Found missing cat but she ran away

[fionasmom]

I think you are being very sensible about this. You must have a quite lovely collection of people in your community, or maybe they just all really like you, for them to continue on searching. While it is a good idea to probably give them an update of what is happening and what you are doing, I don't think that they are in any way inconvenienced about looking for Luna. To be honest, the kids are probably enjoying the hunt and the older people have something to watch for and engage in.

Keeping the feeding station going is good, taking the trap down probably for the best. It seems as if this is a very cat friendly community with a number of feeders and shelters, so Luna may have returned to her former life. You have owned cats, so you know about the completely varied personalities you can get with them...so much more inconsistent than a dog. I have two ferals outside who are calm enough to the point where I can apply Advantage to them. Both wait for me for food, one likes to be rubbed but both have drawn the line there. A neighbor tried bringing one of them inside, but it did not work. On the other hand, my avatar and her sister are now indoor only pets who were born to completely feral parents under my neighbor's house 3 years ago. One of my older indoor cats, long term resident, probably would have been happier having been released after she was fixed....it is a little late now, but she has never completely adapted to being inside. I think that you are right that Luna was one of those who was on the cusp of going either way, or possibly of having stayed just as she was. My only cat pets ever have been strays and ferals, never even got one from a shelter much less a breeder, so I have really seen the personalities run the gamut.

Don't stop looking in general for her. You may get a surprise. I have a cousin who lived in a little beach house in the FL panhandle and in the hurricane that hit before Katrina she lost her entire house..with the cat inside. She had gone to the store or the like, and the cat stayed home. We figured it was washed out to sea, but about 3 weeks later she found it in the sea grasses on the beach....very skinny and scared as there was no one feeding or helping at that point, but alive.

Please let us know how this progresses.

 

[MackerelTabbyStripes]

Thank you! I'm sorry your cousin lost her house, but I am glad she was able to find her cat again. What a terrifying thing for that poor cat to live through, and how traumatizing to lose everything else in the house with so little warning!

I think our community has a lot of kind people in it, since they didn't know me before any of this happened. I've only lived here a year, and given Covid, we weren't exactly socializing. Also, I think you are right that this isn't a big inconvenience for people. They are out walking or biking and enjoying the neighborhood anyway, they like looking at their ring or other security cameras and seeing what night life and wild life might be active in the area. I did get a cruel call last night from someone who said they found my cat -- then used crude language to say someone had eaten her. It's the second such message, but other than these exceptions, the overwhelming response has been kind, supportive and sympathetic.

I've had cats all my life, but like you I've never got one from a breeder or even an official shelter adoption. Always a stray / friendly feral that basically came up and asked to come in, or a pet from people moving overseas or other life changes that make it impossible to keep caring for them, etc. Luna and her brother came from an email on our community mailing list. The people who had trapped and fixed them were fostering them, and hoping to avoid sending through the shelter system. I think given how shy they were, this was a good way to have them stand out and appear in their best light as they would probably not have handled shelter stresses well at all.

Cats are all so different, but since I'd previously just experienced outdoor cats that actively asked to come in, or lifetime pets that know nothing but people, I did not get experience with the "wild" side that Luna had. As much as I regret it, I was not prepared to care for her the way she needed me to, especially in her early years with me. I love her, and I was responsible for her, but I didn't know enough to keep her safe like I thought I could. But just to show how personalities are so varied, her brother has much, much less of this feral fear, and I don't think I would have had the same issues with him panicking in the same way. And if he had, I think he would have been far easier to get back indoors.

I know Luna loved what she had inside, she loved the amount of play and companionship with her brother without so many risks, the warm electric blankets she could crawl under, comforters and various fabrics she could roll on & hide under, an almost endless stream of toys, etc. She loved begging for food and getting treats and loved mealtimes. And the affection -- she adored it from us, whether petting by hand or brush, and she loved rolling and playing in my hair, or rubbing her body up and down mine. Even if she just stayed where she was, a cat easily startled and frightened of strangers in the house, she definitely hadn't had any trouble adapting quickly to a life indoors that she enjoyed and which made sense to her.

I feel bad for her that given her need to work for survival, she has less time for play, less companionship without her brother, fewer warm soft spaces to enjoy. But she's now living the life she expected and knew first from birth, and it is not without its own joys and triumphs either. It's much more dangerous, faster paced, and tough, but I don't doubt she'll be good at it. It's just even a talented outdoor cat runs risks of drinking antifreeze or eating a poisoned mouse, being locked in a garage and starving / dehydrating to death, getting injured or suffering from parasites, being hit by a car or bitten by a dog, or tortured by cruel people. And I certainly have trouble not running these possibilities through my mind. Because she's so wary of people, she's less likely to be captured and actively harmed, but more likely to get trapped without asking for help or even realizing she could ask for it. I do think if she could pick, she'd pick coming back indoors. The fact she first ran to get back inside, and then kept coming around those first eleven days is some evidence for that. But neither she nor I were able to make it happen given what we knew and how we were thinking in that time frame, and she now has other pressing concerns keeping her busy. If we have an extra cold or extra snowy winter this year, and I haven't found yer yet, I'll have a lot more worried thoughts.

I will certainly keep looking in general. At this point I'm trying to accept it may never work, while keeping it up. Even if missing cat stories can end happily after a long time, they don't always. That doesn't change the fact that if I give up, whatever chances we have for a good outcome go down even further. At minimum, I will always keep her chip registration active and updated, though we aren't likely to be moving anytime soon either.

