Help me solve the mystery of dissapearing cats. Any pet detective on board?

Johnv713

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From time to time( every couple of wks) i’d find one or two members of the colony AWOL. They just seem to vanish in thin air. I searched everywhere in my small subdivision for bodies but nothing. Asked around the neighbors and they are as stumped as i am. If they got hit by a car surely someone would let me know or id see blood/ carcass in the street. I know for a fact they dont get past the gates as theyre very scared of nearby traffics. Everytime this happens i get worried sick. I’d love to get to the bottom of this. Any ideas guys?
 

Jcatbird

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Yep. Is there anyone else there who worries about the colony? Maybe feeding elsewhere or even bringing them in? Does anyone object to the colony? If so you should check the local animal control and all shelters. You might want to start taking photos to keep a record of the kitties and to post flyers to see if anyone is “Rescuing” for socializing and adoption. Many people worry about cats wandering and think they are lost so take them in, trap, etc. If they are not spayed/neutered then often other colony members will run off those in competition during anyone being in heat. They can vanish and still return much later. Make sure neighbors check any outbuildings that may be getting closed up too. Cats are masters at hiding. They may be still around but you just don’t see them because of their skills at vanishing. I’ve spent weeks before at tracking lost kitties. One Mom left her babies and had me frantic but I finally discovered she was coming back to visit them about 3:00AM. I got lucky one night and caught a brief flash of her in the woods. I wasn’t even sure it was a cat I was seeing but I returned to the same spot at the same time each day and finally spotted her.
Cats have a very wide range they can travel. I once found a lost cat from five miles away. His family had been frantic for months. He was fine. Just wandering, hunting and hanging out here. Lol
If resources are not plentiful enough, a colony may split up too. They go in search of new places to survive well , shelter, find food etc. Hopefully they are all right under your nose. :alright:
 
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Johnv713

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Glad you found the cat. Hopefully the ones went missing in my neigborhood would just show up one day. It’s been several months now and im still waiting. Thanks!
 

EmersonandEvie

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I hate to suggest it, by urban coyotes and birds of prey are real threats to cats. :( We are pretty sure we lost a kitten this year to some sort of hawk. If a hawk or coyote is aware of an area that has several things they like to eat...well...they may frequent it, and they won't leave much, if anything, behind. You could try to set up game cameras to see if you can get photo proof of any wildlife in your area.
 
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Johnv713

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Purdy sure there arent predators in my area. I saw a possum once but dont think they woukd mess with full grown cats. There arent any hawks for my pond full of koi would go first :)
 

vervainandrue

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From time to time( every couple of wks) i’d find one or two members of the colony AWOL. They just seem to vanish in thin air. I searched everywhere in my small subdivision for bodies but nothing. Asked around the neighbors and they are as stumped as i am. If they got hit by a car surely someone would let me know or id see blood/ carcass in the street. I know for a fact they dont get past the gates as theyre very scared of nearby traffics. Everytime this happens i get worried sick. I’d love to get to the bottom of this. Any ideas guys?
Hi John, I don't know where you live, but have you considered predators? I live in Massachusetts and we have a terrible problem with coyotes here, and they eat cats and small dogs. We also have fisher cats who have come down from Vermont and New Hampshire, and they are viscous and leave no carcass to be found. Sorry for such a sobering suggestion but it's the reality of the feral life. Good luck.
 
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Johnv713

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I live in the heart of Houston. No coyotes, bobcats, eagles etc. Just small games if there are any. Only thing i could think of is maybe some of the cats been driven away by other members of the colony. Even then at least theyve wouldve returned by now. I just dont have an explanation for the dissapearance :(
 

EmersonandEvie

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Urban coyote studies are fascinating. I'd be willing to bet there are some. Los Angeles has quite a few.
Beat of luck with your cats! Maybe they are forming their own colony somewhere else.
 
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Johnv713

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I hope so. I drove around every night looking for any signs. Hoping theyre getting enough food and shelter some where thanks!
 

moxiewild

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I’m a wildlife rehabilitatior in Texas not too far from you. I’ve done work and worked with various rescues in Houston and the Houston area suburbs.

Your predators are plentiful.

One of a feral cats likeliest predators would actually be the incredible amount of stray, feral, and free roaming pet dogs in Houston.

Game cameras or security cameras would be your best bet to get to the bottom of this.

Do you leave any food out at night?

