My cat got outside for the first time since we took her in, what are the chances she returns?

[Meowmee]

Good news for another cat owner…I mentioned that putting the food out in traps was attracting other cats to the backyard. Two cats in particular. Well yesterday I was out back and heard a cat crying. I hoped it was mine but I knew it wasn’t. The cat appeared and I put some food out for it to start eating. A neighbor must have saw and heard it and came over and said this was their missing cat and that it has been gone for 2 weeks! The cat walked over to him and he picked it up. I’m glad my situation was able to reunite a cat with its owner. Just wish it were my cat! And the fact that this cat was missing for 2 weeks still gives me hope.

Great job saving that cat! I saved someone’s lost cat who was out for over a month in freezing snowstorms so don’t give up ever. Don’t put excess food out, just in the trap when you see her, only in the trap and if she is under the shed block off other exits like someone said. She has to be hungry to go into it. Set up outdoor cams to see when she comes.

 

[RickCMC]

Great job saving that cat! I saved someone’s lost cat who was out for over a month in freezing snowstorms so don’t give up ever. Don’t put excess food out, just in the trap when you see her, only in the trap and if she is under the shed block off other exits like someone said. She has to be hungry to go into it. Set up outdoor cams to see when she comes.

Thanks. I set up a camera looking out back near the shed. No sign of her since I set it up on Thursday

 

[CatladyJan]

Okay, so did you discuss with the neighbor that you are missing your cat? You need to post flyers, contact neighbors, go out with a flashlight and look in and under things and keep calling her name .

 

[RickCMC]

Okay, so did you discuss with the neighbor that you are missing your cat? You need to post flyers, contact neighbors, go out with a flashlight and look in and under things and keep calling her name .

Yes I did. I’ve contacted neighbors and posted on Next Door. I go out and call her name constantly. There’s not much more I can really do it seems

 

[CatladyJan]

Yes I did. I’ve contacted neighbors and posted on Next Door. I go out and call her name constantly. There’s not much more I can really do it seems

Keep up the good work and keep us updated.

 

[RickCMC]

Keep up the good work and keep us updated.

Thanks. Haven’t spotted her on the camera since I set it up on Thursday. It’s focusing on the shed so I feel like if she was still hiding under there I would have seen her come and go. Hopefully she’s OK.

 

[RickCMC]

Hopeful update: after not seeing her for quite a while my motion camera picked her up around 2 am this morning. I was asleep unfortunately. But she came out from the shed and was wondering around the back yard for about 5 minutes, then she hopped over the fence. I’m glad to know that it seems she’s staying under the shed. She wasn’t interested in the two traps we have out back though. Going to have to get a camera to put under the shed and confirm she’s in there and then somehow trap her in there so her only way out is to go into a trap.

 

[vince]

I think you might have to rig the traps so they don't trap her at first. She needs to get comfortable going in for food. After a while you can reset the traps to trip and hopefully, you'll catch her.

There's a TNR/adoption outfit in NYC called Flatbush Cats. They're on YouTube. That's how they trap ferals. Seems to be a good idea.

Of course, if she's getting eats somewhere else in the neighborhood, she night not warm up to the idea of getting her meals inside a wire box. It is still worth a try.

 

[CatladyJan]

Hopeful update: after not seeing her for quite a while my motion camera picked her up around 2 am this morning. I was asleep unfortunately. But she came out from the shed and was wondering around the back yard for about 5 minutes, then she hopped over the fence. I’m glad to know that it seems she’s staying under the shed. She wasn’t interested in the two traps we have out back though. Going to have to get a camera to put under the shed and confirm she’s in there and then somehow trap her in there so her only way out is to go into a trap.

Oh such good news is it getting warmer where you are?

 

[RickCMC]

Oh such good news is it getting warmer where you are?

Yes it is! Actually going to hit 70 degrees here this Sunday.

 

[OkSuzy]

Do you have multiple cats? Is there one that she (the escapee) is close to or at least friendly with? Try calling or speaking the name of THAT cat instead of hers. I read that if the escapee is scared and feeling vulnerable, hearing her name called might make her feel exposed. Calling the name of a cat familiar to her and hearing you speak calmly and comforting might help her feel more secure to come out into the relatively unknown and find her way home. I read she's been spotted near your shed, so you could try hanging around there, just talking out loud and using just the name(s) of some others in your household.
I got this idea from 3Retrievers website. Check it out.

