Newly adopted cat lost inside our house

Wockhardt

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We adopted a cat around five days ago, and he has been hiding in the area we set up for him with food, a cat bed, water, a litter box, and toys. He, however, is social and will come out and interact with us if we sit with him in his room. However, we have never witnessed him leaving his room unless for a squeezable tuna treat/cat soup.

Last night, my mother came home from work at around 11. I said goodnight to her and went to my room to do homework. I finished at about 2-3 AM and checked on our cat, who was relaxing in his bed. I then went to sleep and woke up at 6 to my sister asking if I've seen the cat because she was missing from her room. It snowed overnight, so we could confirm that she didn't leave the house because no one had left any doors/windows open, and there are no pawprints in the snow.

We checked around our house, under beds, in closets, behind couches, in couches, top of cabinets, inside the box spring, anywhere you could think of, and we find not one trace, nor did we hear any meows.

Our cat doesn't care for the dry treats, so shaking the bag did nothing, shaking her food bowl with food inside did nothing, and leaving out some soup did nothing as well. I figured we would wait; she would come out eventually to eat, drink or use her litterbox.

However, here we are on the next day, and the food and water haven't been touched, her litterbox is clean, and still absolutely no sign of her. We are at a loss here of what to do. Any suggestions?

Thanks.
 
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Wockhardt

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We adopted a cat around five days ago, and he has been hiding in the area we set up for him with food, a cat bed, water, a litter box, and toys. He, however, is social and will come out and interact with us if we sit with him in his room. However, we have never witnessed him leaving his room unless for a squeezable tuna treat/cat soup.

Last night, my mother came home from work at around 11. I said goodnight to her and went to my room to do homework. I finished at about 2-3 AM and checked on our cat, who was relaxing in his bed. I then went to sleep and woke up at 6 to my sister asking if I've seen the cat because she was missing from her room. It snowed overnight, so we could confirm that she didn't leave the house because no one had left any doors/windows open, and there are no pawprints in the snow.

We checked around our house, under beds, in closets, behind couches, in couches, top of cabinets, inside the box spring, anywhere you could think of, and we find not one trace, nor did we hear any meows.

Our cat doesn't care for the dry treats, so shaking the bag did nothing, shaking her food bowl with food inside did nothing, and leaving out some soup did nothing as well. I figured we would wait; she would come out eventually to eat, drink or use her litterbox.

However, here we are on the next day, and the food and water haven't been touched, her litterbox is clean, and still absolutely no sign of her. We are at a loss here of what to do. Any suggestions?

Thanks.
I also forgot to mention, its quite cold outside so I don't think she would have any interest in going outside in the first place
 

rubysmama

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How old is the the cat? Kitten? Or adult? That, of course, will make a difference in the size of the space she could hide. If you're sure she didn't get outside, then she has to be in the home somewhere. So check everywhere, again. What colour is she? If she has dark fur, use a flashlight in closets, and under beds and other furniture. Try playing cat meowing / purring sounds on your phone.
 
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Wockhardt

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How old is the the cat? Kitten? Or adult? That, of course, will make a difference in the size of the space she could hide. If you're sure she didn't get outside, then she has to be in the home somewhere. So check everywhere, again. What colour is she? If she has dark fur, use a flashlight in closets, and under beds and other furniture. Try playing cat meowing / purring sounds on your phone.
1 year old, she's orange. I'll try playing the meowing/purring. Thank you.
 
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Wockhardt

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Hope it helps. Keep us posted.
Walked throughout the house playing a purring/meowing combo and nothing happened. I'm not sure what to do now, we've tore the house down looking everywhere.
 

sivyaleah

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I've been made sick to my stomach a few times trying to locate our cats. Place we found cats hiding themselves:

Behind radiators - shocking how small they can get when they want to hide
Basement, curled up in the laundry room on the floor
Attic (2x different cats), hidden behind our ac equipment (that, was a tough one)
Under furniture we though they were too big to get under

I've heard of cats climbing up into chimneys. How, I don't know but it came from a trustworthy source so I know it's true.

I would literally go from room to room and inspect everything. Behind/under furniture, in mattresses and couches, behind appliances (pull out if possible), on top of tall cabinets/appliances, in cabinets and drawers.

You may have a hole somewhere you didn't realize was large enough for a cat to get through.

And sorry to say someone may not be fessing up to opening the door. Cats can slip out fast especially those not yet used to their territory. They have been known to try to find their old homes.
 

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As others have said, a cat can hide in some really improbable spaces, especially when they are scared. We had a new roof put on a couple of years ago, and my cat managed to get under a piece of furniture I would have thought impossible. With this being a new adoption, it’s doubly hard since you don’t have a history of hiding spots. I know they will bait ferals with KFC, something about the smell. I would suggest going as a team, foot by foot, looking for any possible points of entry. I know you think you’ve looked everywhere - trust me, you haven’t. They are tricky little creatures.
 