I shared her photo with the local city's TNR facebook group -- it's incredibly remarkable how quickly someone posted a cat looking like her. But the photo was really clear, and there were obvious slight differences in markings, plus that cat was roughly 15 miles away and the photo was from days before the last days we had confirmed sightings at our property. There's no way she got out there, then got back again. So it was definitely yet another look a like. I'll definitely keep updating this thread whenever anything notable happens.

 

[fionasmom]

It is always amazing that someone would think to make those cruel phone calls but they happen. So many people who post lost animal ads say that they get a couple of those. Or else the flippant remark of some kind. Years ago when I lost a cat people actually called and offered me their cat that they did not want...sort of like you broke one dish so call replacements.com and get another one.

Luna's brother may have a different personality. About 15 years ago a feral litter was born under bushes in my front lawn and they ranged from the entirely wild and untamable to the one who became a lap cat. Even now I have the same situation with the two loveable indoor calicos who are nothing like their wild black and white sister who lives outside and hates me.

I think that you have reached the stage of grieving where you are accepting the possibilities. You have given yourself a place to live now with this. Keeping her registration updated is a good move and you will probably always keep an eye out for her, even if it is unconsciously. Some of these ferals do extremely well outside. I have easily reached 10 years with several and one who is still around but very nocturnal is seen only maybe once every couple of months. The only reason I know it is him is that he has no tail; I had to have it amputated when I TNRed him. Luna loved her indoor life, but the allure of the outdoors might be even more appealing. I wonder if when the weather changes she might seek out the house again.

Please post whenever you feel like you would like to talk.

 

[MackerelTabbyStripes]

Thank you for your reply, as always. I hope this is an area that a feral outdoors cat could easily reach 10 in, even if they wish to be hidden and nocturnal and very sneaky. I appreciate the stories of the ferals you have known.

I'm grateful for the videos I have of her even though I wish we'd been able to catch her instead. That last night she came around, 11 days after she got out, we actually got several minutes of her on camera, very close up. I'm able to determine that her coat looks great, very clean and well-kept. It's a little harder to judge any weight change but it really doesn't seem like she's lost much, if any. She was happy to eat the snack I set out beside the trap as an appetizer, but she didn't seem desperate or starved. Honestly, if she was hungrier we would probably have caught her. She might have ignored the tiny bit of spoiled fish on the trap floor and gone to the back to get the protected food in bowls that didn't spoil. Luna wasn't a thin cat with us -- she was healthy, but she loved her treats and we'd started having to be careful on the volume to look out for her long term health. Of course now I am very glad we gave her that extra bit of fat to start out with!

I've caught up on dustydiamond1's thread and it worries me how often a feral kitty needs help, to be trapped and taken to the vet. If Luna continues being entirely nocturnal, it would be hard for anyone to notice if she starts struggling. I have to remind myself that he's caring for about 90, and so of course at least a few of them are going to be needing help. There's no likely reason for Luna, a spayed female in a neighborhood that is full of bushes, decks, outbuildings, etc, has a huge number of mice, chipmunks, and other small game not to mention the number of people feeding cats, would get in bad shape quickly. She also has had good experiences with the people who fostered her, and then my partner and I. Even as she remains very wary of people, it's possible she eventually befriends someone else who feeds her and lives in some edge zone between feral and pet, or even crosses that bridge again to come inside.

I really miss having her on my lap at work though. She was such a lovable cuddle kitty. She'd beg to climb on my chair, or she'd just help herself and climb up the back of it and shove herself between my back and the back of the chair! My other cats do sometimes visit me at work, but they are definitely less insistent on being touched and getting immediate attention as she was. She's just a very intense cat! I hope she's enjoying somewhere cool while we have a hot day today, and that she's comfortable and happy.

We've now seen five cats, including her, on our cameras in the past ~4 weeks, mostly only in the middle of the night. Only one of which we know is an indoor/outdoor pet, who was around in the day or early evening. Of the others, we just saw one in the day, and two others we've only seen once each. They all seem in pretty good shape, and I do expect I'll probably see them again. So maybe she will come around on an extra-long ramble again and we'll see her.

 

[Worriedaboutscaredycat]

Thank you for your reply, as always. I hope this is an area that a feral outdoors cat could easily reach 10 in, even if they wish to be hidden and nocturnal and very sneaky. I appreciate the stories of the ferals you have known.

I'm grateful for the videos I have of her even though I wish we'd been able to catch her instead. That last night she came around, 11 days after she got out, we actually got several minutes of her on camera, very close up. I'm able to determine that her coat looks great, very clean and well-kept. It's a little harder to judge any weight change but it really doesn't seem like she's lost much, if any. She was happy to eat the snack I set out beside the trap as an appetizer, but she didn't seem desperate or starved. Honestly, if she was hungrier we would probably have caught her. She might have ignored the tiny bit of spoiled fish on the trap floor and gone to the back to get the protected food in bowls that didn't spoil. Luna wasn't a thin cat with us -- she was healthy, but she loved her treats and we'd started having to be careful on the volume to look out for her long term health. Of course now I am very glad we gave her that extra bit of fat to start out with!

