Lost Cat

May 15, 2006 12:21 AM

How do I find a lost house cat that made a break for it?

A friend's cat has gone missing. It's been about a week now, and here are the details--

She has five cats, all of them house kitties who never go outside. They are all female, and the lost one is fairly old--about ten years. She's fairly spry though, and made it out a window that was believed to be screened, but the screen was open enough for her to get out.

Things we've done-- Talked to neighbors and put up flyers with a reward offered (residential suburbs, fairly quiet, but deer and some foxes are not uncommon). Wet and dry food placed in sheltered locations in front and back of the house, changed every day. Gone out at night with flashlights to try and "spotlight" her eyes. Set up a store-bought kitty trap (entirely safe, spring mechanism) with wet food left in the back for bait. Local humane society message board has been posted on.

Details-- Three nights ago, I'm 90% certain I saw her come into the trap, but it closed while her rump was still outisde of it, and she sauntered off seeming to be fairly unphased. I signaled my friend to come outside (around midnight) and try to get her, since the cat doesn't know me very well. The cat went off again, and we haven't seen her since. She or some other critter seems to be eating the wet food out back once about every two days, but not the food in front (visibility is much better there).

Huge fear-- That she'll never come back, of course. My sense is that she's totally freaked, and doesn't understand that she's welcome back here. It's been raining a bit, but the temperature itself has been mild so we're not worried about exposure, as much as her getting run over or picking a fight with a bigger animal.

Any ideas on how to procede?

posted by bardic to Pets & Animals (14 answers total)

When my cats escape, I find just sitting outside in the dark always gets them back.
You don't need to be calling out a name or anything, just sit around and watch for satellites or something.

Chances are, if it's not trapped somewhere or been "saved" by a well-meaning individual, that it's skulking around close to home.

Important tip - If you do spot it, don't jump up and spook it.
Just speak to it like you normally would, and odds are it'll saunter over on it's own. At which point, you gotta either
A) coax it into your hands or B) make a grab when it sniffs your hands.
Which one you pick depends on the particular cat and how quick the owner is.

You might need to do this a couple of nights, but it's never failed for me.

Another tactic that's never worked for me, but has for friends, is to leave a door/window ajar with food on the other side.
A friend has done this several times and just woken up with the cat sleeping on the bed as if nothing happened. YMMV.
posted by madajb at 12:49 AM on May 15, 2006

Cats seem to be pretty good at remembering where home is. She's not exactly young at ten, but I don't think age is much of a worry (one of mine is still quick enough to catch regular sparrows, at age 18.)

madajb has it basically right; unless the cat has absolutely zero experience with the outside world, she just thinks she's out for a couple days of vacation (and might think that anyway.) The best thing to do is try and alert nearby "rescuers," and not change the exterior of the house or the surrounding area too much.

It sounds like you've continued regular feeding times, just moved the food outside. That being the case, you might try skipping a meal, and see if you don't soon have a cat at your door whining about the lack of breakfast.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 1:55 AM on May 15, 2006

I recovered my cat after she was lost for a month through Sherlock Bones. Seriously. He sends postcards to everyone within a certain radius of your house. It's somewhat expensive- you'll have to decide whether it's worth it. Don't put an ad in the paper, as the only responses you'll get will likely be con artists.
posted by jay.jansheski at 3:05 AM on May 15, 2006

Once a cat of mine went out and failed to return as expected. I went out looking. I found the silly beast on the far side of the next building. She was quite irate, as 'her stairs' were missing on that building. The poor thing apparently was visually confused because the buildings looked the same. She leaped into my arms and I headed for home. The moment she saw her building, she jumped back down and ran for our door! In latter experience, I learned she was not too good at spatial relationships.

So, consider that she might be lurking on the wrong block, confused as to what happened to her house. (yea, I know you think you saw her, but all possibilities should be considered).
posted by Goofyy at 3:39 AM on May 15, 2006

Have the owners made sure they've called ALL of the local shelters? In addition to the humane society, there could be other rescue leagues. Our police have a pound. They don't keep the animals very long, either. And they say you must go LOOK at the animals there, since descriptions aren't always the same (we once posted for a found calico cat - my idea of a calico & everyone else's were totally different). Go every two days.

I've heard that putting the cat's litter box outside might help (although, with multiple cats in one house, that could be difficult).

They say a cat is usually found within 6 houses to either side of home. However, when I was small, we once had a cat hit on the road about 10 miles away, so that doesn't always apply.

