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PLEASE HELP My cat keeps running away

post #1 of 14
8/25/10 at 2:59pm
Thread Starter 
I have 8 cats all spayed or neutered that live in my barn. I've had this one cat, Shirley (he's a boy but I found out after I named him) for 8 years. There is only one older semi wild female cat and all the others are under 2 years old. Shirley has lived with us since I found him abandoned. Just recently in the last couple of months, he has run off to a neighbor farm and is living in an old abandoned house trailer. The trailer is about 250 yards from our place. I have brought him home 5 times already. When I find him in the trailer he's always exactly in the same spot just lying there. He will come to me each time and when he gets home, I put him in the tack room and feed him canned food and he eats like he is starving. If I allow him out of the tack room he will go right back to the old trailer. My tack room is huge with litter boxes, heated cat beds and free feeding. I cannot figure out why he keeps returning to the old trailer where there is no water or food for him. He's maintaining his weight because I go about every 3 days and bring him home. ANY SUGGESTIONS?? Can this be stopped? I want him to stay home where he's safe and loved. There are no fights other than play between my cats and they have over 16 acres and a big barn to stake out territory. Any help would be appreciated!!!!
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post #2 of 14
8/25/10 at 3:08pm
Can you put him in the house instead? Perhaps he is having conflicts with another cat, or there is a stray at the trailer that he is attracted to. Unless he sprays (and many do even after a neuter) I would try him as a house pet for awhile.
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post #3 of 14
8/25/10 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you Hissy for the advice but there is no way he can live in our house. He sheds like crazy and mostly because we don't want our animals in our house. All the other cats have come in as kittens and grown up but I guess he could have a conflict with one of them. I haven't noticed them fighting or anything and tonight they all came into the tack room and ate together.
There is a wild black cat over near that trailer house. I accidentally caught him when I was trying to trap a female pit bull someone had dumped. I borrowed a live cage trap from the shelter here and caught the cat instead so I know he/she lives over that way somewhere. I let it go because it was so wild. Looking back now I guess I should have taken it to the vet, had it fixed then re-released it to it's territory. I guess that could be one reason Shirley keeps going over there..and yes, I've seen Shirley spray and I know the others do as well...yet, another reason none of them are in our house .
I guess the only thing to do is just keep bringing him back home. Once our winter (Colorado) sets in, maybe he'll stay here when the snow flies. I guess another good thing is I at least, know where he is if he is missing.
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post #4 of 14
8/25/10 at 7:44pm
You could always build an enclosure for him and somehow attach it to the tack room/barn. That way they'd have an area to roam and climb and such, but not be able to run away.
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post #5 of 14
8/26/10 at 6:19am
Thread Starter 
Thanks Stephanie and I have thought of that. Building an enclosure translates into materials purchased to build it and my husband having to do it which translates into "it ain't gonna happen". He already thinks I'm obsessive about cats anyhow and I'm really not or they probably would be living in the house.

I'm mostly interested in WHY Shirley is doing this. I don't understand why a cat would wander away where there is no food or water for him. Usually it's the other way around where they wander up to a place because there IS food and water. I was inside that trailer to get him the other day and I bet it was 95 degrees and there he was just curled up happy as a clam. I don't get it as he has never done this before and has plenty of places to hide in our hay stack or the barn or the little patch of woods right here. I guess it's possible that he is slipping back over here at night and eating but he eats like he's starving when I bring him home each time!!

It's just frustrating...
Thanks for your suggestion tho....
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post #6 of 14
8/28/10 at 1:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by spottedpony View Post

I'm mostly interested in WHY Shirley is doing this.
One reason could be just to get away from the younger cats. You said most of them are 2 years old. At that age they are in their teens. So they are more aggressive at play, sometimes noisier and tend not to listen to their elders.
All my cats spend their time outdoors too. I have an older one (10+) and she sometimes gets frustrated with the young ones so she tends to go to isolated places.
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post #7 of 14
8/28/10 at 12:03pm
Thread Starter 
You know that could certainly be the reason. What gets me is if I didn't go get him every other day or so I think he's just stay there and starve!! I brought him home again Tuesday and kept him locked in the tack room. I started feeling sorry for him so moved the block from the cat door. He stayed until Thursday. I went there yesterday to check on him and there he was in the trailer again! It's a mystery!! damn cat. Guess he and I will just keep up this "cat and mouse" game until maybe one day he'll decide to stay here again. If anyone can think of anything else let me know. I sure appreciate all the comments you guys
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post #8 of 14
9/3/10 at 4:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spottedpony View Post
I don't understand why a cat would wander away where there is no food or water for him.
Isn't it the call of the wild? One of our 7 cats, Goldie (a Garfield cat), is a fixed male who showed up in our backyard a few years ago. Goldie just will not stay with us, but always returns. He can leave us for 3 days at a time, but always returns starving and with cuts, etc. because he fights with other cats. It's very unsettling for my husband since Goldie has everything he needs here, but he just loves to cross the street and head out for adventures. If I were you, I would leave him where he is and, most likely, he'll come back of his own accord. Maybe he's just wanting to be independent and you constantly bringing him back only reinforces his need to leave.
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post #9 of 14
9/3/10 at 4:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spottedpony View Post
Building an enclosure translates into materials purchased to build it and my husband having to do it which translates into "it ain't gonna happen"....
I'm sorry, but I am laughing. I think you are married to my husband's twin!
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post #10 of 14
9/3/10 at 4:53pm
Usually one cat bullies another into leaving (we had a spayed barn cat female that would run off all other female cats!)

Even tho you don't see it, one or more cats is picking on him making him leave. Is there any chance you can turn him into an indoor cat or build a run onto the house where he can stay inside but go out protected?
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post #11 of 14
9/3/10 at 9:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Primula View Post
I'm sorry, but I am laughing. I think you are married to my husband's twin!
Primula...glad I'm not alone! He loves all our animals but it ain't gonna happen building anything for my cats. His answer is "they have a $30,000 barn out there with heated beds, insultated tack room and are already spoiled rotten. They can live out there in their kitty condo."

Well, I have left Shirley over there since Monday and I just couldn't stand it any longer and had to go get him today. As usual, he came to me just meowing away. I put him in the car and brought him back home. Presently he's locked in the tack room...maybe I should just leave him but it kills me to know he's 200 yards away with no food or water.

Thank you to all for the advice and help!!
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post #12 of 14
9/3/10 at 9:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45 View Post
Usually one cat bullies another into leaving (we had a spayed barn cat female that would run off all other female cats!)

Even tho you don't see it, one or more cats is picking on him making him leave. Is there any chance you can turn him into an indoor cat or build a run onto the house where he can stay inside but go out protected?
Hi Golden Kitty...that very well could be happening. I just figured we had so much room here that they would all work it out. Plus, next to my old semi-feral 15 year old sister cats, he's the oldest one here and has been here the longest.
See above posts..he can't live inside our house. We don't let any of our animals in. During the winter the dogs sleep in our heated garage and the cats have a heated tack room with warming beds for each.
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post #13 of 14
9/4/10 at 12:03pm
How does he get entrance to the abandoned house trailer. Maybe you could concentrate your efforts there and fix it so there is no way for him to get in.
Then he might come back home.
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post #14 of 14
9/5/10 at 3:15pm
Thread Starter 
The trailer is not on our property. Half of the siding is falling off and it's not skirted and all the windows are broken out..There's no way I can board it all up since it's not mine. I'll just keep going to get him every day or so and hope for the best.
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