I've caught up on dustydiamond1's thread and it worries me how often a feral kitty needs help, to be trapped and taken to the vet. If Luna continues being entirely nocturnal, it would be hard for anyone to notice if she starts struggling. I have to remind myself that he's caring for about 90, and so of course at least a few of them are going to be needing help. There's no likely reason for Luna, a spayed female in a neighborhood that is full of bushes, decks, outbuildings, etc, has a huge number of mice, chipmunks, and other small game not to mention the number of people feeding cats, would get in bad shape quickly. She also has had good experiences with the people who fostered her, and then my partner and I. Even as she remains very wary of people, it's possible she eventually befriends someone else who feeds her and lives in some edge zone between feral and pet, or even crosses that bridge again to come inside.

I really miss having her on my lap at work though. She was such a lovable cuddle kitty. She'd beg to climb on my chair, or she'd just help herself and climb up the back of it and shove herself between my back and the back of the chair! My other cats do sometimes visit me at work, but they are definitely less insistent on being touched and getting immediate attention as she was. She's just a very intense cat! I hope she's enjoying somewhere cool while we have a hot day today, and that she's comfortable and happy.

We've now seen five cats, including her, on our cameras in the past ~4 weeks, mostly only in the middle of the night. Only one of which we know is an indoor/outdoor pet, who was around in the day or early evening. Of the others, we just saw one in the day, and two others we've only seen once each. They all seem in pretty good shape, and I do expect I'll probably see them again. So maybe she will come around on an extra-long ramble again and we'll see her.

I'm glad to hear you getting some rest. Unfourantely as much as we hate to admit it your health comes first before anyhting else.
Youre neighbourhood sounds great. I always judge a neighborhood on how well they take care of the local animal community, and yours sounds like they good people. The fact that many are taken the time and resources to foster is a postive sign indeed.
Regarding callers from the last post I had many of those as well. Many people calling to say they found my dead cat or saw her bur don't want to tell us as they would like to capture and torture her or eat her. It just mostly sickos making noise, there probably the same kind of people who call and claim to be serial killers or missing children. Important to just ignore them even though it diffcult. I know it hard to not let the mind wander to the worst case scenario. During the time my cat was missing I was convinced she was locked in the shed of a neighbor that would constantly doge me.cats are remarkably hardy, one of my other cats come from Asia. He snuck into a shipping container and ended up over three weeks later in Rotterdam port. I can't imagine how he survived in a enclosed space like that with no obvious food and water. I also think from what you said it was likely that she was hanging out near the neighbour with construction, and must have been scared off a bit by it. From what I learnt from research and experience, as I sure you know is cats don't get very far. She probbaly stayed within close radius of that place. If they were doing internal construction, it unlikely she went into their shed. If all the others are abandoned then there no one to close and open the sheds. So it unlikely she trapped in a shed nearby at least.
Also with feral cat getting sick a lot of the time they seem to be cats who been out for a long time, or are born sick/ have pre-existing medical conditions. Im far from a expert but I heard that intact male cat have the worst chances outside, as they often wander off in heat and are more aggressive. A spayed female is likely to be more wary and not get into so many fights. I have lived near major roads and train tracks my whole life, and the only cats I saw harmed were strays ( the cat has many signs if they're a stray, including breaking the tail tip) and intact ones( no cut ear tip). Of course no guarantee but the fact that Luna initially bolted due to a car noise is somewhat positive? It suggests she frightened and wants to stay away from them, so it suggest she might be unlikely to go too near major roads unless she has too. It good she also skittish a wee bit, it means sickos are not gonna catch her easily, and they just won't bother. No psycho gonna go after a cat for days that they can't catch, it just not worthwhile.

I'm not sure if you live In the states. I know dogs finding dogs have trained sniffing dogs that can sniff out lost animals and seemingly have high success rates. There also a few pet detectives including kat Albrecht I believe. However this is all for USA located people and I don't know their effectiveness.

Luna sounds very very sweet. Each cat leaves a discint t place in our lives and you feel it hard when they go missing. Especially one that is always cuddled up to you. I feel for you. It good that you are moving onto a place of acceptance. It healthy to ackonwdlege that you're doing all you can, and you realise that it good to start getting your life back on track. However as many mentioned and you said that doesn't mean you have to give up hope. Reading lost cat renuinted stories always helped me. The idea that people were reunited after years is so crazy. It good she microchipped and is trusty of people too, likely if you don't find her someone else will and will eithier turn her into a shelter or call you. It seems like people truly care, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed it happens for you.

 

[MackerelTabbyStripes]

I'm sorry to hear you also had horrible callers saying awful things! It's a really unkind thing to do, but that's when I was glad of how wary of people Luna is. What they were suggesting was so ridiculous, and it was so unlikely anyone like them would even get close enough to her to try anything, that it didn't affect me too much. I have definitely had the same thought as you about how she first ran because of car noise-- I am hoping it means she wants to stay away from them, which will help her stay safer.

I do live in the US, but when I looked into the dog option I read that it often scares cats and rarely succeeds. Maybe it works better for dogs, or maybe some people do better? I did contact a pet detective, (not Kat), but she wasn't taking personal cases right now. I did buy a more detailed guidebook and video that helped with some extra suggestions I wouldn't have thought of.

Your shipping cat sounds like quite the determined survivor, and traveler! Every cat has such a different, unique personality that comes from something innate, and a lot from their experiences and environment. My old kitty is so much louder and more meow-y than either of our kittens was, but now that it's been about a month since Luna left, her brother is learning from my old kitty and starting to be way more vocal. He likes us, but he is definitely cat-oriented too, and taking cues from the kitties in his life. I'm sorry he doesn't have his sister around anymore, since they had a very special bond, but he at least still has a cat to interact with.

