day in the life of an hvac guy: customer called at 3am because her thermostat 'ate her cat's toy'

got a call at 3am from this lady in the Houston suburbs screamin that her ac unit was possessed or somethin, turns out her damn cat knocked a toy into the return vent and it was blockin the whole airflow, had to fish it out with my ridgid seesnake while the furball stared at me like i was the intruder. been doin this 8 years and still laugh at the weird shit homeowners do, especially with those old carrier units that suck in everything but cool air. me and my apprentice spent the next hour checkin superheat and subcool to make sure no damage, but the real kicker was when she offered me coffee at 4am like it was normal. saw a similar story on r/HVAC last week, guy in the group said his boss made him climb a tree for a nest in the condenser. down here in the humidity, these calls never end, but hey, beats sittin in an office.

those midnight cat rescues are the worst, especially when the owners act like it's your fault the pet's a dumbass. collective eye roll from every tech i know.

NGL, i once had to explain to a guy why his 'smart' nest thermostat was smarter than him after it locked out because of a power surge from his kid's gaming setup. laughed so hard i almost dropped my manifold gauges.

pro tip: always carry zip ties for quick vent covers on these jobs, saved my ass last summer on a similar toy blockage. check the filters too, they clog fast with pet hair.