My boy is missing and I am horribly worried

[shoshanna]

Mickey got out when I opened the door to admit a guest tonight.  He has not been gone long but I tried to follow him out to see if I could catch him.  I was not able to get near him.  He is microchipped and is fairly street wise as far as traffic goes but do cats usually return home when they get hungry?  I am hoping so.  Anyway I am getting ready to report him gone (so far the call is on hold) but doubt if he does not return soon there will be precious little sleep tonight.  Sammi is pacing and crying and while I am not pacing I certainly feel like crying.  He is a street smart little mite but still it is an awfully big world and he needs his home to stay safe in.  

Sorry if I am kind of blubbering all over you but feel that you all love cats too and you may understand.  I have never had one go missing before.

 

[shoshanna]

I just got through talking to the people from the microchip company.  They told me to put out the bag of soiled litter for him to follow home.  Sammi has been pacing and crying for the whole time Mickey has been gone.  I went out to call him and search but it is too dark now to see anything so I had to give up for now.  The door is cracked open with the security lock on but it lets me leave it open about 2" so will leave it that way and stay on the couch.  Thinking I am going to have to go back to the apartments with the screened in porches.  

 

[Norachan]

Hi Shoshanna,

I'm sorry to hear that Mickey has gone missing. Is he an indoor only cat or does he have outdoor access? A trail of cat litter will help him find his way home. Or you could take the bag out of your vacuum cleaner and leave a trail of the dust, it will help him find his way back. A couple of my cats went missing for three days in the heavy snow last month. I boiled some chicken with the kitchen window open and they managed to follow the smell back home. Maybe you could try heating up some of Mickey's favourite food?

There are some other good tips on here.

http://catsinthebag.org/

http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/recovery-lostcat.php

Hope your boy comes home to you soon.

 

[midnightkitty]

I have one cat that goes out on a regular basis and he is never gone long.  If he is not used to being out, then he might be scared and hiding.  If you have a bag of cat treats, I would take that out side and shake it while calling Mickey's name. Hopefully he will be home by morning. I am assuming that since he is street smart that he has been outside before. Have faith that he is smart enough to not go far and come back.

 

[buffy2011]

I had a cat that got out and I was really upset. I had opened the door to let my dog in at night and somehow the cat got past me and didn't know it. In the morning everyone has a routine and that's when I noticed she wasn't there, and realized she was outside all night. She had never been outside. So I started looking and calling her all day. I took my car and road around.  I posted signs with her picture and our phone number on it. When my boyfriend came home from work we made a bigger search. Finally that night we decided to let the garage door open about 2 inches just in case. I went to bed because I was upset. When my boyfriend decided to go to bed he made one more check at the door and there she was. I was so happy. I guess she was afraid to come back in the daylight. But she is home and safe and I will be more careful next time. I hope yours is home and safe now. They do come back but in the mean time you worry yourself sick. Maybe put some smelly tuna out but keep an eye on your door, you don't want other critters. They can smell that a mile away. 

 

[lamiatron]

hi @Shoshanna  i'm so sorry to hear about Mickey

has he come home yet? have you been able to find him, with the aid of the microchip?

the leaving out of tuna sounds like a good idea, maybe close to home so you can see if any other animals get into it. 

I've never dealt with this before and hope to never have to...my heart is breaking for you. i can't imagine what you're going through..

i hope there is good news soon...

Mickey where could you be...

good vibes your way, and for Mickey, that he's safe and okay... 

 

[shoshanna]

I have good news....he is home.  I had no luck (and no sleep) last night but this morning Sammi begged and begged to go out.  He has a Kitty Holster that he wears on a lead and it is safe so I decided to let him out.  He was out about 20 minutes and I heard some "chatter" outside so went to look and there was MICKEY... he would not come for the used litter or for food or for me, but for his kitty brother he came home.  He has been in a short time and I would have thought that food would have been foremost in his needs, but he chose to play first, then eat and now to sleep.  Both boys are sound asleep but not together, it seems the bonding period has suffered a bit of a setback but they are at least coexisting INSIDE.

Thank you all for the suggestions and for the support.  This was a hard night but I am glad it had a happy ending.

 

[lamiatron]

OMG Thank Goodness Mickey is home and unharmed!!!!! 

what if he was close to home this whole time, but was too scared to come out or come home?

either way i'm glad he's home safe with you, and his brother!

