Indoor Only Cat Lost For 5 Days; Too Afraid To Come Near Me

[camp5590]

I'm at a loss and desperate. I live in a bustley little subdivision and every day our cat is missing I worry that he will get trapped somewhere or attacked by a predator or hide in a car engine.

Some background: our cat is a neutered male 7 year old. He has been indoor only his whole life and has never been outside until now.

The second night he went missing i found him in our neighbors yard and slowly called for him until he ran away from me terrified. This happened again last night, which was the 4th night. He has always been skittish. Considering I've spent hours and hours calling him, and then the next night just sitting outside and talking in a normal voice, to no avail I'm not sure he is coming to me on his own.

I decided to buy a humane trap. Problem is i tried it last night and ended up catching a stray... one of about 6 i have seen around the neighborhood. Now I'm thinking the traps won't work either because of the other cats around constantly interfering.

I've tried putting out his litter, I've tried leaving the door open and hoping he just shows up. He just remains hidden.

He's so scared of everything that I worry he will get himself killed before coming home. Any ideas on how to work around the other cats in the neighborhood? Im slowly losing my mind.

 

[Norachan]

Hi C camp5590

I'm sorry to hear your cat is outside. At least you are seeing him close by, that's a good sign. I think a human trap is the best thing to do. I do TNR on feral traps and I've found that once a cat has been trapped they become very trap shy. It's almost impossible to trap the same cat twice, particularly in a short space of time. Keep trying with the trap, eventually the strays will work out what it is and stay away.

Could you contact a TNR group in your area and ask them to help? They will have other traps you can use, which will speed things up. Also, if you are trapping these stray cats it makes sense to get them spayed and neutered so they don't add to the feral population.

Other things you could try are leaving your cats litter box near your open door so he can smell his way home. You could also try baiting the trap with something that smells of home. His bedding or a t-shirt you have worn, for example.

Good luck, please keep us posted.

 

[maggiedemi]

Does he have a favorite food or treat, something that he just can't resist? When Demi escaped, he was having a great time outdoors, playing in the woods with the neighbors' cat. So I set out a plate of his favorite dry food and he couldn't resist it. I grabbed him while he was eating it.

 

[camp5590]

Thank you Norachan and M maggiedemi for your wonderful suggestions. I guess he just decided he was done, because he jumped up in the window sill and started meowing at 3am last night! After opening the window and waiting patiently for 15 minutes he jumped back inside and is pretending like nothing ever happened.

I want to thank you again for responding to my message because I was in a bad place and having someone give advice brought comfort to me when I was needing it.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I am so sorry that I didn't find this until he was back home, but SO GLAD that he is! Make sure that you get him microchipped when you can. It isn't expensive, and you will have the comfort of knowing that if he gets out again and is picked up as a stray, he can get home to you! HUGS!

 

[Norachan]

That's wonderful news.



Give him a hug from me, I'm glad to hear he is safe again.