If the cat has really been coming to the food dish, it has a place where it's holing up. It's up under a porch or in an open garage. It's not just roaming the whole time. I'm trying to catch a stray here who was obviously someone's pet once - and she sleeps under the patio chair covers.
posted by clarkstonian at 5:46 AM on May 15, 2006

When my dad's cats got out, he slept on the floor in a sleeping bag next to the screen door to the back yard, leaving it ajar a bit. I guess the idea was that the cat may smell him and know its home? One of the cats just wandered in the opening one night. The other one was more wild, and never came back, but we've seen him a few times.
posted by gilsonal at 6:44 AM on May 15, 2006

If it turns out not to be the missing cat raiding the food, ask to check nearby outbuildings (as clarkstonian mentions, only a few houses away). Our cat was locked for weeks in a garage, even though we spoke to the neighbours. (She was okay.) I've heard the same story from others too.
posted by Yogurt at 9:07 AM on May 15, 2006

My cat is quite fearful of people and other cats. So if he's lost I'll search for him early in the morning when it's quiet.
posted by jouke at 9:43 AM on May 15, 2006

The sitting outside with the bowl of food might be a good idea. Make it later than the normal feeding. I have found when my cats are outside it is best not to look them in the eyes when I try to pick them up. (That is a sign of cat aggression/dominance.) I usually have the best luck if I am looking like I am examining the plants or grass and kind of sneak up on them. Once the cat is back home, make sure that the cat gets a collar with phone number and address, in case she decides to make this a regular thing.

wife of 445supermag
posted by 445supermag at 9:56 AM on May 15, 2006

once had a cat that was actually 'stolen.' we were in northern virginia, cat was taken to maryland. we got her back because we put ads in local papers as far away as maryland, with a large reward advertised, and a neighbor over there told us about a couple with a new cat that fit her description. the couple wanted the reward more than the cat, and handed her over. it's also a good idea to contact vet offices all over the area, get a flyer with picture up at all of them.

if you think the kitty is actually lingering in the area, confused, i have to second the person who said the owner should sit outside long enough to attract that cat. maybe she could talk on her cellphone, calmly and quietly. her voice would attract her scared kitty, if she was nearby.

admittedly, all my family's cats have been indoor/outdoor variety, but we've never had a cat that was hanging around the area but wouldn't come home (although one or two liked to stay out all night). do you think it's possible that the cat is actually having a blast and wants to be an outdoor cat now?
posted by overanxious ducksqueezer at 10:06 AM on May 15, 2006

I don't leave food out when my cat escapes. She'd just eat it and stay out longer.

Second what wife of 445supermag said. If I have to catch the cat, I don't look her in the eyes when I walk up to her.
posted by stavrogin at 10:11 AM on May 15, 2006

Keep talking to the neighbors - try to talk to the kids (with parents' permission first, natch). Kids notice animals. Also, try to talk with different people in the household than you talked to before. You may even consider actually visiting every house in the neighborhood rather than putting up signs.

Keep calling the humane society or pound. In my area, they won't even take an animal until it has been a "stray" for at least three days. So if kitty is going to turn up there, it might not be for a while.

You've probably already made sure, but are you absolutely positive that the cat doesn't have access in and out of the house, or is actually just holed up somewhere inside and refusing to come out? A week is a long time for a cat to sulk, so it's doubtful, but I've had a cat go missing for several days, and it turned out she had been in the basement the whole time...
posted by SuperSquirrel at 11:27 AM on May 15, 2006

Question - does the cat have a collar with a tag on it? If not, you could have the problem I had. I had a tag for my cat but he would sometimes slip his collar off, and of course escaped during one of those periods.

Anyway, "well-meaning" neighbors sometimes decide to start feeding and housing your "obviously stray," well-fed, healthy, friendly-looking cat without bothering to turn it into animal control, post signs, etc. This infuriates me and is another topic entirely.

The suggestions here have been good so far. Adding a reward obviously appeals to the greedy nature of some people (see above example). In addition to posting signs, I'd actually try going door-to-door. Some people just ignore signs for whatever reason.
posted by empyrean at 12:15 PM on May 15, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for all the great responses.

The cat does not have a collar on, and we're positive she got outside (our first instinct was to turn over the house looking for her, even checking the duct work).

My sense is that she's very confused, but it's frustrating that she doesn't understand we want her back.

Will keep people posted, thanks again.
posted by bardic at 12:44 PM on May 15, 2006