We have a new cat. Not the floppy cat, but an affectionate, peach colored cat. But we have not seen her in 24 hours. I cannot think of any way she could have left the house, but I cannot find her anywhere. Years ago Ceecee the the geriatric rageaholic fell into a wall, and you could her her distress from anywhere in the house. So don’t think peachy is stuck anywhere. Ceecee is looking smug,so I am worried she bullied it into a corner, or mabey ate it. Does anyone have advice about finding a cat in the house?
Open a can of tuna and sit very, very quietly where you can watch it.
During college one summer, I lived with a group of females in a huge apartment (I am male). One day our roommates brought home a yappy little pound rescue named Luna. I like basically all dogs but this thing was out of control. Two weeks later, we all left the apartment, locked it up and came home. Luna was gone. At first they accused me of doing something but it was easily provable that I was at work the whole time. Luna was never found. There were no windows, doors, or any other obvious place she could have gone.
I also had a sad (male) friend who lived alone and loved his cat more than anything. She disappeared from a locked apartment as well and he was desperate to find her. He got a lead when he found out that his landlord had work done on some of the walls a few days before. He listened and listened at this big open space within the walls. He was convinced he heard something and got a hammer and knocked the space open. “Pussy” (his name for her) had been trapped inside for 4 days but she was Ok.
This probably doesn’t help much but it does happen.
When our first cat was new and my back was turned, he would jump from kitchen floor to counter to fridge to the soffit/shelf above the cabinets. Great hiding for a nervous kitty. He’s been known to hide in the rafters in the basement during a thunderstorm. He’s wandered into open lower-level cabinets and gotten comfortable, while the person who opened (then closed) the cabinet had no idea. He’s followed someone into the furnace room in the basement and then been shut in for 24 hours while we (thought) we scoured the house looking for him. It surprising how often we lose our indoor-only cats.
I’ve heard of other kittys hiding behind washers & dryers.
I hope you find yours soon.
If she’s in the house, she’ll come out when she’s hungry enough. Try to keep quiet: no loud music, no yelling. If she’s spooked, she won’t come out if more noises scare her, even if she gets hungry. (Not until she’s REALLY hungry.)
My neighbors came over the other day all upset because they thought a guest had let their indoor-only new cat out. I had been sitting by the window for a couple of hours and hadn’t seen him, so I said, Are you SURE he got out? They’re verrrrrryyy good at hiding and can make themselves invisible when they don’t wish to be found. I suggested taking another look and will tell you the same: look behind and under every single piece of furniture, even the ones you think she couldn’t have gotten under/behind. Look behind the stove, behind the washing machine, behind the dryer, in every base cabinet, in the back of every closet, on top of tall furniture and shelves that you think the cat couldn’t jump to. Do your mattresses or couches have a fabric covering on the bottom, covering up the frame? If there’s a hole in it, or if the cat could have made a hole, she might have crawled up inside. My cats used to go up in my mattress for hours until I re-stapled all the fabric to the edges.
Could she have slipped out when someone went in or out? I’ve had a cat do that a couple of times and I would have sworn to a judge that there was NO way he could have gotten out without my seeing, but he did. They’re sneaky. Check outside even if you think she couldn’t have gotten out. The tuna is a good idea also. Or canned mackerel; the smellier the better. Did you have any windows open, even with screens? I’ve seen a cat push a screen out which then popped back and appeared to be closed but it wasn’t really. Do you have a not-very-secure AC in a window? I’ve seen a cat get out that way too.
She’s probably in the house and just hiding. Please post when you have found her. Good luck.
Bright flashlights help, it’s a lot easier to see an outline or their eyes if it’s dark and you’re panning with a flashlight. Go slow, from room to room, shut doors behind you, look behind, under and above everything, even if you think there’s no way she got in there.
I hope you find her, please post to let us know.
Some other suggestions for places to look … inside boxes with lids (like if you have any cardboard boxes in closets) – they can creep inside and the tops fall back down on them. Fortunately, they can usually get themselves out this way as well. Behind books on shelves. Inside drawers, especially if you have nice sweaters that she is now nested in. Watch your other cat, if Missing Cat is in fact stuck somewhere and being quiet about it, your other cat might be interested enough to hang around the area.
Or she might do what my cat has done, just show up in the middle of a room while your back is turned, a room that you have already searched 10 times.
A few months ago we couldn’t find Seamus anywhere, and Sassy looked rather smug, too. No one could remember seeing him get out, but he did. Fortunately he was only gone 24 hours before a rainstorm convinced him that his bid for freedom was ill-considered. Cats are damn sneeky sometimes when it comes to escaping, so while she might be in the house, she may not.
When my cat went missing a couple of months ago, I happened across this page.
Helps put one in a thorough, procedural frame of mind during a potentially panic-inducing time.
Good,news.My,husband,was,sitting,on,a,couch,we,already,searched,and,a,paw,came,out,and,touched,his,butt.The,cat,is,found!But,now,my,space,bar,is,broken,and,the,cat,has,jumped,on,the,piano
Good! Tell the cat to stick to musical instrument and not comedy.
When I moved last October my cat did not take the relocation well. for the first two months I hardly ever saw him. If it weren’t for the fact that the food bowl was being emptied and the litter box being filled, I would have been sure he had managed to get out somehow. Several times I went searching for him without success, before I figured out that he was hiding either inside my recliner or behind the washing machine.
If removed from the present context and if read in isolation, I submit this one would take the prize for most bizarre-O SDMB post ever.
I am glad you found your cat.
I had a scare myself this morning.
We adopted a new cat on Saturday. He is 9 months old and front declawed. We have had him isolated on our sun porch so he can get used to us and view and smell our other cats through the windows. This morning I did not see him through the one window. He usually comes up to visit and flirt with our cat Uno but he was not there. I figured he was just still sleeping. I looked in the porch several times but because of our freezer I could not see to the other half of the porch.
I was going to go out and check but he has been very skittish at times and a little aggressive and I did not want to deal with him in the dark. He can not hurt me with his front paws and he has not bitten but he can see a lot better than I can.
When my daughter got up I looked out her window and I still could not see him. So I ventured out and looked around. No cat. I was thinking what the heck until I noticed the screen was out of the window and laying in the front shrubs.
I was in complete panic. This poor cat. First he gets placed in this strange environment. Then he finds himself outside for the very first time. I grabbed the screen and put it back into place thinking the entire time this cat is history. He must have taken off and there is no way I will find him. He does not know us well enough to come when we call and he certainly does not know the yard or neighborhood at all.
I walked to the screen door to at least go out and look and there he is sitting on the front porch. I call him and in he comes.
I was in complete and utter shock. I have owned cats all my life and I have never had an indoor cat get outside and basically sit and wait until he can get back in. They usually get scared and run and hide.
He ran straight to his litter box.
I have no idea how long he was actually outside. I can only assume his bold nature kept him from getting frightened and sprinting off.
My BF is currently fixing the two larger screens with clips so they can not get pushed out again.
We can only guess he was leaping at some fly or moth and his large size took the screen out and him with it.
Or a parody of Cold War spy communication.
Sign: My space bar is broken
Countersign: The cat has jumped on the piano