1 week... Cat still missing... List of what we have done so far

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

Any other ideas?

Called every Vet in the area, giving them flyers with pictures tomorrow.
Checked town animal shelter, gave them flyer
Flyers up at Police Station, Post Office, the 2 nearest 7-11's, the local diner, two or three delis, 2 schools, fire department, library, practically every phone poll in a 6-block radius and passed out to people in their yards, on streets and sidewalks here and there.
Driven entire area looking for body, negative results.
Had several cars crusing each evening checking cat activity, lots of cats found, none ours.

As long as there is no confirmation of death (body or witness) I have to hope this cat will find her way home.

Yes? No?

The poor little kitty's picture...

[Dookus]

1. absolutely yes...

cats are VERY resourceful. My old guy ran away the day I moved to a new house. I plastered the neighborhood with signs and almost daily, I got a call from somebody who'd sighted him. I finally located him 8 days later about two miles away. He was just lost.

Don't give up. Put signs up in the neighborhood with a picture of her.

[Southsideirish]

2. Look up trees - and in garages.

Its my experience that these are two places cats like or are forced to go. If he or she eats from a can - go outside and hit a spoon on the can or do whatever it was that you did to summon your kitty to its food. Holler its name LOUDLY and wait for a response - no matter how faint - then go up and down the alleys and do the same.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

3. Go out late at night and call for her at closed garage doors.

My sister's cat got caught in a garage
and that's how she found him, heard him
crying, got owner to open garage and there
he was. God bless your kitty.

[BigBigBear]

5. We've also had cats

that have gotten stuck in people's garages. We had an older mail that would occasionally take off for a week or so, then come back.

We've also had cats taken by wildlife - don't know where you live, but we live along the Front Range of Colorado, rigt up against the mountains, and we've lost cats to predation. Mountain lions, owls and coyotes. They vanish completely - very difficult.

Check the two or three closest shelters to where you live, daily or almost daily. Keep checking up to a month or so. Lots of posters, lots of talking to neighbors...keep staying positive.

[joeybee12]

4. Growing up we had an outdoor cat that would disappear for weeks at a time

and always came back.

Question--is your cat fixed?

Even if he/she is, some cats are just adventurers.

Mine are indoor cats from an indoor cat mother, so the urge to roma ain't in 'em.

Good luck!

[Philostopher]

6. Just a couple of more ideas.

Newspaper ad, if they'll run the ad free. We found a cat just a little over a year ago and when I called the local newspaper to see how much it would cost to run a 'found' ad, they told me nothing. Some papers do this.

Also, did you try any Internet 'lost and found' sites? The one most people would be most likely to see is Petfinder (www.petfinder.com), but there are others.

You might try checking with a no-kill shelter, if there is one in your area -- sometimes, people are more likely to take a lost cat to a no-kill for all the obvious reasons.

As for your chances of the cat just showing up -- depends on the area you live in, but certainly stranger things have happened. Good luck -- I hope she shows up or you find her!

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

12. checking into that, thanks

[Cappurr]

7. I had a cat misssing for eleven days....

She slipped out of the house (wasn't fixed). I did everything you did, except I put flyers on all the doors in the apartment complex I lived in at the time and I also put it in the newspaper. I got a call at eleven pm one night. Guy said he thought he saw her in his driveway that morning. He lived at the far other end of the complex (which was nearly a mile wide) and he had trees and woods across his way like I had across mine. I drove up and as soon as she heard my engine she came running. She shouted at me for two or three hours as if the whole fiasco was my fault. :shrug:

[catzies]

8. Do you have coyotes where you are?

Here in Southern California, after cars, they are the urban outdoor cat's worst nightmare. Hope you little darling comes home soon.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

13. No. I have considered hawks and eagles, which we have

but, it seems like a body would be nearby. Most of our raptors are not that big to carry a cat.

[leanings]

27. One just got my girlfriend's cat...

On Cape Cod, no less!:-(

[Maine Mary]

9. I am so sorry for you; but don't give up hope

I once had a cat MIA for THREE months until I found her on the doorstep one cold Feb. morn. She was a little thin but otherwise ok. Unfortunately though the reasons for her departure (a very jealous other cat) were still present when she returned, so in order to prevent another runaway, I gave her to my mother which turned into a wonderful success story. She lived another pleasant and pampered 12 years w/my mother until she had to be put to sleep due to lung problems related to old age.

She never told anyone ;-) about her time in the wilds of the Maine woods, but if she could survive that then most any resourceful cat can find their way to survive too no matter what surroundings she is in.

I hope your sweetie is just on some sort of expedition. Nobody ever said cats don't need to "find" themselves. :-) Perhaps this is all it is. Fingers crossed.

As far as your question? No suggestions really because you seem to have covered everything but perhaps you could enlist the help of a local girl or boyscout troop? Or even just some neighbor children? Kids love missions like this. Especially when it involves animals. If they find her, take them out for pizza or something. :-)

[ScreamingMeemie]

10. Are you positively sure she got out of the house?

We had a cat that liked to rip holes in the covers of box springs and would hide up there for days. Maybe something spooked her into hiding in your house? I didn't see the original post, so sorry if I am missing pertinent information.

Best of luck, don't ever give up!!! Laura

[grasswire]

11. getting kids to look is a good idea

...and you might even offer a reward. Also, did you try knocking on doors? Some people just don't notice signs.

