Hi @wrenwoad, Hopefully you find your missing words.
You should know that this scenario was possibly avoidable, with a proper backup strategy.
When you have a few minutes, read this post I wrote a while back on Scriv backups. It was for Scriv v1, so the menu options have changed, but the settings are all the same. It explains my strategy and how you can avoid this issue recurring, without having to get rid of your cat. 
(Hint: set ‘Back up with each manual save’ = yes, then press Ctl-S periodically during long writing sessions to do a project backup.
Best,
Jim