kirpi is M.I.A.
hedgehog card by ethelandiris on etsy.
My dad came down to Columbus last night to visit for a couple days and we moved Kirpi’s cage to the main living area of our apartment so that he could stay in the spare bedroom. Well, last night, I got up in the middle of the night to take some Aleve and I noticed how incredibly loud her wheel was, so I took her out of it and removed it from her cage. I was worried Dad would hear it from the other room and it would keep him up.
Right before I left for work this morning, I checked on her and she was gone! Oh no! Didn’t I learn my lesson last time I removed her wheel? She gets bored and wants to escape.
I quickly woke Funnel up, I called in to work to tell them I would be late (luckily my only other co-worker today is a huge animal-lover, so she totally understood) and the three of us did an in-depth search of the apartment. Flashlights, moving furniture, the whole works. No luck. Unfortunately, she sleeps during the day, so that makes it extra-hard to find her, because she just likes to curl up in a ball and be left alone.
I eventually had to give up my search and go to work but before I left, I mixed her food (dry catfood) with water and heated it in the microwave, which made it smell super strong, and put it in four bowls, which I placed in different spots around the apartment. By each bowl I put either a hedgehog sleeping bag or a towel, which she loves to snuggle in. Hedgehogs have great senses of smell, so I hope she’ll smell the food, come to eat it and then go to sleep in one of the towels and will be there when we get home tonight.
If that doesn’t work, Funnel volunteered to stay up tonight and listen for her (she’s pretty clumsy and loud when she’s awake, which usually begins around 9 or 10). Honestly though, if we don’t find her before then, I’ll have to stay up too because I doubt I’ll be able to get any sleep knowing she’s missing. I read online that a good strategy is to put their food dish in a paper bag and then you’ll hear them for sure when they rustle though it.
I feel sick to my stomach that we don’t know where she is. Funnel keeps telling me “She probably had the most fun night of her life last night!” I hope so. I hope she’s okay and safe.