Did your cat ever get lost in an odd place?

[betsygee]

In another thread, something came up about a cat getting lost and @Lamiatron  mentioned her kitty got stuck in a closet for a day or two.  

My Zoe went missing overnight once.  One evening I realized she hadn't come in yet.  It was already dark.  Hubby and I searched the entire house, all closets, under beds, went outside with flashlights.  Nothing.  I hardly got any sleep that night--she ALWAYS comes in at night and I was so worried.  The next morning she still wasn't back.  Hubby went outside to look and noticed that the turn signal on my car was on.  He looked closer and Zoe was shut in my car!   Poor girl was right in front of the house all night and we didn't know that's where she was.

I had brought home groceries the day before and left the hatch open while I made trips into the house with groceries.  Zoe had obviously hopped up into the back of the car to explore and I didn't notice she was there.  She's black (as is the interior of my car) and she's the kitty who barely meows--she has a little squeak that's not very loud.  So I inadvertently shut her in my car and she spent the night there.  I felt awful.  She was such a good girl, though, I didn't find any pee spots (or worse) in my car!  

Have you ever had a scare like that with a kitty?

(Edit--I misquoted, I saw later from the other post that Lamiatron's cat was only missing about 5 minutes, luckily!)  

 

[andrya]

YES!!

When we lived at our last house we had Tanner and Thai

. Whenever l come home Tanner greets me at the door, every day and always has. There was one day when my son, then a teen, had friends over through the day while l was at work. When l got home there was no greeting at the door. l looked all over the house for Tanner, who hides when the doorbell rings, let alone have people actually come inside 

   Thai was there, but no Tanner to be found anywhere. lt was minus 24 out and much colder with the windchill, but out we went looking for him. We came in to warm up and back out again through the night till around 3am when l finally realized we just weren't going to find him. l went inside and sobbed my eyeballs out!  Reported him missing online at the Humane Society, and went to bed since l started work at 6:30 the same morning. Before l got to sleep l heard this strange loud popping sound coming from the basement. l went down, put on the light, and there was Tanner looking down into the room from an overhead heating duct!! Of course l sobbed again. l had never been so happy to see him, brat that he is.

 

[bbdoll22]

About 22 years ago my kitten Gracie went missing. I lived in a studio apt in a complex so outside my door was many corridors and 3 floors. I searched the apt the hallways the courtyard. No Gracie.
I asked neighbors and left signs on the outside doors. I cried myself to sleep that night as she had been gone since morning.
Around 4 am I heard a faint meowing. I ran the hallways in my pjs looking for her but she wasn't there. I went back in the apt and heard it again. I turns out my stupid ex accidentally shut her in his dresser drawer.
She was hungry and thirsty but fine all around. She didnt even have a potty accident. Such a good girl.
It's been 12 years since she passed and I still miss her.

 

[betsygee]

Our first cat Skittles was missing for two days when we first moved here.  We were moving things into the house and wanted her to get used to it so we brought her here for a 'sleepover'.  We THOUGHT we had sealed all possible exits but obviously hadn't and woke up to discover her missing.  It was awful.  We searched and worried and freaked out for two days.  Then the house was going to be tented for termites and I really panicked, thinking that if she did come back to find us gone and house tented, she might get scared and take off for good.  

We were spending one more night here in the new house before the tenting, hoping she'd come back and thinking that if Skittles didn't reappear by the time we had to leave at 8 a.m. the next morning, we might never see her again.  Then about 3 a.m., we heard a meow and there she was in our room!  We never knew how she got out or where she went for two days.  Crazy.

 

[blackcat416]

Wow I have a lot of these stories:

All that turned out with me feeling stupid and being an over bearing pussy cat owner.

