i made a mistake

"lexitab, hey, i'm over here" i whispered. he hates it when i call him lexitab. his name is lexi, and he's a tabby cat, and i have the bad habit of giving nicknames, which stick. i call sasquatch "size 24" which is taken with a sort of eye rolling droll by the big one.

annoyance turned to a befuddled look as lexi poked his head out. "get out of here sam, you're not going to have the satisfaction of ruining my doctor visit. i think i'll have my nails done, maybe a peticure, a little grooming, followed by brunch"

lexitab and i tolerate each other. i try to give him dancing lessons. granted, i forget to wake him before launching across the room in a wiggling, flippy move, and the startled dignified tabby has his precious nap interrupted, but nobody has ever accused me of lacking enthusiasm. now he just runs into the closet and hides.

i can never figure out why the reporters leave me out of these  stories:

Cat makes daring escape from surgery to avoid the dreaded snip

A trip to the vets is the last thing on any self-respecting pet's agenda. Especially when the reason for the visit is a castration.
So when Lexi the tabby cat found himself within leaping distance of an open window just minutes before his virility would be forever impaired, there was only one thing for it.
Unfortunately for owner Maria Brown, staff at the surgery didn't seem quite so alert as her two-year-old cat, and handed her a rabbit instead when she went in to collect him.            ( editor's note:  who do they think they were fooling here?  how can you mistake a rabbit for lexi? lexi has smaller ears )

Yesterday a manager at the surgery in Woosehill, near Wokingham, Berkshire, apologised for the blunder and said he had waved the £40 fee for carrying out the operation.

He added that would send Miss Brown a bunch of flowers to soften the blow of losing her beloved pet.

Miss Brown, meanwhile, spent the day frantically putting up posters along the four-mile route from the Woosehill Vets to her home in Woodley, Berkshire and was said to be too upset to talk about the missing moggy.

A friend told how Lexi made his dash for freedom as his sister Angel went through with her neutering as planned on Thursday afternoon. When Miss Brown arrived later that day to collect them, she was handed the rabbit. Staff gave her the bunny along with Angel because she had taken in 'two animals for neutering'.
It was only then when Miss Brown pointed out that she had dropped two cats off at the surgery the day before, that staff apparently realised Lexi had bolted. It emerged that Lexi had escaped through a window which had been left open in the cattery, a room behind the reception area.

The veterinary practice manager said the rabbit was handed over by mistake because it was the next one on the operating table after Angel.

He said it was 'very unusual' for a customer to leave animals at the surgery a day ahead of the operation and this had caused 'confusion' meaning staff did not realise Lexi was missing earlier at the 'very busy surgery'.

Julie Bobb, a neighbour and close friend of Miss Brown, said:  'Maria is very upset. She took two cats to Woosehill Vets for neutering and a castration and on returning the next day the female was there but the male had gone.  'To be honest the vet was very vague and we were there about three hours - they were dithering around and didn't realise the cat was missing.

'We got there, explained we had come to collect two animals and they came back with one cat and the other animal was a bunny rabbit.  'Lexi is a huge male tabby cat and he may be trying to find his way home but obviously Woosehill to Woodley is quite a way.'

The manager of the vet's practice, who did not want to be named, said they were embarrassed about what happened and had apologised.  He said: 'Cats can go missing, even in the home and that is what has happened here. Clearly we made a mistake here. We have to open the window in the cattery so the cats can get fresh air, but we have now fixed brackets to it so that it cannot be opened wide enough for an animal to escape through.

'I hope that lady will one day find the courage to forgive us. I am so very, very sorry. I can't apologise enough for what happened.

'She is right to be upset and I have contacted her two or three times to say I'm sorry.'

The manager said he was concerned what effect 'bad publicity' over the incident could have on his two year old business, and added: 'We are not proud of what has happened but I would like to say that Veterinary Board of Great Britain visited the surgery on Friday for a pre-arranged visit and said our work is so good that we would hold an open day for the people of Berkshire.'
                                                         --

  i won't be disclosing lexitab's whereabouts.  i could just see the wanted poster.  "Have you seen a fat cat and a smarmy white ferrret?"

  i am willing to learn from my mistakes.    i will wake lexitab for any future dancing lessons.
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story from the Daily Mail. Jun 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1284552/Cat-makes-daring-escape-surgery-avoid-dreaded-snip.html