i lost my cat away from home and am desperately seeking some advice

[slimmy20]

thank you everyone again
i'll be taking all the advice and seeing what happens this following week.
hopefully with good news.

 

[Meowmee]

slimmy is chipped! i do hope someone like you will recognize he might have an owner and trap him. there are a couple colonies nearby and hopefully he knows to make his way there. i placed a trail cam at one and the kitties look so content and safe.

the family must have been SO relieved! sounds like cats will survive just about anywhere and anything, fortunately. we've been lucky here in southern california.. it's usually scalding dry and hot this time of the year, but it's been cloudy and foggy. hoping this weather lasts a bit longer!

Yes they were, especially his mom, who was a teenage girl. Unfortunately I saw him again on one of the emails from lost and found pets- I guess they had him chipped after the first time. And he was missing again I hope they found him I don’t know what happened that second time, but it described him as missing part of his tail.

 

[soccerash21]

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!View attachment 451128View attachment 451133View attachment 451134View attachment 451138View attachment 451139View attachment 451140View attachment 451141

I am SO sorry for what you are going through. I can not even imagine. But you deserve all of the credit in the world for all of the efforts you have been putting in to try to get Slimmy back. I have heard that if you place their litterbox outside of your home, it is supposed to help bring them back because of the scent, but I'm not sure how much of it is true. The fact that he came home already is a good sign, and indicates how smart he is that he knew where to go. Don't give up hope. I wish I lived closer so I could help you look for him, but I am sending you all of the hugs and prayers in the world that you are able to find him. Please keep us posted.

 

[nurseangel]

I'll definitely still pray! I used to work in prison and regardless of an inmate's religion (or lack thereof) everyone said yes when I asked if I could pray for them when they went in for a surgical procedure.

 

[cmshap]

I'll definitely still pray! I used to work in prison and regardless of an inmate's religion (or lack thereof) everyone said yes when I asked if I could pray for them when they went in for a surgical procedure.

This is a little off-topic, but I am also posting to ask if there are any updates from the past two weeks.

I am atheist, but I will join people in prayer if asked. And I've been there before my own surgeries when people wanted to pray for me.

If anything, I believe it puts more positive energy out into the world, which impacts people's attitudes and sense of community. The nicer people are, the more likely they are to help others with things like finding a lost cat.

 

[slimmy20]

sorry everyone for the late update ):

shortly after my last post i caught a coyote on my trailcam at the same spot and exact same time (to the very minute) i had last seen slimmy and it was devastating. i have a feeling that the couple days i had left traps and bait out, i may have attracted nearby coyotes to the area and maybe one of them got slimmy. the same coyote kept showing up every other day or two. same place same time. a neighbor informed me that there IS a coyote den just down the street by one of the trails.

the other day i had a bit of a breakdown, bought a machete and searched the dense bush next to where slimmy was last seen and only found a squirrel skull. i figure if the coyote did get him, there should be some sort evidence nearby? but maybe that evidence is long gone since it could have happened over a month ago ):

i just don't know what to think. but i wanted to thank everyone here for the advice and the kind words. i think when i first came here i had a false sense of optimism that everything would be okay but it's really starting to dawn on me that he might really be gone for good. i wanted so badly to come back here and post a happy update that slimmy had been found but its looking like that might not be the case.

on the plus side.. i ended up TNR'ing a very feral kitty who was a slimmy lookalike. it was nice having a cat back at home, even if it was for a short while. and knowing he was hiding in the same spot slimmy had hidden in made me feel a little better, like maybe they'd seen each other at some point.

