food deprivation

My cat has been missing for about two weeks now and I'm getting worried. I'm thinking she may be trapped somewhere (like in a shed or something) and I'm wondering how long she would be able to go without food.

I've taken the dog out looking but .

Fox and Coyoties aren't unheard of around here, but I haven't seen either in years. I would think that a cat would be too big for them anyway. But I'm not sure.

Any ways of attracting here back would be greatly appreciated also. I've been leaving my porch light on hoping it could act as a compass for her. But it doesn't seem to be working. I haven't seen her on the side of the road thankfully.

Still Hopin'
Spelunker.

I'm sorry. I'm not sure how to help.

Sending *kitty return vibes*

Love Sam.

Have you checked out the local animal shelter? You can also run an ad in your newspaper. Some papers will run missing pet ads for free. Its worth a look-see anyway. Also sometimes, at least down here in our Fla. neighborhood, the local radio stations will run missing pet ads. Anyway, anything, no matter how remote the possibility is worth checking out. Sending prayers and only the best and positive kitty-vibes to you........Please keep us updated on your progress.

Mary
shadoww

Kitty missing:

Put her cat litter outside. Take some of the litter and sprinkle it around the area (if it is old litter and her scent is still on it)

Put on an old tee shirt and do a work out. Get that shirt so sweaty it clings to you. Take it off and cut it into long strips. Tie the strips up outside in the wind, so the scent will carry.

Look for your cat between 2:00 - 3:00 a.m. This is when the world is the quietest, and you cat will feel the safest coming out.

Make a tape recording of your can opener opening up a cat of cat food, or of you popping the tops of cat food (do about 5 cans in a row) Play this recording in the early morning hours outside.

Cats generally go to ground when they get outside, which means they stay rather close, but they hide very effectively. Take one of her favorite toys, put a long string on it and drag it behind you when you go outside. If she is watching (and she probably is) she will go after it.

Put food, water and shelter outside for her.

Put up flyers with the best picture you have of her. Put them up at eye level anyplace you can think of

Talk to the the UPS drivers, mailman, kids on bikes, anyone who routinely walks in your area- show them the flyer

Offer a reward for her return

Call all the vets, or better yet visit them with the flyers. People always say to visit the animal shelters, but honestly? Unless it is a dog, the animal shelters don't usually have lost cats, just owner surrenders and hordes of kittens.

I have a friend who just lost his cat and Max was gone for so long, that Mike decided to hire a search dog to find him. They found him, but he was in pretty bad shape. He is doing better though.

Visit this link and see if you can help here as well. Sherlock Bones has a great E-book you can download for a small price, but it is well worth the $15.00.

Lost Pet?

Thanks for the vibes.

Thanks for the tips. This stuff really should be in a faq on the main page or something. I'm sure you get these questions alot. I hope I'm not being too annoying. It's good to hear that Max is doing better. (How long was (s)he gone BTW?).

I probably should have mentioned that this a particularly outdoorsy cat. I've been reading about "outdoor-access" cats. Well I'd consider her to be an "indoor-access" cat !

I've been very busy the past few days.

I can't think of any radio stations that would put this kind of ad on for free or for cheap.

I'll be looking into the News Paper tomorrow.

I put a smelly shirt out where we would normally hang the flag, but I had to take it down because of the thunder storms. It's back up now. It still smells like detergent though.

Her kitty litter has been changed since she disappeared, so I don't know if it will help.

I've printed up some flyers, and they'll be up tomorrow. I've also been going door to door.

I have a possible sighting of her hunting. He was pretty confident that it was her. The only problem is that he is practically a next door neighbor. If she were this close, why wouldn't she stop by to at least say hi like always used to? And why would it be this all of a sudden disappearance.

I've found lots of great info on sits that I arrived at by following your link, hissy. The Contra-Costa Lost and Found Pets has given me similar advice, but was worried about her age (15-17 somewhere). She has always been healthy for any cat and has strong thirst for life. So, I'm not convinced that she has passed away.

Well anyway,
back to why I originally started the thread.

I've heard that cats can go a good long time without food, but water is what is critical. I've heard anywhere from 3 days to a week is about the limit. She is a survivor though, so if any cat can make it longer it would be her.

