- Joined
- Jun 1, 2023
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28 days ago i lost my boy, slim shady or slimmy as i like to call him, at a park about 1 mile away from home. it was his first time outside, was wearing a leash/harness and got completely spooked by some unleashed dogs. he scrambled out of my arms, bolted across the park and jumped into someone's yard. i made a huge mistake and it hurts just typing this.
i asked the neighbor if i could search his yard for my slimmy but he did not allow it. they have all sorts of car parts and cars being repaired so i think they felt uncomfortable with a stranger poking into their business. it was impossible going home. i spent the night sitting by his yard and calling for slimmy.
i did the same the next night. i spoke to the other neighbors who were a bit more helpful and tried to read every single article i could on finding "displaced" cats. it hurt so much that slimmy didnt have a way to find his way home and what if he got tangled or choked by his harness? i overnighted a trail camera and placed it by the neighbors yard.
my city (chino hills, in southern california) is known for its dry weather.. but the two nights that slimmy went missing, it was POURING rain. i wanted to die.
but on day 3 i SAW slimmy on the camera feed at 3:30am. i cried with happiness on the spot. i was able to get ahold of 3 humane traps that i set up with the help of a local pet trapper. the next night, slimmy came out 3:30am again, but did not enter the traps. he sniffed them and disappeared. but his harness and leash were gone!! all he had on was his collar. i was SO relieved.
the next 4-5 days he did not appear on camera. instead i trapped a possum, then a grumpy racoon, then the local black cat, then a grey tomcat.. twice. there is a huge bushy area by this yard where all sorts of critters live. bunnies, birds, voles, possums galore. the bait in the traps must have been attracting them. around this time i started placing coyote repellent lights around the neighborhood.
so the days after this have been a blur of desperation and so many ups and downs. a skunk showed up at that spot, and then a spotted cat who is a slimmy lookalike. by this time i removed the traps. this spotted cat has been showing up to this area daily, to this very day. no sign of slimmy. i have seen a coyote at this spot once. seeing the image of a coyote at that same spot truly gutted me but i tried to focus on the articles explaining that coyote dont kill cats as often as it may seem.
i camped out by the bush area over night, sitting in a chair. i parked my car overnight by his escape point. i walked the neighborhood around 3am, playing his fave toy sounds and lighting up bushes.
ive placed neon signs on all the intersections. ive gone door to door and handed flyers. posted them by the schools nearby, the clinics and shelters. i check the feral cat spots by that area and have networked a bit to get to know which neighbors like feeding stray cats. all of them have been so kind and helpful.. but none have seen slimmy at all.
i even broke apart poop to see if it was coyote scat and if id find cat remains.
my desperation continued and i rented a 50ft endoscope camera to check storm drains. unsuccessful. im at 5 trail cameras now because if it had not been for that one camera, i would never have seen slimmy after that horrible day i lost him! ive snuck 2 cameras into a bordering apartment complex that connects to the bush area. i have one at the main spot. another one i move around potential sighting spots.. and the last one i have in my yard incase he finds his way home by some magic.
every day that goes by i lose more and more hope. i just dont know what to do. ive posted on all the different social medias.. ring, nextdoor, facebook, craigslist, pawboost, petfinder.
i just have a feeling slimmy is either gone ): or he is hiding after getting chased away by a territorial cat or other predators.
slimmy used to be a feral colony cat. i hope everyday that his feral instincts kicked in and he's surviving. he's always been a skittish boy who likes low-level hiding spots. when i saw him on camera those two times he seemed extra cautious and was only there for 2 minutes each time. when i first adopted him, it took him a week to come out from under my bed. once he got used to me he was SO curious and observant. he taught himself how to open doors and would remember where we kept his toys.. even after days. he also LOVED chasing any bug-like toys. i like thinking that he is surviving by eating those bugs he likes and by laying low. ive heard ferals are nocturnal.. and maybe this is why he has never been seen by neighbors yet, despite still being in the area? or maybe he hasnt been seen because he's far away in a different neighborhood because he kept getting chased away by other cats? is he considered a feral cat now? or a stray? would he know to find a colony? would he be able to join one?
i just dont really know what to think or do at this point. part of me wonders if i should be sitting out there at that park at 3:30am every night. but its been almost a month.. is it too late to try that? i miss him so much. he's my only boy. i love him so much and i feel so desperate.
does anyone have any tips or encouragement related to finding a cat that was lost away from home? an ex-feral, timid cat? id really appreciate any sort of input. its been a month now and i feel like he could be anywhere, at the same spot.. or nowhere. i just dont understand how i could have seen him on camera on day 3 and day 4, and then have zero trace of him after that.
if you've read this far thank you <3 i hope you arent in a position where you've also lost your beloved cat.. and if you are, my heart goes out to you because this feeling absolutely hurts. ive read some stories here when i first started searching for slimmy and some of them gave me much needed hope and strength. since i just cant sleep thinking about what could have happened to my boy and what i could be doing to help find him.. i thought it'd be a good idea to reach out here.
