[Richo]

A friend's cat disappeared 2 nights ago, and wouldn't it figure that this happened the day before they have to leave for vacation.

Don't know what happened. They let him out on the deck regularly and he never leaves the yard but this time he did.

She did the usual steps when losing a cat: fliers, call the police/shelter, put food and clothes out, etc.

We went looking for him last night around the neighborhood after dark but no luck. This is a neighborhood close to a wooded area with railroad tracks and a stream, plus plenty of side streets. Just trying to get an idea of where Lucky might be hiding.

The stream isn't really a stream but more like shallow standing water in a low lying area. Do cats generally stay away from areas like that or would he have possibly crossed it?

Any suggestions on where to look?

 

[marie73]

I don't know about the stream, but have them take their cat's litter box (hopefully still some used litter in there) and sprinkle the contents around their house. Cats will respond to that smell.

 

[BT1]

Look in the trees. There was a recent post here about finding a dead cat in a tree that had been there a long time. Lucky might have been spooked and run up a tree.

 

[Richo]

We've been out in the neighborhood the last couple nights walking around, calling him, shining a flashlight in yards and under trees, bushes, etc. No sign of Lucky. We got excited a couple times when the flashlight picked up glowing eyes but it was just rabbits.

We scattering litter throughout the yard last night but as of this afternoon he still hasn't been back. His favorite cat treats still sit on the deck waiting to be eaten

The cat's owner will be back tomorrow and I'm sure she will get to work looking for him and putting up lost cat posters. At this point he may have wandered far away and there is so much area to cover in this neighborhood that he could be anywhere.

 

[Richo]

We have been bending down and shining the flashlight at the bottom of bushes, decks, anything he would he hiding under. I would think if he's close by he would have found his way back home and at least eaten the treats off the deck, so I'm worried that he's wandered far and has been unable to find his way home.

She passed out fliers to the immediate neighborhood before she left and nobody has responded so he may have wandered farther than that.

 

[lashes006]

i hope Lucky is found and returned safely. do people have wells where you live? we have wells where i grew up. i actually found a cat and my small yorkie dog when i was a child... sitting at the bottom of the well. luckily they were both unharmed after a 5 feet fall. a neighbor's cat was down in the same well a few years ago. he was ok too, but so hungry.

as for the stream/water, the cat would probably only cross it if there was something for him to walk across, like rocks, a fallen tree trunk, etc. i let my cat out with me and he goes down to the streams to drink. i have caught him trying to walk across the dam, but he stops when i yell his name. if Lucky does not like water, he probably wouldn't try to cross it without some type of barrier between him and the water. does he have a squeaky toy he plays with? or something that rattles or jingles, like crazies? if he is hiding somewhere, he may respond to that sound. i really hope someone finds him safe!

 

[Richo]

Great news!

Lucky came home tonight!

It couldn't have been more fitting. The couple who lost lucky took us out tonight for dinner and drinks to thank us for our help in looking for him. At the end we offered to come to their house and walk a few streets at 10:30 PM to see if we could spot him.

On the way to their house my girlfriend and I agreed, wouldn't it be so perfect if he was just there on the deck waiting when we got there? Well we grabbed flashlights and went out the door to the deck and almost right away Lucky's owner could hear a familiar meow coming from close by. It continued and she narrowed it down to underneath the neighbor's deck, and there he was.

He seemed in very good shape, and clean, although he had lost some weight. He didn't even run to his food dish right away. I guess we'll never know where he spent the last week but we're so glad he's back home and we're glad we could be there to witness his return.

 

[BT1]

Yay! I'm glad you found him!