 

[slimmy20]

Yes they were, especially his mom, who was a teenage girl. Unfortunately I saw him again on one of the emails from lost and found pets- I guess they had him chipped after the first time. And he was missing again I hope they found him I don’t know what happened that second time, but it described him as missing part of his tail.

darn. i feel like if i were ever to get my kitty back he would be on 25/8 absolute lockdown. maybe that cat was a master of escape. hope the kitty is okay now ):

 

[slimmy20]

I am SO sorry for what you are going through. I can not even imagine. But you deserve all of the credit in the world for all of the efforts you have been putting in to try to get Slimmy back. I have heard that if you place their litterbox outside of your home, it is supposed to help bring them back because of the scent, but I'm not sure how much of it is true. The fact that he came home already is a good sign, and indicates how smart he is that he knew where to go. Don't give up hope. I wish I lived closer so I could help you look for him, but I am sending you all of the hugs and prayers in the world that you are able to find him. Please keep us posted.

thank you
i've posted a little update though sadly, no slimmy ): i do have his litterbox out in our yard. some of the sightings of slimmy i've been getting are very close to my street, so im hoping it'll draw him over here. trying just about anything at this point. fingers crossed!

 

[slimmy20]

I'll definitely still pray! I used to work in prison and regardless of an inmate's religion (or lack thereof) everyone said yes when I asked if I could pray for them when they went in for a surgical procedure.

i do believe in the power of prayer and sending out energy into this world! thank you for what you do and for your prayers

 

[slimmy20]

This is a little off-topic, but I am also posting to ask if there are any updates from the past two weeks.

I am atheist, but I will join people in prayer if asked. And I've been there before my own surgeries when people wanted to pray for me.

If anything, I believe it puts more positive energy out into the world, which impacts people's attitudes and sense of community. The nicer people are, the more likely they are to help others with things like finding a lost cat.

unfortunately i still have not found my boy ): there have been a couple of sightings but most of them have just been of lookalikes. i'm still hoping for an actual one, so i still have my cameras out and still go out searching

agnostic here, and definitely agree with the sentiment behind sending out energy into the world! i actually had two very strange incidents happen to me while searching for slimmy. i got a call from someone who had seen slimmy and he directed me towards the site. the same day, i was searched through a bush area by an apartment, a several blocks away from there. i was so tired and didnt have the energy to go door to door, so i picked ONE of the doors, and to my shock it was the apartment of the man who had called me earlier. i just laughed nervously hoping he didnt think i was a crazy stalker or something. out of all the apartments, i chose that one. then last week, the SAME thing happened except it was on a street. i had to pick ONE house to knock on because i only had one flyer left and it was the same person who had called me about slimmy the day prior, but about a sighting away from that street. though it could just be weird coincidence, i do think that there might be some energy people give off. maybe the way people decorate the front of their homes gives off a "welcoming" and "helpful" feeling which is reflected in their propensity to help out others looking for pets. and since i'm so desperate, i subconsciously picked those houses out because they just felt right.

sorry for the convoluted story, but i just wanted to share. ever since my search for slimmy started, i am way less cynical about my city and internet communities. there are so many kind people out there. i do believe energy works that way, and i appreciate the positive vibes here so much. i hope someday i can come back here when im less depressed, and extend a helping hand to others going through this grueling process.

 

[Meowmee]

Don’t give up this must be so hard. There have been sightings so you know that he’s still out there trying to get back to you. Hugs.

 

[Meowmee]

darn. i feel like if i were ever to get my kitty back he would be on 25/8 absolute lockdown. maybe that cat was a master of escape. hope the kitty is okay now ):

I kind of got the feeling from the father of that he was just not going to be cautious. When I told him you should keep him inside for a few weeks till he got acclimated to the new house. He kind of looked at me like oh yeah, blah blah blah. But there was nothing I can do. There’s no way I would keep someone’s cat from them….the teenage girl was so happy to be reunited with her BFF and so was kitty.

They never even sent me a card or anything thanking me for what I did. If I had not fed him and had my shelters set up, I don’t know if he would’ve survived for that long month of icy freezing weather. If someone had saved my lost cat, and contacted me. I would be thanking them for the rest of my life.

