Very Scared Indoor Cat Now Outside in COLD NJ

Hi, My 4-yr old spayed female tabby got outside over Thanksgiving
weekend. We don't know how because she is very, very timid and hides
whenever we have company which we had over Thanksgiving. The weather
then was unseasonably mild. In fact we didn't know she was missing
(because she hides so much) until my son saw her running from our shed
at the back of the yard to under our deck.

A few days after Thanksgiving it got cold and is getting colder!! From
the day she escaped, I put her usual dry food out on the front porch.
Every couple of days we see her on the front porch. One night, late I
looked out the door, she saw me looking & ran off. I've set up the
Hav-a-Hart trap & she hasn't gone in it. I was told to cover the trap
with a blanket which I've been doing. I've tried chicken, turkey, tuna
and regular canned cat food. Last night I moved it down to the far side
of the porch (side where we see her running when she sees us). I put a
trail of cat treats leading to the trap plus cat treats in the trap &
then cat food in a bowl at the far end of the trap. Also did not cover
the trap with a blanket. Checking this morning...nothing touched, not
even the trail of food. It's been so cold here I don't understand why
she doesn't come to the front door to come inside.

We suspect she is under our front porch. We can't see because there are
mounds of dirt under the porch put there when the house was built. She
also escaped out of the house back in the spring and within a few days
I was able to trap her. I assume she's learned not to go in the trap.

Thank you for any suggestions!

Also, she was born to a feral mother & trapped after the mother left
the litter but she's been an indoor cat ever since.

Please, what else can I do? She is very tiny....maybe 8 lbs. And the
weather here in NJ is predicted to be in the single digits tonight.

"catlover" wrote:

Hi, My 4-yr old spayed female tabby got outside over Thanksgiving
weekend. We don't know how because she is very, very timid and hides
whenever we have company which we had over Thanksgiving. The weather
then was unseasonably mild. In fact we didn't know she was missing
(because she hides so much) until my son saw her running from our shed
at the back of the yard to under our deck.

A few days after Thanksgiving it got cold and is getting colder!! From
the day she escaped, I put her usual dry food out on the front porch.
Every couple of days we see her on the front porch. One night, late I
looked out the door, she saw me looking & ran off. I've set up the
Hav-a-Hart trap & she hasn't gone in it. I was told to cover the trap
with a blanket which I've been doing. I've tried chicken, turkey, tuna
and regular canned cat food. Last night I moved it down to the far side
of the porch (side where we see her running when she sees us). I put a
trail of cat treats leading to the trap plus cat treats in the trap &
then cat food in a bowl at the far end of the trap. Also did not cover
the trap with a blanket. Checking this morning...nothing touched, not
even the trail of food. It's been so cold here I don't understand why
she doesn't come to the front door to come inside.

We suspect she is under our front porch. We can't see because there are
mounds of dirt under the porch put there when the house was built. She
also escaped out of the house back in the spring and within a few days
I was able to trap her. I assume she's learned not to go in the trap.

Thank you for any suggestions!

Also, she was born to a feral mother & trapped after the mother left
the litter but she's been an indoor cat ever since.

Please, what else can I do? She is very tiny....maybe 8 lbs. And the
weather here in NJ is predicted to be in the single digits tonight.

What I did when our very timid indoor cat escaped at the cottage was
leave all the doors propped open (this was late at night). Just like
your cat, mine came up to the cottage deck but ran off when he saw me
looking at him. So I just sat in the dark (mainly to keep bugs out)
and sure enough within an hour he sneaked in. I realize that winter is
not the best time to do this and also this all occurred the same night
for me. While I was walking around calling his name and poking in the
bushes he remained hidden. I was really freaked because this was not
his normal turf and I was thinking of al the stories of how cats set
out cross country to return to their former home, but he had been
there last year.

Keep in mind that your timid cat is now in self defense mode (read
scared) and will typically run away from an owner. In their mental
state they do not connect you to the solution, but I do bet he wants
in.

Good luck.

-mhd

Oh boy, I hate it when these things happen.

We had a former-feral kitten that crawled up inside the chimney on top
of the insert, then crawled down between the chimney wall and edge of
the insert. Long story short, we finally found her at the bottom of the
chimney and could not get her out. She escaped out through the tiny door
in the chimney and was outside.

We knew she was around but after a couple days and nights of searches
and calling, she still would not show her face. I think former ferals
slip back pretty easily into feral mode when stressed.

My sig. other finally thought about leaving the garage door open just a
few inches under our house. There are stairs that lead up to a door to
the house. That night, I heard a meow at that door and there she was!
She came in on her own. We had even tried to catch her with a trap. Any
way you can help her come in on her own?

