My kitty is missing.

[Sabine]

Yipee!! So happy the kitty is home safely!

 

[oshinbreez]

So glad you have kitty back home.

 

[luckystar112]

Thank you so much everyone! I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I was very obviously worried these last few days and you could tell by my attitude.

"Bob" (we actually just call him "big kitty") squirmed out today even though I was making a very cautious effort not to let him out. The door was cracked just enough for the puppy to get through, and he bolted out of there faster than lightening. Luckily, he stayed in the backyard, and when he let me approach him about a half hour later I picked him up and brought him back inside. I think this is going to be hard.

I was talking to FI about possibly cat-proofing our yard. I was thinking we could buy some gravel or some other substance to patch up the open areas under our fence. I have never seen my cat jump ON the fence...honestly it'd surprise me if he could make it up there with his weight and limp. FI seems to think doing that to the backyard would be a waste of time because the cat would just find another way to get out. I wonder if there is any type of nettng that I can put around the rim of the fence. Like the "cat fence" but ground level. I don't mind him going in the back yard if I can do it...I'm just not sure how.

I'm going to look at it tomorrow.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

So glad you found him! What a relief!!!!

 

[monarch64]

Luckystar, SO relieved to read through this thread and find that you''ve found your kitty!!! I know what a harrowing experience "losing" a pet can be--a few years ago I let our oldest dog out to go potty and was washing dishes while he was out, it had been snowing and I knew he''d come paw the door when he was ready to come in. After a few minutes I realized he hadn''t come to the door yet and I peeked outside and noticed the wooden gate to our fence was wide open!

The latch was frozen solid in the "open" position and he''d pushed right through it. I ran inside, grabbed his leash, and began a full-on search for him. I didn''t have to go any farther than the front of our house, two gals in a mini-van were parked in front of our house and heard me calling his name. The driver gal rolled down her window and asked me what kind of dog I was lookign for, when I described him she said "he''s in your neighbor''s garage right here across the street. He''s FREEZING"! She said it with such an accusatory tone, and had I been less distraught I would''ve been pissed and told her he''d only been outside for about 10 minutes total. Anyway I just thanked her and retrieved my poor little pooch from the neighbor''s garage and went on about my business. To this day we keep the fence gate LOCKED no matter what the weather is like, lesson learned.

Does your kitty have claws? If so, even if he''s overweight he probably still stands a chance of getting away from dogs or whatnot by climbing up a tree or fencepost...if not, definitely keep him inside at all times when you''re not closeby. Glad your close call turned out to have a positive result!

 

[ericad]

So glad to hear you got kitty back! Same thing happened to our family cat, Maggie, years and years ago when I was in high school. She was indoor and slipped out, got lost. We hung signs, searched the neighborhood everyday, called local vets and shelters, etc. 2 weeks later, out of the blue we got a call from a lady 2 streets away. Maggie was locked in her garage. She was disoriented and lost, wandering around for 2 weeks, then got trapped in someone''s garage and, luckily, had a tag that the lady was able to read.

Poor Maggie was so thin! But after that we were not able to keep her indoors anymore. She had a taste of freedom and insisted on being outdoor after that. She would scream and scream at the door all day long, and make a run for it every time anyone opened a door. This went on for months so we finally had to start letting her outside. She was mostly outdoor after that, but didn''t get lost anymore.

Sadly, several years later, she was killed in our front yard by a coyote. It was pretty crazy, considering it was a dense neighborhood, but due to all the construction in the area, the coyotes were getting desperate enough to come right up to the front door (my mom actually saw him on our front lawn one night, under the porch light, 5 feet from the front door). Sad state for the coyotes too.

Anyway, my point is that she would have been safer as an indoor cat, but I''m sure if you asked her she would have chosen 5 years outside over 15 years in the house. I really believe that. She was just miserable in the house but I''ve always regretted that we let her become outdoor.

I sure hope you''re able to convince your kitty to stay in. There are so many dangers out there

 

[Deelight]

So glad you found your kitty I know when my indoor cats accidentally get out and I can''t see them for like 20 minutes I panic. Then I tell myself they just like adventures

Have you thought about installing a cat run? these are great you can have one that allows access from a cat door in your house or you can have one completely separate in your backyard. We are looking at getting one for our kitties so they can enjoy the outdoors (pop some hammocks, scratch poles etc make it a little haven for them) the best thing is you can let your kitty out but no animals can hurt it .

 

[firebirdgold]

I was just reading your thread and was about to post that you should look in your neighbor''s garages when I saw your post that you''d found your kitty... in your neighbor''s garage!

The same d@## thing happened to me and my boy cat. He went into my neighbors open garage and settled in for a nap. I was totally frantic! I finally heard that muffled meowing and tracked it down to my neighbor''s garage. Getting him out is a mini-story itself, but to cut to the chase... The freaking cat did it 3 more times!!! Same garage!
So if your boy escapes again and goes missing, check that garage first!


I had to transition my boy from being indoor-outdoor to indoor only. It was tough. I had to keep telling him no, and he did escape a few times anyway. You learn to check where the cat is before opening the door for the dog. He did eventually get the idea and doesn''t try to make a break for it anymore. But if the door is open, he''s gone.
Just the other day he escaped when our new couch was delivered and I didn''t realize the guys had left the door open. I was totally freaked since we''ve only been in our new home in our new state for a couple of weeks. But when I came home after work he was sitting by our front door with a ''where the heck have you been?'' look on his face.


Anyway, point being... I''m so glad you found your cat, and don''t expect him to learn from it!

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Luckystar, what great news! Whew!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

So glad he''s home and safe!

 

[Gothgrrl]

Sorry I''m late, but I''m so glad your kitty returned safe and sound!