I can remember my first house it had hot air heat, we had air vents throughout the house, one night while eating dinner I could hear my Casper crying thru the air vent in the dining room.  Well I freaked out, I couldn't believe one of my 2 cats got into the vents and was now stuck somewhere through the system.  I went to every vent throughout the house calling his name to narrow down what walls would have to get ripped out in order to get Casper out of the vent system.  Me and my husband couldn't even figure out how he got into the system.  Every vent cover was on, the vents in the basement were all sealed but now its hours and Casper is screaming louder and louder.  So I finally narrow it down to the original vent I first heard him crying, in the dining room, right at my feet, so we figured he had to be in the vent in the basement.  We get all the ladders out and start tapping on the vent to see where we would have to discount the vent to get to Casper.    As we are moving the ladders down the line we get to where the washer and dryer are so we place one ladder next to the washer and the other right next to the dryer.  As I started climbing the ladder Casper lets out a super loud cry mainly because he could see me.  So I look up and on top of the vent is sitting Casper,  wedged in between the vent work and the basement ceiling.  Casper was all black and blended right into the dark stop he was stuck in and right under Casper was an air vent that just circulated his voice to me in the dining room.  So I was about to rip out $1,000 worth of duct work only to find my cat sitting on top of the vent. He obviously jumped up from the washer machine onto the ventilation system, then either got scared or couldn't get comfortable or confident enough to jump back down.  I don't have to tell you Casper never went on the vents again.

I live in Philadelphia where most houses have at least 2 doors for every entrance or yard.  A screen door and the main wooden door.  Our living rooms usually have a vestibule which usually also has a door, so to get out of the house by the front door, well its not impossible but pretty tough.  So cats getting out isn't likely.  Most of my scares are because I can't find the hiding place in this house where my cats disappear too.  Since I have 7 cats I like to get a head count all the time, especially at breakfast, lunch and dinner times.  I like to know their hiding places, and the more I find them, the more they keep finding new ones.

The latest hiding place my Ryan likes to get into sent me into a frenzy one weekend until I found him.  It was dinner time and Ryan being the Alpha male everyone is waiting for him to come into the kitchen to eat, but there is no sign of Ryan.  I go to all his usual hiding places, plus a couple of new ones. But no Ryan. Finally, after about an hour I fed all of the other cats.  Still no Ryan.  Well by the time my hubby gets home, 4 additional hours has now past.  So I tell Jim he has got to help me fine Ryan and I know Ryan will come out if Jim calls him.  So we stand in the middle of the living room so we can see what direction Ryan comes from, basement or upstairs, and Jim calls Ryan once. And all of a sudden from behind the sofa pad that drapes across the leather sofa walks out a sleepy eyed Ryan.  Ryan squeezed his big body behind the sofa drape that has 3 cat beds on it and slept in the wedge of the leather sofa. He never moved any of the cat beds nor was the arm cover on the sofa draped moved.  But has usually found yet another ultra secret hiding place IN THE HOUSE.

;

 

[sivyaleah]

Three times, Cocoa had us completely stumped since we got her, only a little over a year ago.  Both times, it took so many hours for her to be found or reappear that we had ourselves convinced she had escaped the house somehow.  

The first time, we think was because her and Casper might have had a small squabble, she was still fairly new to our home then.  We eventually found her wedged behind one of our radiators, like a little furry ball.  My BF had to lift the radiator cover off in order for us to reach her.  Found out, she had urinated on herself and, there was also poop stuck to her.  Poor thing.  Had to wind up giving her a bath because of it. 

Second time, we had some workers in the house.  Afterwards, she disappeared.  My BF was home at the time and called me at work completely distraught since he'd been looking for her for hours.  I actually left work early to come home and help find her (was VERY angry though).  Got home, no Cocoa.  We began to panic.  To cut to the chase, he went to sit outside, out of desperation to find her and knowing how angry I was also.   it was just getting dark.  I was sitting in the living room, crying yet again about this, when I decided to look in back of the couch just one more time.  A sliver of setting sun caught her eye!  I couldn't believe it.  Called him back in and he thought I was joking when I said she was behind the couch.  We think, the reason why he couldn't find her was probably she kept moving all over the place as he was searching for her. 

