my advice would be to let all of the neighobrs in the immediate area know that she's missing. there are a lot of cats that roam in our neighborhood, but we (and the neighbors) always notice when there's a new one that's joined in. usually the cats have a fairly small territory that they wander in, but she might have gotten a little disoriented and camped out in one of your neighbors yards.
also check under the porch and decking if you can. she might not be responding because she's too scared to move and/or can't figure out how to get out.
Brad and Nick are out knocking on doors with fliers right now. I'm not sure if Brad will have to go to work today, but Nick is off on Mondays, so there will be someone at the house. I might work from home tomorrow if she doesn't come back and, it goes without saying, no dogs in the back yard without people!
I'm fairly certain she is no longer in the yard. Huck and Cooper are both super protective of their back yard space, and if there were a kitty -- even their very own Kitty -- hiding in the yard, they would find her. And Cooper was pretty amazing with his sniffing and pointing this morning. He seemed to know that we needed him to perform a service, and he was all nose to the ground and pointing for quite a while. (Poor Huck, meanwhile, got immediately distracted by the wet cat food, and even though he knew he was supposed to be looking for something, he couldn't focus on what.)
it always scares me when one of ours gets out *hugs and safe kitty vibes*
it sounds like you've made a good start with flyers, and shelters. when we were in town we called twice a day to all the shelters and went to all the neighbors with a picture and our phone number and asked them to call if they saw the missing cat.
and calling a lot, and shaking food (if she's used to crunchy food that makes a noise. calling and shaking are especially good during times the neighborhood is quiet, like late at night, since she might be plenty spooked by traffic and strangers.
Thanks for the vibes, honey. I figured, actually, that if anyone knew how to find a lost kitty it would be YOU. :)
I automatically defaulted to luring her with her wet food, but she does know the sound of her dry food being shaken around in its tupperware container. I'll try that later tonight!
you're welcoem! yes, i have had several adventurers. jack *loves* to sneak out -- and he was feral and knows to stay away from the road, but i (and paul) still get sick with worry when he does it.
i thought of another thing; if she gets any sorts of treat that makes a noise (like hard ones in a bottle), shaking th bottle outside when it's quiet can sometimes lure out even a scaredy cat.
and do check under the house/deck/stage a couple times a day, last thing at night, and first thing in the morning (before the dogs go out), in case she comes home during the night. leaving a little of her food out right outside the door she probably got out of overnight might be good, too, and maybe something she's used to sleeping on that won't be ruined if it's outside overnight.
I'm really sorry to hear about your kitty. I have had one traumatic lost cat experience, with a black kitty who never turned back up (and oh my gosh, the number of black cats in shelters...). My hope was that he walked up to someone all friendly-like and got adopted, because he sure was outgoing. But it felt just awful.
The live trap sounds like a really smart idea, though you should have a plan for what to do if your trap catches other kitties. (Release them? Take them to a shelter?) Flyers are smart too.
My cats would have a positive genius for escaping, and then turn right back up again, because outside is icky.
One time my grey cat got out, and spent a few hours whining piteously in the rain under a bush next to the garage door he'd escaped from... nevermind the porch-covered front door only a few yards away. That wasn't the *right* door, after all.
Thanks, honey. We have papered the neighborhood, and Brad spent all day knocking on doors. We're offering a reward, so hopefully people will have an incentive to snag her if they see her!
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also check under the porch and decking if you can. she might not be responding because she's too scared to move and/or can't figure out how to get out.
i hope you find her soon.
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I'm fairly certain she is no longer in the yard. Huck and Cooper are both super protective of their back yard space, and if there were a kitty -- even their very own Kitty -- hiding in the yard, they would find her. And Cooper was pretty amazing with his sniffing and pointing this morning. He seemed to know that we needed him to perform a service, and he was all nose to the ground and pointing for quite a while. (Poor Huck, meanwhile, got immediately distracted by the wet cat food, and even though he knew he was supposed to be looking for something, he couldn't focus on what.)
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it sounds like you've made a good start with flyers, and shelters. when we were in town we called twice a day to all the shelters and went to all the neighbors with a picture and our phone number and asked them to call if they saw the missing cat.
and calling a lot, and shaking food (if she's used to crunchy food that makes a noise. calling and shaking are especially good during times the neighborhood is quiet, like late at night, since she might be plenty spooked by traffic and strangers.
Reply
I automatically defaulted to luring her with her wet food, but she does know the sound of her dry food being shaken around in its tupperware container. I'll try that later tonight!
Reply
i thought of another thing; if she gets any sorts of treat that makes a noise (like hard ones in a bottle), shaking th bottle outside when it's quiet can sometimes lure out even a scaredy cat.
and do check under the house/deck/stage a couple times a day, last thing at night, and first thing in the morning (before the dogs go out), in case she comes home during the night. leaving a little of her food out right outside the door she probably got out of overnight might be good, too, and maybe something she's used to sleeping on that won't be ruined if it's outside overnight.
Reply
I'm really sorry to hear about your kitty. I have had one traumatic lost cat experience, with a black kitty who never turned back up (and oh my gosh, the number of black cats in shelters...). My hope was that he walked up to someone all friendly-like and got adopted, because he sure was outgoing. But it felt just awful.
The live trap sounds like a really smart idea, though you should have a plan for what to do if your trap catches other kitties. (Release them? Take them to a shelter?) Flyers are smart too.
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One time my grey cat got out, and spent a few hours whining piteously in the rain under a bush next to the garage door he'd escaped from... nevermind the porch-covered front door only a few yards away. That wasn't the *right* door, after all.
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I'm so sorry - I hope she turns up quickly! I agree with the fliers around the neighborhood, too.
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