I also enjoy reading the lost-cat re-united stories! It can happen, even after a long time. For dogs, it seems if they've been out a long time they've either been definitely stolen, or they have unfortunately passed. But cats seem to frequently be survivors on their own for a very long time. I can't be certain, especially since we aren't seeing her on camera or getting confirmed sightings, but I'm trying to be hopeful.

I am definitely watching our local cat activity very closely these days. We had two separate cats show up last night, which surprised me because there was also a storm, and I didn't really expect them to be out and about. But it's a warm-weather storm, and apparently they weren't too bothered. Luna's brother was actually really intrigued by the lightning and glued to the door watching, so I guess I shouldn't have assumed no cat wanted to be out! One of them I think is that yellow tom that has been around more than any other cat. The other one I replayed the video a lot, since it had darker fur that stood out against the grass, and a body shape a bit like Luna. It's hard to tell the paw color when walking through grass, but I am pretty sure no white paws, and the fur wasn't quite dark enough to match the video I have of Luna walking through the front grass. It could be the tabby I saw once before, or a different, new cat entirely. I like seeing the rare one-offs, since they make me hopeful Luna might come by again.

 

[fionasmom]

That is quite a story about the cat who made it to Rotterdam!

Do you think that it is possible that Luna befriended some people who took her in? To me, it seems like a long shot and you have done so much posting and searching that it seems as if she would have been returned if someone had her.

I agree that spayed females tend to stay more sequestered, certainly are not looking for any males. There is one I feed at some apartments nearby....long story...who has been there for years through several young owners who left her behind. I intend to try to rescue her hopefully by winter. She is a TNRed female, tipped ear, not by me. 3 summers ago I did trap her when I had the kitten apocalypse here and was taking anyone who wandered into a trap to the vet to be fixed. She was an adult them and was certified as fixed previoulsy. My point being that she has longevity because she lives in the hallways of the apartments or sits under cars. A current resident made her a nice winter bed, so she has no reason to go and get herself in trouble.

If you were willing to call a pet detective, is there another one you could use?

 

[MackerelTabbyStripes]

I don't think it's likely Luna has befriended anyone who's taken her in, especially only in a month. But the people I know who are closest to me who reportedly feed cats have never talked to me. They are across the street and two doors down -- right next to the vacant property I think she might have been on. I went back around part of the perimeter of the vacant yard this week, and I saw that both yards have a great deal of bushes and brush that would offer cover to a cat. It's possible since fixed females don't stray far, she's getting basically all she needs in that yard. There are enough overgrown areas that they honestly might not know she's there at all if they leave food overnight. And if they aren't going to talk to me for language barrier or whatever other reason, they may not let me know if they do glimpse her. If this is so, it's so near that I really might get her back on our property rarely if she gets a bit of wander bug one evening, or as things cool down and she is looking for thicker shelter.

But there is a roughly three foot chain-link fence between the vacant property and the cat feeding property, and it seems to be all the way around the feral feeders property. Obviously the cats get into it somehow? So he either opens the gate during specific times, or there are gaps, ways underneath, or easy jumping paths. Still, it's potentially a reason why she wouldn't be there, and would have instead gone the other direction. Another reason to think she's not there, and instead went the opposite way, is that I did get a potential sighting reported to me a few days after we last saw her on our property, and in that direction. But no photo, and that cat reportedly was just sitting in the garden for awhile at 10AM, when I suspect she's a lot more nocturnal. I have less specific theories of where she might be if she did is that direction, but there are plenty of large properties all around that might have a secluded deck or somewhere she can stay.

I would be willing to call another pet detective, but I'm honestly not certain what they could add over what I've researched and the fact it has now been four weeks. I think if I escalate, it should be to a direct mailing option. Or I can stay the course with facebook postings and flyers on lamp posts. Even calling a detective takes some of my energy, and I'm not certain it would be best directed there rather than elsewhere...

I was watching and backing up her videos from our camera system today, and later broke down crying. My partner thinks I should watch the videos less, I'm doing it to myself. He's still constantly moving around the cameras on our property and making sure they're working, basically just doing whatever he can if she comes back to our place. But he's not very supportive of the expansive type search work involving neighbors that I think is left to do, and I have so little energy myself. I do think Luna is probably doing OK right now, and I think he has a bit of a stronger belief in her own self-determination. She was around our property so many evenings when we were leaving doors & windows open for her, and did not come in. I know that's because she's a cat and she's seeing things from a cat perspective, but I'm not entirely sure he's wrong for believing that she gets to view her world with her cat's-eye view, and gets at least some right of self-determination even a little bit. I just can't emotionally accept her being gone, and I guess that's my problem and not hers. If I did get her back and she insisted on running off again, I'd believe it a bit more.

Even though I think she's probably OK right now, I don't know if she has secured a good option for passing the winter, or a good source of food that's not hunting, and so she may still be wandering a bit more. I'm glad the apartment kitty you know has done well for so long, and I hope you are able to get her in before winter. But it's kind of that resident to give her a place to keep warm there, just in case you can't.

Also, W Worriedaboutscaredycat , how is your kitty doing now? Did she end up needing to go to the vet eventually, has she gotten back up to normal weight now? I'm so glad you got her

 

[fionasmom]

You are probably right about a pet detective. They may make their money by starting at the most basic level, like making flyers, and you certainly have probably covered almost all that can be done. If you do call one, make it very clear that you need help on the higher end of looking for Luna, not the basics like using social media or talking to people to whom you speak regularly anyway.