BTW- She wasn't trapped in any of the places I thought she may have been trapped in, so this question may be moot.


Well, thanks for the tips, and I'll keep you posted.
Spelunker

Wow hissy those are AWESOME suggestions. Nice.

Did you find your kitty yet?

Max was gone for 37 days. When they found him he had a broken jaw, a wound on his leg and had lost 8 pounds. He was rushed to the vets and he is doing fine now. They are all different.

I had one little girl vanish for 6 months! I went nuts looking for her and then I just gave up. I was walking my dog one afternoon on the road in back of our place and I looked up to see her in the window of this house! I screamed her name and she saw me and started clawing wildly to get out. Kenai, my shepherd was her surrogate mom when she was tiny, and Kenai ran up to the window because she smelled her.

I rang the doorbell and the woman took forever to answer! But she finally did, and she streaked out of the house and fell into my arms. It was the best feeling in the world! The woman could not dispute that she was my cat. I raised her from the time she was 3 days old, and I carried her home with her clinging to my neck like a baby.

No I haven't found her yet . Thanks for the concern. I do appreciate it.

I'm having trouble getting permission to search at night. Alot of people have dogs around here who would bark to high heaven if they heard me poking through the woods at night.

I've been getting some help over at The Contra Costa forums too. The thread is in the Lost Outdoor Access Cats forum under Where's my Nuzzi if you want to have a look.

It's funny how your dog is a surrogate mother to your cat because my cat is a surragate mother to my dog! They are (hopefully not were ) just inseparable and he misses her so much. The three of us are kinda like a club .

I am a little worried that someone may have taken her in and isn't letting her leave, but at least she would be well fed and Nuzzi is sneaky, sly, and quick enough to break out in due time if that is the case. She has ways of getting out that we still haven't been able to figure out yet. We ended up giving up figuring it out and just started letting her out. She loves it out there too much to keep her in. I hate it, but she is so much happier you can see it even when she is inside.

There has been a serious decline in the squirrel population over the last week or two. There are normally six or eight running around, then they all disappeared. I'm not sure what to make of this. It has been making me real nervous. I noticed four this after noon after a morning thunder storm though.

None of my next door neighbors have ever seen her. She liked to stick to the woods anyway. The neighbor that recognized her from a picture is in my back woods and Nuzzi does like to hang out there. I haven't been able to get in touch with this neighbor since I last spoke with him. I would like to take the dog through for a sniff. The first time I took Tazz out, he did show interest in this yard.

There was another yard where a cat was "left" that he has sniffed around in, but his reaction isn't what I would expect if it were Nuz, but then again it isn't what I would expect if it weren't.

There are various scents thoughout the yard now. I tried putting some cleanex soaked with tear drops thinking it may make her want to confort me, but I think the rain washed the scent away. Tazzi's scent is always out there and is the most likely to attract her.

Well, it's time to take the dog for another sniff.

Oh btw- if I'm not going to get anymore input on how long a cat can go without food or water, this thread really ought to be moved and renamed.

I'll try to keep you updated.

Thanks for the help
Spelunker

hissy omg what a story!! That should give people hope!

I cant imagine how it must have felt to have her cling to you like that after all that time

There has been possible sightings around. But she's still nowhere to I can find her.

I'm thinking about hiring a search dog. Any ideas about where to find one and what to look for and how much to pay? There is nothing in the yellow pages and google searches seem to come up short so I'll be asking vets tomorrow. I really don't want to pay a couple hundred bucks just for a guy to walk his dog and tell me that a coyote probably got her.

I think I heard her meowing when I was out for my midnight smoke, but I'm not sure. It kind of sounded like one of her various meows, but not one she did very often. Normally it's either a yowel or her trademark squeak. It's so cute.

Something that I can't figure out right now is if she is so close, why wouldn't she come home? The only thing I can think of is that there are a couple of new indoor only kitties living with us now. She is familiar with them and never seemed to mind having them around.

Any info would be greatly apprecieated.

Oh and if it's not too much trouble, could you move this thread to where more people who would know more about this kind of thing would see it. Thanks.