magical powers

Everyone knows cats have 9 lives. There's even a cat food named that. But I believe there's a magical power they possess that isn't commonly discussed.

I began to suspect it when Molly was a baby. I knew she couldn't have gotten out, but I had accidentally closed her between the door and the storm door once. I had gone through the house, room by room, several times, calling her, with no response. So I went outside and crawled around in neighbors' bushes with a flashlight and walking up and down the street calling. Then I got in my car and drove slowly around, hoping to get a glimpse of a poor lost little kitten out in the cold. Nothing. When I went back inside, I was standing in the family room door, lump in throat, planning my next step, when I realized she was sitting on the back of the rocker watching me.

That same sort of thing has happened over the years. This morning I got up late and had to rush to a teleconference, with Molly rolling around on my keyboard because I hadn't had time to feed her yet (there was dry food in the bowl in the kitchen but, as we all know, that was old food and Sophie had eaten out of that bowl), when I realized that I didn't know where Sophie was. I couldn't call her because I couldn't remember how to mute my phone, so I had to wait until the call was over to look for her. No Sophie. So I started trying to remember when I had seen her last and whether I had opened a door since then. This is a very small apartment with very few hiding places, and I checked everywhere. I went into the living room again, still calling, and realized she was sitting there on the floor watching me. Looking very nonchalant.

It's my firm belief that somehow cats can make themselves temporarily disappear. There's no other explanation for it. They're just full of magical powers.