I could just cry! (*Update in #15)

[KittyCrazy]

I just got home from my son's baseball tournament to find out that the kitty we got for my mother-in-law in Jan. has been missing since Friday (2 days ago). She just NOW told us about it today because she was afraid we'd be mad at her. What I'm mad at is that she didn't call us immediately so we might have had a better chance of finding her quickly! :(

Misty is just the sweetest thing and she slipped out when MIL went to get her mail. I've made a missing pet claim at the Humane Society and gave them her photo and also made 100 posters to put up in vet clinics, on light poles, laundromats, etc.. I'll also be placing an ad in the newspaper for her and will offer a reward.

So.....if a cat runs away, do they typically stay close? Or do they usually go on a long journey for the adventure and freedom?

We have left MIL's garage door open and put Misty's food and water out and hope she'll come back to eat so we can catch her.

Please pray for Misty that we find her.....we have so many fox around here that have been eating bunnies (we hear them screaming at night :( ) and I am so scared for her safety!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear this.:( Hopefully she's still close by. I would also try to go door to door and talk to neighbors to alert them about her. Maybe one of them has seen her. If she didn't have a collar on someone may think that she's lost or a stray and may even take her home with them. Sometimes cats will also get locked up in sheds or garages so you may also want to check these things out. I sure hope that she comes home soon. I'll keep her in my thoughts and prayers.

[Medusa]

Oh my, how worrisome. We'll say some "come home" prayers for Misty and that she returns safe and sound....

[Freedom]

I have a message I send out to folks around here who post a lost cat or dog on craigslist. Maybe you will get some ideas from this:


If I already sent this to you, I apologize for the duplication.



Lost Cat / Dog

I have a few suggestions.

1. If the pet is micro chipped, call the company and let them know. Many people forget to do this in the mad dash to find the pet.

2. Make a poster on your computer. Use a photo if you have one. Make the photo and your phone number large!

If you have a color printer, print it out. If not, save it to disc.

Take the poster or the disc to Staples. Have them make color copies. Have about 15 laminated; or you can buy the sticky laminate sheets and do that yourself back at home.

Get some tape, and a stapler; the kind of stapler which lets you open it up and staple onto something.

Take a poster to all the vets in your area. ALL VETS have a place for lost pet posters. Sometimes people try to keep the pet and pass it off as their own, taking it in to a vet for shots.

Take a poster to the Animal Control for your city. Also take one to any shelters, SPCA s, in the area.

Put up a poster at all high traffic stores in the area; be sure to ask first. Most shops will say OK; this is where you use the tape. Convenience stores, grocery stores, banks. (Not a flooring store, they don’t get enough regular business for this type of thing.)

If there are apartments in the area, put up a poster at all the entrances.

Starting where the pet went missing, put the laminated posters on the utility poles at all the intersections for a mile in every direction. You want the laminated ones as they will survive a few rains. The phone number should be large enough for people to read from the car. Do all 4 corners at each intersection.

If there is a school nearby, enlist the students’ help. These posters should include a reward -- $25 or $50. They are always looking for spending money! Put up the posters near the school, on the utility poles.

3. Depending on where the pet went missing, and where you live, leave some food out. Remember: you WILL attract wildlife. Skunks and raccoons just to name a few. Think about it before you do this!

4. Something additional if you don't know about it is the www.thepetrescue.com site that allows you to post a lost pet listing for free (with limited services) and for $20 (for premium services). Look into it if you're interested.

Best wishes, and I pray that you find your pet safe and sound, quickly!

[ChrisH]

Prayers on the way that Misty is found safe and sound very soon.

[GILL]

The CREW is sending thier come home prayers. We hope that Misty will be home soon.

[KittyCrazy]

Thanks, Freedom! I didn't think about laminating and I also didn't know to make my phone # BIG but that sure does make sense. Glad I read those ideas before I printed them out!

[catmandu]

THE PET ANGEL SEARCH AND RESCUE SQUAD, MADE UP OF ANGELS FROM ALL OVER THE PET TALKER WORLD, IS ON THE JOB, AND WE PRAY :love: THAT THEY CAN LURE MISTY BACK HOME.
ITS THE NOT KNOWING THATS THE WORST PART, AS YOU ARE SO SCARED FOR YOU FURRY COMPANION.:(

[momcat]

LES here too. Has Misty ever been out before? If so, maybe she has a secret hidey place not far away. Many prayers are being prayed that she'll come home safe and sound and SOON!!!

Come home, Misty, your purrents miss you :(

[Emeraldgreen]

This of course is not always the rule but generally cats tend to stay in the same general area that they went missing from. On my lost and found site there is even a reunion story about a cat that was traveling with his family on a road trip and he escaped out of the car at a rest stop. The family searched for days but had to head home, a ferry ride away. I kept posting signs for them and finally 6 months later, their cat was found in the exact spot he had jumped out at half a year earlier. They are all back together now.

Freedom's idea to laminate is a good one. You can also cover your posters on both sides with clear packing tape and they will last awhile like this.