i added some photos of slimmy as well as some map doodads. maybe it can help illustrate my situation. thank you all again!
i asked the neighbor if i could search his yard for my slimmy but he did not allow it. they have all sorts of car parts and cars being repaired so i think they felt uncomfortable with a stranger poking into their business. it was impossible going home. i spent the night sitting by his yard and calling for slimmy.
i did the same the next night. i spoke to the other neighbors who were a bit more helpful and tried to read every single article i could on finding "displaced" cats. it hurt so much that slimmy didnt have a way to find his way home and what if he got tangled or choked by his harness? i overnighted a trail camera and placed it by the neighbors yard.
my city (chino hills, in southern california) is known for its dry weather.. but the two nights that slimmy went missing, it was POURING rain. i wanted to die.
but on day 3 i SAW slimmy on the camera feed at 3:30am. i cried with happiness on the spot. i was able to get ahold of 3 humane traps that i set up with the help of a local pet trapper. the next night, slimmy came out 3:30am again, but did not enter the traps. he sniffed them and disappeared. but his harness and leash were gone!! all he had on was his collar. i was SO relieved.
the next 4-5 days he did not appear on camera. instead i trapped a possum, then a grumpy racoon, then the local black cat, then a grey tomcat.. twice. there is a huge bushy area by this yard where all sorts of critters live. bunnies, birds, voles, possums galore. the bait in the traps must have been attracting them. around this time i started placing coyote repellent lights around the neighborhood.
so the days after this have been a blur of desperation and so many ups and downs. a skunk showed up at that spot, and then a spotted cat who is a slimmy lookalike. by this time i removed the traps. this spotted cat has been showing up to this area daily, to this very day. no sign of slimmy. i have seen a coyote at this spot once. seeing the image of a coyote at that same spot truly gutted me but i tried to focus on the articles explaining that coyote dont kill cats as often as it may seem.
i camped out by the bush area over night, sitting in a chair. i parked my car overnight by his escape point. i walked the neighborhood around 3am, playing his fave toy sounds and lighting up bushes.
ive placed neon signs on all the intersections. ive gone door to door and handed flyers. posted them by the schools nearby, the clinics and shelters. i check the feral cat spots by that area and have networked a bit to get to know which neighbors like feeding stray cats. all of them have been so kind and helpful.. but none have seen slimmy at all.
i even broke apart poop to see if it was coyote scat and if id find cat remains.
my desperation continued and i rented a 50ft endoscope camera to check storm drains. unsuccessful. im at 5 trail cameras now because if it had not been for that one camera, i would never have seen slimmy after that horrible day i lost him! ive snuck 2 cameras into a bordering apartment complex that connects to the bush area. i have one at the main spot. another one i move around potential sighting spots.. and the last one i have in my yard incase he finds his way home by some magic.
every day that goes by i lose more and more hope. i just dont know what to do. ive posted on all the different social medias.. ring, nextdoor, facebook, craigslist, pawboost, petfinder.
i just have a feeling slimmy is either gone ): or he is hiding after getting chased away by a territorial cat or other predators.
slimmy used to be a feral colony cat. i hope everyday that his feral instincts kicked in and he's surviving. he's always been a skittish boy who likes low-level hiding spots. when i saw him on camera those two times he seemed extra cautious and was only there for 2 minutes each time. when i first adopted him, it took him a week to come out from under my bed. once he got used to me he was SO curious and observant. he taught himself how to open doors and would remember where we kept his toys.. even after days. he also LOVED chasing any bug-like toys. i like thinking that he is surviving by eating those bugs he likes and by laying low. ive heard ferals are nocturnal.. and maybe this is why he has never been seen by neighbors yet, despite still being in the area? or maybe he hasnt been seen because he's far away in a different neighborhood because he kept getting chased away by other cats? is he considered a feral cat now? or a stray? would he know to find a colony? would he be able to join one?
i just dont really know what to think or do at this point. part of me wonders if i should be sitting out there at that park at 3:30am every night. but its been almost a month.. is it too late to try that? i miss him so much. he's my only boy. i love him so much and i feel so desperate.
does anyone have any tips or encouragement related to finding a cat that was lost away from home? an ex-feral, timid cat? id really appreciate any sort of input. its been a month now and i feel like he could be anywhere, at the same spot.. or nowhere. i just dont understand how i could have seen him on camera on day 3 and day 4, and then have zero trace of him after that.
if you've read this far thank you <3 i hope you arent in a position where you've also lost your beloved cat.. and if you are, my heart goes out to you because this feeling absolutely hurts. ive read some stories here when i first started searching for slimmy and some of them gave me much needed hope and strength. since i just cant sleep thinking about what could have happened to my boy and what i could be doing to help find him.. i thought it'd be a good idea to reach out here.
i added some photos of slimmy as well as some map doodads. maybe it can help illustrate my situation. thank you all again!
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