kitty is missing

Travelinglady · Mar 23, 2020, 08:10 AM

My little gray cat Carolina didn't come home last night--the first time ever.

Yaowen · Mar 23, 2020, 10:12 AM

Dear travelinglady,

Oh, how awful and distressing. I hope your little grey cat Carolina comes home soon!

-- Yao Wen

Open Eyes · Mar 23, 2020, 10:58 AM

You should go for a walk to see if she is around. Sometimes a cat will get spooked and climb up a tree for safety only to get stuck up that tree not knowing how to get down. That is something I happened across when I was working in my yard and began hearing this cat crying. It had climbed up a tree and could not get down by it's self. Someone eventually had to help that cat down. It happens more than people realize. And it may even hear you calling but it can't come to you because it's stuck up in a tree.

lizardlady · Mar 23, 2020, 05:09 PM

Trav, didn't your other kitty go missing awhile back only to be found hiding near the house? How about a careful search of your yard?

Travelinglady · Mar 23, 2020, 08:02 PM

Thanks, but this kitty is used to roaming all over the place. I got a sense that she was leaving us last night when she walked right by me and went out the kitty door. I felt strange. It's hard to explain. She always acknowledged me before.

We put a message on the facebook page for our housing development. But maybe she's found a home she likes better. I just hope she's okay.

mote.of.soul · Mar 23, 2020, 08:08 PM

Maybe if you take her favorite eating bowl outside and give it a few bangs she'll hear it and start making her way home.

Mar 23, 2020, 08:40 PM

Travelinglady would you ever consider microchipping your indoor-outdoor cats? That way, if your cat goes to someone's house and they take your cat to the vet, the vet will likely scan for a microchip that would bring up your name and contact information. Has she disappeared for lengths of time before? How is her health?

Nammu · Mar 23, 2020, 08:41 PM

I'm sorry. I'd be devastated if Sir walked out.

Travelinglady · Mar 23, 2020, 08:49 PM

liz, she is microchipped. I'm hoping someone will see that.

She's never left before and I didn't notice any health problems.

Mar 23, 2020, 09:35 PM

I would call your vet and tell him/her that your cat left and describe the cat's behavior. Vets are very intuitive about animal behavior. Maybe your vet can shed some light on what your cat's behavior indicates. Hopefully your cat isn't too far away. I like the suggestion to leave a bowl of her food outside the door for her with some water. Also, I would put out a sweater you haven't washed yet. Cats are attracted to our scents. Last resort would be to set a cat trap in your yard to catch her. I hope she comes back.

Perpetuity · Mar 23, 2020, 09:48 PM

I do hope Carolina would find his way home...

Travelinglady · Mar 23, 2020, 10:07 PM

I think our other cat would eat any food I left outside. I think I'll ask hubby to drive us around our housing development tomorrow to look for her.

Mar 23, 2020, 10:29 PM

Still, I've heard that when people leave a clothing item outside, their scent helps attract their pet back towards their home. What can it hurt?

Raindropvampire · Mar 23, 2020, 10:56 PM

Good luck on finding your kitty. I know years ago when my JD got out I was a mess until she made her way home. Took her two days and I never did figure out where the little bugger had gone. Hugs to you I hope she comes home soon.

possum220 · Mar 23, 2020, 11:12 PM

Given that it is spring where you are maybe kitty has gone out for some romance. Kittens, or is she speyed?

lizardlady · Mar 24, 2020, 05:16 AM

Trav, I hope you find her soon.

Travelinglady · Mar 24, 2020, 01:23 PM

Great news! I shut Caroline up in the garage, not knowing she had followed me in there. Hubby found her in there this morning. She is now lying on top of the sofa I'm sitting on, one of her favorite places.

Thanks so much for all of your concerns and suggestions. You're a great bunch of kitty lovers!