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QUESTION: How "TYPICAL" Is My Lost Cat?????????????
Hello, All:
This is my first post here, and I'm sad because it concerns my lost cat, Albert. I have been doing a LOT of reading online about lost cat behavior, and judging from what I've read, I do NOT think that Albert is a "typical" lost cat...but I would like to know if I'm wrong about that!!!!! About 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, Albert our neutered, indoor-only cat was accidentally let out of our house by our 3-year-old. He did not tell us he had let Albert out, and we went to dinner and a movie with friends. So basically, Albert had approximately a 6-hour headstart before we even knew he was gone! Albert was born in our house and it is the only home he has ever known. HERE THE REASONS WHY I THINK ALBERT IS NOT A TYPICAL INDOOR-ONLY CAT: 1) First of all, for the past 6 months, Albert has REALLY been trying to get out of the house. There is a worn spot on our front door where Albert constantly scratched to get out. For the past couple of months, you had to watch your feet when you went out of the house because Albert would dash outside. When Albert wasn't scratching at the door, he would sit by the door and moan. 2) In the days after Albert escaped, I went door-to-door asking neighbors about him. Based on what people have told me and what I saw for myself, the timeline of Albert's actions on July 16 and the early morning hours of July 17 goes like this: 1 p.m.: Albert escapes our house. 6 p.m.: Albert is seen in the back yard of a house that is FIVE houses away from mine. He lies in this back yard until after dark. 11:30 p.m.: I see Albert in the back yard of my next-door neighbor. I call to him and begin climbing our backyard fence to enter the neighbor's yard, but Albert disappears into the shadows. THIS IS THE LAST TIME I EVER SAW HIM. 5:00 a.m., July 17: A neighbor that is TWELVE houses away from me sees Albert next to his house as he returns from his night shift job. He is fairly certain that it was Albert when he sees a photo of Albert. THIS IS THE LAST POSITIVE SIGHTING OF ALBERT. 3) If the cat in all of the sightings in the timeline is indeed Albert...then I have to assume that ALBERT IS TRAVELING, AND HE IS TRAVELING QUITE A BIT. One of the things that is SO worrying about Albert is that it seems like he had MADE UP HIS MIND about getting out and getting away. He seems to have escaped and is making tracks with NO thought of returning! I want to think that he is simply being a "Classic Cover" cat and is somewhere very close by, but judging from the extreme distance that he covered IN JUST THE FIRST 18 HOURS -- plus the fact that he seems to have dropped COMPLETELY off the face of the earth -- makes me think that he is gone for good. I HAVE SOME BURNING QUESTIONS! PLEASE ANSWER WITH ANY INFORMATION YOU THINK IS RELEVANT! 1) Do cats have a "homing instinct"? Do they often head out in a straight line for great distances and then turn around and come back? 2) I know that it is possible that someone might have adopted Albert. But would it be possible that Albert is sitting in another house and NOT wanting to go outside anymore? I would think that Albert would not want to stay full-time in ANYONE'S house. 3) How can I shake the feeling that Albert is no longer anywhere in my area? Why should I believe that he is staying close to home like a "typical" indoor-only cat? Should I pay attention to my gut feeling that Albert is nowhere near me, or should I ignore it? 4) I have heard a frightening thing: Indoor-only cats, because they have not marked their territory, cannot recognize their home territory and therefore their sense of smell is useless for finding their way home. IS THIS TRUE? 5) Do indoor-only cats usually try to come back home, or has Albert decided that he doesn't want to be our cat anymore? HERE IS WHAT I HAVE DONE TO GET ALBERT BACK: I have put a flyer with a clear photo on it in every mailbox in a 2-block radius. I have put neon-yellow signs up on every light pole in a 5-block radius. (I have gotten several calls but when I check up on them, the cat is never Albert.) I have managed to rent a trap from a local pet agency and have caught a couple of cats, but of course, NO ALBERT. I have been putting food out in the front and back of my house, and I have also hung some of my T-shirts on the back fence. I keep hearing and reading about all of these cats that come back to their owner's houses, sometimes after long absences, but given all of the facts in this case, I just don't see it happening with Albert. TOMORROW WILL BE EXACTLY 2 WEEKS SINCE ALBERT LEFT US. MY HOPES ARE FADING. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE...CAN SOMEONE HELP ME KEEP MY HOPES UP? I don't want to give up on Albert, but it really doesn't look like he is anywhere around. :-( |
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On 2005-07-30, EADGBE penned:
HERE IS WHAT I HAVE DONE TO GET ALBERT BACK: I have put a flyer with a clear photo on it in every mailbox in a 2-block radius. I have put neon-yellow signs up on every light pole in a 5-block radius. (I have gotten several calls but when I check up on them, the cat is never Albert.) I have managed to rent a trap from a local pet agency and have caught a couple of cats, but of course, NO ALBERT. I have been putting food out in the front and back of my house, and I have also hung some of my T-shirts on the back fence. What about calling all the neighborhood animal shelters and vets? For all you know, animal control got him after the last positive sighting. -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
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Monique Y. Mudama wrote: What about calling all the neighborhood animal shelters and vets? For all you know, animal control got him after the last positive sighting. I have personally checked the humane society and the animal control facility...I have checked the animal control facility so many times that I'm on a first name basis with one of the workers there! I have also contacted ALL of the vets in my area. |
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I know you talked to your neighbors, but you might want to go around
again and tell them to check all of their out-buildings and garages. Lots of times lost cats will hide in a building and accidentally get shut inside. You also might leave something outside with your scent on it (a dirty shirt, pj's, etc.)-- in case he is still around. That has got to be tough, looking for your cat, I'm glad you are not giving up! Good luck, Rhonda EADGBE wrote: I have also contacted ALL of the vets in my area. |
#6
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EADGBE wrote:
1) Do cats have a "homing instinct"? Do they often head out in a straight line for great distances and then turn around and come back? Yep. We've got outdoor cats but I didn't think they really went far from our garden. One of them went missing a while back (it turned out she'd got locked in someones garage) and whilst we were searching the neighbourhood for her, we discovered that she (and her brother) were regularly seen in gardens up to 20 houses away. 2) I know that it is possible that someone might have adopted Albert. But would it be possible that Albert is sitting in another house and NOT wanting to go outside anymore? I would think that Albert would not want to stay full-time in ANYONE'S house. Probably not. If he wanted to get out of your house, he'll probably want to get out of other peoples houses! 3) How can I shake the feeling that Albert is no longer anywhere in my area? Why should I believe that he is staying close to home like a "typical" indoor-only cat? Should I pay attention to my gut feeling that Albert is nowhere near me, or should I ignore it? As it's only been a couple of weeks, I wouldn't give up yet. He may well be wandering, maybe a long way away, but there's a good chance that he'll still come back. 4) I have heard a frightening thing: Indoor-only cats, because they have not marked their territory, cannot recognize their home territory and therefore their sense of smell is useless for finding their way home. IS THIS TRUE? I'm not sure, I'm afraid. 5) Do indoor-only cats usually try to come back home, or has Albert decided that he doesn't want to be our cat anymore? Again, not sure, I've only ever had indoor/outdoor cats. HERE IS WHAT I HAVE DONE TO GET ALBERT BACK: I have put a flyer with a clear photo on it in every mailbox in a 2-block radius. I have put neon-yellow signs up on every light pole in a 5-block radius. (I have gotten several calls but when I check up on them, the cat is never Albert.) I have managed to rent a trap from a local pet agency and have caught a couple of cats, but of course, NO ALBERT. I have been putting food out in the front and back of my house, and I have also hung some of my T-shirts on the back fence. All good ideas. Have you mentioned a reward on the poster? Apparently kids are very good at looking for stray cats and will be motivated by a reward! The other thing to try is walking round the neighbourhood calling AND THEN WAITING for a while. If you just wander round calling from different places it can be hard for the cat to find you. Oh and if you didn't mention it on the flyers it's a good idea to get people to look in their garage, outhouses, greenhouses etc. I keep hearing and reading about all of these cats that come back to their owner's houses, sometimes after long absences, but given all of the facts in this case, I just don't see it happening with Albert. It does happen. My mum was moving into a new flat which didn't allow animals so she gave away her cat to someone about 5 miles away on the other side of the city. About 2 weeks later, he'd turned up at their old flat. TOMORROW WILL BE EXACTLY 2 WEEKS SINCE ALBERT LEFT US. MY HOPES ARE FADING. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE...CAN SOMEONE HELP ME KEEP MY HOPES UP? I don't want to give up on Albert, but it really doesn't look like he is anywhere around. :-( Don't give up yet, but remember, even if he doesn't come back, cats are very resourceful and he'll probably still be fine having adopted another family. It's quite possible that he turned up on someone elses doorstep looking underfed and bedraggled and they started feeding him, thinking he was a stray and as soon as he manages to escape he'll find his way back to you! -- http://www.ollieclark.com/acronyms.html |
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