Kitty is lost inside the house

[khalifa]

I came across this site in a desperate attempt to get advice. The cat that I have lost is about a year old, female, and was a stray when i rescued her at about 2 months of age. I live in a house that is about 100 years old, and has crawlspaces that I believe Khalifa got into. She is the first animal that I have had complete responsibility for. She is spayed and up to date on all of her shots, and is completely spoiled rotten by both my boyfriend and myself. I read elsewhere that when indoor cats wander, they are scared easily by unfamiliar surroundings, resort to survival instincts, and will not respond to calls from their owners. I've spent the entire day crawling through the cobwebbed depths of the innards of my house, and She is nowhere to be found. I've been looking for clues such as fur that was snagged on any wood, or where cobwebs have been moved, but most places are not big enough for a human to fit their head into. I'm at a complete loss, but I have no intentions of giving up on my kitty. I've shaken her food and treat containers, and called for her, but I haven't heard a peep from her. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance for any responses or help!

 

[p3 and the king]

How long has she been lost?  It wasn't too clear on that point.  Cats don't go into "survival mode" right away and even if they do, they will still meow and call out for help if they are stuck somewhere and can't get out.  My guess is that, (I am so sorry) but she is probably dead either from an injury or she got stuck someplace and couldn't get to food or water so dehydration.  Either that, or she is not even in the house and is outside.  I would put food/water outside as well and call for her.  Cats can get out without us realizing it because they are fast.  She is probably scared so she is frozen in fear if she is outside.  You may need to look for her out there, too.  Look for places like under porches or steps, someplace "enclosed" but she can still see all that goes on around her.  Like I said, cats don't go feral automatically.  She will still be happy to see you and still cry out to you. I wish you the best of luck and I may think of some other ideas later.  I'm sure some others will also think of something to try.

 

[ritz]

SO sorry.  I was in a similar situation about six months ago.

Put baby powder or similar substance (corn meal, corn starch) in and around crawl spaces; footprints will show up if she is still in the eaves/house.  Also leave out food in several places, the smellier the better.

Cats can live a fairly long time if they have access to water--even condensation from water pipes can be sufficient to sustain life.  (She will of course be in danger of liver failure.)

The rule of thumb is:  if a cat's head can fit into the space, then so can her entire body.  Keep that in mind when looking for your cat and placing baby powder/food.

It is possible your cat is going to try to return to where she was originally trapped/caught. I take care of a feral/dumped cat colony.  In January 2011 we trapped several of the more friendly cats and moved them into a spare room of my friend's house (Cattery).  Our goal was/is to resocialize and adopt them out.  Fast forward eight months:  Buckley escaped first into the eaves and then from the house.  Two weeks later and two miles away, he returned to the stray cat colony.  (Buckley was subsequently retrapped and has now been adopted into a Forever Home.)

Good luck; I know how heart breaking and worrying it is.

 

[Willowy]

How long has she been missing?

 

[mimi3908]

You might be surprise at what cats can fit through. On the first day my kitty - then a 2 year old tabby - came home with me last year, I was watching her in my kitchen and she was understandably very nervous with her new surroundings and tried to find places to hide. There is a square hole at the ground level between the cabinet and my dish washing machine (I know, shoddy contracting work) measuring no more than 4 inches by 4 inches. I thought she was just staring at it, but next thing I know, half of her body was inside the hole and by the time I got to her, she disappeared in the hole. I couldn't believe she fit right through and I was freaking out that she would be stuck inside and I would have had to basically tear my cabinet down to get her out. And this is not a tiny cat either, she is a bit slim, but not noticeably skinny that I thought she would ever fit inside a hole of that size. If I wasn't watching her and she went missing, I would never have even thought of looking in that hole for her and would never believe she could fit inside that hole. Luckily, and I still don't know how, she came out head first within a few minutes so there must have been room inside for her to turnaround. Now she is a bit chunkier so she won't fit in the hole anymore. I hope!   In these situations, I believe the kitty will eventually have to come out to eat. They might stay in hiding for awhile, but unless they are trapped, their instinct to survive and eat, will get them back out to look for food. As someone already suggest, leave some food out and hope the kitty comes out sooner than later. And from the way you described your home, it sounds like there is plenty  tiny holes for cats to seemingly disappear so hopefully she'll literally come out of one of your wood works and don't be surprised at the small holes they can fit through.

 

[p3 and the king]

I hope you're concentrating on looking outside because all the info you have given suggests that she is not in the house any longer and you could be wasting valuable time.  Not that you should give up entirely on inside but I would focus my energy on the outside if you still have not heard a meow  or seen evidence that she is in one of the areas you think she is. 

 

[howtoholdacat]

I pet sit for a living and know how hard it can be to find a cat who doesn't want to be found.  It's part of my job.  Since you can't get to all the places she may have gone, it will be easiest to temp her to you.  I know you shook the food but it would be good to offer her something to eat that has a strong odor like tuna.  Sometimes that tempting smell is all it takes to lure them out.  Like the others, I'm curious to know how long she's been missing.  If she only "vanished" today I wouldn't panic yet.  Cats love to find new spots and fall asleep.  I can't tell you how many times I've frantically looked for a cat only to find them in the same room with me casually watching me dart back and forth.  I once found a cat in a bass drum and another time a cat figured out how to get behind a dresser and crawl into a drawer.  They're sneaky!