I agree that you should definitely go door to door on the street and neighboring streets to ask people to check in their garages, sheds and basements. I know of quite a few cats that went in to investigate or seek shelter from the weather and unsuspecting homeowners closed up the buildings not knowing there was a cat in there. You could put some posters on doors of people that aren't home and write an additional note to request that they look in their outbuildings and basements.

Looking for Misty in the early morning and late evening are good times to search because the traffic is quieter and it's easier for you to hear her and vice versa.

Don't forget to look up in the trees. She might have crawled up and isn't able to get down on her own now, especially if she doesn't have much experience with that.

Prayers going out that you find her soon! Don't give up hope. :)

[KittyCrazy]

Thank you to everyone for your ideas, support, encouragement, and suggestions. I really appreciate it! I spent several hours today looking and no luck. I also talked with lots of people outdoors and knock on other doors. I put up about 100 posters and also placed a missing pet post on our local Missing Pets web site. I'm so worried about her! When MIL got her from the Humane Society, she was already declawed so she doesn't even have a good defense system if she needs to protect herself. :(

[nancys]

I'm hoping you find her. Any news yet? I got little metal tags at the vet that you can attach to a cat or dog's collars. Then you go online and register your pet. This sounds like such a good idea to me - I agree to the principle behind micro - chips, but also think they are a little intrusive.

[pitc9]

I hope she's found soon.

Prayers on the way!

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Oh no......! You & your mom must feel so scared...! My Zazou got lost twice last month, and it was so hard to take...! IN both cases she wasn't far away; she was in a shed of our back-neighbour.
In fact Denise told me where she was, she felt that Zazou was fine! Maybe you can ask her to do a reading? All she needs is a picture and some details about Misty! I will look up her website for you now and post the link here :)

Here is the link:
www.pawsitive-thinking.co.uk

[KittyCrazy]

Well, as of today, still no Misty. :( BUT....my MIL has been putting out a bowl of her food and a dish of water and leaving her garage door open 24/7 and every night, SOMEONE has been coming in and eating the food. So, last night, I told MIL to put a couple of peanuts in with the cat food. This morning, the cat food was eaten and then 3 peanuts still remained! :) So....I don't think it's a skunk, squirrel, or racoon as they would have all eaten the nuts.

Tonight I set up a live trap to catch whoever is eating the food in the middle of the night! PLEASE send us good vibes that it will be Misty! :)

[Husky_mom]

that seems promising.....

hoping it really is her....paws crossed for her return

[Taz_Zoee]

I hope it is Misty and she can be returned to the safety of the house.

Please be Misty, please be Misty!!!

[KittyCrazy]

Well, no one was captured last night. BUT....I am hopeful. You know how cats are....they DON'T like change. If it is Misty, she probably came in and went "Whoa! What the heck?! My food wasn't in a box yesterday!". So, it may take a couple of nights for her to realize that she HAS to go in the box to get to her food. The Humane Assn. said that when trying to capture a cat, the average is the 4th night before they'll finally get hungry enough to go in.

[Taz_Zoee]

Then I will be hoping that she ventures in within the next few days.

[Randi]

Putting some nuts in was quite smart! ;) I do hope it was Misty who came, and that she'll be back inside soon - safe and sound.

Sending good thoughts.

[pitc9]

I agree, putting the peanuts there too was a GREAT idea!!!

Paws crossed that it's her and she steps into the trap SOON!

[rg_girlca]

Big time prayers on the way that Misty comes home real soon safe and sound.

Come on there little girl, get your butt back home and stop worrying everyone.

[Emeraldgreen]

I agree, putting the nuts in the bowl is such an amazing idea. I'd never thought of that before!

Maybe if you do this slowly and put her food basically where it used to be and then each night move it 6 inches closer to the trap and then slowly inside until it's at the back of the trap she might begin to enter the trap. Kind of like when you change a litter box location, you do it a few feet at a time. She might be too freaked out to just all of a sudden go in the trap. Just a thought. :)

Looking forward to a happy ending!

[momtomany]

If the trap you are using has two entrances, one that trips and the other that allows tranfering, you may want to remove the transfering one. I do that when trying to trap. The cat gets used to going into the trap to eat but can leave, until you switch the opening. They go in and trigger the trap and you get your baby. I keep a cover over mine the whole time, so that when the trap does trigger, they are covered and it keeps them calmer. It does take longer this way, but is less stressful for everyone.

[Freedom]

Hey, I never heard that about the nuts, either! Great info.

Misty get yourself back HOME dear girl!!!

My neighbor's cat, Bella, slipped out the door when the 4 year old grandson was visiting. Bella is declawed front (not by my neighbors, she arrived that way), and so we have ALL been worried about her, knowing we have coyotes about. This morning, after 5 DAYS, she appeared at their back door meowing up a storm. I could just imagine, "Let me IN, I'm HUNGRY!!!" :rolleyes: No idea where she has been and of course, she is not telling.

So I pray that Misty gets herself back home safely as well!

[Medusa]

Oh boy, I hope Misty gets in there and eats soon so that you can bring her back indoors. When I was trapping ferals for altering, sometimes it took seemingly forever and I was worried that they were going elsewhere for food but eventually they took the bait. So if Misty gets hungry enough, she'll walk in. We're still praying.....