Couldn't sleep, was too hot, so went out around 1:30 and checked the horses, petted the cats, and back to the house. I heard a cat meowing, and it sounded like Splash, who I saw up close and personal a couple of days ago (not unusual, as he is a hunting fool ) and saw through the window since then. Heard it again, and called him, and got an answer from the far end of the yard. Kept walking and calling, and the meowing got louder. Sounded like it came from a bin. Stopped at the shop, unplugged the fence, and ducked through to the bins. As I got closer, my search party (Jack and Tippy) got frantic and kept running back and forth between me (moving slow in the dark) and a bin. The meowing was getting louder too, so I called and Splash started sounding frantic. Stopped, listened and heard scrambling. Figured out what bin he was in or on, and went to it. Little bugger was INSIDE, he fell through the hatch and couldn't get back up and out. He DID manage to knock out the top retaining board though, and when I opened the door, that bounced off my shin. Finally got enough boards out that he would come out. He is none the worse for wear, no weight loss (I would imagine he is full of mouse steak), and very happy to see me and the rest of the search party. I did feel guilty enough for not going down there this morning and looking that I stole a tin of Da Lip's food for him - he wasn't very hungry, and took a couple of bites and then shared with Jack.
Here is the little troublemaker
Here is the little troublemaker