Cat got out. :( [But now he's back! :D]

Michael H

We have several pets, three cats and a dog. Our three cats are house cats, definitely not the indoor/outdoor variety.

I came downstairs this morning to find the back door open; either it never got full shut or the cats saw a bug and jumped up, hitting the latch. (Not unprecedented.)

Two of our cats were out on the back porch, and came bolting back in the house when I came out. The third, Becker, is nowhere to be found.

Everyone says he'll come back, and I'm sure he will as he's not one to miss a meal and is quite vocal when it comes time to eat. Still, I get worried that he'll get lost, or have an accident with a car, or just not know what to do. He's got to be one of the nicest, friendliest, most awesome cats ever.

matt has a problem

If he has a favorite food or treat, put it outside. If he has a favorite toy that makes noise, shake it, call his name etc.

The Crowing One

Hopefully the cat has been fixed.

The worthwhile piece of advise I can give is to take litter from the box and put small piles around the edges of the property, etc. as sometimes cats can get lost. This gives them a scent-trail to pick up on that immediately says "home!"

Calling the cat's name outside every 20 or so minutes can help, as well.

Our indoor cat has gotten out a few times, and each time she has some fun around the neighborhood and then comes home. But it can be horribly frightening for those 12-24 hours. When she starts to get hungry, she'll do her best to get back to her pack where she'll be fed. Well, unless she does an awesome takedown on some unfortunate bird or mouse.

Michael H

Good advice. We have some food out; I never thought about putting out litter. He is fixed, so that's a good thing.

The Crowing One

Michael H wrote: »

Good advice. We have some food out; I never thought about putting out litter. He is fixed, so that's a good thing.

Yeah, when my kitty used to get out it was pre-Spay, so it was usually to have a romantic dinner with some of the neighborhood cats. We discovered she was a slut when we walked "in" on her sprawled on her back whispering sweet nothings to a big coon that stalks around here.

OnTheLastCastle

Get your cats microchipped. Call the animal shelter and put them on alert for the animal. They should have your info on file and would scan any animal that came in. You pop up and they call. Done and done.

Not microchipped? Still call and let them know what to expect.

Michael H

Yeah, they're all chipped so at least we know they'll call us if someone turns him in.

Caramel Genocide

Along the same sort of lines as the litter trick: whenever one of my cats has gone walkabout, I put a tshirt or towel that smells like me outside near the "hey here's food, come home" dish.

Saddler

What kind of a neighborhood do you live in? The suburbs? If you have neighbor houses, you need to speak with your neighbors going three houses in all directions. Don't leave a note; actually knock on doors and tell people about your kitty. This is one of the most important steps. Ask if they have seen anything, and leave them a flyer with your contact info, and a description of your cat. If they are not home, keep coming back until you get someone.

Cats usually go in one direction in a straight line. Try following a path straight out the door, or in whichever direction you think makes the most sense. When you are out looking for your cat, don't look for a whole cat. Look for a piece of fur, because that is all you are likely to see if your cat is tucked away in a hiding place. You should look as if you are looking for something the size of a diamond ring. Look about 3 houses in all directions, starting with the one that you think is the most likely direction your cat took. Be painstakingly thorough. You might be able to find your cat in the day, but if not, try after dark as well as day. Some cats are easier to find when it gets dark, they might be less scared, and the neighborhood may have quieted down. Get a jumbo torch/flashlight, the kind that takes one of those huge batteries.

For posting signs around the neighborhood, there are two types that you need. One is the standard sheet of paper with the cat's picture, name, description, and your contact info. The other is a neon posterboard. This should be placed at the cross streets in your neighborhood, and should be big enough to be seen from cars.

Shelters: you need to keep a constant eye on all the animal shelters in your area. Some shelters only keep a cat for a short time before extermination, so you need to be on point, and actually physically visit the shelters. Don't just call, since your description might not match whatever is in the minds of the people who run the shelters. Some shelters have online listings, but I wouldn't rely on the info found there in an emergency. I think they will check your chip, so you should be okay if your cat is picked up by animal control.

