- Joined
- Aug 27, 2014
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- Purraise
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Hi -
When we bought our house, on the day of our purchase we thought we saw a cat in the window. We found out that the previous owner could not find one of her cats on move day, and assumed it had run away; the cat was the super shy cat that often hid away. We looked through the empty house, the owner's daughter who was still in the area brought over a cage and food which we left out over night ... and we could find neither hide nor hair of the cat, which is good as we have cat allergies in the family - so we assume the cat did run away, and we probably saw a neighborhood cat perched on the outside ledge (which was highly possible).
We had carpet redone, walls painted, we had ducts cleaned, all to remove any cat residue. We moved in.
We wonder if we should have done more, as there is still a slight lingering cat pee odor, and our allergies are acting up - but figure with time and open windows things will clear up, and it's not too bad, except in the basement (where the cat litter and food were before).
Almost three weeks to the day we moved in, the cat is seen in the unfinished part of the basement - and quickly jumps up into the rafters, behind all the duct work and into an area which is nigh on impossible for us to get into (above the ceiling of the finished part of the basement). We have no idea how this cat has survived with no food or water for so long!
So now have a super frightened cat, who is starving, who is super shy, and no idea how to get her to come out, how to trap her, or what to do with her once she's found - and we know that we have cat pee and dander all through a part of our house that is going to be virtually impossible to clean up. The previous owner is hundreds of miles away, and we have no way to reach her or her daughter, so if we do catch the cat, we can't return her to her previous owner. While I am stressed about the cat and feel awful it's been hiding so long and is probably super stressed out and really hungry, I am also stressed that we have this huge mess that we never ever should have had because of the negligence of the previous owner.
So cat behavior people
a) how do we lure a super shy cat out? At this point we're hoping food may work
b) how do we catch her? Is there a humane trap I can get?
c) who do we give her to? We're in Chicago if that helps...
d) how do we clean up the mess it made living in the ceiling of the partially finished basement? Will time get the smell out?
I'm all for hiring an expert if there is one, just to make sure the cat is found and taken care of
Thanks in advance for any guidance and suggestions!
- New Home Owner
When we bought our house, on the day of our purchase we thought we saw a cat in the window. We found out that the previous owner could not find one of her cats on move day, and assumed it had run away; the cat was the super shy cat that often hid away. We looked through the empty house, the owner's daughter who was still in the area brought over a cage and food which we left out over night ... and we could find neither hide nor hair of the cat, which is good as we have cat allergies in the family - so we assume the cat did run away, and we probably saw a neighborhood cat perched on the outside ledge (which was highly possible).
We had carpet redone, walls painted, we had ducts cleaned, all to remove any cat residue. We moved in.
We wonder if we should have done more, as there is still a slight lingering cat pee odor, and our allergies are acting up - but figure with time and open windows things will clear up, and it's not too bad, except in the basement (where the cat litter and food were before).
Almost three weeks to the day we moved in, the cat is seen in the unfinished part of the basement - and quickly jumps up into the rafters, behind all the duct work and into an area which is nigh on impossible for us to get into (above the ceiling of the finished part of the basement). We have no idea how this cat has survived with no food or water for so long!
So now have a super frightened cat, who is starving, who is super shy, and no idea how to get her to come out, how to trap her, or what to do with her once she's found - and we know that we have cat pee and dander all through a part of our house that is going to be virtually impossible to clean up. The previous owner is hundreds of miles away, and we have no way to reach her or her daughter, so if we do catch the cat, we can't return her to her previous owner. While I am stressed about the cat and feel awful it's been hiding so long and is probably super stressed out and really hungry, I am also stressed that we have this huge mess that we never ever should have had because of the negligence of the previous owner.
So cat behavior people
a) how do we lure a super shy cat out? At this point we're hoping food may work
b) how do we catch her? Is there a humane trap I can get?
c) who do we give her to? We're in Chicago if that helps...
d) how do we clean up the mess it made living in the ceiling of the partially finished basement? Will time get the smell out?
I'm all for hiring an expert if there is one, just to make sure the cat is found and taken care of
Thanks in advance for any guidance and suggestions!
- New Home Owner