Good luck! Let us know as soon as you have her!

Rhonda

catlover wrote:

Hi, My 4-yr old spayed female tabby got outside over Thanksgiving
weekend. We don't know how because she is very, very timid and hides
whenever we have company which we had over Thanksgiving. The weather
then was unseasonably mild. In fact we didn't know she was missing
(because she hides so much) until my son saw her running from our shed
at the back of the yard to under our deck.

A few days after Thanksgiving it got cold and is getting colder!! From
the day she escaped, I put her usual dry food out on the front porch.
Every couple of days we see her on the front porch. One night, late I
looked out the door, she saw me looking & ran off. I've set up the
Hav-a-Hart trap & she hasn't gone in it. I was told to cover the trap
with a blanket which I've been doing. I've tried chicken, turkey, tuna
and regular canned cat food. Last night I moved it down to the far side
of the porch (side where we see her running when she sees us). I put a
trail of cat treats leading to the trap plus cat treats in the trap &
then cat food in a bowl at the far end of the trap. Also did not cover
the trap with a blanket. Checking this morning...nothing touched, not
even the trail of food. It's been so cold here I don't understand why
she doesn't come to the front door to come inside.

We suspect she is under our front porch. We can't see because there are
mounds of dirt under the porch put there when the house was built. She
also escaped out of the house back in the spring and within a few days
I was able to trap her. I assume she's learned not to go in the trap.

Thank you for any suggestions!

Also, she was born to a feral mother & trapped after the mother left
the litter but she's been an indoor cat ever since.

Please, what else can I do? She is very tiny....maybe 8 lbs. And the
weather here in NJ is predicted to be in the single digits tonight.

Thanks for your reply. As I speak it's 1:00 am and the thermometer
reads
6 deg F. I feel awful thinking about how cold she must be. Also
wondering if she is still alive because we haven't seen her for a few
days. It's hard to see what/if she's eating because I have an
indoor/outdoor cat that may be eating the food left for her.

I would leave the garage door open but it is too cold and my son's
bedroom is over the garage. At this point I feel pretty helpless and
out of ideas. In fact, if this cold hasn't brought her to the door to
come in then what will. And if she won't come up to us because she's
scared, then I don't like to think this, but this situation is pretty
hopeless.

Beverly


Rhonda wrote:
Oh boy, I hate it when these things happen.

We had a former-feral kitten that crawled up inside the chimney on top
of the insert, then crawled down between the chimney wall and edge of
the insert. Long story short, we finally found her at the bottom of the
chimney and could not get her out. She escaped out through the tiny door
in the chimney and was outside.

We knew she was around but after a couple days and nights of searches
and calling, she still would not show her face. I think former ferals
slip back pretty easily into feral mode when stressed.

My sig. other finally thought about leaving the garage door open just a
few inches under our house. There are stairs that lead up to a door to
the house. That night, I heard a meow at that door and there she was!
She came in on her own. We had even tried to catch her with a trap. Any
way you can help her come in on her own?

Good luck! Let us know as soon as you have her!

Rhonda

catlover wrote:

Hi, My 4-yr old spayed female tabby got outside over Thanksgiving
weekend. We don't know how because she is very, very timid and hides
whenever we have company which we had over Thanksgiving. The weather
then was unseasonably mild. In fact we didn't know she was missing
(because she hides so much) until my son saw her running from our shed
at the back of the yard to under our deck.

A few days after Thanksgiving it got cold and is getting colder!! From
the day she escaped, I put her usual dry food out on the front porch.
Every couple of days we see her on the front porch. One night, late I
looked out the door, she saw me looking & ran off. I've set up the
Hav-a-Hart trap & she hasn't gone in it. I was told to cover the trap
with a blanket which I've been doing. I've tried chicken, turkey, tuna
and regular canned cat food. Last night I moved it down to the far side
of the porch (side where we see her running when she sees us). I put a
trail of cat treats leading to the trap plus cat treats in the trap &
then cat food in a bowl at the far end of the trap. Also did not cover
the trap with a blanket. Checking this morning...nothing touched, not
even the trail of food. It's been so cold here I don't understand why
she doesn't come to the front door to come inside.

We suspect she is under our front porch. We can't see because there are
mounds of dirt under the porch put there when the house was built. She
also escaped out of the house back in the spring and within a few days
I was able to trap her. I assume she's learned not to go in the trap.

Thank you for any suggestions!

Also, she was born to a feral mother & trapped after the mother left
the litter but she's been an indoor cat ever since.

Please, what else can I do? She is very tiny....maybe 8 lbs. And the
weather here in NJ is predicted to be in the single digits tonight.

