I don't believe it!

amyky123 wrote:
My kitty, who never goes outside, got out once because I had the sliding
door
open and turned on the vacuum, so she got scared and ran.
I couldn't find her ANYWHERE.. I called for her outside for several hours,
with no response, and looked everywhere I thought she might be.
Finally, that night, we went out with a flashlight, and caught the
reflection of
her eyes.. she had gotten into a hole under the fence a couple of apartments
down. She would not come to me for anything, and was scared and hissing
(which she NEVER does) when I reached in to the hole to get her.
I think they definitely get "out of their element", and it freaks them out.

Amen to that. Here is an "out of their element" story.
When we were driving from
Los Angeles to Toronto, via Vancouver, we
stopped for breakfast at a little camp site
(apparently empty) at the peak of
the pass through the Rocky Mountains
which we were crossing. It was 9:00am
and we had been driving 8 hours
from Vancouver and had not passed any cars
the entire time and now
our chance to enjoy one of the
most remote parts of Gaia indeed.
Zildjian & Luthien were in harness,
on a long leash tied to a post, while
I took out camping gear and cooked
and ate breakfast, enjoying the silence.
Cats ate too.

All of a sudden, out of completely nowhere,
came a Garbage Truck, making his monthly
call to pick up the materials from the dumpster
which had been left at this little camping ground.
Both cats freaked. As they tried to dart in the
opposite direction to get away from this utterly horrid,
municipal, man-made-machine-made sound which was
so intrusive even I choked, suddenly out of the other corner
of the woods from absolutely nowhere came a family
with two screaming kids, and I mean screaming with
echoes coming back from the mountains! The cats went
ballistic at this point, given Zildjian's fear of all things human
being even more severe than her fear of a noisy motorvehicle.
Zildjian pulled a Houdini act and lost all solid bones
from her body as she dropped through the harness and
ran for the mountainside. I caught Luthien just in time,
but she had not Zildjian's trick. I held her tight and just
sat there until all the noise was gone....less than
three minutes I think, really, the truck did his thing and
was gone, the family took longer but got into a car that was
parked around some type of corner where I had not seen it.
Ironically, I have never felt so violated by the city than at
this moment.

There was no point calling for Zildjian before there was
silence, so I waited, and then put Luthien in her carrier,
thinking Zildjian was lost for sure. But I closed the door, and
sort of looked up in the general direction where Zildjian had gone,
and started calling. For ages. No response, and no visible
or audible movement. So now I was sure I had lost her.
But I couldn't leave without making at least one attempt to walk
up the foothill, which was all Canadian-forested land just below
the snow line. So I went up a random choice of meandering
through the trees and bushes, climbing steeply, calling Zildjian
all the way until I stopped, more out of hopelessness than anything,
and looked left, and walked about ten paces and there she was
at my feet looking up at me frozen, but somewhat grateful that
I had come to her telepathic signal....
or whatever the hell it was.

I think I was more freaked out by it than even *she* was.

--tension

"Norm" wrote in message ...
Harry disappeared Wednesday afternoon and the clowder has been grounded
day as well as night since, to the detriment of my ears. I became
paranoid after Willie's disppearance, and innocent old Har-rie during
the day was just too much. Well, just now for the umpteenth time in the
last 3 days, I opened the garage door and called Har-rie! And waited,
and he answered to my amazement. He must've run into the garage when I
opened it Wednesday, and the sound of the overhead door so frightened
him that he wouldn't even meow when I opened the door and called his
name all those times. He's scoffing down food as I type, and I took a
pic, posted under Hungry Cat. I was awake and alert (as I ever am, heh)
and couldn't imagine how Har-rie coulda been a victim from under my
nose. The garage incidentally is 30' from the house and farther than
I'd ever seen Har-rie to that point. He was doing so well under the
antibiotic and cordizone that I was especially distraught because he had
been in such pain at the pound, and showed such animation and affection,
life was just getting worthwhile. I kept opening the garage doo and
calling because Beast disappeared for 3 days when I brought him back
from the vet after an accident, and he just disppeared. Finally after 3
days when I was calling he answered from inside. Sometimes, no matter
how brilliant thay can be, cats just do dumb animal things. And Quinn,
keeping a paternal eye on Har-rie, is doing his thang, looking after the
oldest cat. Norm (whew!)

What good news Norm. It would have been horrible to lose Har-rie so soon
after Willie. I'm very glad that he is back home and apparently none the
worse for wear.

Julie

Martha wrote:
In article , Norm wrote:

Harry disappeared Wednesday afternoon and the clowder has been
grounded day as well as night since, to the detriment of my ears. I
became paranoid after Willie's disppearance, and innocent old
Har-rie during the day was just too much. Well, just now for the
umpteenth time in the last 3 days, I opened the garage door and
called Har-rie! And waited, and he answered to my amazement. \

A book called "The Lost Pet Chronicles" says that very often cats,
particularly inside cats, that get out, will not respond to their
owner's voices [or to any other human either]. The author's opinion
is that the cat feels itself out of territory, so does not risk
making a sound. Very often, she says, the cat is within three houses
of home.
Her suggestion is to put a baited humane trap out wherever one can.

A couple of months after Persia adopted me she escaped out the front door
when I was retrieving a package from the doorstep. She ran off and I went
after her. She didn't respond to my calls. I'd almost coaxed her to come
to me when some idiot on the next street in the complex opened his front
door and let his two dogs loose. I cursed him, let me tell you!! Ever
heard of the leash law you f***'ing moron?! I think I scared the man.

I didn't know which direction she'd gone. (Since her previous owners
front-declawed her it couldn't have been up a tree.) I called and called
and I had tears streaming down my face. I finally went home. I went to
work the next day because I had to, but I fretted all day about her. I
didn't think I'd ever see her again. When I got home that next night I
called to her from my patio until I was hoarse and I broke down in tears. I
went back inside. A few minutes later I heard this plaintive little "meow?"
at my back door. Persia?? I opened the door and there she was. She'd
found her way back to me, just like she'd found me in the first place. She
was a little muddy and had leaves stuck to her fur; I can only guess she
spent the night under a shrub. I hugged her and brushed her and told her
don't *ever* do that to me again! And she never has. Now when I open the
door, she backs off. She'd had her fill of the great outdoors.

Shortly afterwards I bought her a Kitty Walk so she can enjoy the bit OUT
with me when we're on the patio. I fretted at first it would make her want
to run off again but it didn't. When she's decided she's had enough, she
charges straight for the back door when I open the enclosure.

Regarding humane traps: a good idea except you never know exactly what
you'll catch around here. Squirrels, oppossums and racoons abound.

Jill

jmcquown wrote:

e man.

I didn't know which direction she'd gone. (Since her previous owners
front-declawed her it couldn't have been up a tree.)

Don't bet on it! The only declawed cat I've ever had is
Cendrillon, and my cats have to be indoor only where we live
now. However, my SIL had one that had been declawed, and it
managed to climb trees at will. I didn't approve of her
letting him out, but she did - fortunately he came to no
harm (possibly because he COULD climb trees?) and lived to a
ripe old age.

Judith Latham wrote:
to ours) I asked the neighbours, they hadn't seen her. Then at 12.35 I had
a phone call from my next door neighbours to tell me that they had got
Sophie in their house and did I want her to stop the night with them if I
was undressed and ready for bed. (I think they would have loved that as
they were very fond of her.) --
Judith Latham
Stourbridge, West Midlands. UK.

Aw, they invited her for a little sleepover slumber party!!!

--tension