lost cat - spotted - how to lure him home?

Hi all!

Our 4 yrs old neutred male outdoor access cat got lost a week ago, the same day I went to a short trip, but my daughter (16 yrs) stayed at home to take care of the cat. Our neighbors recently took a dog and I heard later that the same day (we live in a village) there was a massive grass-cutting action on nearby fields. Thera were several stress factors... In short, the cat didnt respond to her call in the evening and neither in the morning and has been lost ever since.

We have looked everywhere, put food in our garage, distributed posters... 2 days ago a cat very similar to ours was spotted in nearby fields. We rushed there and got a glimpse of a clone of our lost Kity in a desert ghost house in fields. I am not 100% sure that it was him, but him being a white half Persian I am quite positive it might be him. He stared at us and the escaped. Has he gone wild? 

I left food near that house and have checked 5-6 timed per day, even at night, but have not spotted him there any more. The lady saw her near that house and we saw him there too, so he must have adopted it as a new home maybe. The first night the food was gone, but there was another cat around too.

Does anyone have any advice how to lure him home? Im a physical wreck already and I think that I will soon be fired cos I yawn at work all day... We miss him sooo...

You could try spraying catnip around your home and leaving salmon right outside your door. However this may attract other cats. It depends if he is an indoor cat (never leaving your home without a harness on) or outside cat able to wander freely. Indoor cats will most likely be hiding near your home. It is their instincts to remain quiet even if they hear or see someone the recognise. There may be a reason your cat ran away like if he was scared or feeling ill. Cats have strong survival methods so can go a while without food or water. Keep checking shelters just in case someone has handed him in; cats have returned in the past within a few days, weeks or months. Make sure you have put up plenty of posters. One method I have read about was putting a baby monitor beside the food outside your house so if your cat takes the food you will be able to hear him.

Hope this helps and you find your cat soon.

He has not gone wild. He's probably quite scared.

I'm so sorry this happened.

There's different ways to approach this. You can either try to lure him home with scent and food, or you can go look for him.

You can put out a litter box (even if it's been cleaned, it'll still have his scent on it). You can get a t-shirt really good and sweaty, and set that out there - maybe under a food dish. Hopefully others have more ideas.

If you want to get active, here a description of what to do: http://www.lost-pets.org/content/view/3/1/


I hope he hasn't been hurt.

Thanks for the advice! I will put his litter box in our garage that is always open, and some of our clothes... and of course some food.

He is an outdoor/indoor cat who spends most of the day outside.

If he is really the cat spotted near the abandoned house why doesnt he come home? He should know the way, the distance is ca 1 km.

Maybe he started to like the 100% outdoor life too much or the spotted cat is not him...

We visited the hut again, no sign of him, the food was intact.

A little update: I borrowed a trap where you can put some food and then the door closes behind, it should not hurt him, only scare a bit, but I see no other solution... Anyway I go and check every couple of hours after the trap is set.

The good news is that I saw him 2 days ago in the garden of that abandoned house at midnight, but he escaped again when I called him.

He did not go in the trap even though I decorated it with shrimps, his favourite... clever cat!

This situation is soooo frustrating because

1) i dont know for 100% if it is him, although white cats are quite rare, so it is very likely

2) I dont understand why he doesnt come home! the distance is ca 1 km, he could cover it in 5 mins, and there is food waiting for him in our garage. Im sure he would remember the way.

Does it mean that cat is not mine and mine is lost?

Arghhh... all my life is upside down! I hope this cat is him and he will come home soon!

The trap sound like a great idea to me! Just leave it overnight and you will probably catch something in it. :nod:

He probably is just a bit shaken up and feeling nervous to cross the big field since he probably got scared by the dog or the lawn mower. Check the trap tomorrow and see what happens!

The saga continues... I have seen my cat 3 times (Im 99% sure it is him), but - he doesn't come home, but prefers to chill around this new "ghost" hut in the fields (why doesn't he come home???, the distance is 1 km) and - he doesn't get caught by the trap! I fill the trap with delicious things, but he either doesn't touch the food or eats it in the trap so cleverly that the trap doesn't close. I never though he is so clever haha! I continue with the trap and visit often that hut in the hope that he will get tired of the game some day.

If he is eating the food and not springing the trap, you need to either place the food further back in the trap so he has to step on the pad, or get a more sensitive trap. Yours sounds faulty.

