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- Nov 8, 2019
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My 9 year old sweet indoor kitty Fae got out of the house on Sat. It's now Friday and she's still not home. Hoping for some expert advice on getting her home! First couple of days I tried the normal recommended things. Litterbox, food, and clothing outside, flyers up, posts on Facebook, walking around with food calling to her in the middle of the night, leaving the door open at all hours.. I set out motion cameras and she just wasn't coming around at all. Eventually a neighbor who feeds strays called and told me she's been feeding her! We finally got sight of her when the neighbor called and said she was in their yard. But as soon as she saw me she ran. We discovered she has been hiding in the crawlspace of an abandoned house 3 blocks from my house and going back and forth between there and the neighbor who is 2 blocks away. So she's not anywhere near our house. My husband and I have spent the last 3 days following her around the neighborhood. She won't come anywhere near us. I've been reading a lot about cat behavior and I've been lead to believe that an indoor cat will be terrified, hunker down, and run from everyone including her owners. She is running from everyone, BUT! She's not hunkered down and scared. I'll drive by and she'll be lounging on the sidewalk or sauntering into the cat-feeding neighbor's yard or sunning in the entrance of the crawlspace. She isn't "running" running, she just makes sure to stay about 10 feet away from anyone. She sits there and stares at me calling out shaking food at her and walks off when I get closer or she gets bored of watching me. What is she doing???? Last night we went to the abandoned house and sealed off all entrances except the one she goes in. I've been putting food inside the crawlspace and she's been eating it (good because we've been inadvertently disrupting her feedings with the neighbor). This morning she was sitting in the neighbors yard so I sat across the street with some smelly wet food playing with a cat toy. Every cat on the block came running except her. She watched me for a few minutes then wandered back to the crawlspace. As soon as she got in she started eating the food I had left her, but as I got closer she ran deeper into the crawlspace. So I went in and closed the entrance behind me. I crawled all over the place (yuck) and could not find her. I dont know where she could have gone but she was either very well hidden (run-of-the-mill crawlspace, not many places to hide) or she found a way out (not likely as we sealed all exits!) So I gave up and closed it back up in case she is still in there. I'm going to check in a few hours to see if she's eaten any more food, as that will be a sign that she is in fact still in there. If not I'll open it back up so she can get back in (will she come back in if she came around when it was closed?). A humane trap would be the best bet for catching her I think, especially since she's eating her food. But I literally cannot afford one right now she happened to run away in between paychecks.
So I bought some calming chews and put them in her food. I'm hoping that will help somehow. But what else do I do? And why is she acting full-on feral??
Thanks for any help
So I bought some calming chews and put them in her food. I'm hoping that will help somehow. But what else do I do? And why is she acting full-on feral??
Thanks for any help