New Kitten Lost In Apartment

[StanYou]

I am still panicking so this thread is going to be messy but I do need help.

Me and my girlfriend bought a 5 month old kitten yesterday morning. We brought her to our apartment where we prepared bed, food, toys etc.. she spent the entire day and evening hiding under the couch quietly and we tried to not paying attention to her too much but we checked her out once in a while.
She became very active once we went to bed around 2AM, we heard toys being played and she even came to our bedroom to sit on my legs. Then she meowed herself to sleep (I think) after a couple of hours.
Today morning around 9am we had a technician coming for internet installation, she was still under the couch as I checked her food&water. She barely drank or eaten anything at all (it had almost been 24hrs since we got her, so she hadn't eaten anything since then).
I paid attention to the door as the technician first came in and last left. So I'm very sure she didn't escape. But the technician left and came back once during the time and I wasn't paying super close attention to the door, she might have followed the technician out, but the technician said he didn't see her.
A couple hours later (11am) I noticed that she wasn't anywhere and we searched everywhere, not behind, above or inside anything we can think of.
We immediately put up a missing report in the hallway but the chance that works is slim to my knowledge.

Anyways, she was quiet while we were around and very playful when we went to bed. What is the sign of fleeting? Anything is helpful!
Edit: she also used the litter box once during the night

 

[thricenine]

Do you have toys that make any noise? When I can't find one of my cats, I'll shake a bag of food or one of their noisy mice/wand toys and usually they'll come out from somewhere to investigate the noise. This may not work if she's still shy/hiding though.

Also, I'm not sure where you live, but if NextDoor is available in your area I'd download it and make a post about your kitten being missing. It's like a neighborhood bulletin board app/website, and people who live in the same vicinity as you will see it. There's been a couple of lost dogs reunited with their owners in my neighborhood after using it!

Kittens can squeeze into places much smaller than we anticipate, maybe she's gotten stuck behind something?

 

[miagi's_mommy]

Check your dresser drawers and closet... Angel when she was a baby I couldn't find her any where and she was fast asleep in one of my closed dresser drawers. When you find her, and I am sure you will... put her in one room for a few days so she gets used to one thing at a time. Good luck!

 

[5starcathotel]

Chances are, she just found a small hiding place you didn't know existed!

One of mine took to hiding inside a void in my kitchen cabinets. Turned out there was a hole in the corner near the floor that allowed her to climb over the toe kick. I had no idea that hole was even there, until i caught her coming out of it one day. Fortunately she eventually grew too big to fit through it.

 

[orange&white]

I would think (since she meowed for 2 hours last night) that if she were stuck somewhere in your apartment then she would be meowing her head off. Which would mean that she is hiding/napping somewhere she feels is safe.

The way most sofas are made, there is a piece of fabric on the bottom which just covers a big open space beneath the springs. (Be careful sitting down on the furniture until you find her...she might be inside.)

Since she came out and laid on your legs last night for a bit, try lying down on the floor (or on the sofa if you're sure she isn't inside it) for 30 minutes. If you've been turning everything upside down and calling her, she may just be waiting for things to get quiet again. We scary humans are least intimidating when we are lying down horizontal. If that doesn't bring her out, then just take the 30 minutes to breath, relax, and meditate a little bit. Then start the search again.

Toy-on-a-string like Thricenine suggested may also draw her out. Tie a piece of string onto "anything" (small ball of foil or milk bottle cap) and drag it around the apartment, if she doesn't have a string toy yet.

 

[artiemom]

did the tech put any holes in the walls? or open anything up? Kittens can get into anything.. any open vents?

Keep the food out in various spots.. it may entice her. A stinky can of tuna fish may help also..

Behind refrigerator? stove? coach? furniture?
Sometimes they can burrow into the box spring of the mattress, for a hiding spot. or she could have burrowed into the coach...

I know someone whose cat was always jumping into the refrigerator and freezer..
My guy jumped into my microwave, once.

Yes, clothes drawers, closets, cabinets, anything which can be a hiding spot...Washer? Dryer? sigh

Even if you have to use a flashlight in order to find her shiny eyes, it would be worth it..

Please keep us updated.. Good Luck!!!

 

[Sea2mist]

Any luck? My Sebastian got under the TV cabinet when I wasn't home one day (when he was a baby) and my mother panicked because she thought he went down the furnace. He was just sleeping and came out hours later. Pretty much every piece of furniture is big enough underneath for a kitten to hide.

 

[Purr-fect]

You must immediately search every possible nook and cranny in the apt. I mean EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY. Not just underneath furniture but also INSIDE furniture, inside you mattress (possibly accessed from underneath).

This kitten might be fine or it may be frightened and in danger. You should have had it secured in another room when the tech was in your apt. Rattle its toys, shake its food container and search every inch of that apt 4 or 5 times in case it's moving around the apt. If you dont find it, then search the apt building. Check the parking lots, get lost signs posted asap. Listen at apt doors for it crying. It might have been let into someones apt.

Call the tech thru the utility company and ask if they saw the kitten.

Knock on your neighbours doors and ask them if they saw it. And LISTEN when their door is open and you are talking to them.

Understand this kitten might have been stolen....or it might be safe in your apt..keep looking. If it is outside it may not survive long. Time is critical.

Call some friends to search outside while you look inside.

 

[artiemom]

any luck with finding the kitten?
Been thinking about you guys......((hugs))

Stinky tuna or sardines may help you lure her out..

 

[Purr-fect]

Any luck?

 

[Sea2mist]

Any news on if you found the kitten?

 

[PawPawsLover]

You must immediately search every possible nook and cranny in the apt. I mean EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY. Not just underneath furniture but also INSIDE furniture, inside you mattress (possibly accessed from underneath).

This kitten might be fine or it may be frightened and in danger. You should have had it secured in another room when the tech was in your apt. Rattle its toys, shake its food container and search every inch of that apt 4 or 5 times in case it's moving around the apt. If you dont find it, then search the apt building. Check the parking lots, get lost signs posted asap. Listen at apt doors for it crying. It might have been let into someones apt.

Call the tech thru the utility company and ask if they saw the kitten.

Knock on your neighbours doors and ask them if they saw it. And LISTEN when their door is open and you are talking to them.

Understand this kitten might have been stolen....or it might be safe in your apt..keep looking. If it is outside it may not survive long. Time is critical.

Call some friends to search outside while you look inside.

yes!! Underneath the bed/mattress!! My 2months old kitten were hiding there and I didn't know it till I was finding for them. Luckily I found them fast enough because underneath the bed frame is wrapped with those thick plastic sheets, and they made a small hole there and climbed into the plastic sheets. So imagine my horror when I found them stuck in between the wooden bedframe and plastic sheet (squeezed in between)!! And they were stuck too. Couldn't come out. I had to tear open the plastic sheets bigger and pull them out from there. My babies!!

 

[Rachel Warner]

Any news on the kitten did you find her ?