Have-a-Heart and lost cat

[eminenz2]

So I'm big-time mopey today because one of my cats got out of the house on Monday PM and I've spent the last two nights outside until the wee hours of the morning with a big stinky bowl of food waiting for her to show up, which she hasn't.

The last time she got out (about three years back), the wait-her-out-with-food-and-then-snag-her routine worked.

This time she is being annoyingly elusive. I'm thinking of going to the hardware store to rent a Have-a-Heart trap.

This is my plan:

Cover the trap with a towel tonight and leave food outside, but near, the trap.

The next night I would like to put the food inside the trap and see if I can catch her that way.

I hope it's her that's been eating the food and not a fox or raccoon. I would hate to catch one of those.

Any tips of words of wisdom are welcome. The more nights she's away the more I fear she'll never come back. She is a skittish, shy, and aloof sort of cat.

Sigh.

 

[allwildgirl]

I had one of those kinds of cats. She disappeared for a week once. I thought all hope was lost but she showed up at my door very bedraggled and sorry looking. After that she didn't wander very far from home

I bet she'll come home without you having to rent the trap.

 

[eminenz2]

Do you think I should keep waiting outside for her? She was originally rescued with an entire community of feral cats, so I fear the longer she stays out, the more she'll revert to her "wild roots" and forget about us!

The only comfort I take is that when cats tend to escape and get lost, they usually stay nearby.

 

[allwildgirl]

I don't think you need to wait outside for her. Just go and call her occasionally. Do you give her treats in a container that's shakeable? I did that too. Or do you ever give her tuna from a can that she'd recognize the sound of?

My kitty was the same when rescued. They found her in a ravine with a litter of kittens and when they took her in she was already pregnant again Poor little thing.

 

[lederr]

The Have-A-Heart-Trap is good. From what I have heard, put very smelly food out. The smellier, the better. Stuff like anchovies and tuna fish.

Good luck!

Lorie

 

[dss62467]

Purrple used to disappear for days at a time. I was beginning to think that maybe she was two-timing us with another family. I hated when she'd go out, because I was always afraid she wouldn't come back.

Now she's 7 and hardly goes out at all. Maybe a little bit. But she's home every night and that makes me happy.

I tried one of those traps when one of my last cats got away from me taking her to the vet's office. She jumped out of my hands, but I was alone with Teri in the back seat of the car. Teri was only 4 months old at the time, so I couldn't leave her to chase the cat. When I got into the vet's office, they watched Teri while I looked, but I never found her. We put the trap out there for days, but no luck.

Of course, that was far from home - so you'll probably hae much better luck.

I hope it works out for you! I'm sure she's close by.

 

[emackay]

Hi eminenz,

I really hope you are able to find your kitty. I do a lot of cat trapping/rescue and sometimes indoor kitties get lost and revert back to a feral state. The problem is that they haven't marked anything around the house with their scent, so they can be lost even 10 feet from your front door (you might want to leave her bed or something that smells like you outside your house). Keep calling her occasionally, but I would really give the trap a try. Call your local animal control and they might lend you a trap for free - and may even help you find her. Also, call the shelter and tell them about your kitty - in case she's brought in there - especially if she's nervous, they may not know she's not a feral.

If you decide to try the trap, covering it certainly can help. Some cats like it when the top and sides are covered, but not the rear - so it looks like they can get out. They also sometimes go to the back to try to get to the food - then after failing finally go to the door. Cover the floor of the trap with cardboard or magazines - most cats hate wire feel on their feet - just make sure the trap door will still shut all the way. Tuna is great - or anything smelly - make a small trail of the stuff from the opening and have it zig zag to the trip plate. W/o the trail , the cat might be to chicken to go in. The zig zag will up the odds of her staying long enough to trip the trap.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

arancini

 

[eminenz2]

Thanks for the super advice!

So this morning - no food in the bowl, but also, no kitty. Humph. Whoever went in got the food but did not trip the door. If it was the cat, she apparently has no qualms about going into the trap. Now I have to figure out how to situate the food so the plate is pressed enough to snap the door shut.

I will try the zig zagging the food, too.

Thank heaven I did not catch a fox or raccoon! Or a rat - yuck!

Susan L.G.

 

[emackay]

Yay - sounds like you are on the right track! Yeah, try placing the can (or something that size) against the back wall of the trap. If that doesn't work, up the ante and use a clothes pin to attach a piece of bacon/other yummy thing to the plate itself. Also, most traps can be set on a hair trigger - where the little hook is, just set it so that it hardly keeps the trap open instead of hooking it all of the way. Test it to make sure the wind won't blow it closed, etc. - but that way less pressure will set it off.

Some cats are very smart ... I've even had to tie food to the ceiling of the trap (dangling from the ceiling) in order to keep them from grabbing a bite and running out.

Try, try again


arancini

 

[traciB]

Hi all,

Just curious... these cats that go missing for days... are they neutered ? I thought neutering causes them not to go far from home.