Beverly,

It is pretty scary and I know it's cold, but opening the garage door may
save her life. Just open it a few inches so she can crawl under.

If it causes your son's room to be too cold, is there any way to just
close off that room for now and have him sleep somewhere else? I don't
know his age but heck, I'd be happy to sleep on the couch for a few
nights if I could get a cat back!

At the very least, could you make a shelter for the cat outside? Even a
cardboard box sitting on plastic or styrofoam, with some sort of warm
bedding inside?

If she won't come up to you, it's not hopeless -- it's normal for a
former feral, but you're going to have to get creative about how to help
her get inside on her own.

Good luck,

Rhonda

catlover wrote:

Thanks for your reply. As I speak it's 1:00 am and the thermometer
reads
6 deg F. I feel awful thinking about how cold she must be. Also
wondering if she is still alive because we haven't seen her for a few
days. It's hard to see what/if she's eating because I have an
indoor/outdoor cat that may be eating the food left for her.

I would leave the garage door open but it is too cold and my son's
bedroom is over the garage. At this point I feel pretty helpless and
out of ideas. In fact, if this cold hasn't brought her to the door to
come in then what will. And if she won't come up to us because she's
scared, then I don't like to think this, but this situation is pretty
hopeless.

Beverly


Rhonda wrote:

Oh boy, I hate it when these things happen.

We had a former-feral kitten that crawled up inside the chimney on top
of the insert, then crawled down between the chimney wall and edge of
the insert. Long story short, we finally found her at the bottom of the
chimney and could not get her out. She escaped out through the tiny door
in the chimney and was outside.

We knew she was around but after a couple days and nights of searches
and calling, she still would not show her face. I think former ferals
slip back pretty easily into feral mode when stressed.

My sig. other finally thought about leaving the garage door open just a
few inches under our house. There are stairs that lead up to a door to
the house. That night, I heard a meow at that door and there she was!
She came in on her own. We had even tried to catch her with a trap. Any
way you can help her come in on her own?

Good luck! Let us know as soon as you have her!

Rhonda

catlover wrote:


Hi, My 4-yr old spayed female tabby got outside over Thanksgiving
weekend. We don't know how because she is very, very timid and hides
whenever we have company which we had over Thanksgiving. The weather
then was unseasonably mild. In fact we didn't know she was missing
(because she hides so much) until my son saw her running from our shed
at the back of the yard to under our deck.

A few days after Thanksgiving it got cold and is getting colder!! From
the day she escaped, I put her usual dry food out on the front porch.
Every couple of days we see her on the front porch. One night, late I
looked out the door, she saw me looking & ran off. I've set up the
Hav-a-Hart trap & she hasn't gone in it. I was told to cover the trap
with a blanket which I've been doing. I've tried chicken, turkey, tuna
and regular canned cat food. Last night I moved it down to the far side
of the porch (side where we see her running when she sees us). I put a
trail of cat treats leading to the trap plus cat treats in the trap &
then cat food in a bowl at the far end of the trap. Also did not cover
the trap with a blanket. Checking this morning...nothing touched, not
even the trail of food. It's been so cold here I don't understand why
she doesn't come to the front door to come inside.

We suspect she is under our front porch. We can't see because there are
mounds of dirt under the porch put there when the house was built. She
also escaped out of the house back in the spring and within a few days
I was able to trap her. I assume she's learned not to go in the trap.

Thank you for any suggestions!

Also, she was born to a feral mother & trapped after the mother left
the litter but she's been an indoor cat ever since.

Please, what else can I do? She is very tiny....maybe 8 lbs. And the
weather here in NJ is predicted to be in the single digits tonight.

Rhonda wrote:

If it causes your son's room to be too cold, is there any way to just
close off that room for now and have him sleep somewhere else? I don't
know his age but heck, I'd be happy to sleep on the couch for a few
nights if I could get a cat back!

I most certainly wouldn't hesitate to turn up the heat rather than
refuse to open the garage door. Besides the garage is already close to
the ambient outdoor temperature so opening it a few inches wouldn't
make much of a difference.

-mhd

Rhonda,

I keep a small dog "igloo" on my porch with a rug inside of it on a
permanent basis.
It's not been used. Last night I put a down throw in a cardboard
box & put it on the front porch (where she was last seen) and it wasn't
used.
The Hav-a-Hart trap is set with moist cat food (now frozen!!).
The chicken skin & pieces left last night were untouched this morning.
(Sometimes knowing what's going on food-wise is complicated because I
have an indoor/outdoor cat. I've seen my indoor/outdoor cat eat even
the dry food I have outside...why I don't know because there is a La
Bistro filled with dry food inside he can eat whenever he wants...so
don't know why he eats the food left outside.) But he was inside last
night before I put the chicken out and he was still inside this monring
when I checked & saw the chicken wasn't touched. I just now say blue
jays eating the dry cat food on the porch.