It is also possible he is getting food from another source, be it hunting birds,mice; garbage; or another human.

If he has ever been trapped before, he may never go into the trap.  (I tried trapping a lost cat that I'd trapped a year ago and adopted out into a Forever Home 20 miles from where I live.  She never went into the trap, although six other cats did.  She eventually found her way back home, less than 500 yards from where I was trying to trap her).

Try mixing a little bit of catnip with the food, food should be mushy (like Pate), such that he can't grab a piece and back out of the trap.  Sprinkle tuna or fish oil and small pieces of mushy food from the entrance of the trap back to where the food is.  If he is the suspicious type of cat, use as bait the kind of food you normally give him.  (I was trying to trap a very skittish, pregnant cat using mackerel--a special treat.  Cat was suspicious of the food--she normally got Friskies--so one day I used Friskies as bait.  Finally trapped her after two months [though not before she gave birth.)

Other than that, I agree with Minka--check the trap springing mechanism.  I'm technologically backwards so can't describe/explain how to make the trap more sensitive, try looking on the internet or call any of the rescue/TNR groups for hints.

A little update... I trapped the white cat near the "ghost" house, it was not Kiti. I was so sad! I was stupid to think that he lives so far from our house. The white clone lives eventually in the nearby village, he bolted in that direction every time I saw him. Hence the moral that even a owner cannot recognize his cat!

Since then I have concentrated my search in the nearby area, walking around, putting food in my garage, putting up posters and talking to the neigbors. I have received zero calls as poster feedback, but a neighbor mentioned - a heavy-metal guy who probably never saw my poster haha - that while walking his dog he has seen my cat twice next to my house! He knows my cat... this gave me a little hope. I set up another feeding station in the fields near our house, and a trail camera, but today I saw on the video that a bird was eating my buffet. argggghhhh

If Kiti is hiding somewhere nearby it is really weird that he doesnt come home for food... I continue the surveillance and everything.

OH dear, I am just reading this and am so sorry about your Kiti. You say this cat was already an indoor/outdoor cat? So that would be very odd that Kiti would not just come home. Usually it is the cats who are indoor only that hide and freak out about being outdoors and lost. They seem to loose their sense of security and don't know how to act, hence they seem wild when they are not. BUT Kiti was already used to going outside, so this has me worried and wondering why he is not coming home or to your yard/back door. That is what he would do right? when you let him outside. He would just come home on his own or come when you called? I do wish you all the best in finding him. I am sending loads of vibes to you and your family AND to Kiti to come home soon.

Feravl, thanks a lot for your comforting words! I have been so down this last month because my Kiti has still not come home. I have been searching and I continue searching as much as I can. I also put up posters, but recently they were all removed, probably by local authorities.... arghhh!

I leave a kitty buffet in my garage day and night. I have developed a small theory about Kiti being missed... around the time he went missing a new alpha-tomcat appeared in our neighborhood. I don't know if he is stray or belongs to someone. He eats now my kitty buffet day and night and checks in my garage every hours or so (haha) in the hope there is new food. He also gets into fights with our neighbor's cat, but he is also quite aggressive, so they probably respect each other now. Around the time Kiti went missing (a month ago) I heard those fights already... the fights continue.

I fear that the Alpha might have injured Kiti a bit or at least frightened (mine is neutered and very baby-like), so that Kiti is now afraid of coming back home. The Alpha might have made my garage his territory... urine and so on... so feeding him might be counterproductive! I don't know what to do! I cannot trap him either because he might belong to someone and I don't want him any harm, I just don't want him to keep Kiti away. What to do???

you might want to eliminate the food and just keep the litterbox and your clothes out -- only those things that your cat would recognize and care about.

Thanks! I followed you advice. My cat was not eating in my garage anyway. I try to ween the macho cat. wont putting any more food out for now.

Yesterday I was wandering in the fields at midnight, it was pouring and it was horribly dark, felt like in a horror movie...

then I spotted again (I had a flashlight) a pair of cat eyes! I have been seeing this cat (I suppose it is a cat because a rabbit or a fox would run seeing a human being am I right? maybe 5th time.

He was in a different field now, but always ca 1 km perimeter from our house. It moved like a cat...

I tried to approach the animal, he didnt move... I was calling my cat s name... when I was quite near then it moved further...

then I spotted it again further. FInally I left some food near a roofless shed in the field and I will go today and investigate further.

