Lost cat

Our indoor-only cat escaped Saturday morning at 10:38 a.m. (it's now Monday night at 8:30 p.m.) and we haven't seen a hint of him since. He is a purebred Bengal, and his personality is that he is completely unafraid of anything or anyone. He approaches strangers and licks their hands. He follows us everywhere we go ... greets us at the door, watches us out the window. Runs to the front door to watch the mailman every day. He knows our cars and runs to the windows when we arrive, then to the door to greet us. He fetches and is full of vim and vigor. He is more like a dog than a cat. But alas, he got out. He didn't hesitate for a split second ... he took off running and off he went, like a bat out of h(*&^ll. It's winter in Wisconsin, with temperatures around 20 degrees, warming to maybe 30-35 degrees during the day right now. The ground is covered with snow.

Does anyone know the chances of his safe return if he were stuck outside all this time (or even longer)? We have posted flyers in the area, and our first lost newspaper ad will appear tomorrow morning. We have walked around and called him many times, left food out for him and a used litterbox, and nothing was touched. His favorite toy is elastic hair bands, which he fetches and loves to play with, and we scattered them around outside ... untouched. We do not think he is in our immediate area and we wonder if he has been taken in. We know he would approach strangers and possibly even rub on their legs, lick their hands, etc. He would be an ideal pet because he wouldn't need to be "warmed up" to a family. What are the chances he was taken in for good? What are the chances he would return if he was still outside, given that he doesn't appear to have been back in the area at all? Does anyone have statistics about how often lost cats are returned?

We also printed 500 postcards that we are mailing tomorrow to neighbors within a few-block radius, we made a report with Animal Control and have looked at the facility to see if he is there. Any other suggestions? We are so distraught. We can't stand the thought of him being outside in this weather! We have known coyotes in the area and even saw one standing across the street last night/morning at 4:00 a.m.!

No luck yet. However, I'm pretty sure the coyote got him that first night because it was just too unusual to even SEE a coyote and my kitty must have been what brought him here. If it's true that cats do stay near their homes when they stray, then my cat being within 3 houses of a coyote does not bode well. I did post on Craig's list and haven't had any leads. I'm pretty sure I know what happened and while it kills me to think about it, I would be foolish to think a coyote was within a few houses of a cat and didn't attack it.

We saw him run out the door and immediately turn to the left down the driveway. He then stopped and immediately turned around in the opposite direction and ran to the right, to the back of the house. My husband ran to the edge of the house just in time to see him scatter along the entire back of the house. By the time my husband got to the corner to see where he went from there, he was gone. He was running like he was being chased (he wasn't). He was a very instinctive cat ... he was ecstatic to finally be outside and see the sights and smell the smells. He was led by his nose and his instinct ... he just ran and ran and ran. We knew it was one of three directions, but didn't know which of the 3.

Now after seeing the coyote, I know the cat was close to home all along but we didn't really think so at the time. Most cats stop and hesitate at least at some point, but he never did. He was fearless in the house and just as fearless outside. The coyote is the one who let us know he stayed near. The coyote was across the street on the very night the cat disappeared, and I know he got him. I didn't know for sure at the time, of course, but now that more days have gone by without a sighting, I know that must have been what happened. I regret so much that I didn't walk up and down all of the back yards of all the homes in my area in all directions. We walked on the sidewalks and called and shook toys in all directions, several times that day and in the days that followed, but it wasn't enough to make him come out of wherever he was. I wish I had been more proactive and actually physically looked in and under things. The ground is completely covered with snow here and I didn't really see any tracks or anywhere he could be hiding.

He had all the great characteristics of a Bengal. He fetched, he played, he interacted with strangers, he drank water from the faucet, he had the most precocious kitten personality even at 2 years old. He opened doors and cupboards and drawers, followed me everywhere I went in the house and sat outside the rooms I was in, waiting for me to come out. He was literally perfect. I miss him so much. I get so upset when I hear other peoples' stories about how "he's only a few doors away" and "he'll come home within a day or two" and I know he won't because I know what happened to him. I hope it was quick and painless, and I hope he wasn't wondering why we deserted him. I know some people think he was "only a cat," but he literally was the most perfect pet I've ever had, and I will miss him forever. Thanks so much to everyone for your help and advice. I'm just in a different frame of mind today than I was when I first posted, because it has finally sunk in for me.

