<p>My darling children let my house cat get out today. She’s never been outside. How confident should I be that she’ll come home?</p>
<p>oh no! I have no idea, but I’ll be sending positive juju your way… come home, kitty! :(</p>
<p>Perhaps it might be a good idea to strategically place a couple of dishes of her favorite cat food outside and stand watch.</p>
<p>Good plan. Thank you!</p>
<p>And thank you aibarr for the good wishes. I’m frantic.</p>
<p>She should be coming home…it’s happened twice to us. One cat was “away” for a week, the other for two weeks but eventually both decided there’s no place like home.</p>
<p>I hope you’re right. I feel like I’m going to faint.</p>
<p>zm, I am sorry. We once had a contractor let the cats out (despite instructions to the contrary) and leave without notifying us. We came home hours later and did find the cats, but it was really upsetting. Putting out cat food (the stinkier, the better) is a good idea. It’s likely your cat is hiding somewhere, so it’s also important to be proactive. Go around the area on foot, checking stairwells, garages, sheds, other nooks and crannies where she may have hunkered down. Talk to neighbors and delivery folks who circulate through the neighborhood (UPS, USPS). Quickly make some signs with a few key words really large “LOST ORANGE CAT” and date/phone number in smaller letters. Post them so they’re visible to drivers on nearby arterials. You want people who are just passing by (and not stopping to read text or study a photo) to see the key words so if they happen to notice the cat they’ll realize it’s probably the missing cat. if you don’t find her right away, check area animal shelter(s) daily in case a good samaritan finds her and turns her in, hoping that the owner will go looking. Post a “lost” ad on Craigslist in case someone takes her in and is looking for you. Even if she is wearing I.D., weird things can happen (someone picks her up, takes off collar to read tag, cat darts away). If she’s not wearing a collar with I.D., be sure to put one on her once you find her. A microchip is another great idea, even for indoor cats. Unfortunately, most cats who are taken to animal shelters are not wearing I.D. or microchipped, and many are euthanized because there’s no way to locate the owner. Good luck, zm.</p>
<p>Thanks zipyourlips! Great advice. I’m going to start making up posters now and my husband just put out food in front of “her” window.</p>
<p>(((zm))) I can’t add any useful information, but just wanted to send fond hopes that she’ll return home soon.</p>
<p>silvestersmom, I love your optimism and I hope you’re right! You were very lucky. I worked in an animal shelter for several years, and the statistics for cats getting returned to their owners are much lower than for dogs. Unfortunately, overcrowding requires many shelters to euthanize stray animals after only a few days. So while owners sit back and wait for cats to come home, the cats can be exhausting their “stray hold” at the shelter and end up part of a very sad statistic. I strongly urge anyone with a missing pet to be active and exhaustive in their search for their animal.</p>
<p>Zoos, in addition to the stinkiest food you can find–like canned tuna–put her litterbox outside (uncleaned!). That is the advice that I was given by the cat rescue when my cat disappeared.</p>
<p>Echo the suggestion for tuna or another favorite stinky treat. Call her, and check the hiding spots in and near your yard too, if she’s a timid sort.</p>
<p>And in the future, if kitty doesn’t wear a collar, get one with a tag with your name and phone number - even if she is an “indoor” cat - since indoor kitties do occasionally have unexpected outdoor adventures.</p>
<p>Good luck! I hope she turns up soon - maybe she’s just enjoying the nice weather…</p>
<p>Oooh. The litterbox! Great suggestion.
Thanks for the help and support, guys. It’s much appreciated.</p>
<p>zm, sending positive vibes your way. I hope your kitty will appear safe and sound on your porch very soon. Last summer my tiny white kitten wandered outside and disappeared for maybe 20 minutes. I was totally bonkers until the dog found her hiding under the deck. I do not think your cat ran too far, she is probably hiding somewhere nearby.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry to hear this. It makes me anxious just reading about it. Can you organize a neighborhood search with local kids - offer a reward. She is probably afraid and is hiding someplace and may need to be coaxed out. Check trees and places above ground. A frightened kitty will often head up, even to a roof. Definitely go to local shelters - preferably with pics - so they know to call you if a kitty shows up that looks like her. They are not always diligent about this though, so check back each day in person. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks Cartera. My daughters, their boyfriends, my son and husband are out searching. Hubby thought he saw her behind the pool, so he just sent everyone away so he can try to coax her out because they are best friends. I’ll keep you posted.</p>
<p>Awww - that’s so sweet.</p>
<p>Ouch, I feel your pain! Somebody let one of my cats outside 5 years ago. We lived in a small subdivision off a busy street, so we feared the worst. We put food on the porch everyday, and four months later, voila! There she was, dirty, a little skinny and a couple of “war wounds,” a little nick on the ear and a couple of missing teeth. With all that she was the most beautiful cat I had ever seen! I hope you don’t have to wait four months, but if you do, don’t give up hope.</p>
<p>Another cat that came home…now I’m not saying this was a nice thing for our family’s butcher to do but this was back in the day…another era.</p>
<p>When I was a kid our local meat market’s owner had a mangy cat, not neutered (this was pretty common in the old days) who was always coming home battered and bruised from fights. He didn’t add much to the store’s decor so one day the butcher drove the cat to the tip of Long Island and dumped him. Seven months and 70 miles later the cat showed up on his doorstep.</p>
<p>She’s home. Almost 5 hours and heaven only knows where she was. Hubby was sitting on the side of the back steps and she strolled up to the food bowl, brazen as you please.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the good wishes. I’m very relieved.</p>