I looked for the heck of it and there are a number of listings. I found the young woman who works with bloodhounds, or maybe not the same one you mentioned exactly, and a couple others, all listings for CA. I don't know if there would be any point to calling any or not. If you do, just ask for some information and stop at that point and then reassess so you don't exhaust yourself.

Luna certainly may have returned to her cat's world and be fine in it. I fed a feral, possibly more a stray, for years on my front porch. Gave him a bed and heating pad but he was certainly sociable and had been neutered someplace along the line. He knew that he could come in, I brought him in, he never wanted to stay inside. He loved his outdoor life and as he aged and became ill, I finally put him to sleep just as I would have for an indoor pet. So he had lived life on his terms successfully. I do wonder if winter will bring her back to your house once the weather changes. Don't rule that out. It is all fun and games now that it is summer, but once it is cold, she might rethink her options. You were a source of food and shelter for her and she may return to that. Just locally today someone posted that their cat who had been missing for 31 days returned, so it could happen. The search may change seasonally. Out here, cold weather is not that much of an issue for an outdoor animal. Heat can be just as bad and I know that the apartment cat is not using her bed now as it is just too warm.

Depending on the chain link, cats can pretty easily navigate it, even if there are little irregularities. Can anyone help you talk to that owner or does anyone have any contact with him so that you could have one conversation? Direct mailing is a good option and might be the best way to contact some of those other neighbors who are still out there but not in your immediate circle. Your partner does not want you to do that? I think that you should do whatever makes you feel some sense of peace or acceptance...not that you have to exhaust yourself doing it, but even little by little.

 

[MackerelTabbyStripes]

I always appreciate your stories of ferals and kitties who wish to be outside! I've had such limited exposure to the lives of outdoor cats, it's hard for me to not just assume the worst. I re-watched her videos on our security cameras last night and what I notice is her cautious step, her little tail flicks, her perfectly groomed coat, as she's sniffing around our yard. She is careful and very wary, but she also seems secure and at peace. I sometimes wonder whether one of the reasons why she didn't come in the door or open window was because she doesn't much like our air conditioning, and was enjoying herself in the hot humid nights. It has been hot frequently here in the last few weeks, but that's mostly just highs in the 80s and very low 90s. It is humid, so it feels more oppressive, but for a cat who can find shade during the day, and plenty of water that likely remains from the fairly regular rainy days, it's probably not bad.

I do wonder what might happen as the weather turns, the very last day she was at our place she was able to eat a meal before she left so she knows that not only was she cared for inside our house, our property might have a meal outside if she needs one. Winters here are variable, it does get cold and snowy, but given normal weather patterns I wouldn't worry for her too much before late October or November. This last year was a very long winter though, with snow well into May. That sort of winter isn't common, but if it happens and she has no shelter and hasn't returned to us, it would be very hard for her. It's coming up on 31 days of her being out on the 15th, so if she's going to come back after that amount of time that would be delightful!

I think my partner has a better external view of how I'm functioning than I do, and is worried that my search for Luna has sapped all my energy and my grief and regret for her being gone has been really badly affecting my functioning -- especially since she is so well equipped for an outdoor life and isn't likely even in bad shape! I think he doesn't want me to do actions in desperation without the amount of energy and reflection that would make sure they could be effective. He doesn't want to be involved in the direct mailing or in fielding uncertain and probably mostly wrong sightings, and I'm not rested enough to handle all of that yet on my own. We're both very much introverts who generally keep to ourselves and interacting with neighbors this much is exhausting for us both, but more for him. And he also is much more accepting of how things pan out, willing to wait in case something change, for her to return or for someone to contact us, or even for her chip to be read if she's brought in. His view is that I might be projecting human emotions and values onto an animal who is living in the moment and has a very different perspective on life. That life just happens, and that I am trying to control things I really can't control.

I am getting a bit more rest now though. Last night was the first night since we set up cameras a day after she left that I turned down the volume on the motion activation and so it didn't wake me up at every strong breeze or wild animal passing during the night. I still woke up on my own in the middle of the night and checked the videos, but it was still more restful than I had been getting. I at least confirmed my trail camera is working, as I got pictures of an opossum eating some of the food I set out. If I had any recent sightings to give promising leads on where to set out the trail cam, I'd be good to go to try to find her.

I recently read a post on another pet-loss support venue of someone who's cat has been gone 5 months who just now discovered the general area her cat has been living in. She sent out her first direct mailing 2 months after she left, and a second one even later that produced results. Her cat is still out, but she is a little closer to success than before. I think I do need to re-enter my life and keep a sustainable pace, and wherever Luna is trust that she is going to be OK for awhile on her own. If I decide a mailing is a good option, timing it for a little closer to fall when Luna is possibly less completely nocturnal and maybe looking for longer term shelter does seem to make sense. So maybe I can spend a couple weeks trying to accept all possibilities, and then be ready to field whatever sightings ( or no sightings ) I would get for something sent early September.

