Thank God, Fluffy is back. He sneaked off on Thursday night when he was having a run in the living room. Unfortunately, the living room door was open(ed), maybe by Fluffy himself, and then he was gone. At first, I did not worry as he is very curious, but when he is exhausted, he usually comes back for some food and water and just to check on what’s new around his home and if his hoard is still okay.
But this time he didn’t. So I went to bed thinking that he might chill out somewhere in the bedroom or that I would hear him rampaging and gnawing anyways when he is having his nocturnal adventures and then be able to pick him up again. Sometimes he even comes when I call him, and cucumber smells get him out and about even in the deepest sleep.
But this time I did not hear him at all, so he could only really be in the hall or the yellow room. Then I started to get worried because the whole hall is full of rubbish which needs to be carried about a mile to the recycling bins and one of the core principles of having lost your hamster is: Don’t remove anything from your home.
Especially as he likes climbing into bags. But then it suddenly smelled strongly of paint, so when I opened the paint cupboard, I noticed that self-build nest of chewed up plastic bags and paper, but it was still unsure if Fluffy would have been in there this time. I took out everything in this cupboard, looked everywhere, even in all the shoes, the wellies, the bicycle repair bag, and the DIY toolbox. Nothing! I found some sunflower seeds – a very suspicious trail, but not much else. I was getting really worried because the paint cupboard is near the flat’s entrance and the worst possible scenario would have been that Fluffy had managed to escape out of the flat, especially as I did not hear any noises Friday night, but for the dysfunctional neighbours upstairs, whose favourite spare time activity seems to throw and drag furniture around in the early morning hours, accompanied by screaming kid and the parents shouting along with it.
So on Saturday, I was pretty worried about Fluffy. My boyfriend taunted me a bit with my own “How to catch a lost hamster” advice- “You are supposed to be the expert” – and as his parents wanted to pass by and visit, too, so the main dilemma was tidying up everything and everywhere as quickly as possible without potentially removing a hiding hamster at the same time, without opening the balcony doors and always checking the entrance as well.
After we returned from dinner at the highly praised fish speciality restaurant “The Shore” with its beautifully presented food – I especially liked the strategically placed blueberries – but which tasted a little bit below expectations, me and Micah watched a little bit of telly at home and then suddenly I heard a weak scratching noise. I followed it and it lead me into the yellow room. Sounded like scratching on wood, so I dug out everything in this direction screaming “Fluffy, Fluffy where are you?” So, of course, the rebellious hamster stopped making any noise, and I had to wait till he started again. I could not believe that the sound came out of the bookshelf, but removed some files and folders and there he was! He looked really desperate and quite thin, and he had chewed a lot of my community activism papers to pieces. Luckily enough it wasn’t my certificate and qualifications or cuttings folder!
He seemed to be quite happy to be back and starting eating a lot of cucumber and stuffed himself with the sunflower seeds and some of his favourite little bits and pieces. I went quickly out and got him some fresh and tender dandelion leaves as well and told him off for worrying me so much to which he squeaked – he doesn’t squeak that often though, only when he is quite emotional. He has two types of squeaks; one which sounds hopefully a bit as “I agree” or in general just “positive”, and one when he is angry and swearing, like “What the fuck did you do that for?”, so quite “negative“.
Like when I picked him up after finding him in the community activism folder, I went over to Micah and showed him the hamster and Micah padded Fluffy, which quite upset Fluffy and he squeaked protestingly.
But as soon as he found his favourite cucumber and I talked to Fluffy after he had filled his stomach, he squeaked quite positively.
I am so happy he is back. So is he, I hope.
He had never been gone for so long.