Louis Catorze wasn’t on my bed when I woke up a couple of mornings ago. I went downstairs, made my usual pot of green tea and read my book, but there was a cat-shaped space on my lap where Catorze would ordinarily be. This was highly unusual.

When I took a cup of tea up to Cat Daddy, I asked him whether he’d seen Catorze. He hadn’t. And, even though I ought to know better, my mind played every horrible scenario imaginable, with a particularly unpleasant one taking centre stage.

This was it:

These chaps live in the Zone Libre.

Cat Daddy and I drank our tea, listening out for the telltale “Ba-doomph” of Catorze’s preposterously loud feet on the floorboards. But there was nothing. The only sound we could hear was a magpie going absolutely ballistic outside.

Just as we had decided to get out of bed, the little sod appeared, screaming himself senseless. And, as if by magic, the magpie fell silent at the same time. Coincidence?

Catorze has given us so many false alarms (this one was the worst one) and we still don’t seem to have learned our lesson. I shall keep repeating the following mantra until it’s imprinted on my brain:

“WE MUST NOT WORRY ABOUT SA MAJ UNTIL HE HAS BEEN MISSING FOR AT LEAST THREE DAYS, OR UNTIL A NEIGHBOUR REPORTS A DISTURBANCE, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST.”

Nooo! Leave the bee alone!
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33 responses to “Où est Le Roi?”

  1. M - avatar

    OMG. I don’t know how you two do it. But then again you live in a different environment that we do. We are glad Mr. Catorze is safe and well.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Oh dear, just realised I wrote “this one was the worst” but I didn’t add the link to the worst time he went missing! Done now.

      Like

  2. Marie-Luce, miaougraphe avatar

    Ouf ! He appeared again. Those chaps from la zone libre looks disreputable.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      I’ve just added a link which I forgot to add before: the time he went missing for an entire day.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Marie-Luce, miaougraphe avatar

        😯 A whole day ? How stressful ! I will go read that story.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          A WHOLE DAY. 😵‍💫

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Marie-Luce, miaougraphe avatar

            A day to wonder and stress while Louis-Catorze was probably sleeping peacefully all that time. 😑 Cats !

            Liked by 2 people

            1. iamthesunking avatar
              iamthesunking

              I expect that’s exactly what he was doing, although we still don’t know where.

              Liked by 1 person

  3. Doug Thomas avatar

    LOL! What a cat!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      What a shite.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Mme Chapeau avatar
    Mme Chapeau

    The last time Timon was missing, he had been shut up in the cellar.
    Rather than try to tell it to us, that silly cat was waiting behind the door mutely.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      No screaming?

      Like

      1. Mme Chapeau avatar
        Mme Chapeau

        I guess he probably miaowed but not loud enough to be heard.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          Awww! Poor boy!

          Like

  5. Herman avatar
    Herman

    I was in shock when Jimi went missing for 2 days a while ago. He was locked up (by accident) in a garden shed. The Zone Libre seems to be a scary place to hang out for a cat. But I’m sure Louis got the situation under control…

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      The Zone Libre scares me. But Catorze has never, ever got into trouble there (not to my knowledge, anyway).

      Liked by 2 people

    2. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      And … was Jimi in your shed? Or someone else’s?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Herman avatar
        Herman

        In my shed, I locked him up pure by accident. Afterwards I was glad he didn’t escaped from the garden…

        Liked by 2 people

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          Oh my. How much mischief is possible in your area? Do you have foxes? Cars? Marauding youths wielding chainsaws?

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Herman avatar
            Herman

            There are a lot of big dogs in the gardens of my neighbours. Cars are also a present danger. We have foxes too and there are reports of wolves spotted in our area… really, not joking.
            https://rtv.be/artikels/wolf-duikt-opnieuw-op-de-kempen-deze-keer-kasterlee-a108208

            Liked by 2 people

            1. iamthesunking avatar
              iamthesunking

              Oh my goodness! An actual wolf! 😱😱😱

              Liked by 1 person

  6. cat9984 avatar

    Whenever I wake up without Sgt Stripes, it’s because he’s escaped downstairs and is annoying the lady cats. (Actually, I think he’s afraid of Snoops.)

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Do you segregate them at night?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. cat9984 avatar

        Yes. Kommando is afraid of him

        Liked by 1 person

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          Oh dear! I imagined Kommando as being utterly unafraid of anything!

          Liked by 1 person

          1. cat9984 avatar

            Actually, Snoops is her protector

            Liked by 1 person

  7. Dr. CaSo avatar

    Cats have a god-given right to be worried about all the time, it’s part of their charm 🙂 I’m sure they do this every now and then to verify that we still care and love them 😉

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      And we fall for it every time, don’t we? Le Roi is always fine. But I still worry.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Belle avatar
    Belle

    That image brings to mind a “West Side Story, Jets vs Sharks” type showdown between Catorze and the foxes. Cue finger snapping, music and an army of Catorze clones in the shadows, ready to strike…Or maybe his screams send them scrambling, scarred for life, back to their turf?😼

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      I can imagine Catorze as Tony (but not falling in love with a girl, obvs).

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Belle avatar
    Belle

    🤣🤣🤣

    Liked by 1 person

  10. mary mcneil avatar
    mary mcneil

    We know exactly what you mean…and were worried right along with you. “Le etat c’est moi.”

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Yes, everything starts and ends with him!

      Like

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