As for the neighbor feeding ferals, it was his next door neighbor who let me know he feeds them, and we had a good conversation. That neighbor has a fenced yard and a dog that would absolutely chase cats -- I saw a dead rabbit when I asked to look around his bushes since I was searching basically any yard I had permission to at that point. I don't think Luna would go in there given the presence of that dog. Of course, the dog would be inside when she's most active, and the chain-link fence around his yard was enough to keep the dog in but would be something I expect she could just jump. I might be able to go talk to that neighbor again and see if he has more contact with his direct neighbor who I am having trouble connecting with. I think I just need to figure out what kind of outcome I would be looking for if I did this, as it's not super clear to me what a win looks like in that situation. I guess it seems to me like if that really is where she's hiding, we're likely to see her again on our cameras at least at some point since it is so very close. The feral feeders who are a little further away, the ones that I know offer real shelter to the cats as well, are perhaps more likely targets for her to spend the winter if she doesn't return, and they would let me know if they see her.

 

[fionasmom]

Your idea of recovering a little and then possibly doing direct mailings later is a good one. For one thing, people will have their memory refreshed about Luna a few months from now whereas if you do the mailings now it becomes a continuation of what has been going on for the last month and might just get filed away mentally. Later on, if you decide to do this, it will be a reminder that you are still looking and people will start to take notice again.

The weather right now is probably very appealing to a cat who is outside. Even with the apartment cat near me, she is probably more comfortable outside with the cooler night air, the fact that she has the corridors of the apartments to lounge in, and can find comfortable spots in various places. If I tried to bring her in right now, she would have to go into a bathroom, and despite the AC, it would probably be hotter than were she might have taken some shade. Windows could not open ( I once had two feral sisters I had just TNRed claw their way out of a high bathroom screen) so she would probably wonder what she was getting out of this.

Luna is probably quite certain to avoid a yard with a dog; in fact, she may not even go near there often. I don't see her jumping into a yard with a dog no matter what, so even finding a dead rabbit is not any sort of a parallel to cats in the neighborhood.

Getting back to your life will give you a new perspective when you continue to search for her. Accepting that she is out there and having a good time as a free cat is a rejuvenating outlook. We tend to think that if we hold something in our minds that it will somehow get better, like magical thinking. The more you frantically search for her, the more likely you are to see her but it seems she has some new schedule and letting her live it out for a while will let you have a little peace.

 

[MackerelTabbyStripes]

Thank you again for your reply.

It's very hard to get back to my life. Last night I was thinking circles about if I never get her back, imagining what she's lost and what her brother has lost in missing her. I have trouble accepting accidents or forgiving myself. But I also need some balance and to build up some reserve I can use effectively. I did at least hand out a flyer to the landscaping crew who were cleaning up the vacant house across the street-- which I don't think will remain vacant much longer. I don't think she'll be coming back to that hiding spot, unfortunately, but maybe the landscapers might see her if they work regularly in this area.

I've not had much experience with feral cats, so it is hard for me to imagine her having a good time even though she really could be. I'm glad the many neighborhood dogs, while a potential risk, probably aren't a large one for her. I tried to keep track of who had dogs to possibly predict her path, but it's a bit difficult to say anything for sure.

I'm glad apartment cat has you looking out for her! Were you able to figure out what happened to the feral sisters after they clawed their way out of the window?

 

[fionasmom]

One of the sisters was crazy wild, almost dangerous, and the other was an odd little b/w who would sit outside a window and look inside at me for hours. The first sister I never saw again at all and the second remained around my property for quite a while. The last I saw of her was on the night of the 100 year windstorm which caused huge damage. Around 1 AM....who could sleep with all the fencing crashing down and trees falling....I saw her outside trying to run in the street and being swept sideways by the wind. My two outdoor ferals at the time rode it out on the front porch in their heated beds, absolutely fine in the morning. About a year later I saw a b/w cat in the neighborhood about a block away with a friend cat, apparently outdoor pets. Then I noticed that I started to pass her on the street and she would look at me again very curiously. As time passed, I decided that her care was not great but did not have any options until one day she crawled out of the bushes to me and let me pick her up, which was completely shocking. I brought her home and she lived inside after that...not entirely happy at first, but adjusted. Oddly, the day she came out to ask for help, if that is what she was doing, is the day that the family I suspected had her put all their cat supplies in the trash, like they were done with them.

Another wild feral I TNRed, Demelza who is possibly Jamie's mother as she was a tortie and he is an orange boy, seemingly left my property and about 6 months later I saw her at a house down the street, looking as if that was her new home. I could not picture that she had become a pet, but she was beautiful with crystal blue eyes, and I am sure someone was feeding her.

I do believe that ferals, and maybe a lot of non ferals, love the outdoor life if it is comfortable enough with some food and safety. They don't have that pack leader mentality like dogs do who seem to actively search for a human owner. It is kind of hard to imagine that as we, as humans, think of life as being comfortable with an indoor life both for ourselves and our cats.

 

[MackerelTabbyStripes]

What a nice story about your b/w TNR'd kitty!

I got a text with a photo that looked exactly like her last night -- no location just the photo. It was sent 11:30PM, but I only saw it at 2AM and didn't feel right texting back at that time. So I wandered around the areas I had been searching for an hour looking to match the background. It was such a beautiful, quiet night, I could see why a kitty would enjoy it.

This morning I learned where the photo was taken -- a little over a mile from me and outside the search area I had been focusing most intensely on. But it was just one block away from where she was trapped last year. I'm now thinking that after she felt she wasn't able to continue hiding near us and visiting at night she must have triangulated based on the noise of the whatever loud roads or railroads can be heard at night, and made her way back to where she knew the area she knows best.

