My "son" ran away and I'm hysterical!

birdkitty

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I'm freaking out and I'm desperate for some support and advice.

Monday, June 16, my neutered male indoor cat named Wonder Waffles got outside. He was last seen around 5:30 am on Wednesday, June 18. Since then, nothing.

He's never been outside before (besides when he was a kitten and that time wasn't very pleasant either as his mother and litter mates were killed by a dog -- this was before I adopted him) and he was neutered before he hit puberty. Until a few days ago, we were tracking him as we found tracks of what we assume belong to him that lead to the covert under our driveway, where it meets the road. But we haven't been able to catch him and we haven't seen any new prints in a few days.

I'm an emotional wreck, I wanted to move out months ago with my boyfriend and our three cats (including our Waffle) because his parents already have a large amount of cats and they are all outdoor and we weren't seeing eye-to-eye about how to raise the cats. They have two unfixed tom cats that hang out in the yard and two more unfixed tom cats that visit every now and then, along with a female cat and her five kittens (who are about 4-5 months old now) who stay here too. They also have a dog who likes to play chase with the cats from time-to-time and I'm scared that one of those animals chased him out of the yard.

My boyfriend and I go jogging every day too, around the block, and we've seen no signs of him. There was a black and white cat who looked nearly identical to our Waffle around the corner from us but it ran into our neighbor's yard before my boyfriend could reach it.

I really need some support. My neighbors aren't the friendliest and most of them have large dogs (some of which are aggressive; I was nearly attacked by a man's pack, a literal pack [8+ dogs], of dogs) and it's heavily wooded out here. I don't think I'm ever going to find him. I can't leave food out for him because it gets eaten before he can even notice it's there, it keeps raining so if I even attempted to leave something outside that smelled like home, it'd get washed out in the rain. What should I do?

I'd also like to mention that I've been fighting a chronic skin condition with Waffle for the past year and I was doing everything I could to combat it, including giving him regular (once a week) baths with oatmeal + avocado shampoo. Do you think he hates me?
 

GoldyCat

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He's probably just really scared. Have you tried going out at night to look for him? Take a flashlight and shine it into the culvert, under bushes, any place that a cat might get into that's too small for the dogs. If he's well hidden you can still see the reflection of his eyes. Calling him will probably not get a response, but you could try talking softly as you're looking because the sound of your voice will be familiar. Also, don't make any sudden moves when you do see him as that could scare him into running off again.

Sending lots of come home :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes: for Wonder Waffles.
 
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birdkitty

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I've gone out day and night. For the first few days, we noticed that he'd come right next to the house EARLY in the morning (like 4:30-5:30) so we knew he wasn't far but he stopped showing up. I spend most of my time outside now, hoping that if he hears me outside, he'll know where to come home to. He loves canned food and he knows the can so when we go out for jogs, I've been bringing a can, in case we stumble across him. Going to go out for another jog soon (if the boyfriend can put his guitar down).

It's been 10 days now, I feel like I've already lost my chance to catch him. :'( I wish I could go back to the day he ran away. I was asleep when he got out, otherwise I would've caught him immediately.
 

ashley davidson

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Waffles might just not want to come back anymore. Good news is, he's probably safe. Sorry for being too graphic, but if you haven't seen a corpse, then he's most probably fine. Also, you said it's heavily wooded around your place, so don't worry about the dogs, they won't catch him.

You know the stories about cats going back home on their own, right? Waffles might come back too. If he can't find enough food, which is very possible, if he doesn't have experience in the wild, he'll most probably come back. It might take a few weeks though, so be patient. If you want, you can put a bowl of food and water in front of your door, if you're not afraid you'll attract wild life. It worked with other pets before.
 
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birdkitty

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Thanks, NBrazil! I'll be reading up on that website and possibly investing into one of the humane traps they suggested on there. I also like their "Lost Dog/Cat" poster design so I'll be making some of those when I get home tonight.

Ashley Davidson, it's okay! I always prepare for the worst and hope for the best and I heard much, much worse when I lost my first cat. Waffle is an exceptionally smart cat (at least, compared to our other ones) so I've at least kept confidence in him that he wouldn't allow himself to get killed. I'll remain diligent in my search but thank you for being honest.

So far, no new signs of Waffle.
 

angels mommy

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I'm just reading your thread & wanted to add my prayers & vibes for Waffle's safety, &  to come home soon!!  
 

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if there's any kids in your neighborhood tell them that your cat's missing. they notice things a lot of adults sometimes don't
 
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birdkitty

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There aren't really any kids in the neighborhood but there's a friendly fellow that called me yesterday morning to notify me that there was a black and white cat spotted in the yard next to his (the property is vacant so we were able to check it out-- found cat pawprints in some sand but no other signs of a Waffle). He also lent us a humane trap and we set it in the vacant property's yard. Woke up this morning to a text from our neighbor saying that he spotted the cat in the road but it ran off into our other neighbor's yard. My boyfriend went out to check the trap early this morning and it was still set so he left it in case Waffle returns to that yard. I will keep this updated as often as I can but I can only get online with a hotspot that I have limited access to. Here's to hoping we have a Waffle safe at home before Independence Day.
 
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birdkitty

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Thank you. We think he still pops into the yard every now and then and has a clear path he walks between yards from what we can tell from our neighbor but we can't figure out when he's in any particular spot. Tempted to go check the trap in a moment but I don't have high hopes for it as we haven't caught anything yet but knowing he's close makes me feel a lot better and much more confident in his capture.
 

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Are you sure Waffles is a male?    If Waffles is a female they will often wander off someplace to have their litter.
 
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birdkitty

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Waffle is most definitely male as he was neutered.
 

angie88pal

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A couple years ago I took my inside cat outside for a minute and he got scared and ran off.  However, he returned a week later!!!

I had him outside holding him and he had a collar and leash on to be safe.  Well, he got spooked by something (I think the neighbor's noisy lawnmower) and  got loose (the collar was too loose) and he took off running down the street.  I ran after him but couldn't find him.  I drove around the neighborhood and walked around the neighborhood for several days.  About a week later, he showed up at my back door.  He was all dirty and his fur was a mess.  I don't know where he had been that entire time.  I was a disaster until he returned.

My advice (and I read this later) is to put an article of clothing with your scent on it outside.  This may help your cat in returning.   I was so worried about my cat that I had people helping me look for him, I called the local humane society to see if someone had found him and brought him in.  I also gave them my phone number and a description of him in case someone brought him in.  I also put a notice on my Facebook and Craigslist.   Good luck I hope you get him back soon.
 
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birdkitty

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We've left several articles of clothing outside, and some of his favorite pieces too, but no bite. He was last seen last Tuesday or Wednesday, he was in the road then ran up our neighbor's driveway (this information was texted to me by a friendly neighbor who's been helping us look for him). We had a live animal trap set up with some of our clothing on it and some wet food inside and caught the biggest raccoon we've ever seen.  It'll be 3 weeks tomorrow and I've been trying really hard to remain optimistic but it's hard. We've checked the local shelters and no one's brought him in.

Does anybody know if there's a GPS option you can turn on on microchips? He's microchipped but it only matters if someone brings him in. :/

 
 
Hmm, I dont know what to think then unless he is sick or frightened.
He was a little sick when he ran off. He was vomiting a clear fluid and he had some dermatitis issue that we've been battling for a few months now. He was bad enough to need a cone on for a few weeks to keep him from licking himself but that was getting better when he ran off. Like, it was almost gone. But the vomiting thing started up like the week prior his leaving and we had plans to take him to the vet that weekend but we never got a chance.
 
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