Lost cat in rural/farm area

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snowynight

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Sleep deprived me forgot there is a door 1 foot from the box she was sleeping in. I can leave that door open tonight or the other one.. Not both unfortunately if I want to keep the other pets inside.

I think it makes more sense to keep the closer door open. Do you think its best for me to sleep in that side of the house so I can close the door when she comes in? Is it likely that when she comes in she will stay in on her own?

I wont be able to watch the door all night long so I wont be sure when/if she comes in unless I am in that room. But I'm also worried if I'm in that room she will see me and freak out and leave again...
 

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I think it makes more sense to keep the closer door open.
I agree.

It's possible that even if you're in that room but asleep, you might not hear her come in. It's also possible she's still in a heightened state of awareness (don't take it personally, it sounds to me as though she was really frightened by something and it might take a little while for her to sort it all out, ease up on being wary of everything, and begin to see normal things, such as you, as normal again).

Which is to say you could try sleeping on that side of the house and see how things go, but there's no real way to predict what she'll do. I'm hoping she comes in and stays in :)!
 
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snowynight

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Thanks Furballsmom!

She is frightened by life... At least twice a week a something will send her running from one side of the house to the other bumping into anything that gets in her way (walls, tables, chairs, people...). Even though I scared her away this morning she was pretty calm about the whole thing. Just got up and jumped off the porch and back into her hiding spot. I think she is getting used to the situation now and hopefully will feel safe enough to try heading out again tonight.

I'm guessing it was snow falling off the roof that set her running out of the house in the first place. It can be pretty alarming if it falls near you. Today is warmer so there may be a little bit more snow falling... hopefully it holds on or falls during the day.

I think sleeping on that door open side of the house will be best. If I see her come in I can just stay calm and let her do her thing until I see the opportunity to grab her or shut the door (or hopefully she just comes over to say hello). I think/hope she will run in and check on her food or litterbox first. Both are far from the door so I may have a good opportunity to get to the door and shut it.

The only advantage of sleeping on the door closed side of the house would be that I could run outside to shut the door beside her if I knew she went in. But I don't think I will have any way of knowing if shes gone in and I think it's likely my footsteps on the porch would send her running.

Maybe I will stay on the door closed side watching until I can't take it anymore and need to get some rest. And then head over to the door open side.

I'm really hoping that tonights the night that I get my little baby back :)
 

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She is frightened by life...
Awww, sweet baby.

Maybe try some music, I apologise I don't remember if I mentioned this already but Spotify has a collection of 10 harp pieces called Cat In My Arms. Music can be surprisingly effective in helping cats to be more relaxed :).
 
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snowynight

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Thank you FeebysOwner! I am really hoping so.

Furballsmom 99% of the time she is 150% relaxed but she can go from 150% to 0% in a millisecond. I will look into the playlist anyway I'm sure when she comes home some calming music will be nice.


All the food is set out for tonight. It's a bit early but I'm going crazy not doing anything. I was able to get a friend to take the dogs for the night so if she was worrying about them she wont have to anymore... From my new sleeping spot I cant see who is coming and going from the food area which is driving me a bit crazy. I might have to put the other cat in the spare bedroom so I can have the whole house to look out and do whatever else I need to do without worrying. She wont like being alone in the bedroom though. I'm thinking I should just tuck myself into couch/bed and see what happens. I don't know if there is anything I can do tonight that will be helpful except refill the food if needed. Based on what was eaten last night I don't think I will need to but I was also surprised how little they ate.

I've finally been able to let the rest of the family know whats going on and the are all confident she will make it home tonight but I'm the worrier and still all alone... I'm kicking myself for not approaching her more calmly this morning but oh well what's done is done.

I heard a meow earlier in the day and called her name/shook food/treats for around 45 mins with no luck or further meows. I'm not 100% sure it was her meow... I'm hoping it wasn't a 'get out of my house' meow from one of the strays and shes had to move somewhere else.

I moved her box/bed so the opening points to the door now. It does mean I wont be able to see if shes in there but I hope if she goes in there she will be relaxed and her next move will be to walk through the door.

Again I feel like I'm not trying hard enough by just leaving things to happen... Last night she only came out after I had turned off my recording and been asleep for an hour or two so I've just left things quiet thinking that's what she wants. Walking around in the snow looking for her is noisy so I don't think will help the situation. I'm pretty sure she is still in the crawlspace.

If anyone has any suggestions or tips or encouragement I would love to hear it.

I'm sure I will have more updates and hopefully a happy ending to share soon.
 
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snowynight

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I'm starting to think me sleeping in the room she enters into isn't going to be a good idea. Best case scenario she is excited to see me but I think it's more likely she will get spooked. Any thoughts? Should I just go to bed and hope that she comes in and stays in on her own?
 
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snowynight

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Should I move her box to just inside the doorway?

The less timid stray has already come inside, had a look at me and left. I wonder if I'm going to end up with all the strays inside..
 
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snowynight

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I wish there was a right or wrong answer 😫

I think I will go with plan b to sleep in the other room so I can see what's going on outside. Maybe point her box back towards that window too. I guess I should put the other cat in the spare bedroom so she has the whole house to explore if she does come in.
 
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snowynight

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I think I'm going to bring the box inside... It seemed to work last night but tonight I'm hoping the incentive to come inside is higher and that will work instead.

I would like a proper sleep but I don't think that will happen until I know she's safe. I can sleep for a month once she's home.
 
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snowynight

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Thank you Furballsmom. I've altered the setup a bit now... the door isn't quite as wide open. The litter box and sleeping box are inside. I've angled all the prime sleeping spots so I can try to corner her if needed. I really really really hope I just wake up to a little orange kitty snuggled up between my legs.

The only part I'm feeling bad about is leaving my other kitty in the spare bedroom... I hope she understands.
 
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snowynight

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No sighting last night (night 4). I managed to get into the place I thought she was hiding and did a reasonably good search and didn't see her.

The strays were right by the door all night long which may be scaring her off. They also were interested in checking out the inside of the house. I don't think this 'kitty buffet' plan will work but the strays are used to being fed there from before she went missing so I don't know how to convince them to go somewhere else.

I put her box/blanket back in the spot she slept in it on night 3. I think all I can do is wait/hope now.
 
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snowynight

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Thank you Furballsmom that's the plan for now. There is a good spot maybe 20 ft away from the porch. I can try that tonight and move further if needed. I also feed them in one of the outbuildings and I'll make sure there's more than usual there too. I am a bit worried that my kitty will leave her spot to go for that food but I guess that is better than her not eating.

I was able to get an ok sleep last night and I am feeling less panicked today. I really do hope she comes home soon but I don't think there is a whole lot I can be doing that I'm not already doing.

With everyone home tonight I wont be able to have both doors open but I will be able to keep the further one open until she comes back. Unfortunately the room wont be very warm but it will be better than outside and has some of her favourite sleeping spots in it. This weekend it will be 0f/-20c overnight so hopefully she finds her way home before then.
 
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