The good news is that your cat is probably not far, just hiding somewhere. Good luck.

Grid System

Caramel Genocide wrote: »

Along the same sort of lines as the litter trick: whenever one of my cats has gone walkabout, I put a tshirt or towel that smells like me outside near the "hey here's food, come home" dish.

I was going to give this advice, but with socks instead of a towel or shirt.

The Crowing One

Saddler wrote: »

What kind of a neighborhood do you live in? The suburbs? If you have neighbor houses, you need to speak with your neighbors going three houses in all directions. Don't leave a note; actually knock on doors and tell people about your kitty. This is one of the most important steps. Ask if they have seen anything, and leave them a flyer with your contact info, and a description of your cat. If they are not home, keep coming back until you get someone.

Cats usually go in one direction in a straight line. Try following a path straight out the door, or in whichever direction you think makes the most sense. When you are out looking for your cat, don't look for a whole cat. Look for a piece of fur, because that is all you are likely to see if your cat is tucked away in a hiding place. You should be look as if you are looking for something the size of a diamond ring. Look about 3 houses in all directions, starting with the one that you think is the most likely direction your cat took. Be painstakingly thorough. You might be able to find your cat in the day, but if not, try after dark as well as day. Some cats are easier to find when it gets dark, they might be less scared, and the neighborhood may have quieted down. Get a jumbo torch/flashlight, the kind that takes one of those huge batteries.

For posting signs around the neighborhood, there are two types that you need. One is the standard sheet of paper with the cat's picture, name, description, and your contact info. The other is a neon posterboard. This should be placed at the cross streets in your neighborhood, and should be big enough to be seen from cars.

Shelters: you need to keep a constant eye on all the animal shelters in your area. Some shelters only keep a cat for a short time before extermination, so you need to be on point, and actually physically visit the shelters. Don't just call, since your description might not match whatever is in the minds of the people who run the shelters. Some shelters have online listings, but I wouldn't rely on the info found there in an emergency.

The good news is that your cat is probably not far, just hiding somewhere. Good luck.

This is superb advise!

Remember that the cat will want to come home to the pack, security, food etc. just as much as you want her home. Sometimes they just get distracted by tasty flying things and new, dark spaces.

Check under/in any buildings or nooks around your home. Cats generally don't go far!

LoveIsUnity

I'm not sure how tried and true this is, but canned mackerel seems to be crack for kittens. A good friend of mine put out mackerel when one of her cats ran away, and it came back to eat the mackerel she left on her doorstep. I did the same thing when a cat got lost in my apartment complex, and I got my cat back that night. This is obviously anecdotal, but it's worth a shot.

The Crowing One

LoveIsUnity wrote: »

I'm not sure how tried and true this is, but canned mackerel seems to be crack for kittens. A good friend of mine put out mackerel when one of her cats ran away, and it came back to eat the mackerel she left on her doorstep. I did the same thing when a cat got lost in my apartment complex, and I got my cat back that night. This is obviously anecdotal, but it's worth a shot.

Or you could have all of the neighborhood cats itching for more "product".

I kid... don't start to worry until 48 hours, most likely she'll come home in the first 24-36. Anything that makes your place more attractive to her fickle cat brain is better.

Unknown

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Djiem

We once had a house cat that went missing for a full three days before he came back home on his own. He was a bit dirty, but otherwise completely fine.

So do take measures to try and find it, but do not despair.

MetroidZoid

Something I want to throw in from personal experience; not knowing how big your house is, but turn it upside-down to make sure he / she's not in the house.

I say this only because I spent hours walking up and down our street one night, calling for Gus, and gave up, hoping he'd show up sometime by morning. It wasn't until I opened my dresser drawers to change my underwear that I found him; he coincidentally pulled open the dresser drawers, crawled in, the door shut on him, and he slept. And he sleeps so soundly that he won't answer until you literally shake him awake.