Last was a few months back.  Suddenly realized we hadn't seen her in hours which was very unusual.  My BF remembered being in the attic and thought she may have gone up there (she's sneaky and dark colored so it was possible for her to slip by him on the stairs going up there).  He went up and searched to no avail.  More hours went by.  We even put a bowl of food on the attic steps knowing she is very food motivated.  Not touched.  Now again, it's like 7 hours without her in sight and we go through all the necessary steps needed if she indeed did get out (he already had been walking the general area around the house outside and the neighbors as well).  Suddenly, I see our other cat Casper look up the stairs and perk up his ears.  She comes running down, to the kitchen looking for dinner.  I nearly fainted.  She was covered in cob webs and other attic stuff.  Found my BF, told him I just saw her and he again didn't believe me.

That cat, will be the death of us lol.  

 

[betsygee]

 
 But has usually found yet another ultra secret hiding place IN THE HOUSE.

;

It's incredible how many of those ultra secret hiding places they can come up with, isn't it?!  

 

[betsygee]

 
Three times, Cocoa had us completely stumped since we got her, only a little over a year ago.  Both times, it took so many hours for her to be found or reappear that we had ourselves convinced she had escaped the house somehow.  

The first time, we think was because her and Casper might have had a small squabble, she was still fairly new to our home then.  We eventually found her wedged behind one of our radiators, like a little furry ball.  My BF had to lift the radiator cover off in order for us to reach her.  Found out, she had urinated on herself and, there was also poop stuck to her.  Poor thing.  Had to wind up giving her a bath because of it. 

Second time, we had some workers in the house.  Afterwards, she disappeared.  My BF was home at the time and called me at work completely distraught since he'd been looking for her for hours.  I actually left work early to come home and help find her (was VERY angry though).  Got home, no Cocoa.  We began to panic.  To cut to the chase, he went to sit outside, out of desperation to find her and knowing how angry I was also.   it was just getting dark.  I was sitting in the living room, crying yet again about this, when I decided to look in back of the couch just one more time.  A sliver of setting sun caught her eye!  I couldn't believe it.  Called him back in and he thought I was joking when I said she was behind the couch.  We think, the reason why he couldn't find her was probably she kept moving all over the place as he was searching for her. 

Last was a few months back.  Suddenly realized we hadn't seen her in hours which was very unusual.  My BF remembered being in the attic and thought she may have gone up there (she's sneaky and dark colored so it was possible for her to slip by him on the stairs going up there).  He went up and searched to no avail.  More hours went by.  We even put a bowl of food on the attic steps knowing she is very food motivated.  Not touched.  Now again, it's like 7 hours without her in sight and we go through all the necessary steps needed if she indeed did get out (he already had been walking the general area around the house outside and the neighbors as well).  Suddenly, I see our other cat Casper look up the stairs and perk up his ears.  She comes running down, to the kitchen looking for dinner.  I nearly fainted.  She was covered in cob webs and other attic stuff.  Found my BF, told him I just saw her and he again didn't believe me.

That cat, will be the death of us lol.  

Three times in one year!  That's a tricky little kitty.  

 

[sivyaleah]

 
Three times in one year!  That's a tricky little kitty.  

I know!  Casper has never once done a disappearing act since we've had him (3 years or so).

I think it's because she was a rescue, and is used to hiding out when need be.  Casper was raised since he was a kitten by a friend, and is highly socialized.  He's very laid back, nothing much fazes him but at the beginning, she was a bundle of nerves.  Not anymore but she is far younger and still much more curious than he is.

 

[jcat]

Jamie was a great one for getting "lost" in the house. The first full day we had him he vanished into thin air. After about an hour of our tearing the house apart, he emerged from behind the radiator in the living room, very pleased with himself. I stuffed towels behind all the radiators till he got too big to fit behind them.

