Expert: Ali - 10/11/2009

Question
Hi Ali

I am so devastated! Yesterday we came back from the vet with our kitten Emily. I trapped her when she was a 3 month old feral and have been spending a lot of time with her ever since in order to socialize her. She is extremely shy and cautious and i have to be very tender and gentle with her. She has become very friendly and affectionate with me and we decided to keep her. When we drove home yesterday the soft carrier collapsed (it is a very firm soft carrier and has never changed shape before - EVER!!) and she was crying in discomfort. When my husband parked in front of our house i took her out and put the carrier down with her in it and opened the zipper at the top a little in order to get the carrier right again. In that split second she flew out and ran underneath a truck and jumped onto its undercarriage. i tried to get to the back of her neck to scruff her but the area was too tight and she panicked and took of. We ran after her and saw her run around 2 corners of the block and then someone saw her jump over a fence. I went to check in that backyard but have not seen her in there. I can't put into words how terrible I feel about losing her esp. in this manner. I miss her like crazy and don't know how to find her and get her back home. I was calling her all night and put out a few traps with food inside but nothing.......!
Can you please help me and tell me what i could do to get my baby back?
Thanks so much!!
Edith

Answer
Edith,

I do apologize for the delay in getting back to you, unfortunately one of my foster kitties was quite sick and needed some extra TLC which left less time at the end of the day for answering questions. My thoughts are with you, it's really difficult when much loved cats go missing whether they've escaped through a door or they've accidentally gotten outside. My recommendations in each case like this are essentially the same, please check out the points listed below.

How to increase your odds of finding Emily more quickly so that she can come home to safety and be your baby girl again:

- It's always a good idea to make up Lost Cat posters with information about your kitty, a recent photo, places your kitten might have gone to hide (some cats will hide under decks, sheds and garages while others head for wooded areas) and offering a reward increases the chance that anyone who finds Emily will contact you. Be sure that your poster includes work, home and cellular numbers so that the person who finds your baby girl will be able to get ahold of you. It's not necessary to specify on the lost kitty poster exactly how much money you're offering as a reward, simply offering one that you choose based on your budget and stating the fact that there is a cash reward for the safe return of your kitty is plenty of information. Be sure that your posters are put up in your neighborhood, surrounding areas, pet supply stores, rescue groups, veterinary clinics and shelters. If your baby girl is wearing a collar or she is microchipped you're more likely to get her back home if she shows up at a shelter or vet clinic. Asking local shelters to check their DOA records is a last resort, but it might be necessary if your kitty has managed to get hit by a car - shelters don't have the resources to provide extensive, expensive medical care to every pet that comes in and if the care required is costly shelters may opt to euthanize rather than treat since they're operating with limited resources. You could also place ads in your local newspapers including the free publications in your area, I'd recommend purchasing a large enough ad to include a photo of your cat and other pertinent information, essentially a mini version of your lost kitty poster.

- Borrowing or purchasing a humane live trap and putting a dish of canned tuna, salmon, sardines or other fish packed in water will often lure lost kitties home. Putting food out onto your doorstep isn't a guarantee that you'll attract your little girl so approach any critters you catch in the trap cautiously because skunks and other animals tend to find their way into these traps if you're not able to be there and supervise ~ trust me when I say you absolutely DO NOT want to tangle with a skunk or any other wild animal for that matter. It's extremely important that you are near the trap whenever you've got it set up and baited for a few reasons; you don't want to leave any animal in a humane live trap any longer than is absolutely necessary because you want to avoid stressing them any more than is absolutely necessary - I generally pick an area and sit indoors, in the car or out of sight nearby so that when the trap closes I can find out for sure if the kitty in question is who I've caught. If you do find yourself in a situation where you've caught wildlife I'd strongly suggest that you contact your local municipality for information about policies and regulations in your area when it comes to handling wild animals and if necessary try to get a referral to a wildlife relocation service (I try to avoid unnecessary euthanasia of wildlife whenever possible) that is willing to come out, remove the critter from your trap and take it off to be wild somewhere else.

- Talk to your neighbors and other people within the neighborhood, you could even go so far as to deliver lost kitty flyers in mailboxes in and around your area so that people are aware that the kitten has a home and has accidentally escaped so that you can be certain that you'll have many sets of eyes helping in the search for your baby.

- It's a good idea to consider walking around the neighborhood very late at night (midnight or later on a week night) and quietly calling your kitty (if she comes when called much of the time), cats are more active at night and a fearful or anxious escapee is likely to be frightened of the regular everyday noises that are consistent throughout the daytime hours in most areas.

I really do wish that I could offer more solutions, but at this point it really does come down to getting the word out there, talking to vets, shelter staff, pet supply store staff and other local merchants. The more people know about your missing kitty the more likely it is that she'll be found more quickly. At the moment beyond the advice I've given the only thing that I can do is to offer my thoughts and prayers, I wish you the best of luck in your search for your little girl and I apologize again for the delay in getting back to you. If you have any further questions, concerns, updates or you'd like me to clarify anything in this answer, please feel free to contact me again and I'll do my best to help you out to the best of my ability.