Daniel A.
3 days ago
Micaela Glass Fulbright ok good.
Please read through my information on in/out cats and follow.
It's a lot of information but it covers all circumstances too.
The 1st part gets you started on how to think about why he or she is missing and what to immediately do. The 2 links are why a litter box should never be used and the full description of all the reasons why fixed in/out and outside cats become missing.
Any questions you have just ask me:
For fixed in/out or outside cats, there are several upfront reasons to consider for them being missing such as trapped somewhere nearby, injury and fear.
Know also, that in/out and outside cats consider home to be their territory. Cats don't abandon their territory without good reason or simply just vanish either ....and even if your cat is a meandering social cat who loves the people 6 houses down for example, if they're not at anyone's house and if they can not be located it means that something has happened that has caused a change to their normal behavior.
When you search for them, look very deeply in things. Cats that have an injury for example, won't often meow or come out. This is due to the instincts they have of self preservation, to not give up their location for fear of predators (built in).
Also note that it's extremely common - though relatively not well known to cat owners - that in/out and outside only cats often get trapped in things like a neighbor's garage or bat. So checking with your neighbors specifically for that is a must.
Some cats, pending on the area can come in contact with a loose dog or a coyote. They will run some ways and hide, likely not coming out for a while...some even ending up in very unusual places. When the cat feels the danger has passed, they can try and come back but do consider that their "judgment" on when it's safe or whether or not to come straight back is NOT the same as ours is.
*more times than not - if a coyote chases your cat - your cat may not come back. Coyote attacks are different from other animal attacks and many times the terror experienced by the cat will cause the cat to believe it can't return. These cats typically find themselves "starting over" usually a half mile or more away. Going door to door, using flyers and Nextdoor App for your neighbors up to atleast 1.5 - 2 miles are good strategies to use for this.
Sometimes your cat - male or female will be challenged by a cat that you've never seen before. This can be problematic especially if it's a cat that shows up in the middle of night but you're unaware of it.
Missing, in/out and outside cats are typically found within the area of home up to 5 to 10 houses away and for a variety of reasons including the ones I listed above.
Research/observations have shown that a radius of about 1050 feet is the most common distance out from the home area that these cats are found in.
You can use the "distance" function in Google maps to draw out a circle of that distance around you... 1050 feet or 350 yards...
This is a really good 1st search radius. And note that outside access cats are usually FOUND UNDER someone's house, outbuildings or even a car or in some crawl space RATHER than out in the open...and again for a variety of reasons but the 1st ones Iisted are quite common. So search this radius 1st and really thoroughly.
*And because the inside of the house is considered the natural safe "home" territory for most in/out cats, crack a door open for them....**or atleast a garage door or window because overnight, cats that are scared will come out from their hiding spots and some of these will definitely attempt to come back in....when they feel it's safe....and that's more often than not in the middle of the night.
*the garage door or equivalent for outside cats.
No use of litter box:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=250603344614339&id=100089940256193&mibextid=Nif5oz
Outside/Outside access:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=107669252241083&id=100089940256193
NOTE: I am not interested in a reward if one is being offered.
*You can always ask me questions. I understand cat behavior and enjoy helping....however, keep me updated.
*Those who stay in touch with me - especially early on - have the best chance of locating and recovering their missing cat(s).
I help ppl everyday and the sheer volume of missing cats is more than enough to keep 1 person extremely occupied. So keeping in touch is something worth doing as I can't go back and check on every single person I initially communicate with each day.
*note: many times on fb, the notifications do not come through!!
So feel free to message me on Messenger instead.
Thank you.