I've reached out to the people who trapped her as a kitten last year, I am hoping to be able to set up a trap on the same porch that worked last time. It's an area with a lot of multi-unit apartments a block away from a lot of single-family homes, and nearby some wild creek/river areas. She still looks great in the photo, so she's been able to get enough food and care for herself effectively so far. I know the general area, but she seems to feel confident there and is likely moving around a fair bit. I know she's highly food motivated and loves treats, but she's clearly not starving. She will have to feel secure enough or enticed enough to get trapped. It won't be her desperation working to trap her, but given alternatives I am glad she's doing well. There's no guarantee I would be able to get her back quickly if she wasn't.

I've been reading a lot of the local facebook TNR community posts recently. I hope after I can get Luna safe, I can perhaps use some of this equipment I now have to do some more good in the area. One step at a time!

 

[fionasmom]

Well, in the scheme of things, this is fantastic news! While we don't know for sure, I think that this very possibly could be Luna and that she has done exactly what you said that she did. Also, this is a very common thing for cats, and even dogs, to do if they are lost. She returned to the place that she knows and is comfortable. It is great that it is so close to you that you can now see what can be done to get her back. She definitely triangulated the area....if it were any further you could call it psi trailing which is that odd phenomenon where animals are able to return over long distances to a familiar place. It is basically Incredible Journey, but while that story was a little pushed to the extreme, real psi trailing appears to be legit.

I worked with a woman who had a friend (I did not know the friend at all) who owned a cat. Coworker was Ruth and this might be clearer if we just give her a name. The friend used to take her cat places and they would sometimes visit Ruth's house. Eventually, the friend moved, and despite being a good cat owner, everything went wrong on the day of the move and the cat took off. They had to move....new owners were taking possession of the house and renovating, said they would keep an eye out for the cat, but it was a done deal. The house was theirs. About a month later the cat appeared at Ruth's house. Distance was probably about 5 miles between the two places.

I have been able to retrap ferals, including the apartment cat who was TNRed by someone else but was very easily trapped by me 3 summers ago just because she was hungry enough to chance it. I am so hopeful for you that you may be on the way to getting Luna back.

 

[MackerelTabbyStripes]

I'm so glad Ruth's friend's cat was recovered safely. You wonder in these cases what the cat was thinking for a month and where exactly they went on the five miles between. They definitely have their own way of thinking and their own strategies! We're all just doing our very best -- that kitty did its best, Luna is doing her best, and so am I. Just hope it all lines up for the best outcome!

I went out to the photo-location today, put up a few flyers and gave out a few handouts. I connected with the woman who owns the porch Luna was born under, where she was originally trapped. I set up some food, a cellular camera that will message me whenever new motion is seen, and a trap in the bushes right in front of that porch. My priority is confirming she comes to that area and getting her used to the trap and eating there, so I've tied the trap open. I'm not ready to deal with capturing a non-target cat or a wild animal across town yet, but if I see her and know she's coming I can change strategies and figure out how to monitor the traps much more closely.

I didn't see any cats today but everyone I talked to said several feral cats lived there. They were appreciative, saying there weren't any mice problems. Probably-Luna-Cat was photographed in a relatively high-density area next to a much lower density area. In the high-density area are condos, multi-unit apartments, and smaller single family homes mixed together. Dumpsters, porches, garages, fences, were everywhere. I saw several small semi-abandoned, overgrown areas maybe 5-10 foot square in between fences and a garages etc. Separating that dense area from the less-dense area was a row of fences. These fences all had some amount of vegetation growing to partially shield the lower area, and also for almost every single yard I identified at least one area where cat-sized animals could easily squeeze under. Several looked well used or chewed/clawed up on the bottom to make it a bit larger. I saw raccoon prints down by the river, so some of those pathways could be for them and not exclusively cats. But the whole area is full of spaces I could see would appeal to a free-range cat for various reasons.

I assume the cats can find food that falls from the dumpsters, mice that are drawn to dumpsters, and perhaps someone is also feeding them. It was daunting to look at everything and wonder which specific space she was hiding in, and how I was going to figure it out, lure her out, and get her back.

My partner is incredibly excited and happy we got the photo and permission to trap in the area. He wondered if she was hiding under the deck this afternoon listening to me talk to the owner! I didn't search because I didn't want to frighten her or make her feel she'd have to move on, and if she is sheltering under there we should easily be able to confirm that and recover her by trapping. I think she is probably somewhere else, or moving around. The general area feels familiar and secure to her, but there seemed to be LOTS of potential hiding areas. I don't quite know how to lure her to this particular one.

My current strategy is to lure to this deck by food and by calling her a little at night. The rest of this week I'll put up more flyers in the area in case other people see her and can give me insight into her habits, schedule, and likely hiding spaces. I'll also ask around to see if I can determine if anyone is also feeding these feral cats.

 

[fionasmom]

I think you have a very good strategy for trying to approach Luna. Definitely leave the trap wired open so that she gets used to it and, as you say, releasing other wildlife and cats will be a bother along with the fact that it will tip Luna off to the fact that there is a trap and that might blow your cover entirely. I have had ferals walk into a second trap when another cat is clearly caught in the first one, and then again I have had the head for the hills and avoid the trap like crazy. It is really nice that the woman who is on the property where she was sighted is being so cooperative.

