- Joined
- Jun 19, 2021
- Messages
- 241
- Purraise
- 302
I'm looking for any advice or tips on how to coax a shy, timid cat back inside the house.
One of my in-laws cats got outside Friday night, 4 nights ago, by popping out a window screen and she's been outside ever since (right now it is Tuesday morning). My husband is with them and is trying to help get her back inside.
They have spotted her in the small wooded section behind their house and we think she's been there for a few days. We're fortunate to know where she is, but we think she feels too displaced and is too scared to leave the safe cover of the trees and come back to the house. Please see the photos for more detail, one is very poorly drawn and not to scale. The other photo shows the trees and you can see the trap in the center of the photo.
Their cat is 3 years old, very shy and not used to many people or any type of loud activity. My in-laws are in their 80's and this cat is very attached to my father in law; she is extremely shy around everyone else. She knows my husband well but it still takes her a day to warm up to him every visit.
They found her Saturday morning, hiding under the wheelchair ramp that extends from the back porch. She eventually came out and was walking back to the porch, but my husband made a sudden move to open the back door and it scared her and she fled to the trees. She has been there ever since.
The trees are about 30 feet/10 yards/10 meters away from my in-laws house. Their cat is allowed outdoors but she prefers to stay indoors. She only goes outside once or twice a week when my in-laws have lunch on the porch, and she never leaves the porch. I am concerned the trees behind their house are far enough away that she considers them to be unfamiliar territory and is currently too scared to leave. The trees are about 30 feet thick and about 60 feet wide; another row of houses sits on the opposite side of the trees. It has about 10 feet of walkable area, then transitions to about 20 feet of thick overgrowth where a person can't walk through.
They have been calling for her since Saturday. She meowed back to my father in law late Saturday night for about 20 minutes but they couldn't figure out where she was. I wish my father in law had not gone back in the house, but he's 82 and it was after 11:30 pm and he simply couldn't keep going any more. My husband stayed outside but didn't hear or see anything after that. They also spotted her Sunday night - she was in the thick part of the trees and she moved after being spotted by my husband.
They've tried leaving small amounts of canned food and tuna in a trail that leads back to the house. Unfortunately, they live in a semi-rural area where there are many stray and owned outdoor cats. Several of them have been spotted eating the food.
My husband stayed up last night (Monday night) to trap her (this is the trap in the photo). We do TNR in our home area, so my husband is very good at setting a trap and monitoring it. He trapped a neighbor's cat and released him but that was the only activity all night.
Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? All neighbors have been contacted and are on the lookout. We are considering stopping the food in an attempt to make her hungry enough to head home, but we don't know if she's been eating it anyway. There are also many small rodents and birds in the woods, I have no idea if she would try to catch and eat any of them. My in-laws have another cat that is allowed to freely roam outside, and she greatly enjoys it and goes into neighboring yards daily. She's been kept inside while the other cat has been outside, we are wondering if it would help to let her out? We were unsure if letting her out would help or hurt the situation. My husband is also going to try trapping again tonight, we can't think of anything else to try at this point.
One of my in-laws cats got outside Friday night, 4 nights ago, by popping out a window screen and she's been outside ever since (right now it is Tuesday morning). My husband is with them and is trying to help get her back inside.
They have spotted her in the small wooded section behind their house and we think she's been there for a few days. We're fortunate to know where she is, but we think she feels too displaced and is too scared to leave the safe cover of the trees and come back to the house. Please see the photos for more detail, one is very poorly drawn and not to scale. The other photo shows the trees and you can see the trap in the center of the photo.
Their cat is 3 years old, very shy and not used to many people or any type of loud activity. My in-laws are in their 80's and this cat is very attached to my father in law; she is extremely shy around everyone else. She knows my husband well but it still takes her a day to warm up to him every visit.
They found her Saturday morning, hiding under the wheelchair ramp that extends from the back porch. She eventually came out and was walking back to the porch, but my husband made a sudden move to open the back door and it scared her and she fled to the trees. She has been there ever since.
The trees are about 30 feet/10 yards/10 meters away from my in-laws house. Their cat is allowed outdoors but she prefers to stay indoors. She only goes outside once or twice a week when my in-laws have lunch on the porch, and she never leaves the porch. I am concerned the trees behind their house are far enough away that she considers them to be unfamiliar territory and is currently too scared to leave. The trees are about 30 feet thick and about 60 feet wide; another row of houses sits on the opposite side of the trees. It has about 10 feet of walkable area, then transitions to about 20 feet of thick overgrowth where a person can't walk through.
They have been calling for her since Saturday. She meowed back to my father in law late Saturday night for about 20 minutes but they couldn't figure out where she was. I wish my father in law had not gone back in the house, but he's 82 and it was after 11:30 pm and he simply couldn't keep going any more. My husband stayed outside but didn't hear or see anything after that. They also spotted her Sunday night - she was in the thick part of the trees and she moved after being spotted by my husband.
They've tried leaving small amounts of canned food and tuna in a trail that leads back to the house. Unfortunately, they live in a semi-rural area where there are many stray and owned outdoor cats. Several of them have been spotted eating the food.
My husband stayed up last night (Monday night) to trap her (this is the trap in the photo). We do TNR in our home area, so my husband is very good at setting a trap and monitoring it. He trapped a neighbor's cat and released him but that was the only activity all night.
Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? All neighbors have been contacted and are on the lookout. We are considering stopping the food in an attempt to make her hungry enough to head home, but we don't know if she's been eating it anyway. There are also many small rodents and birds in the woods, I have no idea if she would try to catch and eat any of them. My in-laws have another cat that is allowed to freely roam outside, and she greatly enjoys it and goes into neighboring yards daily. She's been kept inside while the other cat has been outside, we are wondering if it would help to let her out? We were unsure if letting her out would help or hurt the situation. My husband is also going to try trapping again tonight, we can't think of anything else to try at this point.