So check closets, pantries, bathrooms, all that stuff. Also don't give up hope; cats are smart. Cats know what they want and this cat more than likely just wants to be home with you.

cabsy

mcdermott wrote: »

Great advice so far, so I'll just say don't lose hope. Our cats have gone almost 24 hours before, still came back fine. But yeah, it's always scary.

The craziest ever was a cat that we got back after three months. He got out, disappeared, and we had actually given him up for dead (which was incredibly hard for us, we'd had him for like seven years). Then, out of the blue, I get a knock at the door...and there's some person I've never met before holding my cat, asking if we were missing somebody. Apparently these people lived about five miles away, through forests and farms (this was a pretty rural area), and had "heard through the grapevine" (apparently through a friend of a friend of a friend of our neighbor) that somebody up our way was missing a black cat with a noticeable tilt of his neck (from a medical condition).

So they tracked us down and brought him back. Skinny as hell, looking a little worse for wear, but he was fat and happy again in no time flat.

The moral of the story: spread the word! And any include any distinguishing characteristics you can think of with that word...this can be the difference between "oh, another damn cat in my yard, I'll shoo it off" and "oh, hey, I think I heard about this little guy."

We had a house cat find her way home after 30 days, even though she'd only been at our house for a day (bolted the night we got her from the shelter). Cats are pretty resilient but do keep an eye out, of course.

chaosisorder

The Crowing One wrote: »

The worthwhile piece of advise I can give is to take litter from the box and put small piles around the edges of the property, etc. as sometimes cats can get lost. This gives them a scent-trail to pick up on that immediately says "home!"

Except cats mark the edge of their territory and don't like to cross boundaries so you risk confusing him into thinking he's on the wrong side of his barrier. Although an indoor cat is already pretty weird about scent barriers.

Food, toys, check the shelters with the microchip number and make sure your contact info on the chip site or vet is up to date. And posters and calling around.

Kitty will most likely realize he misses home when his tummy rumbles.

Tigress

Here's a weird one:

If you have a lot of strays in your area (or live in a neighborhood of cat lovers), keep an ear out for cat fights. A few years ago, mine got out. While we found one wedged under the porch steps, the other went missing for a month until I heard some cats fighting outside. At Vyolynce's prompting, I went outside to check and saw a flash of calico fur. After stalking her across two yards, I realized it was our missing cat, got her to calm down enough to pick her up and took her home.

Strays and outdoor cats are very territorial and don't take kindly to "new" cats coming onto their turf, even if the indoor cat has more "right" to be there. So when they try to come home, the other cats may pick a fight with your kitty. So if you hear a lot of yowling and hissing at your window, take a look outside. One of them may be your cat.

Michael H

WHEW... 24 hours later and Becker has returned! Thanks for all the advice. We did the litter and food dishes, we talked to neighbors, we were out at 10:30 last night rattling his food dish... and he was on the back porch this morning at 5:00 AM.

We did a lot of walking around and searching yesterday, who the hell knows where he was hiding or what he was doing. He seems to be healthy enough, though pretty exhausted. I gave him food and he drank more water than I've ever seen him drink in my life, and then he passed out next to his food dish.

I'm so relieved. Becker is a really, really awesome cat. In fact, he's so friendly and trusting that I was worried he would just walk up to the nearest person he saw and let himself get carried off.

In any case, thanks for all the advice! We're glad to have him back.

How could you not love that face?

STATE OF THE ART ROBOT

That 2nd picture. OH MY GOD!

Michael H

Yeah... we've had them both (Nico is the black cat) since they were kittens. They went through this phase of sleeping with each / on each other to the point of hugging. Weirdos.

Also he likes to be in things. (Bass is mine, stuffed animals are wife's. Honest!)

The funny part of all this is that one of my good friends just moved into our spare room yesterday. He grew up on a farm and didn't really understand our fussing. Pft. Farm kids.

The Crowing One

Awww! Good to hear he found the way home!