For about a year we have/had a, declawed, about 7 years old spayed
female cat, Maisie, which we had obtained at a pet adopting weekend at
a pet shop in South St. Paul. Maisie is extremely scared of strangers,
dogs, etc. When relatives come to visit, she hides under the blanket
on the bed. By the way, we live now in the center of St. Paul, MN. We
let Maisie go out in the garden, at first with a lot of supervision,
later with less. On her own she does/did not leave the garden. The
last few weeks we gave her less food, she had to go on a diet because
she had become too fat.
About two month ago my sister in law brought in a female kitten, about
7 months old, not declawed, which we called Lizl. After a month in
quarantine we brought her in the house as well, in order to give
Maisie some company.
They did not get along well, though. Maisie did not like to play, and
Lizl became more aggressive, smashing Maisie with her paws. For
instance, she jumped on Maisie from a chair while putting her claws in
her. So we were forced to put Lizl on a leash inside the house for
most of the time. On Sunday the 19th we did not Maisie for quite a
while, she seemed to be in hiding in the house, we thought hiding from
Maisie.
On Monday the 20th of October I let Maisie out in the morning; I let
her enter the house again, but must have let her out again, I cannot
remember. Anyway, when I got home from work, Maisie could not be
found. At first I thought she was in hiding again. But now we have to
assume that she remained outside, and has gone into the neighborhood.
It was a very windy day, and in fact a big tree fell in the garden
that day. No, we did not find her under the three.
The question is: how do we get her back? She has name tages on,
including phone number and home address, but she is extremely wary of
strangers, and fortunately, cars. I fear she will not let herself be
touched by strangers.
We live in the center of town. There are other stray cats in out
gardens.
We brought Lisl to my mother in law; her cats are not so easily
intimidated, and keep her in check.
We have walked around the neighborhood, looking for Maisie, but did
not see her.
I put posters on telephone poles in the neighborhood with a picture of
Maisie, I sent E-mails to a neighborhood group.
I borrowed a cage, and caught indeed another, white stray cat that I
released again. (I also caught a squirrel - never heard a squirrel
make sound before!).
The last few days no one has eaten the food that we put outside,
however.
I went to the Humane Society, and the Animal Control center.
I put her litter box in the porch, in the hope that the smell would
attract her back.
Like so many pets, she has become a member of the family, and because
of her vulnerability we worry a lot about her. Snow has been
predicted.
Has anyone an idea how to get her back?

Ton Muller