Survival Part 1

We are currently house sitting for our good friends Tom and Wendi. They are in Virginia for the holiday and knew we could use a little break from our current living arrangement. We had a huge snow storm hit last Friday and Anthony worked all weekend so the driveway did not get shoveled. We wanted to come over on Sunday, so he ventured out in the -30 degree weather to clear a path so we could at least get into the house. He didn't realize that their front door is goofy and doesn't stay shut without locking the deadbolt. When he saw the front door wide open he was afraid that the cat, Sasha, go out. So, he proceeded to look for her, trudging through thigh high snow in the backyard. A suspicious neighbor inquired as to what he was doing and was reassured that Anthony was not a burglar. When he was unable to locate the cat he set food around the inside and outside of the house in hopes of luring Sasha out.
He went back to our house where we quickly ate dinner, packed our things and rushed back over, again hoping to find Sasha, alive and well. When we got there, there was still no sign of her and we were sure that she was a goner. I am not particularly fond of Sasha, so I wasn't too bummed about it so much as I was worried we would go to jail for animal cruelty. I finally decided that I better call and break the news to Wendi. After 2 rings I heard Anthony scream (yes, scream, not yell). I ran to the master bedroom where he round the cat, on top of the bookshelf, poised for attack.
I then called Wendi back and told her the whole story. No, we didn't kill the cat, but she really freaks me out. I have to sneak around the house and I feel like she's going to pounce on me at any moment and claw my eyes out. Anthony actually had to use his hockey stick to get her down from the bookshelf (nothing broke Wendi). Tonight I was going to change her litter box but she was guarding it and hissed at me when I went by.
I am hoping to survive this cat sitting experience with no scratches.