Here are some good suggestions, but it sounds like you're doing most of them.


Finding a Lost Pet | Little Big Cat


One hint I heard that works is sprinkling (used) kitty litter around the house. The smell brings them back. And looking for the cat at night because your flashlight will reflect the light in their eyes.

Good luck. atback

 

I'm so sorry you are going through this

The only other thing I can suggest is places he could have been closed off in (garages) and places he could have gotten stuck (under decks, houses).

Good luck!

 

I've read that the more timid the cat, the closer to your home you'll find him. Which was true with Cinderella. I found her in the yard next door.

 

When my cat dissapeared...

When Danna my cat left for two days.. I was bummed and I thought I was never going to see her again...I couldn't sleep just thinking about her and where she was..Well, my sisters dad, brother, husband, and I looked for her around our apartment complexes and nothind..but on the second day my dad came help me look for her..he was about to leave when he saw her inside some bushes..she was hiding...and I think she was there the whole time, but was scared to come out when called for her...Hope you find your cat,,,and sorry for what you are going through...

 

Thank you all for the replies. I know how to hunt for an escape dog, but never experienced it with a cat. Unfortunately, I am becoming somewhat of an expert. We bought 3 Maglites (the kind that shine 425 meters), and I think I have seen nearly every outdoor cat in the town! We even called the one moving company in town, but no one had rented a truck that day (thinking maybe he climbed inside?) He is terrified to get in the car for a checkup so it seems very unlikely he climbed into one on his own. Mostly everyone in the neighbour has either searched their property and most let us do it- under sheds, in garages, under decks, bushes, etc.

I have been sprinkling the used litter at the edge of the front/back lawn and we hung his favourite blanket on the laundry line (hoping the wind would disperse the scent). It's strange, but as he rarely left my side, I have even been hanging whatever shirt I wore that day. (I'm desperate).

I never realized how attached you can get to a cat! I am more worried now that he wandered/was scared away and is simply lost. Do they get "lost" in that sense?

 

It sounds like you're doing everything right..... I think that you are living the nightmare of everyone in this forum.

I certainly hope your boy comes home very soon, I know I'd be beside myself with worry.

 

Nightmare is the perfect word. I am just sick with worry (and lost on what is true). Some insist cats do not get lost - some say they always do. Some say they hide close by - some say they scare easy and wander far. Some say it is typical for a cat to find a new home/not be attached to their owner - some say they bond forever with their humans (especially after 7 years with him). I have heard "look every night, every spare minute" and also "don't worry, he will come home when he is ready." It is very confusing (especially as a former dog-person).

At this point, I have no idea what to think/believe/do.

 

Knock on all your neighbours doors and ask them to check their sheds, my Percival went missing for over a week many years ago and was found (alive thank god) in my next door neighbours shed (I had knocked on their door but got no answer as they were away)

 

Another thought: ask your neighbors to check inside their homes. My Lucky went missing four years ago because of a lapse of judgment on my then husband's part. (You can read about it here, if you're up to it: http://www.catforum.com/forum/36-cat-chat/105279-lucky-missing.html) I spent the the entire day and night looking for him. I finally called it a night at 12:52 am. Later that day, my neighbor three doors down from us knocked on our door and told me that she had found him. I followed her to her apartment and went inside. Lucky was sitting on the bottom shelf of their entertainment center. We think that he got confused and went into their apartment instead of ours. When I picked him up to bring him home, the poor thing was shaking like a leaf. They hadn't noticed him at first because they were mainly upstairs. They noticed him the next day, when my neighbor's father was watching TV. He called his daughter to ask her about the stuffed animal on the entertainment center. That's when she realized it was Lucky.

All that was just to say to ask your neighbors to check inside, as well as outside, their homes. I'm praying that Linus comes back to you soon. Lucky was only gone a day, but that was the longest day of my life. atback

 

Sounds like you have covered all the bases in the neighborhood. So let me ask what is probably a really stupid question--but I have found a couple of times in my life, asking really stupid questions ended up helping someone solve a problem.

Are you sure he escaped and is outside the house? Granted, if he were inside, maybe you or the other kitties would have heard him crying. But if he's that curious, I'd make sure he isn't in the attic, a basement corner, a cupboard, behind the washing machine, etc. Just a thought, since you have the outdoors covered. And good luck.

 

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this, my cat was once missing for a week, and then my father heard a meow in the neighbor's garage, and there he was. My aunt's cat was also "missing" for a day, but we later realised she was just locked out on the deck - despite that we'd all looked out there! My 15 year olds cat has got out of the house three times in the last few weeks (terrible, I know!) and he's really timid but not gone anywhere; just hid under the shed and around the yard, he'd come running over when I call him.

This is what I would do (though you've likely done most or all of this already): Post flyers around the neighborhood on polls with his picture and mention of a reward, including at busy stores and vet offices and intersections. Let all SPCA & vets in the area know about your missing cat, and if possible, send them a picture. Post on popular sites like Craigslist and Petfinder about your missing cat. Go out calling around the neighborhood every night, shaking a treat bag. Spread litter around the outside of your house. Knock on doors within a few blocks of your house, leave flyers at their door if no one answers, and let them know you would like them to keep an eye out for your cat and to check their home and garage areas.

