Buggled!

[woolymonkey]

I found Humbug last night.  Decided to have one more try at going to sit in his new garden and wait for him.  This time I played games on my phone instead of reading, largely in the hope that the game music would attract him.  (If you know Humbug this makes a kind of sense.)

After only a minute or two of the Bubbles theme, there was a plaintive meep from a patch of nettles that had been resoundingly silent when I called and coaxed and chatted to it 5 minutes earlier.  In fact, there was so much plaintive meeping that I wondered if there was a baby out in the garden next door.  Then out he came!  To all appearances he was delighted to see me, made a big fuss of me, wanted his tummy scritched, and his ears scritched, and purred and purred and PURRED.  'Oh Apemum, thank Bast I've found you!  Why did you abandon me?' Etc.  He seems to think I won't notice that he did tha abandoning and has clearly been sitting in those nettles laughing at us all the other times we've gone round there calling and looking.

Anyway.  Brought him home (thanks to Musique and blubox), fed him pilchards, combed out his many tangles.  He found an old catnip bag - he normally spurns all but the freshest and strongest - sniffed it a couple of times, rolled over on his back and passed out.  That was one tired kitty. Photo soon.

Leicester wasn't sure about all this.  He kept sniffing Humbug and Humbug things like he couldn't quite believe it, and he hissed at the Bug once and bopped him on the head.  Can't say I blame him.But peace was quickly restored.

Hum was very cuddly tonight.  Perhaps foolishly, I have let him out this morning.  I don't want him to think of the Monkey House as that nasty place where we shut him in.  (Though we do at night, which he hates.)  I hope he comes back.  At least he now has a collar with TWO bells on it.  This is partly to give the last surviving moorhen at Thorndyke a chance, partly to make it harder to catch the bunnies, so more tempting to come home for fudz, and partly in hopes of making it easier to know when he's lurking the the nettles laughing at us.  The problem with all these plans is that fluff is very good at silencing bells..

It's so good to see and cuddle his Fluffiness again and know that he's healthy.  Wish us luck for hanging on to him please!

Updated at 10.04
He's just come in - yay! - snaffled some crunch fudz and jingled off up the stairs.  Looks like he's planning to crash out in the spare lair room while it's hot out :)

Meanwhile Leicester is doing his usual fine weather routine: out for a bit, come in and tell me about it, out again.  Repeat until nap time and then repeat again until dinner time.

Comments

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Yay! and *shakes head at the Bug*

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Also, make him a Morris dancing outfit with jingly trousers.

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

Tempting.

Monkeys at Sidmouth Folk Festival a couple of years ago, walking down the High Street: "Don't look now but I think we're being followed by a Morris team."

We were too.

[amenirdis.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you've found Buggle and that he's ok! Just off adventurin'. Arrr, matey!

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

I will own that we greet adventures with a few days of staying in, to reinforce the memory. Ish hates it: Horus just sits on laps and takes long naps on everything. (Moon does not do Out Overnight. It is not Civilised.)
I've very glad to hear he's back safe. What a daft cat.

[lj_stowaway]

YAY! I am so happy the Bug of Very Little Brain is home and safe! What a character he is. *shakes head*

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Cats are strange and wonderful things. Well, strange.

[justawench.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad!

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

He does seem to employ all the navigational techniques of Jack Sparrow. He's probably telling Leicester he came back by sea turtle.

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

But you are dealing with a supervillain and his henchcat while I'm dealing with something off Sesame Street.
If he runs true to form, Hummie will be quiet and homey as pie for a few days, then gradually more and more adventurous.
My leading theory just now is that he's so easy going it's almost a disability. When he's here, he doesn't bother to go to his summer house unless he drifts there by accident. But when he's there he doesn't bother to leave.

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

Yes! I think the little brain is the problem - see comment above. He certainly seems ready for some time at home, but just doesn't get it together to come home. Idiot cat.

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

Sometimes we're not even sure he's a cat.

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

Me too! Thanks.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

That is very true!

[amenirdis.livejournal.com]

Sea turtles, mate! A cat's got to do what a cat's got to do. But why is the gushy fud gone?

[ivory-goddess.livejournal.com]

That's very good news - glad he's back and ok.

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

He's just gone out again... Hope he doesn't go out of calling distance before I try to bring them in for supper and bed.

[ms-cataclysm.livejournal.com]

I did think it might be a summer thing. Glad your humbug is back.

[attimes-bracing.livejournal.com]

Delighted his Fluffiness is back.

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

Thanks. No doubt he will do this again. But I'll try to worry less about it.

[penknife.livejournal.com]

I am glad he has returned from hunting antelopes and ostriches!

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'd be happier if he'd returned himself rather than having to be caught. But he jingles now so will be easier to catch next time, and the ostriches will have more chance to run away.
You would not believe how many bunnies antelopes there are in that garden! He could just sit there and wait for one to jump into his mouth. It wouldn't take long.