Another time I couldn't find him, he'd squeezed into the duvet cover by popping some buttons. I'd looked under the duvet, but it wasn't until I decided to pick the whole thing up that I felt his weight and found him in there. His "greatest adventure" was when he found a loose floor board in the attic and climbed into the ceiling to the second floor. We could hear him running around in there, but he wouldn't come out till he'd had his fill of exploring.

My nephew's cat got into the heating vents at my parents' house and spent hours running around in there. :lol3: She finally came out for breakfast.

 

[natalie_ca]

I live in a 2 bedroom apartment and Abby gets lost all of the time. 

She has this rolled up pair of socks that she adopted when she was 4 months old. She's 16 now. She doesn't play with them, and she doesn't cuddle with them.  She uses them to announce herself.

If we are in the living room having a snug, she will leave and go into the bedroom to get the socks and cry and cry while roaming around looking for me. I have to call her repeatedly so she can find me.  The same thing when we are in the bedroom snugging at night. She will go into the living room and get the socks and roam around crying loudly while trying to find me.

I have no idea what that's about at all, because she never brings the socks right up to me; she drops them as soon as she sees me, and then runs over to where I am, or jumps up onto the bed, leaving the socks behind across the room.

 

[happybird]

Frannie didn't really get lost, but one time when I took her to the vet (I was younger and stupid, and didn't have her in a carrier), she squeezed herself under the seat of the truck. It was a bench seat and the clearance couldn't have been more than 2 inches tall. I still cannot believe she fit under there!

I had gone inside alone to sign in and when I came back, I could not find her. Needless to say, I was freaking out because I thought she had gotten loose somehow. It took two hours to coax her out of hiding. The space was so tiny, I couldn't even reach under the seat to pull her out. Lesson learned. The vet probably thought I was a total moron, lol! At least they honored the appointment when she finally decided to show herself

 

[betsygee]

Frannie didn't really get lost, but one time when I took her to the vet (I was younger and stupid, and didn't have her in a carrier), she squeezed herself under the seat of the truck. It was a bench seat and the clearance couldn't have been more than 2 inches tall. I still cannot believe she fit under there!

I had gone inside alone to sign in and when I came back, I could not find her. Needless to say, I was freaking out because I thought she had gotten loose somehow. It took two hours to coax her out of hiding. The space was so tiny, I couldn't even reach under the seat to pull her out. Lesson learned. The vet probably thought I was a total moron, lol! At least they honored the appointment when she finally decided to show herself

That's a good one!  They say mice can squeeze themselves into spaces you'd never think they could fit, but cats are just as good.  It's unbelievable how flat a cat can make itself if it wants to hide!  

 

[mewlittle]

My cat brandon climbed in a drawer and was in it for a day he didn't make a sound not once :/ he was in it for a good day i thought he got lost outside cats i swear lol

 

[Winchester]

Mollipop has a little hidey-hole somewhere in the house and I have no idea where it's at. But there are times when I cannot find her anywhere. I'll get so frustrated because I can't find her and I'll call her. And she always comes to me. From where, I have no idea. I'll be out in the kitchen, will call her and she'll usually come up behind me and say, "What?"

My SIL just recently told us a story that happened to one of their cats. Her husband had taken Mo to the vet for a physical. The cat had the physical, Sam put her back in her carrier and took her back out to the truck. Then he went back into the office to pay the bill. When he came out, he got in the truck and drove home. He thought things were a little quiet (no meow or anything), but figured that Mo was just tired from her physical and the stress of being in the truck. He pulled in the garage and picked up the carrier. Said carrier was very light. He bent down and looked inside. Mo was gone! She wasn't in the carrier, she wasn't in the truck.

He immediately called the vet and told them that Mo had disappeared. And started back down to the office. When he got there, the office ladies were outside, calling for Mo. He started calling her, too, and immediately she meowed. She was up a tree. Sam reached up and talked to her and got her down to where he could reach her. He got her and put her back into the carrier.....and watched her pull the zipper of the carrier down. He got it back up and put Mo back into the truck. And they got home without further trouble.