 

[midnightkitty]

It is possible that Mickey was not aware that you were up waiting for him. When calling for him, he might have thought he was in trouble if your voice was distressed. He probably heard his brother outside and figured there would be someone around to let him in

 

[buffy2011]

So glad to hear he is home and safe.  I had the same issue, mine would not come either when called, it came home at night. I also think mine was very close to home and was scared, since she never was out before. We were out running around and yelling for her so maybe this does scare them. But anyhow so glad to hear your kitty is home. 

 

[shoshanna]

He had been feral for the first year of his life and was in a shelter for 4 months then with me almost 2 months.  I could see him going out and deciding that he liked the footloose and fancy free life of a hobo cat and saying goodbye...I guess this life and love has made an impression on him.  I did try very hard not to show anxiety when I called for him but he is a smart cookie.  But a very tired little boy today, and yet I was shocked that the first thing he headed for was the toys, not food.  Anyway, we are all just taking it easy here today.  I can see a nap in my future and both boys are ahead of me on that.

 

[shadowsrescue]

So happy he returned home safe and sound.  It is always such a worry when the cat accidently slips out. 

 

[pangurban]

I am so glad to read this!!

 

[shoshanna]

Thank you all so very much for all the support and suggestions.  I do not think it would have been as bearable if I had not had you all to keep me focused.  And I never have to worry about feeling silly because you all are cat lovers too.  

 

[Norachan]

That's great news.

I'm really glad to hear he found his way home.

 

[shoshanna]

Postscript to all this:

Mickey got out again today and was gone for most of the day.  I had made plans to go out with a friend and her husband this evening and was just called that they were almost at my home and I thought that I would try one last time before leaving to call Mickey.  I kept my voice very soft and non threatening and he came running from the bushes in the next building.  I gave him a big hug and told him that he had to stay in and quit worrying his mommy.

He is sound asleep now as is his brother.  They had a long evening at home alone and were fed and given clean water and treats and curled up with a contest to see who could get the closest to Mom.  

The end of what could have been another hard day in a good way.  

Any hints on how to discourage this type of behavior???

 

[midnightkitty]

I have found that there are cats that are happier when they can be out. I have one cat that waits by the front door for me to come home and runs out as soon as I open the door. He is good about staying in when the weather is bad. Maybe you can get him a leash and harness and take him out for walks

 

[lamiatron]

I have found that there are cats that are happier when they can be out. I have one cat that waits by the front door for me to come home and runs out as soon as I open the door. He is good about staying in when the weather is bad. Maybe you can get him a leash and harness and take him out for walks

i second this idea of a leash and harness.

when the whether starts to get a bit warmer, i'm going to start training my kitties to go out for walks. 

i think one of my cats, the former stray, will really enjoy going out for walks. 

maybe you and the SO can go out for evening walks when the weather gets better, with mickey and his brother in leashes and harnesses, and it might curb is want to go out on his own. Clearly he's not going far, and he's staying close

 

[shadowsrescue]

You have a couple of choices here.  One, you can keep him away from the door where he is sneaking out.  I know this can be hard.  If he is insistent to trying to get out you might need to put him in another room when you leave or make sure you always know where he is.  Secondly, yes many cats do love to go outside, but once you start the habit it will be very difficult to stop.  He will want out more and more often and it will be harder to get him back inside.  I assume he is neutered?  Remember how upset you were when he went missing.  If you allow him to go outside unsupervised, the chances of him wandering off again are great.  We have taken our cats out on harnesses, but one time, my boy slipped out of the harness.  We have also used a small dog cage for him to sit in with us outside as well as pet tent. 

Just know that if you allow him the freedom of going outside, you risk him wandering and going missing again.

 

[shoshanna]

Today when Sammi went out on the Kitty Holster and leash, I put Mickey in the carrier and let him sit in the doorway with the door open and he settled down.  He did not hang around the door when Sammi came back in so I think that he is a sporadic and opportunity based door dasher.  I am having two friends move in with me for a while to help since I have had health issues and we have had the conversation on what the cats are like and what behaviors they have that are not appreciated and what to do.  I think the decision was to put treats down in the other room like over a small area in different places and show them to him.  He is a food motivated cat for sure.  We thought this would give us the time to leave without the cats running to the door.  Then they forget about it by the time we return.  It worked this morning so hope that it will continue and by the time I have to find a new way we will have figured it out.

Thank you so much for your suggestions, I think he is a cat that likes the outside as he is used to it but that makes me more nervous as I agree that every time he goes out he gets more sure that this is where he wants to stay.