Yowling shadow darting under the parked cars at the New Carrolton Metro stop last night. It took several minutes of trying to pinpoint her echoing cries and peeking under vehicles to finally spot her in the wheel well of a car, crouched on top of a tire. As soon as she spotted me moving in her direction, she jumped down from her spot and ran under the rows of cars.
After 10 minutes of her running back and forth among cars, and me kneeling on the ground next to various vehicles calling "here kittykittykitty," I changed tactics. Simultaneously summoning two dusty years of acting training and setting aside personal dignity, I attempted to "be the mother cat" by yowling back and shrugging off the sideways glaces if passersby with a weak "there's a kitten" explaination. She actually responded fairly quickly to the noises I made, allowing me to momentarily feel like Caesar Molly, Cat Whisperer. Her meows sounded almost hopeful as she crept out from under a station wagon. But one look at me and she realized I certainly was not her mommy, and ran off yowling again.
One lady passing by gave me a bag of left over french fries to use in an effort to tempt her out from below the cars (note for anyone who finds herself in a similar situation: lost cats are not endeared by having cold potato products chucked in their general direction). Sadly, she said,"There is a black and white one around here too."
After 30 minutes, I was very late for dinner, my pant knees and hands were wet and dirty, and I was on the verge of convincing myself that maybe Kitten was better off were she was. I got down on my hands and knees one last time and caught sight of her two cars over hoisting herself up into the wheel well of a black SUV. I snuck behind the vehicle, flattened myself against the rear passenger side and slide along it until I could just see the top of the tire and her tail laying across it. I reached around for a one-handed grab, and she hissed and gave me four paws worth of claws and a couple of good bites across my knuckles in return, but I soon had her safely tucked inside my jacket. Within a few minutes she was calm and letting me pet her. After a few more minutes, she was happily perched on the car headrest and watching traffic as we drove to DC.
*These pictures are from my cell phone from this morning -an impromptu Take Your Cat to Work Day. At least she likes car rides. We looked for "the black and white" sibling but couldn't find him. We hope to get back and look again soon.
Kitten found a home on Saturday, November 31. She will be living with Sarah Bowes, Tim Frush, and James the cattledog mix (originally a stray from New Orleans who was hit by a car) in their home on Lombard Street in Baltimore. And "she" is actually a "he."