If the food is eaten will put some more food and my camera.

It was pouring cats and dogs, why was the animal in the middle of the field and not in bushes? Hunting?

johanna36 said:

Thanks! I followed you advice. My cat was not eating in my garage anyway. I try to ween the macho cat. wont putting any more food out for now.

Yesterday I was wandering in the fields at midnight, it was pouring and it was horribly dark, felt like in a horror movie...
then I spotted again (I had a flashlight) a pair of cat eyes! I have been seeing this cat (I suppose it is a cat because a rabbit or a fox would run seeing a human being am I right? maybe 5th time.
He was in a different field now, but always ca 1 km perimeter from our house. It moved like a cat...

I tried to approach the animal, he didnt move... I was calling my cat s name... when I was quite near then it moved further...
then I spotted it again further. FInally I left some food near a roofless shed in the field and I will go today and investigate further.
If the food is eaten will put some more food and my camera.

It was pouring cats and dogs, why was the animal in the middle of the field and not in bushes? Hunting?

Click to expand...

AWW hun, I am so sorry Kiti is still not home. AND - yes - it must have felt like a horror movie in those woods. It definitely could have been a cat. A fox or rabbit would have definitely run off FAST. :nod: It is just amazing what we put ourselves through in the name of love for our cats and/or cats we don't even know yet.

I am wondering, now, after hearing about the "new" tomcat in the territory. Could possibly be the reason Kiti is missing. If it were me, I would try to trap this male cat right away and get him TNRd - and maybe your could even check with the TNR organization for barn programs. Meaning, Horse barns and farmers are always looking for feral cats to help with rodent control. Makes a nice home for many feral cats too. Then if you could relocate this tomcat it might bring peace back into your neighborhood and bring Kiti home. :dk: Just a thought. Anyway - more of these for you and more of these for Kiti

Thanks for these nice words! Even my close friends think I am crazy loving this cat too much. I feel lonely in this grief... I was thinking about trapping this tomcat, but on the other hand I dont know if he belongs to someone.... Here in Luxembourg in Europe people are very conservative and we dont have these programs... he would be put in a shelter or maybe even put down. I just dont feed him any more and I will observe the situation.

People are rich here, but incredibly cruel! Someone ripped off all my posters and I had to replace them all, but then again some were gone the next day! All they care about are their posh cars and houses and if someone puts a small poster on their lighting pole it spoils the perfect view! Arggggghhhh!!! I was so angry yesterday!

Im starting to think that someone stole Kiti. Last week all my posters disappeared the same day, as if someone had done a systematic rip-off. The local municipality confirmed that they didnt do it. It could not be children either, because the posters were gone in a 2 km radius, so someone drove from pole to pole. I have doubts that someone is keeping him inside.

2 days ago I put up new posters, one was gone by yesterday. Yesterday I replaced that poster with a new one that I put on a different pole and today that was gone too! It takes just one day and they vanish! Is it normal???

Tonight I will put up a poster in the same place the old was and I will hide my trail camera in the bush. The risk is that I wont get e good picture and yet bigger risk is that someone will see the blinking red light, but I have to take the risk. If there is a certain person ripping off my poster then something is not right!

johanna36 said:

Im starting to think that someone stole Kiti. ... If there is a certain person ripping off my poster then something is not right!

Click to expand...

I think you might be on to something here, especially since it is not just posters in one area, but all of them turning up being gone. I'm praying that you can identify this person. Then, figure out what to do next.

Sending many positive and prayers that you'll find or get your Kiti back soon. This has just got to be a nightmare for you!! 

Update... Ive discarded the theory that Kiti might be stolen. The posters are in place, no-one has ripped them off. It looks to me that the "culprit" is still the alpha tomcat. I dont want him any harm, but if I dont do anything I doubt Kiti will come home. The local shelter borrowed me a human trap and we decided to castrate him. He entered my trap the very first night, but I mixed him up with our neighbor's cat (both are dark) and released him.... arrghh! I doubt he will enter my trap again because he seems smart!

Im on sick leave and feel so weak and have no lust to trap cats... so I will leave some food in the trap tonight and will leave the trap just open to attract the male to the trap.

I will set up the cam too.

No sign of Kiti, although I keep walking in the fields and questioning neighbors close and far.

Any experience on how to lure home a cat displaced by another male is welcome!