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Expert: - 1/1/2012


Question
my 2year old neutered indoor cat got out a day and    half ago. Im an apartment complex we have only lived in for 8months,and it or is heavily wooded. I saw where he ran, I spent the whole day looking,bu ett nothimg. Aboit three that morning, I weNT out.back,and heard his bell, I grabbed my flashlight and I saw his eyes where he ram to originally. I called our ro him, but he scurried away. I left his toy out ans food. I thought he would make his way to the backdoor by now. My question is, why hasn't he come back? And what should I do now?  He wasn't hurt. Can you offer some Advice?  Thank you so very much. I M frantic with worry. I ts Cold outside.and I miss hom terribly.

Answer
Kim,

Your cat is very, very frightened and is not really thinking straight.  The good news is that cats are very territorial and tend to stay close to home. Unfortunately, cats are also masterful at hiding in plain sight.

Since you have spotted him in the woods, you may want to get a "Have-a-Heart" live trap from your local shelter of humane society and put his favorite food in it. I would place it in the woods where you have seen him before and, hopefully, you will get him and not another neighborhood cat. A couple of days is not very long for a cat to be "gone", and it takes some time for the cat to feel comfortable about coming back towards your apartment complex.

Please let me know how things go.

Concerned 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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