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Expert: - 7/24/2009


Question
Our kittens have been lost for five days.  We have visited the properties around ours and they have not been seen.  There is a stray cat colony close by, but there is also a den of foxes as well.  The night they went missing they were playing with a wild kitten.  I already asked Jessica if she thought we could get them back, but I have another question and she is maxed out.  She said to keep their food source available, but most likely they have moved on.  We have kept the food source available and it is getting eaten.  I think it is other cats in the neighborhood or from the stray colony.  My question is:  Do you think the mother cat could find them if we brought the her here or would she run off too or get lost trying to find her way home?  They have been with the mother cat off and on since she belongs to my parents.  Is this all just a lost cause that I should give up on and not waste my time?  I don't understand why they would be purring and rubbing against my leg one minute and then gone the next forever.

Answer
Hilary,

Cats tend to stay in their home territory.  However, cats are very good at hiding in plain site.  So, they may be hanging around, but you may not see them.

The danger of letting the mother cat out is that she may decide to stay with the feral colony. Cats tend to not honor familial relations.  Mama could care less that these were once her kittens.

I am afraid I have to agree with Jessica, unless someone spots one or more of those kittens, it is unlikely they will be back.  But, on the other hand, you never know. One or another may pop back up at your house.  So I would continue to follow Jessica's advice for at least another week and see what develops.  Truthfully, 5 days really is not very much time.

Best regards... Norm.  

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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