Poor kitty. Maybe someone thought she was a stray and took her in. Several cats have just simply disappeared from my life over the years before I made mine house cats.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

14. Yes, we have the kids actively involved

I think it is the only thing that is keeping them from crying. We have knocked on doors at likely places... areas where there were "sightings" and such.

Biggest problem is, she is a pretty normal looking cat.

I dread having to keep the cats indoors, they are so happy out, and yes, I know this is a risk of doing that.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

15. Pretty sure, she has a sister and we have a dog who

loved her very much. Neither of them are acting weird... I can't imagine she could be in the house without them bothering us to find her.
Thanks.

[OldEurope]

16. Do not give up!

My cat ran away one day, and after days and weeks we thought, he´ll never come back. After 9 months we got a call from the shelter. And guess where they found him? Closed in the cellar of the school ON THE OTHER SIDE OF OUR STREET, where he fell down obviously on his way back home!
So really, really, never give up!

:hi:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

18. Yeah, that is what everyone tells me

Went to shelters today, expanding our postering further out tomorrow.

[FlaGranny]

17. I hope you find your kitty.

I lost one a few years ago and never did find her. She was my son's cat and I was keeping her for him for awhile. I did the things you did. I was heartbroken. She was very special. She did not have a microchip.

Advice to everyone: GET YOUR PETS MICROCHIPPED.

I just heard a story yesterday of someone who got their pet dog back after being missing a year - because he had a microchip. It doesn't always work, because if someone finds an animal, they sometimes keep it and don't bother to check for a chip, but if your pet winds up at a pound, they always check for chips. It doesn't cost that much and you can register your pet nationwide.

[amazona]

19. you've done the right things and good luck

WHile there's life, there's hope.


Sometimes people just keep your cat. It happened to us one time. Long story. We were moving. At a halfway spot, our cat -- upset by the move -- ran into the rural area. Since we drove that way quite often visiting relatives, we would always stop and ask about our cat. All we got for years was no, no, no. Finally, after many a year, a neighbor confessed that the lady across the highway had found our cat almost right away and loved him so much she could not admit to having him. We met with him one more time but did not take the cat away. It was just one of those things.

If there is no body and no evidence of harm, it could be someone else has given your cat a home, so don't freak out with worry. I see other subject lines -- hawks RARELY take cats. Mockers and jays do HARASS cats but I can't picture them killing them and taking them apart to the point where you wouldn't find it again -- can't happen.

The only worry would be Great Horned Owls...even then, you would find pellets. And GHOs prefer skunks.

Keeping my fingers crossed....


did someone say GHO? nooooooo

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

20. Thanks. Predators are a far-fetched idea for sure

We will keep the postering campaign going. Everyone says that has the greatest chances of success.

[Piperay]

21. Yes, there is hope.

My boyfriend's cat was missing longer than that and the cat showed up. We never figured out where he was but thought maybe he was locked in someone's garage. The cat's leg was badly injured (we thought maybe it had caught in a garage door or he hurt it escaping) and required some expensive vet care but we were both just so happy to have the cat back that we literally cried tears of joy. DON'T GIVE UP until you get the cat back or you have definite proof of death.

Long ago I had a cat that disappeared for a year and one day the cat just reappeared well fed and healthy. I figured that he was living at someone else's home in the neighborhood, perhaps he was kept indoors and couldn't return home. You bet that after he came back I NEVER let him roam again and kept him indoors from then on (he died from kidney failure in the fall of 1999).

Best of luck, I hope you find her!

[cmd]

22. Open up every door on everything.

I lost a cat in a car that had not been driven for several days. Fortunately, it was fine. Another cat left for almost two months. He moved into a neighbor's crawl space. I don't know why.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. This might sound obvious, but

don't forget to read the found ads in your local papers.

We once found a kitty and ran an ad that was overlooked for quite awhile by the owner. She got her kitty back on Thanksgiving! :-)

[WWW]

24. Get another cat!

You know how the system works. Couple can't have a child, so they adopt. Nine months later, they have their own child. Same with cats. We lost a cat during the summer once, huge long story, but she came back in the late fall...Having had a wonderful summer vacation.!!!!

[Rhiannon12866]

25. Kick for the poor lost kitty!

:kick: ;(

[rppper]

26. i have kittens to give away.....

....in case of the worst...best of luck in finding her...

[Rhiannon12866]

29. Never give away an animal.

Always charge something and have the recipient sign a contract agreeing to give good care. If you don't place a value on these little lives, then neither will those who take them. Plus, you will attract people who would regard them as disposable. It is a tough world for kitties. Just ask my rescued cat. She is in a great mood, tonight, just having recuperated from major dental surgery. She had been abandoned and by the time I found her, her teeth were so painful that she still jumped when the vet touched one of her teeth even though she had general anesthesia. BTW, she is 13.:-(

[Zuni]

28. I hope your kitty will be ok

I love cats and I have a little scamp of my own. She is my lil buddy, and I would be very upset if she disappeared.
I hope your cat comes home safe.

[Rhiannon12866]

30. I do, as well. She reminds me of the first cat I loved

His name was Skippy and he belonged to my grandmother. Kick! for the kitty!
:loveya:

[noiretextatique]

31. tinoire's cat showed up after two weeks (i think)

so there is still hope. he was fine, btw. best wishes to you.