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It's been very warm here lately, and last night, I opened the window a crack to let in some fresh and cooler air. When my alarm went off, I discovered that the window, rather than being open a crack, was open wide.
This window has no screen. I have a cat. And she wasn't in the room.
So at 6 a.m., I alerted everyone else in the house (involuntarily, for the most part) by calling her and looking for her. It turned out that she was in the ivy growing up the side of the house; I think she was afraid of the owners' dogs, who are, I think, harmless, but rarely shut up. They were barking their heads off, and she was meowing.
My landlord is a real do-it-yourself kind of guy, and he even got on the roof, in the rain, to try to get her out of the ivy. I was one floor below, in my housemates' bedroom, horribly afraid that he would drop her or she would lose her footing and fall - three stories.
He tried many things, including getting an old ironing board with no legs and holding it out to the area where he thought she was, in the hope that she'd use it as a bridge to enter the building.
After his failed rooftop attempt, he came into the room where I was. By that time, she had actually climbed down the ivy so that she was in the vicinity of the window, but there was no way for her to climb over to me. He had started to call the fire department, but when he realized how close she was, he said, "I'll call you back later," and hung up.
He doesn't speak English, so I motioned that I'd like the board again, and he brought it to me, then - wisely - left the room. I pushed the board over, and by God, she got on it. It was heavier than it looked, and she took her sweet time advanced along it. When she got far enough, I pulled it towards me, very very very slowly and carefully....
And she came in.
I promptly closed the windows and picked her up. One of the housemates who lives there is allergic to cats; fortunately, he wasn't home. I picked her up, wet with rain, and walked into the other room.
My landlord told me he'll measure the window today, so he can install a screen.
This window has no screen. I have a cat. And she wasn't in the room.
So at 6 a.m., I alerted everyone else in the house (involuntarily, for the most part) by calling her and looking for her. It turned out that she was in the ivy growing up the side of the house; I think she was afraid of the owners' dogs, who are, I think, harmless, but rarely shut up. They were barking their heads off, and she was meowing.
My landlord is a real do-it-yourself kind of guy, and he even got on the roof, in the rain, to try to get her out of the ivy. I was one floor below, in my housemates' bedroom, horribly afraid that he would drop her or she would lose her footing and fall - three stories.
He tried many things, including getting an old ironing board with no legs and holding it out to the area where he thought she was, in the hope that she'd use it as a bridge to enter the building.
After his failed rooftop attempt, he came into the room where I was. By that time, she had actually climbed down the ivy so that she was in the vicinity of the window, but there was no way for her to climb over to me. He had started to call the fire department, but when he realized how close she was, he said, "I'll call you back later," and hung up.
He doesn't speak English, so I motioned that I'd like the board again, and he brought it to me, then - wisely - left the room. I pushed the board over, and by God, she got on it. It was heavier than it looked, and she took her sweet time advanced along it. When she got far enough, I pulled it towards me, very very very slowly and carefully....
And she came in.
I promptly closed the windows and picked her up. One of the housemates who lives there is allergic to cats; fortunately, he wasn't home. I picked her up, wet with rain, and walked into the other room.
My landlord told me he'll measure the window today, so he can install a screen.
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