried to climb through something with rough edges, rather than as if she'd
been attacked.
 
Ivy got a bath, a whole jar of chicken babyfood, and then went straight to
sleep.  She seems to be ok now.
 
Watch the dryer vents!  We truly thought we'd ferret-proofed ours.  I think
over time the tubing had become slightly more brittle and the dryer had
been moved just enough, over the months, that she was able to get to the
vent.
 
Jacqueline
[Posted in FML issue 3229]