Fourth

[mer]

Day three of absent cat.

Thank you to captainblack and redmomoko, who offered to come help look for the kitty... though as Dann pointed out, Arthur is so skittish, he'll run from us. Someone on craigslist posted that they'd found a small black cat not far from here, but that person won't get back to us. Humane Society doesn't open until Saturday, with the holiday. We are currently planning to drive out to the cottage to see our family there, and one (or both) of us will journey back on Saturday to haunt the shelter.

In (my) desperation, I put the cat leash and collar that we never use on Merlin and took him outside. Merlin spent a lot of time lying down underneath bushes, or trying to leap away from me and hide underneath the neighbor's porch. Merlin, he would like us to know, is not a bloodhound sort of cat. I don't think it was totally futile, though; he marked up a lot of trees and maybe that will let Arthur know he's home, should he get this far. Merlin's antics lightened my mood a little, even though in the middle of the night, when he comes storming up to us for purrful lovings, I think he's missing Arthur--because he doesn't often bother us in the middle of the night. I think he's used to getting affection from his littermate, and now he's coming to us more. He used to be extremely affectionate to us--now he's insatiable.

Time to change the litter boxes. The other Kate at work suggested putting a little of the litter outside, so Arthur would know this is home. I'm desperate enough to try that...

Comments

[stephanieburgis.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry. This sounds really scary. Good luck on Saturday at the Humane Society!!! *HUGS*

[mindyklasky.livejournal.com]

When my super-skittish little cat got out of the house, we spent three days roaming the neighborhood, including putting "missing cat" signs on posts, in the rain. My vet recommended the following, which worked:

Get up at 3 in the morning (when it's dark and as quiet as your neighborhood gets), and open the door to the house. Call your cat and, if there are other inviting noises (for us, shaking the "treats" can), make them. Then sit very, very quietly for a few minutes, to see if the cat comes in.

Our cat appeared after about five minutes - trembling and terrified, but physically fine. According to the vet, she was probably within fifty feet of the house the entire time, just too terrified to move during the day.

Good luck, whatever technique(s) you try!

[qrssama.livejournal.com]

**HUG** Good luck to you!! If you need someone to come over and feed the other, let me know. We owe you big time for helping with Alix.

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

I'm sending all the good cat-finding vibes your way that I can, and crossing my fingers that Arthur comes home ASAP.

It is entirely possible that Arthur is very close, like mindyklasky said.

I know my grandparents once lost their dog, and were just out of their minds looking - and couldn't find it the dog all day until the neighbors came home and opened their garage. The dog had gone in there to chase after the neighbor's cat and the door had gone down!

So I'll cross my fingers for the little guy. *HUGS*. I know this is very worrisome for you.

[iuliamentis.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

I am crossing all of my fingers and toes for his safe return.

[tamnonlinear.livejournal.com]

I second the idea of putting some of the litter outside. Also, a stinky shirt of yours, and maybe the contents of a vacuum bag or cannister after cleaning the place. It helps increase the smell of 'home' in the neighborhood.

Also, similar to the advice above, if you live in a safe enough neighborhood to do to, leave a window or a back door open all night. It's possible your cat is hanging around but too freaked out to approach anyone. They may come home on their own if they can do so without too much fear.

Putting out food and water is not such a bad idea either.

Good luck.

[sienamystic.livejournal.com]

Good luck. I've heard the "3 am" technique working before - I think it's frequently the case that missing cats don't stray too far from home because it's too scary a world out there for them. I hope he gets back to you safely.

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry.

::HUGS::

I hope you find him soon.

[dendrophilous.livejournal.com]

Good luck. I hope he returns soon.

[a2macgeek.livejournal.com]

Sorry he hasn't come back yet. Hope he returns soon!

[gwynnega]

I hope your cat returns very soon!

[raisintorte.livejournal.com]

::hugs::

I hope he comes home soon!

[ellameena.livejournal.com]

Indoor cats who get out are almost always found within a few doors of their own home. Mark out all of the houses in your neighborhood within three doors of your own and search the property with a fine toothed comb. Do not assume your cat will answer your call. When cats get frightened, they often will hide even from their owners and not respond as normal. Since this is vacation time, be very suspicious of garages and out buildings. Your neighbor may have left for vacation and shut your cat inside the garage. This happened once to our kitty. The neighbors closed their garage for the night and he was inside. Check underneat porches and decks, under bushes. This will be an exhausting search. You never really see how much square footage of ground there is until you have crawled all over it on your hands and knees. Don't forget to look up into the trees, too. Good luck!

[katharine-b.livejournal.com]

Just adding my voice to the "middle of the night" crew. Our cat Lily ran outside while we were packing for a weeklong trip once; no one saw her (she was tiny). Our cat feeder just assumed she was hiding at meal times (she was also very shy around strangers). We came home, found no Lily, freaked out and searched all day. My dad left the garage door open, and at 2 am it started to pour. He went down to shut the garage door and heard from under our van: "Mew?" She was soaked, dirty, scared, and otherwise totally fine. I hope your cat will make it home the same way, and soon.