A pussie delimma (sp)

[striper53]

While I and my families have owned cats throughout the years they have always been animals that were subject to going outside. My hosts OTOH have a 20lb clawless "Garfield" lookalike that has escaped and has been missing for about 18 hours. This is the 2nd time he escaped - the first was last May when it was warmer and he hid under the deck. He has no claws and is absolutely clueless obout life on the outside!

 

I've been out and about several times and see no evidence of his presence. Any advice? I put some food down on the deck and hang out there but it is getting colder!

 

TIA.

 

Guys - be gentle here, my hosts are giving me free room and board while I try and get my act back together so please try and restrict your comments to realistic ones! Thanx!

 

PaulH`

[Henry Fishinger]

Sorry to say this Paul but Coyotes need to eat too hopefully thats not the case

[canyondiver]

I'll; bet Garfield will return, but you might try shaking the dry food box as a call to come home.

Good luck!

[Kings over Queens]

Our 7 m/o indoor kitten got out for about two hours one night recently, and anytime I got near him he'd bolt. My wife was the only one who could get near him, and she ultimately got him back in.

 

The cat is probably freaked at being outside and your presence might be scaring him further. Is there anyone else in the house that the cat bonds with? They might be the better person to get him back inside.

[Trunky]

put signs up around the neighborhood...

 

look under the deck...

 

damn it sucks to have lost a pet...

[HatterasJack]

when my 20 pounder gets out (escapes), I take his dry food box and walk around the property shaking it as loud as I can. He almost always shows himself and I collect him.

 

good luck

[Blackie]

Our cats used to escape, but they'd always stay in my or my neighbors yard. Sometimes they'd run back and forth from us, but never flat out left the area.

 

Sounds like you're going to have to canvass the neighborhood with food boxes.

 

Good luck.

[Brian]

Try leaving food outside w/ 1/2 of a benadryl tablet ground into it. He should be asleep nearby after eating it.

[Farflung]

Put a cardboard box with a hole cut in it on the back deck. Put his usual food bowl in it. Put his cat bed or blanket in it. Then take a liter soda bottle and fill it with hot water, put it in a thick wool or hunting sock and put in box. Good chance cat will be in the box in the morning. (you will need to change the water in the bottle every few hours). Good luck!!

[Jonesy]

LOL! I know some one who did what farflung recomended. just make sure it's yer cat you pull out and not a fat raccon LOL! my buddy ended up having to get rabies shots after that one!

[Animal]

they say"you own a dog,but a cat owns you",your cat knows where his dinner comes from,and will come home when it's ready.good luck.

[TomR]

The cats I have owned are generally indoors cats and they have gotten out frequently over the years. Once they get older they generally want to get back in real quick.

 

However when they are younger it has taken a while sometimes for them to come back. One came back with a broken tail after a few days. I believe it got its tail caught somewhere and finally broke it to get loose.

 

Signs are a good idea. Also call the animal shelters. If you are near more then 1 jurisdiction make sure you call them all. A friend at work traps cats that annoy him and then turns the cats in to a shelter near work which is a good ways away from his house and not the nearest shelter.

[Mike]

Who you gonna call??

 

 

Coolerpup!!

[Blackie]

I had a cat when a child that vanished for several weeks. I thought she was dead for sure, but she showed up eventually with a left eye that was little more than pulp and a small dent in the left front side of her head. Honest to God, this "dent" worked it way out of her head.

 

I guess she'd had a close encounter with a car or predator. She was still blind in the left eye, but stayed with us 'til she died of old age in her sleep when I was well in my twenties.

[Mike]

Guys - be gentle here, my hosts are giving me free room and board while I try and get my act back together so please try and restrict your comments to realistic ones! Thanx!

 

PaulH`

 

Opps! Sorry Paul -- Someone had to say it, so it might as well be me who didn't read to the end of your post!

 

I think the food suggestions are the best. The cat will get hungry eventually.