Obsidian Ran Away

     I'm very sad tonight.  Obsidian ran out the front door as soon as Mc got home, and he took off around the corner and into our backyard, and we didn't see where he went from there, but he's gone.

     This afternoon right before Mc got home, Obsidian has jumped up on the window sill in the living room behind the couch while the kids and I were watching TV.  Little One jumped up and ran behind the couch and pushed down on Obsidian's body to make him crouch down on the sill like he's seen him do on his own before.  I yelled at Little One to stop, and he did, but the cat ran up the stairs and I saw the look on his face and in his body language: he was scared of Little One, and he saw him as a predator because his body language said he felt like prey.  I should've picked up Obsidian right then and put him safely in our room, but instead I pet him and tried to calm him down.  I fed him some food in the kitchen and he began to eat, so I went back into the living room to keep Little One there and away from Obsidian.  But apparently Obsidian was still shaken up, because as soon as he heard Mc unlocking the front door he ran to it, and as soon as the door was open he bolted out into the yard.

     I spent the next hour walking around the neighborhood looking for him, but there was heavy cloud cover and it was starting to rain, and slowly it got too dark to see anything.  Mc is working from home tomorrow so I can go back out and look for Obsidian in the morning.

     I blame myself.  I should've yelled at Mc not to open the door, but I didn't think Obsidian was going to rush out like that.  I should've jumped up off the couch despite my hurt back and kept him from going out.  Or I should've just put him in our room where he would have been safe from Little One and he could calm down a bit.

     I also feel like I let Obsidian down.  I put up the shelves for him downstairs so he can get up to the window he likes and so he could get up on the high bookshelf, but I haven't put up the shelves upstairs yet because the idea I had for the cat loft seems too daunting.  But it's the living room upstairs where he would be the safest from Little One, and I hate myself for not having done something for him up there yet.

     Little One still doesn't understand cat body language or when to leave the cat alone, and he doesn't listen when I tell him not to touch the cat.  I know he understands, he's just refusing to obey.  Just yesterday I was looking for books that illustrate cat body language so I could buy it and show Little One with pictures what different postures mean and when it's okay to pet the cat and when you need to walk away.  Unfortunately, in my brief search I couldn't find anything that would do, and I was going to look harder and longer tonight (but now I get to spend my time looking longer and harder for my cat).  I'm estimating that it'll take about another year before Little One understands and has the discipline to leave the cat alone despite his excitement to see it.

     Lots of cats are indoor/outdoor cats, and there's a good chance Obsidian is okay and I'll be able to find him in the morning, or he might even find his way back on his own tonight once he gets hungry (we left food out for him).  But I'm worried that he'll get attacked by another animal or run over by a car before I can find him.

     I'm going to go out one more time tonight and look for him.  The traffic on the main road has died down now, so although I won't be able to see him because it's so dark outside and he's completely black, if I bring out his food dish and rustle the bag of dry cat food that he comes running for as soon as he hears it, he might hear it and come to me.  The kids are in bed and I've stopped crying but I'm still worried about him, so it's worth a try.

     And I'm going back to Home Depot tomorrow and buying more pieces of wood for more shelves, and I'm putting those up tomorrow!  I don't care how amateur it looks or if it's aesthetically pleasing; this is about Obsidian's safety now and about him feeling comfortable in our home.  If Obsidian does come back, I want him to have a completely safe home with plenty of options to get away from Little One.