Sir Cyrus Strikes Again!

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Many of you readers will remember the story of Sir Cyrus who was locked in a garage on May 9, 2015 for six days and survived the ordeal. He has maintained a wonderful life since, being fed, not only by his owners, John and Veronica, but also by well-meaning neighbors who accidently-on-purpose leave food and water out on their patios. Sir Cyrus spends his days basking in the sunlight and, occasionally, catching a rodent or two.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017 my wife, Sharon, and I were preparing for a trip to Portland, Oregon to a memorial for a deceased uncle. I was on the computer doing some writing when my cellphone broke the silence, startling me! I went into my bedroom for privacy and began to talk to my friend, Manuel, who had called me from Puerto Rico. He was giving me the good news that he had set up residence within walking distance of the hospital where he was to have his doctor’s internship for a year.

Prior to this call, Sharon told me that she was ironing clothes in the garage when Sir Cyrus suddenly appeared in the doorway of the garage. As was his custom, he walked freely around the inside of the garage sniffing every crevice and cranny to assure us there were no rodents in residence there. Sharon’s mind became engrossed in her ironing shortly thereafter and she forgot about Sir Cyrus wandering around.

As my call from Puerto Rico progressed, I was interrupted by a banging somewhere in the house! My first inclination was to check the front door in the patio just underneath our bedroom window. It almost sounded as though someone was knocking there. Nary a soul! I sat down in my easy chair and resumed my conversation with Manuel. Once again, a loud banging somewhere in the house! Could it be that a burglar was somewhere hidden in our house? Could we have ghosts?
Maybe something had gotten into the attic as had happened before when a squirrel had somehow squeezed past the vents.
All of a sudden, a thought came to me, “There’s something in the closet behind me rattling the door back and forth.”

I continued to talk to Manuel, but the hairs of my neck began to crawl! I was somewhat apprehensive to check the closed closet doors. I asked Manuel if he would mind hanging on for a moment so I could check out a strange noise emanating from my closet! As I carefully slid the door open, nothing happened at first! I thought, “I must be hearing things!” Suddenly, Sir Cyrus came rushing out almost scaring the daylights out of me! After he recognized me, he was in no hurry to make his escape downstairs. I simply shooed him down the stairs, opening the front door so he could get out, but he still was in no hurry to leave. After a little persuasion, he ran outside and the last I saw of him he was heading down the sidewalk, possibly to relieve himself, but toward his home.

How did he sneak past Sharon in the garage? Why didn’t he run out before someone closed the closet doors in the first place? He must have been asleep in there and did not awaken as the doors were being closed. On discussing this incident with Sir Cyrus’ owners, I was told that usually around 6:30 a.m. each morning, they are awakened by little fingers reaching underneath their bedroom door, giving the door a good shake, telling them he needs to be let out to stretch, and relieve himself! I assume that this must have been what he was telling me as he shook the closet doors behind me.

That Sir Cyrus is One Smart Cat!