"Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin," thought Alice; "but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in all my life!" -Lewis Carroll

She did it to me again today. Couldn't find the little bugger this morning. She didn't wake me up, nor did she come down for breakfast. Unlike a couple of Fridays ago when I had to work from home, there was no pitiful howling coming from underneath the stove, and indeed one quick look with a flashlight proved she hadn't gotten herself wedged under there again. It's the one...the only...disappearing cat!

Well, I had to take a shower and get my butt to work, having overslept half an hour without the morning paw in the face wake up call. Cold leftover coffee, check. Cat food in the bowl, check. Hot shower, check. Clothes on, check. Hair dry and teeth brushed, check. Car key and house key, check. Butts and lighter, check. Bolt!

Twelve hours later, the little schmuck met me at the door in from the garage, pretty as you please, if nothing ever was amiss this morning. She never was the brightest cat, certainly not compared to my two previous ones, but ever since she turned 15 and developed diabetes, she seems to be a few IQ points short of a hamster.

So, here's to my "adorable booby," as Virginia Woolfe once said (referring to her husband, who apparently was none too bright himself): hugs, and a shot for you!