gerbil escape

6 played a late soccer game last night. Getting ready for bed, I noticed something amiss with the gerbil abode. Someone or something had taken it apart...no gerbil to be found. 6 admitted that she had forgotten to put the cage back together in the morning before going to daycare.

We have 2 cats.

Looking for the gerbil - me armed with flashlight looking in all the corners, expecting to find a deceased pet somewhere. 4 had a magnifying glass and was following a trail of gerbil poop. "Mommy, I see gerbil poop! He was here!" 6 sobbing hysterically, interrogated the cats and commented "Kittycat looks like she's just had a satisfying snack! Winks, did you eat my gerbil? I can feel something like a lump in his tummy - I think its my gerbil!"

Chaos.

We found the gerbil alive under 6's bed. A stuffed frog and Tinkerbells dress had been torn apart to use as bedding, and there was gerbil - happy in his 'new home'. He was captured and returned to his cage.

"6, what do you think we could do to make sure this does not happen again?" "I'll check all my animal cages when you say it's 5 minutes to leave. Can you remind me?"

Another fun-filled night!