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Expert: - 3/1/2011


Question

pusscat at home
My cat came to me at 6 months by showing up at my door.  He was neutered and became a terrific friend.   A year later he brought another cat around and he joined the family.  It is now 9 years later and a day after a 7 " snowfall, he did not come home.  He is a inside outside cat and likes to roam but as he has grown older he has stayed closer to home.  He is gone a week now.  I can't find him anywhere.  I live on an alley way so there are lots of yards for him to explore.  Today there was a sighting of a cat that looks like him in one of those yards.  If that is him, why doesn't he just come home.  It cold out.  I have a cat door.  What's  up?

Answer
Jo,

Yes, cats do tend to stay close to home.  I cannot begin to tell you why he is not coming home, especially if the sighted cat is your boy.  You might try to verify that first. There are many reasons he is not coming home, so assuming the worst has NOT happened, he may have had a fright being out in the snow storm and is taking his time getting over it.  It is also possible someone saw the cat in the snow and "invited" him in.

You just need to be patient and hope he comes home.  Meanwhile, you can check local shelters, veterinary hospitals, humane societies, and the like.  You can put flyers around your neighborhood asking people to let you know if they have seen him.

In general, cats tend to stay close to home and are masters at hiding in plain sight. You might try putting his favorite food out near the cat door and see if that attracts him. If the weather was warmer, you could try a Have-a-Heart type of humane trap (available from most humane societies), but I would be concerned he could freeze before he is discovered in the trap!

Please let me know if he shows up.

Concerned regards... Norm.

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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