backstory: saw a cat in the corner of my outside house area 8 months ago. it was a baby and abandoned by its mother. I ended up feeding it and giving it water. At first it was extremely skittish, but over time it finally allowed me to pet it, and eventually started coming into the house to play. w my other family members it was and to this day incredibly skittish.
2 months later we ended up trapping and getting it neutered (female). it was miserable during this time getting trapped but after went back to its normal routine. would feed it and play with it in the house, but let it roam free at night.
one day I felt the urge to play w the cat at 2am, and woke it up where it slept in a cat house we bought. it ended up (based on cameras we had outside) almost getting eaten by a few coyotes. we saw on camera them chasing it up, and the cat ended up hiding in a tree for hours until evening. we thought it was eaten but when I called for it, it meow'd and came down.
that night, we tried to turn it into a house cat. (6 months in?). the cat was miserable and cried the entire night excessively. it ended up hiding in a corner of the house all night and in the morning I let it roam free like usual. it was a horrific experience for the cat and I couldn't sleep that whole night being with it.
the next few months were good. however, with the cameras we had outside, every 2-3 weeks we would see a coyote or two run out really quick occasionally and scatter away. they would show up at different times. sometimes at 5am, sometimes at 5:40 am. once at 12:40am. it was very stressful.
2 nights ago, I was playing w my cat like usual. My routine had changed in that I went to wake her up at 6:00pm, which changed to 7:00pm, and a week later it was 8:00pm. After waking it up, the cat ate. I usually turn off the lights in the living room at MIDNIGHT to signify that I am gone, but I was hungry that night and ended up turning them off around 11pm bc the cat had left.
At 11:20 I saw the cat come back and sit right at the glass. I turned on the light and brought it in. It was very tired. I let it nap, and I had already thrown out it's typical dinner meal, so I gave it some snacks of dried shrimp, chicken etc.. At this point it was around 12:15. The cat went back to sleep near my foot.
It had issues sleeping (dealing once again w ear mites, ticks etc..) and it woke up. I saw a flea on it's back a few minutes later and freaked out. It jumped off my hand and was somewhere in the house. At around 12:40 (the time when coyotes usually roam around) I forced my cat out by using a cat toy. I then vacuumed around the house. My cat was waiting outside right near the glass, and as I turned off the lights I saw it climb the glass wanting to come inside. It then ran off.
That was the last I saw of my cat.
Looking at the cameras outside, the coyote attack didn't happen near my house but must have been in the neighborhood. I feel horrible bc the last moment I have of my cat was it trying to come inside and reaching at the glass. Yes, I took care of her, but I still feel horrible for a few reasons:
I had changed our normal time routine (instead of 12am it was 12:40)
12:40 was the time a couple weeks ago the coyotes were in the area
I didn't let the cat back in when it wanted to, and that is the last memory I have of seeing her.
I know I tried to take care of her, but I'm dealign with some serious guilt right now. I'm not sure what else to say, but could use some feedback. Thank you.
2 months later we ended up trapping and getting it neutered (female). it was miserable during this time getting trapped but after went back to its normal routine. would feed it and play with it in the house, but let it roam free at night.
one day I felt the urge to play w the cat at 2am, and woke it up where it slept in a cat house we bought. it ended up (based on cameras we had outside) almost getting eaten by a few coyotes. we saw on camera them chasing it up, and the cat ended up hiding in a tree for hours until evening. we thought it was eaten but when I called for it, it meow'd and came down.
that night, we tried to turn it into a house cat. (6 months in?). the cat was miserable and cried the entire night excessively. it ended up hiding in a corner of the house all night and in the morning I let it roam free like usual. it was a horrific experience for the cat and I couldn't sleep that whole night being with it.
the next few months were good. however, with the cameras we had outside, every 2-3 weeks we would see a coyote or two run out really quick occasionally and scatter away. they would show up at different times. sometimes at 5am, sometimes at 5:40 am. once at 12:40am. it was very stressful.
2 nights ago, I was playing w my cat like usual. My routine had changed in that I went to wake her up at 6:00pm, which changed to 7:00pm, and a week later it was 8:00pm. After waking it up, the cat ate. I usually turn off the lights in the living room at MIDNIGHT to signify that I am gone, but I was hungry that night and ended up turning them off around 11pm bc the cat had left.
At 11:20 I saw the cat come back and sit right at the glass. I turned on the light and brought it in. It was very tired. I let it nap, and I had already thrown out it's typical dinner meal, so I gave it some snacks of dried shrimp, chicken etc.. At this point it was around 12:15. The cat went back to sleep near my foot.
It had issues sleeping (dealing once again w ear mites, ticks etc..) and it woke up. I saw a flea on it's back a few minutes later and freaked out. It jumped off my hand and was somewhere in the house. At around 12:40 (the time when coyotes usually roam around) I forced my cat out by using a cat toy. I then vacuumed around the house. My cat was waiting outside right near the glass, and as I turned off the lights I saw it climb the glass wanting to come inside. It then ran off.
That was the last I saw of my cat.
I had changed our normal time routine (instead of 12am it was 12:40)
12:40 was the time a couple weeks ago the coyotes were in the area
I didn't let the cat back in when it wanted to, and that is the last memory I have of seeing her.
I know I tried to take care of her, but I'm dealign with some serious guilt right now. I'm not sure what else to say, but could use some feedback. Thank you.