In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, lives a very relieved cat owner named Jany Chumas. According to news reports, her cat, named Mary Poppins, pulled a disappearing act when workers installed drywall to a room in her home.

When the work crew departed, Chumas could not find her shy cat. She searched her home and assumed that her cat had somehow slipped out the door and ran away.

Five days later, she and her daughter were down in the basement. They thought they heard something and stopped in their tracks.

"I called her — 'Here, kitty, kitty' — and I could hear this faint, weak meow coming from behind the walls where they had just drywalled," Chumas told reporters.

The local fire department arrived and cut a small hole in the drywall and in the ceiling. Finally, a very hungry, tired and dusty Mary Poppins popped out and tumbled into the arms of a grateful Chumas. Fortunately, Mary Poppins was deemed hungry, but healthy.

I share this story to illustrate how easily indoor cats can become Houdinis — especially during remodeling projects. Recently, I opted to replace my old carpet with feline-friendly laminate flooring in several rooms in my house. I also decided to finally dispose of the ugly, narrow baseboards and have the work crew install wider and more modern-looking baseboards throughout the house.

As any one of us knows, having workers in our homes for a few days — or more (the job always seems to stretch beyond their initial predictions) — can be taxing on our nerves and patience. But for me, the biggest concern during this mini-construction phase, was for the safety of my three indoor cats. All it would take is for a worker to accidentally leave a door open and curiosity could lead to a disappearance by one or all of my cats.

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My cats, all rescued from the streets years ago, have been pampered for many years now as indoor cats. My youngest, Murphy, is seven; Callie is 10; and my oldest is Little Guy — at age 19.

I took the proper precautions by putting my cats in a spare bedroom before the arrival of the workers. I also brought in their water and food bowls, plus a litter box, and turned on a smooth jazz radio station on low to help mute the construction noise. I shut the door and taped a large sign in bright orange that read: DO NOT OPEN — CATS INSIDE!!!

When the crew arrived, I told them about my three cats and let them peek inside the bedroom where the three cats stared back at them. As I shut the door, the workers chuckled at the sight of the sign, but they got the message. When they were ready to install baseboards in that room, they alerted me so that I could shuffle my tabby trio to a completed room and close that door.

My cats were not thrilled by all the hammering, drilling, and other construction noises, but they had all their amenities — and each other's company — in a safe zone during the three days. They happily prowled the perimeters of my home each night when the crew left.

Losing a cat is very upsetting. It is something I hope never happens to any of you. But knowledge is a good weapon. You can learn more about typical behaviors that indoor cats exhibit when they find themselves suddenly in the great outdoors — in the lead story on page 3 — as written by regular Catnip contributor Elissa Wolfson.

You will also discover about organizations and pet detectives who strive to unite lost cats with their owners. My parting advice: Outfit your cats (especially indoor ones) with collars and identification tags and have them microchipped.

Arden Moore
Editor