One of my cats was out all night once, and it turned out he hid under the back porch, not even coming out when I called. But when I got down and looked, and saw him, I finally persuaded him to come to me.
Hope you’ve had more kitty sightings. Good luck!
Bad news - she’s not in the drain where I saw her any more. I crawled the length of the drain this morning, and she’s not there. She didn’t trigger the trap that i placed in the drain, and didn’t eat any of the food which I placed on the ground next to the trap either.
This evening we’re going to try to move the trap above ground, near the entrance of the drain where I saw her.
We’re wondering if she’s afraid of the trap, though. We got her as a rescue kitten, so she might have been trapped before. Sigh. 
If you see your cat, kneel down and call it and wait with some snacks. Cat’s take forever to think through indecision and any movement disrupts this process. You can continue to call but don’t reach for the cat or chase after it. It has to come to you. When the cat comes to you don’t reach straight for it’s head to pet it. Offer the food to the side and reach around from behind to scratch it’s head a little.
If you haven’t draped the trap with towels, I highly recommend that you do so. The trap looks far more inviting that way.
A long time ago when my indoor cat got out, it was several hours of worry, because she’s the kind of cat that can get anywhere that is cat gettable.
After I chased away a roommate that wanted to help find her (cat was scared of him), I went outside with a bag of dry food and shook it, calling her name.
She came a runnin’. 
What a pretty baby! Easy to see why you’re so upset about losing her.
I can’t add to anything that our fellow animal friends have already written, just to let you know you both are in our (me and Dondra) thoughts and are hoping for a very happy reunion, Tabby!
Bill
Don’t give up hope. Several years ago, my then-18-year-old indoor cat got out, and in spite of his age and cold temperatures, managed to survive almost 3 weeks until someone spotted him about a mile away. He was very malnourished and dehydrated, but otherwise not harmed.
Miracles do happen.
My indoor cat liked to step outside on occasion and got locked out of the house a couple of times. I found her by walking the neighborhood calling her name. She came when called and I had to listen to hrs of hissing and attitude for leaving her out.
Wouldn’t hurt to search the neighborhood and call out the cat’s name.
I had a house cat disappear for over 3weeks. I have no idea what happened to Fourteen but he was skinny and happy to see me. He was a great cat.
My cat now will get out and walk slowly around the house. i can go out and pick him up, if I know he pushed the screen open. Mostly they won’t go far unless they get frightened by something.
No good news I’m afraid. I Watched the trap from 1am to 6am, and saw 3 cats, none of them Tara. I placed a few lumps of tuna in the drain to see if maybe she’s still down there but hidden away. I’m wondering if there’s something scary about the trap - none of the other cats went into it, much less set it off.
Can you put something that’s familiar to Tara in or near the trap? A favorite toy, a blanket or towel with your scent? A small cardboard box? Cats love boxes.
You crawled the length of a drain? Good thing we’re not looking for you!
Yeah, we’ve got used t shirts, socks, and blankets in there.
The drain wasn’t so bad - only maybe 10 meters? (40 feet?) and it was almost entirely dry - no rain gets in there. Not about to do it again though!
I really hope you find her soon. Poor thing. And I feel bad for the cat, too.
Have you tried looking in sewers nearby? I see lots of cats head for them when frightened.
I’ve already crawled through the drain in front of my place, and she’s not in there… the lump of tuna I left in there is still untouched, too, whereas the tuna that I put in there last Wednesday was gone (when I knew she was in there).
My hope is that she knows that it’s safe in there, and she decides to make her way back to the drain, so that I can trap her safely!
I just saw this, and I’m sorry there is no good news about your kitty yet.
I am really impressed by your dedication, but I wonder if you watching the trap all night is maybe causing her to shy away? When my cat was lost, I sat outside 24 hours and didn’t see him at all…he finally got caught by an unattended trap.
I really hope you get her soon.
Any news?
Not really. In fact, I’m sitting outside my place right now - there’s someone eating the food I leve out between 5 and 7am, and I think the rest of the ktties have gone home by then. Also, I good the food in the drain hone, after almost a week. No other cats go in there, so I’m hoping Tara is still hanging around…
Anything yet?
I’ve always had a cat, occasionally as many as three for several decades now. Have two right now, and one of them is the first indoor cat I’ve ever had. A few years ago she got out. We walked the blocks for several days calling her name. I printed up some fliers and put them on the lamp posts for a few blocks around. We got a call from a neighbor that there was a cat up a tree in their back yard. We went over there and sure enough there she was, about thirty feet up. They said she was there for three days.
I’m not really fond of heights but I went up the aluminum extension ladder and then climbed some more. I was talking softly to her and she was quietly meowing back. I was worried that she would panic when I got to her and figured she was at least going to sink her claws in me, just in sheer terror. To my surprise, she just let me take and hold her all the way down.
Much happiness at home. Ironically, the tree she was in could be seen out our kitchen window, at the house next to the one across the street, a couple of hundred feet away. It took me a long time to get here, but what I want to say is LOOK UP also. We didn’t then, but if it ever happens again, I won’t forget.
Another clue for us should have been that our other cat, who pretty much only comes home to eat and sleep, had started hanging out over there, not right under the tree, but very close. Sleeping on the ground during the day, when he would normally be home inside doing that. I’m sure it’s because she was up that tree.
Lastly, a cat my mother had disappeared one day. She was gone over six months and one day just came up to the door. She looked fine and never disappeared again. Don’t give up hope…
