Our "outdoor cat" is missing

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

About four years ago we started feeding a female cat that hangs around our back yard and other adjacent yards*. She had kittens, of which only two survived apparently, so we trapped them and took them for adoption, and trapped her and had her fixed. Then we let her back out in the yard, where she is comfortable. She is not interested in coming indoors, and is afraid of most people (including me, but not my partner, who is the one who feeds her most of the time - he is able to play with her and she comes when he calls).

We haven’t seen her since Tuesday afternoon. She didn’t come yesterday or this morning when food was put out, and her food was not eaten.

My partner keeps saying that he hopes someone has adopted her, but I don’t think that’s likely, given that she doesn’t like to be indoors and is afraid of people. I’m afraid she is hurt, possibly from a fight with another cat (or with raccoons, of which we have some in the area), and is holed up somewhere unable to come out. I hate to think of her alone and in pain. We’re sure she isn’t in our yard, and we can’t go into the other yards to see if we can find her.

So, kitty lovers, please send your good thoughts her way. Thanks.

*Where we live in San Francisco, the houses all butt up against each other, so while it is not impossible that she got out into the street, it is not likely, and she has never before shown any interest in going there.
Roddy

2

:frowning:

I hope kitteh is ok.

I realize that this is not relevant in your situation, but this is why my kittehs have always been indoor only - I would worry constantly if they were out and about.

FWIW, is it possible that someone has found her, discovered her fixed and turned her into the humane society? Where I am there are ‘No Cat Roaming’ laws - perhaps someone thought she was lost?

3

Thank you for your good thoughts. These back yards are all private property, so although someone may have trapped her and taken her there “for her own good” or because they thought she was a nuisance, it wouldn’t be because of a law such as that. The approved procedure here seems to be to fix and release back in their original area; competition for food and space is supposed to help keep the population of unfixed feral cats down.

And she isn’t a nuisance. She has caught at least 3 gophers in our yard that we know of, and one or two mice (or small rats). She loves to hunt, and will sit for (seemingly) hours waiting for her prey. And she doesn’t bother the birds either.
Roddy

4

Will do. You know, I’ve had plenty of cats come back after I’d given up hope.

5

On a bit of an ‘opposite’ note, just for a smile, last night I got off work at 11 PM. It was raining. As I pulled up under my car port, a cat darted from behind a table on my stoop. I just saw the back half-dark tabby, high white socks…wet… I thought “RUBY!” my female tabby, who is an inside ONLY kitteh.

So there I go, out into the rain, kitty-kitty-kittying, calling for Miss Ruby. No reply. She was not coming.

So I go inside to put my purse & lunchbag down and maybe grab an umbrella… and there sits Ruby, just inside the door with CharlieCat and the little dogs bouncing all around.

Seems it wasn’t her under the carport after all. I guess she has a twin.

sigh

6

I’ll be thinking good thoughts for you and your kitty too.

7

OK, this is more than you want to know, but here is the whole story:

After several days of concern and missing the cat especially every time I go out back, and worrying that she was lying under some inaccessible bushes someplace, injured and starving and too weak to move -

Yesterday my SO remembered that the owners of the house next door (landlords, house is rented out to several people) had been out working in the yard on the day the cat disappeared. Maybe the cat wandered into their basement/large crawlspace, which has no inside entrance and is only accessible through the outside door, and gotten locked in. So he went over there (nobody home, we have access to their yard through the fence) and called her, and heard her miaowing inside. Happy day, right? Well, not so much.

There was an open window she could have jumped out of, but she wouldn’t even try. It was maybe 4 or 4-1/2 feet off the ground, something she could easily do, but she was too afraid, I guess. She didn’t seem to be weak from hunger, even though she had been in there for over 5 days, she was running around and seemed quite happy to hear SO’s voice, but she wouldn’t try for the window even for a nice stinky can of tuna.

So we finally got hold of the owners and they came over this morning and opened the door. No cat. She was hiding because other people that she didn’t know were there (or so we assume). SO knew she was there because she miaowed when he called. So we persuaded the owners to leave the door open and left some food outside, hoping she will come out and stay out, long enough for someone to close the door again.

So, she is a stupid little twit (how I long to change that vowel!) because: she wandered into their crawlspace; she wouldn’t come out of the open window, even for yummy food she never gets to eat; and she wouldn’t come out because of strangers, even for food. She takes the term “fraidy-cat” to new levels.

Oh, well, I’m sure I’ll be happy to see her. I’m at work, so I’m getting this last part at 2nd hand from my SO. Thanks, everyone, for your good wishes, even though now I’m not sure she deserves them. ::grumpy::
Roddy

8

I’m very glad there has been a relatively happy ending to this story. :slight_smile:

9

Cats! Rotten little stinkers, they are. Give her some skritchies for me when she gets her furry ass home.

10

Yay!