probably nothing anyone can say here, but just in case I thuoght I’d mention the problem here at the SDMB.
My cat never goes beyond our front porch area. But this morning she seems to have dissappeared.
She has been fixed since she was six weeks old so I don’t think she’s out looking for a mate.
So the questions I have are, why in the world has she wandered off, and, are there any tricks or tips involved in finding lost cats?
-FrL-
Worked for us: Our small tuxedo-cat ate-like-a-vaccuum-cleaner named Hoover got out, and we let the neighbor kid know she was worth $10 to get her back.
He had her for us the next day.
Call your local animal control or humane society! Generally you’ll have a very short period to recover the animal if she’s missing – in our jurisdiction, it’s 3 days.
Here’s the Humane Society of the United States advice: I think it’s pretty comprehensive.
Good luck!
Daniel
My wife is a sucker for a hungry cat. One more showed up just last month, it now feels right at home. How can I lose some cats?
We put up lots and lots of posters.
One person called, but the next day Schnurri moseyed back home on his own.
Cats are very good at finding their way home because of their senses of smell.
Leave your garage door open. Put some water and her favorite food in the garage, along with her litter box, her favorite toys, and maybe a blanket or something she likes to lie on, or something that has your scent. And keep watching, just in case some other animal makes itself at home.
Meanwhile, definitely contact the Humane Society, and put up lots of “lost” posters, showing a photo of her.
Good luck.
Check you humane society and/or local animal control. That’s where I take the cats I trap. If your cats have collars and are tagged, they’ll typically call the owner. If your animals aren’t tagged, consider doing that on future cats.
(Uh, I only trap cats that trespass; don’t hate me. Also cats at large are a nuisance and against my own city ordinances; your ordinances may vary.)
As a confirmed cat lover Balthisar I think you are out of order trapping cats…trespass!!! cat’s can’t bloody read so how the hell does it know it’s trespassing, it is only doing what comes natural and that is having a scout round seeing what’s on offer.
If cats at large are a nuisance what about packs of dogs…Geez man lighten up some.
BTW nice place Michigan, was there last year place called Grandville 
Spogga, I agree it’s not really the cats’ problem – it has to do with irresponsible owners who violate the city ordinances. If a cat escapes a single time, I’ll never notice it and I won’t trap it. Accidents happen. Sometimes certain neighbors may lose their dogs, which have licenses and typically an address tag. I’ll take the animal back to the grateful owners. Again, mistakes happen.
But when I see and hear the same cats night after night, there’s a problem. When I find my mulch and flower beds all torn up and littered with cat feces it’s a problem. When the cats are screaming at 2 in the morning outside my bedroom window, it’s a problem. It’s not just merely my problem; that’s why cats at large (and dogs at large, too) are prohibited in the city code. If we were in the country the idea of wild cats could be supportable – they’re good mousers. But the suburbs isn’t a good place for these things to be roaming.
I don’t do this for fun. It’s a pain in the buttocks to take the damn things to animal control. It’s out of my way. I’m not some sicko that hates animals and feeds them antifreeze or otherwise kills them.
If the owners are not responsible enough to properly maintain their cats, then it’s the owner that’s going to suffer – not the cats. Animal control isn’t an abusive agency, and if the cats end up destroyed, it’s done humanely. I prefer the thought that the owner gets their cats back after paying $35 for impound and $10/night for boarding.
Michigan’s the best state in the union. Never been to England myself.
Sorry to hear that Frylock, I know how you feel. One night I didn’t shut the front door all the way and my cat wandered out - I looked for 2 or 3 hours a few blocks in every direction while calling his name and shaking the cat treats, but to no avail. My mom suggested (as panache45 did) to leave the front door open - a few hours later I caught him walking back outside after he had come in for a bite to eat! He was very dirty which placed him in the dirty bushes 50 feet from my door. So leave your door open and look in little hiding places very close to your house. Good luck.
My experience has been unless it is run over cats come back. And just because your cat is an indoor cat doesn’t mean it can’t catch a bird or some neighbor isn’t feeding it. If it has food it has no reason to go home.
In fact it may go home to check to see if you are there for a few minutes each day and then run off to play.
I had one coworker who had an indoor cat and then it got outdoors. It came back in her house, but she claimed it hadn’t eaten in a week.(it wouldn’t eat the food she gave her) I was like that cat is being fed or catching mice or birds. Cats don’t go a week without food.