"John Doe" wrote in message
...
"Rhino" no_offline_contact_please example.com wrote:

I'm wondering if anyone out there has figured out any good ways
to track down missing cats?

Tell her to close the door open when she steps outside.

Put some fancy feast inside the door when it comes around. Or, if
you can, leave the door open for a while with the fancy feast just
inside. Figure out a way to close the door when he steps into eat.

But avoid frightening the cat.

After that... Provide an environment full of stimulation. Use an
infant room monitor to bring the outside sounds in. Allow it
access to a window. If possible, occasionally open the window so
that it can smell and feel the breeze. And give them exercise
equipment, stuff to climb and jump up onto.

Most cats won't even try to run away when I open the door. My male
cat will go out on the porch and hang around for a while, then he
will voluntarily come back inside. Inside is safety.

Chasing a cat is the wrong thing to do.

Never chase a cat if you are trying to get it to do what you want
it to do.

In fact, chasing a cat indoors is a good way to make its indoor
life very uncomfortable. That's a secret about indoor cats. You
have to give them space. The reason is because if they were
outdoors, they would run away from you. Indoors, they cannot run
away, so they get very uncomfortable if you are aggressive towards
them. That's not to say you can't make them do what you want them
to do, you just have to figure out ways to make them behave
without making them think you are a threat to them.

Also, the letterbox area is sacred. It must be a clean and happy
place. Messing up the litter box area or the cats experience in
the litter box area can cause the very worst sort of problems.

I'm not a mushy cat lover, I'm a scientist. If you want to
cohabitate with cats, that's some of what you have to know.

Thanks very much for your suggestions!

[snip]
--
Rhino