 

[OkSuzy]

Do you have multiple cats? Is there one that she (the escapee) is close to or at least friendly with? Try calling or speaking the name of THAT cat instead of hers. I read that if the escapee is scared and feeling vulnerable, hearing her name called might make her feel exposed. Calling the name of a cat familiar to her and hearing you speak calmly and comforting might help her feel more secure to come out into the relatively unknown and find her way home. I read she's been spotted near your shed, so you could try hanging around there, just talking out loud and using just the name(s) of some others in your household.
I got this idea from 3Retrievers website. Check it out.

By the way, I tried this method and really feel like that's what helped my lost cat find her way back home. I also wore my smelliest dirty shirt, rubbed the scent of another cat member of the household, and went out on a very windy day. I don't know if THAT did anything to help, but just wanted you to know that I did try the name thing and suggest it because I think it worked after trying other things in the previous days.

 

[Meowmee]

Hopeful update: after not seeing her for quite a while my motion camera picked her up around 2 am this morning. I was asleep unfortunately. But she came out from the shed and was wondering around the back yard for about 5 minutes, then she hopped over the fence. I’m glad to know that it seems she’s staying under the shed. She wasn’t interested in the two traps we have out back though. Going to have to get a camera to put under the shed and confirm she’s in there and then somehow trap her in there so her only way out is to go into a trap.

Great news I think you will get her back soon

 

[RickCMC]

Shoot! I stayed up and she showed up on my camera a few minutes ago in the backyard. I opened the back door and as soon as I did she took off and jumped the fence out onto the street and then I couldn’t find her. It’s so frustrating that two nights in a row she’s so close but I can’t get her back! I’m relieved to know she’s still so close and I’ll just have to keep trying to get her back.

 

[CatladyJan]

Shoot! I stayed up and she showed up on my camera a few minutes ago in the backyard. I opened the back door and as soon as I did she took off and jumped the fence out onto the street and then I couldn’t find her. It’s so frustrating that two nights in a row she’s so close but I can’t get her back! I’m relieved to know she’s still so close and I’ll just have to keep trying to get her back.

Seems like you need to approach her from the other side of the fence lol

 

[Meowmee]

Shoot! I stayed up and she showed up on my camera a few minutes ago in the backyard. I opened the back door and as soon as I did she took off and jumped the fence out onto the street and then I couldn’t find her. It’s so frustrating that two nights in a row she’s so close but I can’t get her back! I’m relieved to know she’s still so close and I’ll just have to keep trying to get her back.

That is great she is close, you will get her soon

 

[RickCMC]

I feel absolutely sick to my stomach right now. She popped up on my video and she was right by one of the traps and she went in to it and I saw it close. I wasn’t at home at the time so as soon as I saw that I rushed home only to find the trap shut with all the food eaten but her not in the trap. I had put a towel down leading into the trap and the door closed on some of the towel giving her the ability to push the door open and get out I guess. I feel sick. I feel like that was my one chance to get her back and now she won’t ever go near another trap again.

 

[Margot Lane]

Oh I feel for you! How can a cat get out of a trap? DO NOT GIVE UP. You might just have to vary your strategy. I actually think it’s a good sign she tried…first cats freak out, then…slowly…they let you know they need help. I saw a BBC documentary once on professionals who had clever ways to catch cats. Can you afford to get multiple cages for multiple places and place blankets over them? I even almost wonder whether you could put down a “spring net,” which wouldn’t harm her, but sort of scoop her up. In any case, I’d advise reaching out to locals, be it firefighters, survivor types, cat rescue groups. And every time I read about cat traps on this site, they all say KFC is the way to go...DO NOT GIVE UP.

 

[Margot Lane]

Sites say to put our good stinky food at the same time each day, and that sardines and anchovies are good.

 

[RickCMC]

Oh I feel for you! How can a cat get out of a trap? DO NOT GIVE UP. You might just have to vary your strategy. I actually think it’s a good sign she tried…first cats freak out, then…slowly…they let you know they need help. I saw a BBC documentary once on professionals who had clever ways to catch cats. Can you afford to get multiple cages for multiple places and place blankets over them? I even almost wonder whether you could put down a “spring net,” which wouldn’t harm her, but sort of scoop her up. In any case, I’d advise reaching out to locals, be it firefighters, survivor types, cat rescue groups. And every time I read about cat traps on this site, they all say KFC is the way to go...DO NOT GIVE UP.

I have two traps out currently that are both covered. I’m just worried that now she knows about the traps because she got out of one and that she won’t go near one again.