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widebody911 11-06-2014 06:47 AM

Cat hunting tips?
 
My wife's new rescue cat is on the lam; she opened the back door to go investigate some disturbance among the outside cats, and she bolted. Shot right across the yard, up the fence and like that was just gone. She's been out there calling for it, woke up the neighbors to look in their back yard, etc. She's printing up flyers right this minute. The cat is chipped, but my wife hadn't yet got around to filling out the paperwork to get the chip registration updated.

There's a lot of other cats in the neighborhood, and from what we've seen she hates other cats, so I imagine this won't be easy.

What should we do next other than just wait?

lane912 11-06-2014 07:15 AM

wait-
put some food out
wait-

it's a cat-

vash 11-06-2014 07:25 AM

At this point chances are slim. I had a big boy cat push a screen out of a window. This was on day three. He hid under the bed the entire time. We didn't feel like home to him. Nothing would bring him back.

widebody911 11-06-2014 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash (Post 8341162)
At this point chances are slim. I had a big boy cat push a screen out of a window. This was on day three. He hid under the bed the entire time. We didn't feel like home to him. Nothing would bring him back.

That's very similar to this one. She hid under the bed for the first week, and only in the past few days would venture out, but as soon as she was spotted by use or one of the other cats, she would hightail it back to safety. I think she was previously an only-cat, and being about 4 years old or so, wasn't in a hurry to adapt to being in a family of cats.

scottmandue 11-06-2014 07:49 AM

Get the paperwork done on the chip ASAP, if she is picked up and taken to a vet or shelter that is the first thing they will check.
Cat food is your friend... the stinkier the better...yes, it will draw out the other cats in the neighborhood, but chances are your cat won't find food and will come back home looking for a meal.
Best of luck!

vash 11-06-2014 08:00 AM

She's probably gone WB. Sorry. She thinks she escaped at this point.

recycled sixtie 11-06-2014 08:27 AM

Kind of reminds me of our lab puppy Molly who always wanted to escape. To heck with that. My wife went back to the breeder and traded her in for Sally who was more sloth like and stayed at home. Just think of it in your case as cat karma. Your cat was meant to be a runaway.
Guy

stomachmonkey 11-06-2014 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash (Post 8341215)
She's probably gone WB. Sorry. She thinks she escaped at this point.

Sounds like she has not bonded yet so unfortunately this may be true.

Sorry, hoping for the best.

widebody911 11-06-2014 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey (Post 8341290)
Sounds like she has not bonded yet so

I was thinking the same thing, but there's no way I can tell the wife that.

Tobra 11-06-2014 10:13 AM

I have seen a lot of raccoons lately, hopefully the prodigal kitty does not run into a hungry rocky the raccoon. Either way, likely that the cat has moved on.

wildthing 11-06-2014 10:14 AM

Would "it's not you, it's the cat" help?

widebody911 11-10-2014 06:00 AM

Just a quick update...

I took the afternoon off on Thursday to try and look for the cat. Ineffective, but I scored some points for at least trying.

No sign of her on Friday and Saturday. Wife printed and handed out more flyers, made several trips around the 'hood.

Saturday night we decided to leave the back door of the garage propped open a schmidge just in case the cat came by and wanted to at least get indoors, and my wife put tuna out in "strategic" (meaning 'random') places in the yard. I don't know that it did any good, but the rest of the outside cats were grateful for the tasty snack; all of the offerings were gone in about 30 minutes.

Sunday morning at about 5:30 my wife gets up to check the garage to see if the cat is in there. She actually was, but my wife made the tactical error of going in through the house-garage door and not closing off the escape route, and fwoom the cat is gone again. At least we knew she was still a going concern. No sign of the cat for the rest of the day.

Last night we left the garage door open again, but @ 0430 I crept barefoot around through the yard around the back of the house and sealed off the the potential exit. It was for naught, as she wasn't inside this time. The wife gets up and comes out to the garage as I'm looking under the cars for the fugitive cat, and one of the other inside cats escapes from the house into the garage; I think this might drive home the point about paying attention to leaving doors open. FWIW, I already have spring hinges on all of the swinging doors that lead to the outside, specifically for this reason.