 

[Meowmee]

sorry everyone for the late update ):

shortly after my last post i caught a coyote on my trailcam at the same spot and exact same time (to the very minute) i had last seen slimmy and it was devastating. i have a feeling that the couple days i had left traps and bait out, i may have attracted nearby coyotes to the area and maybe one of them got slimmy. the same coyote kept showing up every other day or two. same place same time. a neighbor informed me that there IS a coyote den just down the street by one of the trails.

the other day i had a bit of a breakdown, bought a machete and searched the dense bush next to where slimmy was last seen and only found a squirrel skull. i figure if the coyote did get him, there should be some sort evidence nearby? but maybe that evidence is long gone since it could have happened over a month ago ):

i just don't know what to think. but i wanted to thank everyone here for the advice and the kind words. i think when i first came here i had a false sense of optimism that everything would be okay but it's really starting to dawn on me that he might really be gone for good. i wanted so badly to come back here and post a happy update that slimmy had been found but its looking like that might not be the case.

on the plus side.. i ended up TNR'ing a very feral kitty who was a slimmy lookalike. it was nice having a cat back at home, even if it was for a short while. and knowing he was hiding in the same spot slimmy had hidden in made me feel a little better, like maybe they'd seen each other at some point.

If you don’t have evidence if he was captured by a coyote, I would just assume he’s still out there. I was sure one of my outdoor cats had passed away because I hadn’t seen her for over a year and then one morning at 5 AM I saw her eating the food I had put out on the patio. So she was still there and she still was coming to eat. I’m sure she had other places she ate at too. The same thing happened with Zena. He was out there for two years. I tried to get him in but he got scared away by my other cats and he was just so scared. I didn’t see him for several months and then all the sudden I saw him on the cameras. Then I ended up trapping tnr him not long after that.

 

[Kwik]

slimmy20
Thus just tears my heart to shreds,I'm so sorry your so sad and heart broken but hang on to HOPE...
,I understand that you're agnostic but can I just say that I've enough Faith in Almighty God for both of us-and I continue to pray because I know without a shadow of doubt what God is Able to do-so I ask for you,for Slimmy...... & with LOVE
Please,don't think about that Wile E.Coyote.... Slimmy knows about predators,cats are pretty hard to catch,not easy prey
I'm hanging on to thoughts of Slimmy return .

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I believe it was last winter that we had an indoor-only cat lost in an area with known predators, in sub-zero temperatures, and for a good long time. That cat returned home, a bit thin, but overall in good health. Do not lose hope. Cats are ultimate survivors. Slimmy may make it home again just when you've given up! When that happens, we'll be happy to help you with introductions! Not guaranteeing that will happen, but that's what I'm putting out into the universe!

 

[slimmy20]

I kind of got the feeling from the father of that he was just not going to be cautious. When I told him you should keep him inside for a few weeks till he got acclimated to the new house. He kind of looked at me like oh yeah, blah blah blah. But there was nothing I can do. There’s no way I would keep someone’s cat from them….the teenage girl was so happy to be reunited with her BFF and so was kitty.

They never even sent me a card or anything thanking me for what I did. If I had not fed him and had my shelters set up, I don’t know if he would’ve survived for that long month of icy freezing weather. If someone had saved my lost cat, and contacted me. I would be thanking them for the rest of my life.

you'd think that after the first time, that feeling of panic would be enough to make most people anxious about ever letting their cat out again ): it's such a jolting feeling. and i agree! just getting a phone call or a text or a ring video from someone thinking they saw my cat makes me feel so thankful people actually take time out of their lives to help. if someone was out there actively feeding and sheltering my kitty?? and trying to find out if he has a family? that's seriously a godsend. that family was SO very lucky their kitty stumbled on your cat sanctuary. i havent put a reward on my posters because of all the scam calls i get, but if someone reunited me with slimmy, they are getting cash money and being suffocated with attention lol.