Yesterday, I was down on my hands & knees at one end of the porch
(which is about 40 ft long) trying to see or hear something. There are
mounds of dirt under the porch so it's hard to see....but I saw nothing
& heard nothing.

We'll try leaving the garage door open a few inches. However, if she is
hiding, say under the porch, I doubt she will venture very far and the
garage is way around the side of the house from the front porch. But
it's worth a try!!

Since no one in the family has seen her for 3 days & being pretty sure
she hasn't touched the food.....I'm beginning to feel that she is gone.


Beverly

Little comfort I know, I have seen timid 'with human' cats, behave
completely different 'outside' and with other cat's. lets hope your little
miss tabby is having a holiday and comes back soon. To be honest I'm in the
Uk, and we don't keep our cats indoors. It could be a bit of freedom is what
she want's. Mine will sit outside for hours in freezing weather, then come
in the cat flap and jump all over me with little freezing cold paws. I hope
yours come back, it's such a worry.

Hi Catlover,

One thing on the trap, you might want to line the bottom with a dirty
t-shirt, pj's, anything you or someone your cat knows has worn. The
scent might attract her and she might also feel better about crossing
cloth instead of cold metal to get to the food.

Try tuna or mackerels or something really smelly in the trap.

I hope she shows up. Have you gone around and told all the neighbors to
keep an eye out? You could give all of them your phone number in case
they see her. Might ask them to open up all their garages and
out-buildings to make sure she didn't go into one of theirs for warmth,
then got stuck.

I still have my fingers crossed for her.

Rhonda

catlover wrote:

Rhonda,

I keep a small dog "igloo" on my porch with a rug inside of it on a
permanent basis.
It's not been used. Last night I put a down throw in a cardboard
box & put it on the front porch (where she was last seen) and it wasn't
used.
The Hav-a-Hart trap is set with moist cat food (now frozen!!).
The chicken skin & pieces left last night were untouched this morning.
(Sometimes knowing what's going on food-wise is complicated because I
have an indoor/outdoor cat. I've seen my indoor/outdoor cat eat even
the dry food I have outside...why I don't know because there is a La
Bistro filled with dry food inside he can eat whenever he wants...so
don't know why he eats the food left outside.) But he was inside last
night before I put the chicken out and he was still inside this monring
when I checked & saw the chicken wasn't touched. I just now say blue
jays eating the dry cat food on the porch.

Yesterday, I was down on my hands & knees at one end of the porch
(which is about 40 ft long) trying to see or hear something. There are
mounds of dirt under the porch so it's hard to see....but I saw nothing
& heard nothing.

We'll try leaving the garage door open a few inches. However, if she is
hiding, say under the porch, I doubt she will venture very far and the
garage is way around the side of the house from the front porch. But
it's worth a try!!

Since no one in the family has seen her for 3 days & being pretty sure
she hasn't touched the food.....I'm beginning to feel that she is gone.


Beverly

"catlover" wrote
Since no one in the family has seen her for 3 days & being pretty sure
she hasn't touched the food.....I'm beginning to feel that she is gone.


Beverly


I wouldn't give up yet. My semi-feral cat Antonio got out of the house
accidentally and was out for over a month. We did not see him AT ALL the
entire time. I had no idea if he was alive or even still in the area. I
set 5-6 traps around our condo complex. Once the weather started getting
cold, I put Snuggle Safe warming discs (see Drs. Foster & Smith catalog) in
each trap to make sure he or any other animal that gets trapped doesn't
freeze to death. Also, I thought maybe the warmth would attract him. Just
as I was about to give up, a neighbor spotted him. That night, I put a trap
near where he was spotted, and the next morning, there he was!!!
Since it's been so cold, your cat may have found a hidey-hole and isn't
coming out. You may want to set a few traps around, and also make sure the
traps are set correctly. Microwave the food before putting it in and change
it frequently. Put newspaper or cardboard in the trap to hide the trip
plate. Sometimes the cats can step right over it to get to the food.
Make sure all your neighbors are aware your cat is missing. Go door to door
and actually talk to them. I did this, and handed out full color fliers
with a big picture of him. Speaking with them instead of just putting up
fliers makes the story more personal and they will be more apt to be on the
lookout. Especially talk to people who walk their dogs and joggers.

Good luck! Don't give up!!!

-Kelly