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I was going to also say that KFC can be a cat magnet. Once, when this happened to me, I realized that the cat moved every time that I began to search. So I was looking under the sofa and she was quietly moving to another room. And sadly, I do wonder if someone accidentally did open a door.
 
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Wockhardt

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Thank you for all of the replies guys, I firmly believe no one opened the door, I was the last person to see the cat, and we found out she went missing around 2 hours later. And yes I've checked in the recliner, under the mattress, everywhere I can think of to look. I think she's stuck due to the fact that she hasn't eaten/drank any water or used her litterbox. I'm at the point where I think she might've slipped outside somehow.
 

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Thank you for all of the replies guys, I firmly believe no one opened the door, I was the last person to see the cat, and we found out she went missing around 2 hours later. And yes I've checked in the recliner, under the mattress, everywhere I can think of to look. I think she's stuck due to the fact that she hasn't eaten/drank any water or used her litterbox. I'm at the point where I think she might've slipped outside somehow.
One of my larger cats once got up under a dresser and into a drawer. Another even larger cat crawled under the side part of a desk that had maybe 4" clearance. Still another, smaller cat AND a large male have gotten behind and into/under my dad's recliner. I caution anyone with a recliner to get in back of it, pull up the fabric, and put an arm all the way into the opening, because no matter your cat's coloring, she may be all the way up under the front of the chair.
*PRAYERS* and best thoughts for your cat to emerge! and be well, and join her new family.
 
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Wockhardt

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One of my larger cats once got up under a dresser and into a drawer. Another even larger cat crawled under the side part of a desk that had maybe 4" clearance. Still another, smaller cat AND a large male have gotten behind and into/under my dad's recliner. I caution anyone with a recliner to get in back of it, pull up the fabric, and put an arm all the way into the opening, because no matter your cat's coloring, she may be all the way up under the front of the chair.
*PRAYERS* and best thoughts for your cat to emerge! and be well, and join her new family.
Do you think it's odd that she hasn't meowed once or made any sound while we were looking for her?
 

sivyaleah

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Do you think it's odd that she hasn't meowed once or made any sound while we were looking for her?
If this goes on any longer, I might be considering calling a local rescue to help me find her. I'm sure they are very adept at these kinds of things and honestly, it could be he is injured somewhere in the house, hence why he's not coming out/answering.
 

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Do you think it's odd that she hasn't meowed once or made any sound while we were looking for her?
If you don't know her history and she was outdoors for any time before coming to you, she might not be very vocal. Cats born outdoors often do not meow, because meowing is mostly a learned response to humans, not a natural form of communication among cats in the outdoors.
A local rescue would be very advisable if she does not show soon. Also, making flyers with her picture and your contact phone number and date missing/description, etc., would be good -- put them up on trees/poles in your neighborhood, hand them out to neighbors, even put them in mailboxes? and post on neighborhood website(s).
 

lollie

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Do you think it's odd that she hasn't meowed once or made any sound while we were looking for her?
It depends on whether she’s afraid of something, or is stuck somewhere. Was she skittish at all while you’ve had her? Do you have any other pets in the house? You said she was on your sister’s bed. She was being kept in her room? Door open or closed? Any floor registers? A basement?

It would be a good idea to have some food and water outside to be safe.
 

TardisDance

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My cat has hid behind the dishwasher before. Have you checked behind yours? There’s a small gap to the right of our unit that she squeezed herself into. Our unit is a pain to remove but we knew she was there because our Wyze cam captured her escape. We’ve pulled it out a few times and left a few scratches on our hardwood floor, but we certainly didn’t want her to become stuck!

Also, behind fridges are another possible spot.
 
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Wockhardt

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My cat has hid behind the dishwasher before. Have you checked behind yours? There’s a small gap to the right of our unit that she squeezed herself into. Our unit is a pain to remove but we knew she was there because our Wyze cam captured her escape. We’ve pulled it out a few times and left a few scratches on our hardwood floor, but we certainly didn’t want her to become stuck!

Also, behind fridges are another possible spot.
I'll try behind the dishwasher, thanks!

It depends on whether she’s afraid of something, or is stuck somewhere. Was she skittish at all while you’ve had her? Do you have any other pets in the house? You said she was on your sister’s bed. She was being kept in her room? Door open or closed? Any floor registers? A basement?

It would be a good idea to have some food and water outside to be safe.
I meant to say she was last in her own cat bed, in her own private room. The door is left open, our house has no basement, we do have floor registers but is it really possible for her to get in them?
 
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