Friday Lost Cat Blogging
No sooner did I proclaim that my kids are more interesting than my pets than the cat made a desperate bid for renewed attention on the blog, and our lives have definitely become more interesting. My week in FB updates:
So, dear readers, if you live in the Pioneer Valley please keep your eyes out, and if you’ve ever lost a cat please share suggestions or ideas below. I sure can’t go to this guy for help…
I was able to draw my lost cat back to the house with his favorite canned cat food. (He was just in the backyard, though).
The trick is to heat it up so the smell carries farther.
I’ve also heard that something that smells like you (worn t-shirt) or the cat (litterbox?) can help.
Wow, that was dumb – just read your last update.
Maybe a two-person team – one to watch the food, one to do a sweep.
It took me about eight hours to locate my cat, he was finally located under a deck about eight blocks from the house and it was pure luck that I even spotted him. I hope by now you have located your kitty! I’ve tried the cat food trick, laser pens since Jack is addicted and will come even when I shake the pen, but I swear it is very difficult to find a lost cat. Best of luck.
Had a cat who went missing for several days before she finally wandered back. Hang in there!
Oh man, I’m really sorry to hear that. I assume you’re calling animal control on an hourly basis. If the place you think he escaped is near your house, put out food there as well.
If you think he’s eating the food you put out at the escape site, try sprinking corn starch around it, maybe you’ll be able to follow the paw prints to his lair. And keep an ear peeled for cat fights. Any cats in the neighborhood will be disputing territory.
Not sure if this is going too far, but have you considered getting a couple of game cameras and setting them up in the area you think he got out? They make digital ones that hook up to a laptop for quick viewing and they wouldn’t be hard to resell.
Just remember he’s probably really scared right now (or having the time of his life). I hope he shows up soon.
Talk about irresponsible leaks….
Seriously though, good luck with the search.
I will notify my friends in the Amherst area, I am a Umass Alum, and I try to keep in touch. I will link this post.
Where’s the “Dislike” button?
You should probably get in touch with your local Alley Cat Allies people so you can get a humane trap; if you’re going to leave food out then that way you’ll actually be able to sequester the cat. You should also put something like a t shirt that smells of you or someone else in your family so that if the cat smells it they’ll recognize home.
Good luck, hope you find him (although I don’t quite understand how you manage to lose a cat on the way home from the vet).
It’s a mystery to us too! He was in the car when I picked up my daughter, and we made two quick stops to pick up Chinese and recycle used printer cartridges. I assume he slipped out at one of these stops though we didn’t see it happen.
Thanks for the idea of a humane trap – this had never occurred to me.
To avoid just this kind of problem in large-scale, when I moved across the country and drove my car with the cats in it I put them all in harnesses & leashes and slipped the end of the leashes over the stick shift. Then I could be ab-so-lutely certain I could keep all three cats in the car at every stop.
Cages were another option but at least two of mine were subject to car-sickness if caged.
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