Keep in mind that wildlife instinctually conceal themselves as much as possible to avoid humans. If they’re doing what they’re supposed to, then the vast majority of people will never, or only very rarely, see them. Their survival depends on this.

Do you have the Nextdoor app or an account? I often find people there will post when they’ve seen a cat or dog that was killed on the side of the road (or otherwise appears to be lost).

Our ferals go missing quite frequently. We had one who went missing for four months, came back, and has so far gone missing again for a couple of two week stretches, and this last time almost an entire month (our cameras FINALLY caught him last night!). Another feral went missing for two months and just recently came back a couple of weeks ago.

Conversely, there’s currently another feral who only comes by a couple tines a week in the middle of the night. Sometimes he eats, other times he only drinks water. But I would never even know he existed without our cameras.

So definitely consider setting one up! It’s the only way I’ve been able to know when some of the cats I thought were missing were still actually around, how bad our wildlife problem actually was, and that an aggressive Tom had begun attacking our colony.

I honestly consider game cameras essential when managing ferals now. There is so much that goes on when we’re not around and being able to keep tabs on them is an invaluable tool to me, and frankly just offers a modicum of relief at times.

Have you tried just putting out some really stinky food like you would bait? I’ve done this when trying to confirm whether a certain feral was actually still in the area or not, it seems to work quite often.
 

Willowy

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Do you contact all the local shelters when one goes missing? A disgruntled neighbor (or one trying to be helpful) may be dropping them off at shelters.
 
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Johnv713

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I usually do not leave out food overnight. I feed them just enough so nothing goes to waste. We dont have that many stray dogs in the area, if any.

Ive checked the local shelter website albeit not thoroughly or as often as i should. Ill look again tonight.

The longest ive had a stray missing is a few days, a week at most. Came back looking malnuroushed with a messed up coat.
 

Willowy

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Ive checked the local shelter website albeit not thoroughly or as often as i should. Ill look again tonight.
Most shelters only list the animals that are up for adoption on their website. Many ferals never get to the adoption floor. . .:(. It's much better to call or go in to check the stray hold animals as soon as one goes missing.
 

abyeb

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I’m sorry to hear about this. Your post reminded me of an article I read here on TCS:

Catnapped Feral Cat Colony Finds Its Way Home

There is some helpful advice in here about how you might be able to track down the cats. I hope your ferals show up again, like the colony in the article.
 

Jcatbird

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Take photos of each cat as you can and try to make sure you get any distinguishing markings. You can send them to the shelters as well as going there to look. I have a friend in your area who rescues ferals a LOT! I don’t know how much distance is between you though. There are some people trying to pull ferals from being at risk outside. The biggest threat she has reported is humans. People and cars. I can try to contact her to see if she can give you any tips. Post photos of any that go missing here and maybe someone will recognize them as having been rescued for adoption. If you post missing photos on Facebook or any public place, be careful not to give a very precise location. That can attract two legged predators. The fact that your Koi are still okay is very encouraging as far as animal or bird predators goes. I am wondering if another person in your area might be feeding too. The cameras are your best resource. It truly is the only way to know if kitties sneak up in the wee hours. I had some that I thought were gone forever. Nope! They just started coming when it was safer, quieter and less active outside. I’m going to post a link to your thread to see in my friend may know anything to help you.
 

solomonar

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In my country there is no coyotes, but there are foxes in same places.

Strange enough, I could not find any way to prevent foxes to predate on kitten, but by chance I came across some ideas about protecting cats against coyotes. I have no idea about how effective they are, but my logic says they are chances to be at least play a precautionary role:
a) plant trees in the backyard
b) use wooden fences with "observation posts" high enough to prevent being reached by a coyote jump (I have no idea about numbers- perhaps 1.80 m is sufficient)
c) place wooden boxes with some very small holes to allow only the cat to enter and place them on the obvious hunting paths
 

Uncled

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Don't discount a Great horned owl taking down a cat, they are found in urban and rural areas all across North America.
 

Jcatbird

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I heard back from someone who gave suggestions. You need to go in person to BARC and Harris County Animal Shelter. This should be done immediately upon missing any feral or outside kitty. Are they ear tipped?
 
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Johnv713

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Awww the article was a great read. Glad they all made it back to the property. Did not know cats can trace their way back from a long distant. I know dogs can.

Only the females ears are tipped. The boys are stll players lol
 
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