Wow, my husband saw a few neighbors outside yesterday and went to ask about our cat. One man took him in the back yard while they looked in the snow for prints. They saw our cat's prints, a rabbit, squirrel, and coyote, all in the same general area. He could see the path our cat had taken and followed it. He then started knocking on doors and one man said a little cat peeked in his front window on Monday (2 1/2 days ago) and when he called his wife to come and see the cat, it disappeared. That HAD to be our cat. My husband and daughter then went through all the backyards on that block, looking in and under trees, houses, bushes, and anything else outside but found nothing.

He DID make it 2 nights without getting attacked by a coyote! We had renewed hope and walked around calling his name, shining flashlights, dropping cat food all up and down that block last night. He clearly doesn't know how to get home because these things occurred about 5 houses up from us, but across the street! I'm at a loss to what to do now. If he is still there, he ignores our calling his name. It was 28 degrees last night and very windy. It's hard to fathom him surviving out there! It will be in the 30's today and warming up to the 40's this weekend. No moisture expected. But what could he possibly be eating? I'm so worried about starvation and freezing now. Today is Day 5.

I saw on our Animal Control website that a "tiger cat" was brought in yesterday, no gender known yet and no age known. We will be going there today again to check on this new arrival.

Thanks so much for all of your help and advice! I will keep watching for your comments and will keep you posted.

Wow, these are some great suggestions! The shelter cat was not ours. So we're back to square one. The shelter suggested putting some dirty socks ... a whole pile of them ... outside. That shouldn't be too difficult! We will do that tonight. I like the idea of sitting outside and talking in a normal tone with some smelly food. I will also do the trap thing ... but where can I get one? At a retail pet store?

I'm just really feeling like if I don't get him soon, he is going to leave the area. I know everyone says cats will be found close by, but do they eventually leave the area and get led by their noses to another spot farther away? I know there is no concrete answer, but in general does this occur?

It's also warming up tomorrow above freezing, so I can try to put some warm, moist food out .... we tried that once before but it just froze and I'm sure it didn't carry a scent at all.

Last question ... some people say the cat would be more likely to come out at night. But this person saw my cat peek in the window during the day. And I would guess he would be more likely to move about during the day, since it's sunny and warmer and there are more people around? Night time would be the scariest time to move around, I would think, because that's when the predators come out too! What is your take on this?

Thanks again, everyone!

Interesting idea about the laser pointer ... he sure did love chasing that at home! I'll try it.

My husband is getting a humane trap from our local Farm & Fleet store. He tells me it's illegal to trap in our city. OK? Well it's also illegal to post flyers anywhere but your own property, and it's illegal to put flyers in mailboxes and it's illegal to put flyers on cars in parking lots and it's illegal to go in other peoples' yards and look for him ... EVERYTHING is illegal. The only legal thing I can do is sit and call his name from my front porch! This is all so ridiculous. I'll just make sure the trap isn't standing out in the open, which is bad because if I hide it, then it's hidden from the cat too!

My husband feels he is no longer in the area. But when he WAS in the area for 2 1/2 days, we certainly didn't "feel" it and he certainly didn't respond to our calls or the food and used litter we put out. So what scares us is that we could not attract him to our house thus far, and he's likely to be even farther away now than when we first tried attracting him to our house. I really feel like he just doesn't smell it, doesn't know it's our house, and wants to come home but doesn't know how.

This will be my last effort, I guess ... putting out the trap and smelly food and dirty clothes. We have to just live our lives at some point. We can't keep going out every day and doing the same thing over and over, calling him and walking around and using flashlights and he is never spotted.

A local breeder called my husband today when she saw the ad in the paper. First, she asked why we were only giving a $100 reward for a Bengal ... she said those are expensive purebred animals, people sell them for a lot more than that, why wouldn't we offer more? He explained that he's been neutered and isn't breedable and he's just our pet. She asked what we've done so far and had some suggestions similar to what I'm getting here on Cat Site. She told him she breeds Bengals but also takes in strays and has lots of cats of her own and has never lost one. One temporarily ran away for TWO YEARS and then came back. She said don't underestimate him, he can come home. I just feel that his days are numbered ... we've seen a fox and a coyote in our RESIDENTIAL neighborhood, and last night saw two possums .... HUGE .. one walked down the sidewalk and then slithered into a sewer! Interesting what you see when you actually look late at night. The wildlife that is around is scary, and he's also fighting the elements and hunger and I just can't believe his little body can withstand all that for very long.