A little while later, my wife is sitting at the kitchen table, looks up, and there's the damn cat chowing down on the vittles left behind on the back step. The cat bolts as soon as she goes towards the door. A little while later my needs to go out to the garage, but instead of going through the inside door, she goes around the back of the house, and sure enough the cat is inside. She locks the door and the game is over. The cat is in good shape other than some burrs she picked up in one of the neighbor's yards and being a little hungry from missing a few meals.

I honestly didn't think we'd ever see this cat again. Like I learned with countless ex-girlfriends: if you have to trap them and lock them up to keep them from running away, they probably really don't want to be there.

Scuba Steve 11-10-2014 06:08 AM

Cool!

Did the other inside cat come back or is it now missing? And the new one that came back... is this cat ok around people and the family? Maybe it would be better suited outdoors?

widebody911 11-10-2014 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba Steve (Post 8346533)
Cool!

Did the other inside cat come back or is it now missing? And the new one that came back... is this cat ok around people and the family? Maybe it would be better suited outdoors?

The other cat was captured within seconds of making her escape. She's a long-haired Persian and wouldn't last 30 minutes in the wilds of Carmichael.

The new cat is a bit on the b!tchy/prissy side. She's OK with people, but a little shy, and then she'll hiss at you for no apparent reason. Judging by all the crap picked in her fur during her 3 day walkabout, she wouldn't make a good outdoor cat.

stomachmonkey 11-10-2014 06:37 AM

Cool.

mattdavis11 11-10-2014 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by widebody911 (Post 8346544)
she wouldn't make a good outdoor cat.

Lol. She thought she would. I really can't fathom why anyone would want to keep a cat indoors when the cat wants to be outdoors.

Let them be.

recycled sixtie 11-10-2014 07:09 AM

She is just not into you....
Guy.:)

herr_oberst 11-10-2014 07:12 AM

This is not how I expected this story to end!

Great news!

cashflyer 11-10-2014 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by widebody911 (Post 8346525)
I think this might drive home the point about paying attention to leaving doors open.

My biggest problem is clue-less house guests.

Anyway, glad you got your puddy tat back!!

J P Stein 11-10-2014 08:31 AM

Just feed the critter out in the garage and leave it there.......give it some space.
She'll figure it out at her pace, not yours.

Rodsrsr 11-10-2014 08:32 AM

I like cats... They all naturally know Jui Jitsu. ;)

BeyGon 11-10-2014 08:41 AM

The only way I have ever had or would have a cat is with a cat door. If they don't want to stay I am not going to force them. I don't like litter boxes, the cat can come and go as it pleases. If it likes the place it will hang around. It just needs to know about Coyotes, if it is smart it will stay close at night.

Chocaholic 11-10-2014 08:43 AM

Why not keep it as an outside cat? It knows you're the food source and clearly prefers to be outside. In time it will adjust and become friendlier...especially if you don't keep trapping it and locking it in the house.

carreradpt 11-10-2014 09:03 AM

Cat door, tis the answer. Like everyone in Florida who wants to sit outside on the patio, you must have a screened enclosure. The cat has his run "inside the wire", and can go "outside" anytime he wants. His poop box is out there and so is his drinking water (the pool). My neighbor has a cat door in his screen as well for his cat to patrol out side the wire if he chooses and he doesn't even tend a cat box.

Glad your cat returned and is safe.

lane912 11-10-2014 09:08 AM

all summer our cats opted to not use the cat box unless it was totally inconvenient to go outside
cat door was open 24 hours a day
now it is cold and the door has been closed
we are wondering when they will give in and what kind of weather it will take-

widebody911 11-10-2014 09:08 AM

Sorry, but the option of her being an outside or inside/outside cat is utterly and completely non-negotiable with The Boss.

vash 11-10-2014 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by widebody911 (Post 8346525)
Just a quick update...



I took the afternoon off on Thursday to try and look for the cat. Ineffective, but I scored some points for at least trying.



No sign of her on Friday and Saturday. Wife printed and handed out more flyers, made several trips around the 'hood.