It is very hard to know what cats think. Just now Jamie was "missing" in the house for about 5 hours. We knew he was inside as he is not a door sitter and the doors had not been opened since morning and eventually he came out. He has the entire house but it was like he needed his own personal time alone or something. Luna is probably enjoying her freedom which does not mean that she would not want to come home again. She might even be getting tired of it and be more trappable than you think. Lily, my avatar,spent several months coming in at about 6 PM and sleeping in my arms for about 3 hours, which progressed to going to sleep on the bed with me......until about 2 AM at which point she went crazy begging to go out. Eventually, I broke down and let her out, only to have her return about 10 minutes later and ask to come in and then ask to go back out. That kept up until she "decided" that it was much better inside and moved in permanently with her sister. The sister was beyond thrilled never to go back outside and never looked back. Go figure about cats.

Unless you see something that catches your eye, I don't know that investigating all the nooks and crannies makes sense and will certainly wear you down all over again. Plus if Luna is in one you don't want to threaten her little hiding place and make her find a new one. There are so many infinitesimal places that cats can hide and it is in their nature to do so.

If you can find out if there are feeders in the area, it might help you to know what to do next. Even seeing a can of food or paper plate would answer that question. I tend to think that there is a food source unless there are enough mice around which there might be.

This is all very hopeful and exciting!

 

[MackerelTabbyStripes]

Lily, my avatar,spent several months coming in at about 6 PM and sleeping in my arms for about 3 hours, which progressed to going to sleep on the bed with me......until about 2 AM at which point she went crazy begging to go out. Eventually, I broke down and let her out, only to have her return about 10 minutes later and ask to come in and then ask to go back out. That kept up until she "decided" that it was much better inside and moved in permanently with her sister. The sister was beyond thrilled never to go back outside and never looked back. Go figure about cats.

Hahaha! Silly Lily. That sounds so very much like any uncertain cat-- I love that story.

I didn't see Luna on our camera photos from last night. Her markings are luckily quite distinctive, her brother is much more a classic brown mackerel tabby without many distinguishing white markings like she has. On camera, I saw another brown mackerel tabby that looks incredibly like him come to the food both days at around 5:30 PM. I saw two more instances of a cat coming overnight to eat the food, but it was hard to tell from the markings if they were the same one. It was either just one un-neutered black / otherwise dark male that came twice, or that one and another dark-furred cat of indeterminate gender. While walking around the area last night I found a young kitten brown mackerel tabby-- that was the only free-ranging cat I saw myself. I did, ironically, see an indoor kitten that just that moment had gotten out and helped the owner track and corner it. While chatting with her and the other neighbor there who helped, I learned they both see two tabbies with four white paws. I know from a past photo sighting that there's a lighter-colored 4-white-paw brown tabby that can be confused with Luna, but they distinguished a lighter and darker coat tabby with white paws, and said the darker colored one was sticking close to the block that Luna was born on and where the latest photo that looks like her came from. It fits pretty well what I would expect from her right now.

I've been looking intensively in that block for just a day and correlating all the descriptions, photos, and sightings I already have pretty strong evidence for at least six, probably seven free-ranging cats. The kitten likely has the rest of its litter somewhere, and there have got to be a bunch more there too.

It's daunting to try trapping just her first with so many cats around, and I worry the other cats might keep her away from the food. We will see!

 

[fionasmom]

That is really kind that you were able to help another person with their escaped cat. There are a lot of cats in the area, probably from the same breeding base?

Keep trying, as you are, to figure out what Luna's pattern of behavior is. It sounds as if she has a home base which may help you to try to trap her. If there is a food shortage of sort, she may be become easier to trap. At this point, you can't control the food and she must have worked out a food source to have been able to look healthy for the time that she has been missing. Other hungry cats may go into a trap though and that could complicate things once she realizes it is a trap.....or not. A friend of mine has an outdoor fixed male feral who has been trapped 3 times. Every time she puts out traps to get the new ferals and fix them, he decides he wants the food.The apartment cat I talk about was hungry enough to go into my trap two summers ago, even though she had been TNRed by someone else, evidently with a trap.

If you absolutely figure out where Luna is, do you think that she will be approachable by you? Sometimes cats do not recognize their humans out of context oddly enough, whereas dogs always do.

TNR Scenarios: Hard to Trap Cats

I don't know if any of the above tips can be used. I tried to find instructions for trapping only one specific cat from a colony, so to speak, but most TNR people, including myself, usually go for as many as possible at the same time. This is definitely a project but I still think that it can be accomplished.

 

[MackerelTabbyStripes]

I'm not sure whether I could approach Luna. I'd try it if I saw her, she might recognize my voice if I was talking to her the whole time, but this is certainly not my first strategy.

I hadn't intensively put up flyers in this area yet, so I put up several today. While out, I talked to several people and learned a lot. I do think it's the same breeding base, the big black cat I've seen on my camera is reportedly the father of a lot of the litters in the area, probably including Luna. I already knew from the people who trapped Luna, that they'd also gotten her mother and the rest of that litter. Her mom now lives in a condo on that block and her sister lives in an apartment on the corner. But they live inside, so none of them will even know about the family reunion!

I found someone who is feeding the feral cats in the area. Didn't get to talk to them, but I left a note. I am a bit worried Luna is going to have to be hungry to go in the trap, given that she was trapped herself just last year. If I can figure out all the people on that block who feed cats and get them on board, and figure out which one might be where Luna is going, I could place the trap there and be more likely to succeed.

Targeting a single cat out of an area, who has a lot of feral instincts and experience and likely behaving very much like a feral, who was caught in a trap just last year-- not the easiest trapping project. I have definitely noticed the lack of instructions covering this case! On top of that, all the people feeding in the area who haven't yet done TNR on the population certainly doesn't make it any easier.