What an emotional roller coaster it is when your beloved pet runs away! It's just completely draining.

Thanks again so much to all of your for your helpful insight! Question ... many of you mention having personal stories or stories you have heard where a cat was missing for a long time and then came back, but I'm wondering what the weather was like in those cases. It's been in the 20's at night here and is now warming up to almost 40 during the day, 30's at night (at least for now). Today more animals are out than I have seen lately, including 2 cats that I saw walking around. We got a Havahart trap from a store and lined it with newspaper, then put smelly tuna and salmon cat food cans inside (just opened, but full including juices). We then loaded the top and sides of the trap and surrounding area with dirty laundry (LOL). Then we littered catnip on the snow leading up the driveway. We walked around with flashlights at night prior to doing this, looking for new tracks, and saw none. It "feels" like he's moved somewhere else.

My husband woke up at 2:30 am and looked outside to see a stray cat (not ours) hesitantly walking up our driveway towards the trap. The cat spotted him in the window and got spooked and ran away. We've never seen the cat before and don't know where it came from, but it was definitely drawn to the tuna. I have no idea what kind of distance he came from. No more activity occurred throughout the night.

We feel that our home isn't a good location to catch Snickers. We have no bushes or foliage in front of the house. Neighbors don't have extensive foliage in front of theirs either and we've noticed that Snickers' tracks in other yards show that he walks along the bushes and stays close to cover. I do not think he is in our area anymore but have no idea if he is 1 block away, 2, or 3 ... or in which direction. Our postcards were delivered this morning to 200 neighbors and they include several photos of him and several phone numbers to call us, as well as a reward offering for his safe return.

My husband was at the vet this morning to drop off a postcard and the vet thought the postcards were a super good idea, he had never heard of anything like that done. He didn't think the trap would work but couldn't hurt. He thought walking around calling wouldn't work at all since cats hide and won't respond to calling from anyone, even their owners. He had a cat once that ran away and was gone 3-4 days, then came back. It seemed to be dying to get out ever since and ran away regularly after that. Each time, he was gone longer than the time before. The last time, he never came back and the vet found him dead in the alley, having been hit by a vehicle. He felt the cat would've probably kept coming back if it hadn't run into misfortune. He said the elements are probably taking their toll on our cat right now, but not enough to kill him, and that it all depends on where he is staying and whether he is eating/drinking.

I am going to move our trap to the neighbor's yard across the street tonight, since that is where Snickers ran after he got out and that is where the tracks are from earlier this week. It is also a few houses down from where he peeked in a neighbor's front window on Monday. If he is still in that area at all, I'm hoping the food draws him in. If not, and if we don't see new tracks, then I am probably going to give up the intensive search and just hope people see him and call based on the postcards. I still still put a fresh can of tuna out every night by my house in hopes we can become known as the "cat feeder" house and draw him in, but my hopes are definitely diminishing. I do not know if he doesn't recognize our home or if he doesn't want to go out in the open to come to our home, but he has not been in the area of our home since he ran almost a week ago. There are zero cat tracks in my yard and all of my neighbors' yards on our block. He spent a majority of his first days in the yards across the street, front and back yards.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I absolutely have already gotten my neighbor's permission to put the trap in her yard! LOL I would never just put a trap somewhere without permission. In fact, someone told me it's illegal to trap (hunting laws) so I called our Animal Control and our Humane Society to make sure, and they both said it's perfectly legal. It's not like I'm trying to trap any other animals, only my own, on private property. My neighbor, years ago, trapped and caught some squirrels and called Animal Control to ask what they wanted him to do with them and they told him it was illegal for him to do that. I could see that being illegal, trying to trap animals and upset the balance of nature or hunt out of season, but my case is entirely different. I may accidentally catch something else (I hope not), but if I do, I just let it go immediately.

As for the cans, lids were removed but I suppose the cans themselves could have sharp edges too. I don't want to use a paper plate because it's super cold out and windy, and I don't want the food drying so it doesn't smell as much, but I can put the food in small bowls instead for safety reasons. Thanks so much for the suggestions!