 

[slimmy20]

If you don’t have evidence if he was captured by a coyote, I would just assume he’s still out there. I was sure one of my outdoor cats had passed away because I hadn’t seen her for over a year and then one morning at 5 AM I saw her eating the food I had put out on the patio. So she was still there and she still was coming to eat. I’m sure she had other places she ate at too. The same thing happened with Zena. He was out there for two years. I tried to get him in but he got scared away by my other cats and he was just so scared. I didn’t see him for several months and then all the sudden I saw him on the cameras. Then I ended up trapping tnr him not long after that.

thank you for this the coyote situation really gets to me as it seems most likely. but your story reminds me of all the other kitties i see on my cameras.. literally crossing paths with coyotes within the half hour (sometimes 5 minutes from eachother) and they're fine everyday. there was one cat who crossed path with a coyote and i never saw him on camera again. this was 1.5 months ago.. but i saw him on camera last week. it wasn't slimmy but it was SUCH A RELIEF. i have a feeling slimmy might be feeling like your zena.. just very scared. im about to go check and refresh my cameras and this was very motivating! i dread doing it because every time i check them (i have 6 now) its just demoralizing seeing zero sign of slimmy.

 

[slimmy20]

slimmy20
Thus just tears my heart to shreds,I'm so sorry your so sad and heart broken but hang on to HOPE...
,I understand that you're agnostic but can I just say that I've enough Faith in Almighty God for both of us-and I continue to pray because I know without a shadow of doubt what God is Able to do-so I ask for you,for Slimmy...... & with LOVE
Please,don't think about that Wile E.Coyote.... Slimmy knows about predators,cats are pretty hard to catch,not easy prey
I'm hanging on to thoughts of Slimmy return .

wile e coyote... that made me laugh i am so used to cursing coyotes under my breath but they could just be minding their own business while being every missing pet owner's favorite scapegoat.

thank you so much for the constant faith and unwavering hope without those it's really hard to get out of the house and keep doing slimmy stuff. just want you to know how big of a difference it makes over here and i really appreciate it. i probably have more faith in god than i admit. there's this photo i took the day i saw slimmy on camera, and it was of a rain cloud with a wishbone? arrow? looking thing on it. i stare at it a lot because slimmy's always reminded me of a cloud and rain is very rare here. call it superstitious.. but i spend a good chunk of time searching the spot it points towards.. which is a neighborhood around the area i lost him, and a viable cat hiding spot with lots of greenery! even had a sighting there two days ago. hoping its a sign!

 

[slimmy20]

I believe it was last winter that we had an indoor-only cat lost in an area with known predators, in sub-zero temperatures, and for a good long time. That cat returned home, a bit thin, but overall in good health. Do not lose hope. Cats are ultimate survivors. Slimmy may make it home again just when you've given up! When that happens, we'll be happy to help you with introductions! Not guaranteeing that will happen, but that's what I'm putting out into the universe!

i am hoping for that! thank you very much. it's always very comforting to hear about cats and their survival instincts kicking in. slimmy was only feral for a little bit and was indoors other than that.. so knowing an indoor-only cat can still make it out is extremely good to hear. very glad your cat survived that sort of harsh weather! over here the concern is how dry and hot it is.. but i cant imagine having to worry about freezing temperatures. even if i dont find slimmy.. i will be frequenting this forum. the stories and advice have helped tremendously

 

[cmshap]

slimmy was only feral for a little bit and was indoors other than that.. so knowing an indoor-only cat can still make it out is extremely good to hear.

I posted a story on the first page of this thread about a neighbor's cat returning after 6 months of being lost outside. I did not mention in that post that the cat I described was a former member of a feral colony, turned indoor cat. So I think she definitely had survival skills left over, despite living in indoor comfort for years before she got outside again.

She was a very affectionate cat for a former feral, so she definitely was predisposed for indoor life, and found her preferred place once adopted. But she must have resorted to her survival instincts from her early years. This all happened in Wisconsin, in the transition period between fall and winter. So when she finally returned after 6 months, she had survived a full WI winter.