Was your cat microchiped? Something I might consider doing, even if it's not true, is include that information on your flyers and when you speak with people around the neighborhood - sometimes, people steal cats. Information like that might hit home more than simply seeing a concerned person or flyer posted, since it tells them that there's a possibility that they might get caught with a cat that isn't theirs in the future.

I hope you're able to find him.

 

i am so sorry you are going through this i hope you find him soon!

 

Thank you everyone. It has been a long 12 days. Everyone in our neighbourhood has been incredible- most letting us check obsessively around their properties (a few even crawling around with us). We left small flyers at every door within a 2-block radius and hung 450 signs (the intersection signs with neon boards). I have had an advert in the one local paper and Craiglist... and nothing.

Today, I got a call from a lady and her husband (that had also called last week)... they are positive Linus is on their property at the edge of town - almost 2 miles away! I emailed some photos to be sure and they are adamant. We're going there tonight around 4am to look. His last 5-minute "adventure" consisted of him running 2 houses away before he stopped to eat grass, so I suppose it's possible that he ran (or was scared away) and then just lost.

I am nervous and losing hope, but refuse to give up!

 

P.S. Thank you for all the good thoughts and prayers being sent to our little Linus... they are very much appreciated!

 

I pray you guys find him.

 

Crossing my fingers that you find him tonight. Krissy is right, you really are living our nightmares.

 

Fingers and paws crossed here. The 40 minutes Cinderella was missing was the longest month of my life.

 

Sending good thoughts your way!

 

Oh please please please let it be him and let it be that he is unharmed and goes home safely with you. Fingers are crossed for you.

Please keep us informed...

 

We sat for 2 hours until the sun came up (thank goodness for Burt's Bees bug lotion). The mysterious kitty made no appearances. We're trying again tonight...

 

When my Smokey went missing

He was about 2 years old. He was missing for 24 hours. We think he slipped out through the garage when my dad went out. He tried to come back through the deck door which was locked at the time (he ripped a hole in the screen door and ripped it off its hinges)

There was a thunderstorm in the afternoon and that night we went on our last search of the night - calling him all down the road, we had left the deck door open and the garage door open for him to get back in.

We could see a shadow following us along the side of the road and we kept hearing meowing at we walked along calling him. When we came home, we came in through the garage to use the elevator (as I'm in a wheelchair) and there was Smokey waiting for us next to the elevator door.

He learned his lesson and never wanted to go out again. He was severely traumatized for a week but with lots of love he came around. Prayers for you that Linus will come home soon.

 

Have you considered a box trap with his favorite food and a item of your clothing?
He might be too scared to come out when people are around.

 

We have 2 out in our yard near the bushes (back/front), each covered with a towel (he loved to pull the towels out of the linen closet), and with tuna inside. We have trapped quite a few of my neighbours cats, one of them more than once, but we have not trapped the field yet. The woman who called me owns 3 cats and is hesitant to let us set up traps near her tiny stream.

It seems in most of the stories I hear, people's cats came when called or at least meowed. We have heard nothing. It is very confusing, like aliens took him. I really do not understand how no one in my surrounding area has seen or heard him as we have many retired people and children that are frequently outside.

I made my daily calls to the vets and the shelter, but I am so lost and trying desperately not to lost hope. All I can imagine now are the horrible possibilities. After 13 days, is it possible a declawed, non-aggressive cat could still be alive and well??

 

Have you actually gone into the shelters? I would suggest doing so, after a almost-horror story with our lost dog Molly. She and a pound rescue, Gracie, both chocolate labs escaped one day (labs- the Houdini of the dog world) and we spent weeks trying to find them, my parents calling every shelter, etc.

Our vet told us we HAD to actually check the pounds, so mom did one day. Wondering around, she saw a skinny, worn-down looking chocolate lab who was nigh-unrecognizable... with a big lump on her side (Molly has a benign tumor that would be worse for her to remove, so we never did).

She was only a couple days away from being put to sleep. My mom was FURIOUS, because how hard could it be to to check the files for 'choc. lab'.

So, depending on how much you trust your shelters, I would definitely go in and check.

(We never found the other one, but she was smarter and more in shape, so I think we will never know what happened to her.)

 

Have you actually gone into the shelters? I would suggest doing so...

The problem is, this town is very small and we have no actual shelter. There are three "rescue groups" (one sponsored by HSUS) - and I have been in almost daily contact with all three. They are run by placing cats in foster homes/listing them on a website when they are ready for adoption. I wish I could go look, but I am forced to rely on their judgment and scour their adoptable lists. I did send each 5 photos from different angles, hoping to cut the margin of error, but still not even potential matches have surfaced.

 

We have heard nothing. It is very confusing, like aliens took him. I really do not understand how no one in my surrounding area has seen or heard him as we have many retired people and children that are frequently outside.

I can understand this nightmare you are going through. In March, my sister's cat Kovie disappear one evening. We did EVERYTHING we could to find him, but we didn't even get a single reliable sighting. We never found him. Nothing, NOTHING compares to the pain we experienced (and still feel today) of losing him, and always wondering what could have happened to him. I will keep you in my prayers, hoping that Linus returns to you.

And like Rebbie said, I would actually go to the shelter and check. I can't tell you how many times we would call and they would say "Nope, no cats that match the description". Yet I would go in a couple times a week and there was always a lynx point or two in the lost cat area. Never Kovie, but nonetheless, it proves that people can be lazy/dishonest.