And as soon as they got home, my SIL called us for a cat carrier recommendation!

 

[betsygee]

 
Mollipop has a little hidey-hole somewhere in the house and I have no idea where it's at. But there are times when I cannot find her anywhere. I'll get so frustrated because I can't find her and I'll call her. And she always comes to me. From where, I have no idea. I'll be out in the kitchen, will call her and she'll usually come up behind me and say, "What?"

My SIL just recently told us a story that happened to one of their cats. Her husband had taken Mo to the vet for a physical. The cat had the physical, Sam put her back in her carrier and took her back out to the truck. Then he went back into the office to pay the bill. When he came out, he got in the truck and drove home. He thought things were a little quiet (no meow or anything), but figured that Mo was just tired from her physical and the stress of being in the truck. He pulled in the garage and picked up the carrier. Said carrier was very light. He bent down and looked inside. Mo was gone! She wasn't in the carrier, she wasn't in the truck.

He immediately called the vet and told them that Mo had disappeared. And started back down to the office. When he got there, the office ladies were outside, calling for Mo. He started calling her, too, and immediately she meowed. She was up a tree. Sam reached up and talked to her and got her down to where he could reach her. He got her and put her back into the carrier.....and watched her pull the zipper of the carrier down. He got it back up and put Mo back into the truck. And they got home without further trouble.

And as soon as they got home, my SIL called us for a cat carrier recommendation!

Oh-ho!!  Tricky little Mo to pull the zipper down on her carrier.  

Our Molly is like your Mollipop with her secret hiding place I haven't found yet.  She's one of the ones we took in from our friend last year.  Real quiet little thing and doesn't answer when called.  The first few months, she kept scaring the crap out of me--I'd think she had somehow got outside or something.  I still don't know where she curls up and hides.  Fortunately for me, I discovered she's a treat addict--now I can just shake the bag from anywhere in the house and she'll come running.  

 

[kathyfromcanada]

Yes, on moving day, one of cat's got stuck in between the walls under the bathroom sink. total panic. We were lucky to have a very kind superintendant that   was trying to help her get out. When we finished moving everything, we got a  piece of plant and stuck it in the hole . Fortunately she tried to eat it and we grabbed her by the neck and got her out. Not a great way of doing it but we didn't want to leave her in the wall to die either. Either way, she , Paula lived to be 21 years old. She passed away due to old age. 

 

[catmomma627]

Both of my mom's cats came from a stray who roamed the countryside where we lived. Tanner and his 4 litter mates were abandoned by momma and bottle fed by my friend and I. Bradley who is a year younger was born with two other kittens. Momma had them under our deck but then moved them into a space in our roof. She then realized she couldn't get them out and just cried staring at the hole. My bf had to climb in the roof and get them out so she could feed them.

 

[alainasmom]

Alaina hid everywhere  when she was a kitten. Once, she hid under my pillow for an entire morning. I can't believe I hadn't found her before - her fur must have blended in with the sherpa pillow 

 When I was about to take my afternoon siesta, I felt something very lumpy, warm and large under the pillow and there was Alaina taking her  all-day siesta. She eventually got out from under the pillow and had a siesta with me under the covers. 

She also hid in the attic for an entire day (somehow using the ladder that a repair man was also using) but came down at nighttime for dinner. It's still a mystery to me how she wasn't afraid of the repair man, as she's shy with all strangers she meets. He must have been nice to her. 

 

Luckily, now she doesn't hide very often, so I don't have to go tearing the whole house down trying to find her.

 

[meuzettesmom]

My Ray once was stuck in between two bookcases. I had to take all the books and crap out of one to get her out. All before my coffee in the morning. Worse morning ever..... She was so tired after being freed, she slept all day.