Saturday night we decided to leave the back door of the garage propped open a schmidge just in case the cat came by and wanted to at least get indoors, and my wife put tuna out in "strategic" (meaning 'random') places in the yard. I don't know that it did any good, but the rest of the outside cats were grateful for the tasty snack; all of the offerings were gone in about 30 minutes.



Sunday morning at about 5:30 my wife gets up to check the garage to see if the cat is in there. She actually was, but my wife made the tactical error of going in through the house-garage door and not closing off the escape route, and fwoom the cat is gone again. At least we knew she was still a going concern. No sign of the cat for the rest of the day.



Last night we left the garage door open again, but @ 0430 I crept barefoot around through the yard around the back of the house and sealed off the the potential exit. It was for naught, as she wasn't inside this time. The wife gets up and comes out to the garage as I'm looking under the cars for the fugitive cat, and one of the other inside cats escapes from the house into the garage; I think this might drive home the point about paying attention to leaving doors open. FWIW, I already have spring hinges on all of the swinging doors that lead to the outside, specifically for this reason.



A little while later, my wife is sitting at the kitchen table, looks up, and there's the damn cat chowing down on the vittles left behind on the back step. The cat bolts as soon as she goes towards the door. A little while later my needs to go out to the garage, but instead of going through the inside door, she goes around the back of the house, and sure enough the cat is inside. She locks the door and the game is over. The cat is in good shape other than some burrs she picked up in one of the neighbor's yards and being a little hungry from missing a few meals.



I honestly didn't think we'd ever see this cat again. Like I learned with countless ex-girlfriends: if you have to trap them and lock them up to keep them from running away, they probably really don't want to be there.


Your last paragraph. Haha.

Well done.

SiberianDVM 11-10-2014 09:51 AM

You did well to get her back in.

I once had a cat get away from us while in my vet clinic. It managed to punch ceiling tile out and get up into the upper space. It took us a month to catch that one. No telling how many cat turds it left up in there; thankfully it was a rental space. :)

widebody911 11-10-2014 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM (Post 8346839)
You did well to get her back in.

I once had a cat get away from us while in my vet clinic. It managed to punch ceiling tile out and get up into the upper space. It took us a month to catch that one. No telling how many cat turds it left up in there; thankfully it was a rental space. :)

http://im12.it/g/17123.gif

SiberianDVM 11-10-2014 10:21 AM

Glad to know I wasn't the only one. :)

Rinty 11-10-2014 10:50 AM

Glad you got her back. :) It's never fun when they escape.

zelrik911 11-10-2014 02:31 PM

Fake ??
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by widebody911 (Post 8346860)

Great video - but I thought all cats landed on their feet when they fell!!!

Or was that just in RoadRunner cartoons?

lane912 11-10-2014 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lane912 (Post 8341143)
wait-
put some food out
wait-

it's a cat-

proven strategy that wins against the cat

nostatic 11-10-2014 03:05 PM

I read an interesting article by a vet that talked about the fact that cats are by nature solitary hunters rather than pack animals, so of course they really don't want other cats around as they are competition. That said, I've always had a multi-cat household and since ours are indoor-only, at some point they make peace and become best buds. Probably because they've given up hope and find the free food and warm place to poop too convenient...

fintstone 11-10-2014 03:12 PM

Cat hunting tips?

I was going to suggest a crossbow...

lane912 11-10-2014 03:12 PM

I have watched our team of four stalk rats together, this has mixed results as they relay are not team orientated

herr_oberst 11-10-2014 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nostatic (Post 8347334)
I read an interesting article by a vet that talked about the fact that cats are by nature solitary hunters rather than pack animals, so of course they really don't want other cats around as they are competition. That said, I've always had a multi-cat household and since ours are indoor-only, at some point they make peace and become best buds. Probably because they've given up hope and find the free food and warm place to poop too convenient...

A very good book on the science of cats is "Cat Sense" by John Bradshaw.

targa911S 11-10-2014 05:03 PM

man I feel bad. I was going to suggest sub sonic .22 shorts. Hope it comes home soon..


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