Shira and I were coming in from errands tonight and here's Joyce outside their building, looking harried, trying to tell us something as soon as she sees us but we can't hear her because of the highway noise.
Being a kitten witch, I have that advice just handy in my back pocket, so I whip it out and start running down the checklist of Things To Do When Your Cat's Gotten Out (set out a bed/blanket, litterbox, food and water right by the door) and other options open to us.
My neighbors go inside to start collecting her things to put outside the building. Shira and I trot home with our things, but neither of us can leave it at that. Shira and Riffraff go out to help them look.
I secure our food and follow a few minutes later, catching up with Riffraff and making him accompany me up and down the fence line near the feeding station where I initially trapped Locket.
Joyce and I convene in front of their building. "Which door did you see her run out of?" I ask, but Joyce didn't actually see her leave the building. The door to their apartment was open for a bit today and now Locket is missing, so they made an assumption.
Joyce sees the expression on my face as I look into the vestibule of their building. "Do you think she's still in there?" Joyce asks me, following me inside because I'm already halfway through the door.
"I just want to check," I say. I look under the stairs, behind a neighbor's shopping trolley and an abandoned bucket. "Cats are really good at hiding."
Now, Locket really is still a semi-feral, so I couldn't just grab her. She was very very scared, poor thing. She hasn't been outside of their apartment since she moved in last year. So I waited until Joyce went in through their unit's back door' to unlock the front, and we shooed the little dickens back inside.
There is a deep black shadow in the corner behind it.