Need help - cat is lost inside

Had two cats ages 3-4 adopted a third age 5. Brought the new cat home and kept him in a seperate room, plan was to slowly introduce him to the other two. Problem is last week the new cat darted at the door and got out. Last I had seen him was Thursday morning and nothing since. I live alone in an older big house and could never look/find every nook and cranny.

It's been about a week since the new kid darted out the door - I leave out food and water but don't know if he's eating as it could be the other two. The new cat isnt use to me either and growls and hisses at me so calling him wont do any good.

Should I be concerned or is this normal?

I would recommend you get a trap baited with some really stinky food and lock your other 2 kitties up so they won't get caught in it. Put all other food up so the new cat's only option is what's in the trap.

Once you have him/her start over with the socializing but choose a location that has 2 doors to get into. For instance I have 2 bedrooms that share a bath. When I had my last kitten in his saferoom, I always went in through the other bedroom and through the bathroom. It limits their ability to run if they do charge the door.

Also, be sure to read the sticky on introducing a new cat.

Sorry your new cat got out of his safe room. Do you think he got out of the house too? Was he microchipped? collar? You mention he hisses/growls at you, so assuming you adopted a feral cat? if so, then he will know how to survive if he got out of the house. I am so sorry though, because there is a chance he took off in search of his old territory. If you think he is still in the house, then I would confine the other two cat's to that safe room. Then you can leave food in a trap in the house so you can recapture him. Please, keep us posted!

I don't think he was a feral but could have been early on. When I met him at his foster home he was an inside cat but he did hiss at me then and according to the foster he takes time to warm up to someone.

I tried putting the other two cats in a room for the night and put out food so I can know for sure that MIA cat is eating but that didn't last long. The two cats made so much noise and were scratching at the door so much that at 3am I had to get some sleep and let them out.

Still no new sightings from new cat.

Sorry about your cat, too.

I would sprinkle unscented bath powder or corn starch around some nooks and crannies.  If you have crawl spaces/eaves, put some there too.  Ditto around any water sources.  The idea is that the cat will walk through the powder, you see his/her footprints so you have at least some idea where the missing cat is.  Put food and water there.  If the cat escaped the house, you can set a trap outside (keep your other cats inside).

Cats can live a long time without food, but can only survive a few days without water source.  That water source can be condensation from a water pipe or air conditioning unit, so if you have access to those areas, put down food and water.

And if the cat lived outside, he may very well try returning to where he originally came from.  "Buckley" freaked out when we put him into a cat carrier to go to his Forever Home; he was in my friend's spare room for almost a year being resocialized.  Two miles and two weeks later, he turned up at my cat colony, where I originally trapped him.  (He was successfully retrapped and adopted out a few months later.)

He is chipped and no luck last night trying to trap him. I have also not seen him since last Thursday either. I doubt he found his way outside because I have one cat who use to be indoor/outdoor and tries to find any way out - and since he hasn't found a way out I doubt new cat did.

Cookin said:

He is chipped and no luck last night trying to trap him. I have also not seen him since last Thursday either. I doubt he found his way outside because I have one cat who use to be indoor/outdoor and tries to find any way out - and since he hasn't found a way out I doubt new cat did.

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No luck yet?  Do you have mattresses with Box Springs?  Check to see if he got up inside of the box springs - we used to have a cat that would hide underneath the bed and inside the second part of the mattress.  Check cupboards you may have left open too, he also used to open them and crawl inside.  Another really strange place to find a cat is INSIDE of a couch and INSIDE the wall.  If you know that there is obvious entries into the walls, I suggest putting your ear to a wall and tapping on it every few feet to hear shuffling of little kitty feet.

Found him, just have no idea how to get him out/down.

He's in the ceiling/wall and I have no idea how he got up there.  He's able to move freely so I want to assume that he can get down if he wants to.  I'm going to bait a trap with tuna pretty much right below where he is.  He let me feed him tuna using a wooden spoon today, didn't want me getting too close so there was no way for me to grab him.

Oh my goodness, you have a real ceiling cat!  Aha...I really wish you the best of luck and let's hope he comes out safely.  The fact that he let you feed him / that he even ate means he trusts you a little bit. 
 

3am Update!

Got him! Put him back in his safe room, filled both his food and water dish up to the top, he was going to town on the water when I left him. I did notice a cut on his tail, when I tried to investigate he hissed at me, it looks like it is starting to scab over but it's something I will be watching. I left the light on for him to eat/drink in and put plenty of blankets in a dark cubby hole for him.

Great news!

Cookin said:

3am Update!
Got him! Put him back in his safe room, filled both his food and water dish up to the top, he was going to town on the water when I left him. I did notice a cut on his tail, when I tried to investigate he hissed at me, it looks like it is starting to scab over but it's something I will be watching. I left the light on for him to eat/drink in and put plenty of blankets in a dark cubby hole for him.

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Ah I'm so happy.  I was worried for you guys for a second there.  Great job!  Good luck too!

It is amazing to me how these kitties can find a way into such spaces and hideouts INSIDE a house!! I am thrilled to read this update! Great news and great job!!!

I was following this thread and I'm so glad you found him.  How is he doing now, do you have any new updates for us?

He is back up there

I put him in the larger room that connects to the utility room and shut the door to the utility room.  I guess the door doesn't shut all that well (just moved, figuring out these kind of quirks on the new place) and he got back up there.  Before he went ceiling bound again he was actually letting me pet his head and wanted to be petted. 

I was going to put some cardboard or something over that hole but figured I had time and this weekend I was swamped with work and moving into the new place still (had some heavy furniture and TVs I was waiting on help for).  So I guess I'll be trapping again tonight - at least I know he likes tuna.

Really wish there was a fast way for adult cats to all like each other and get use to each other - that's why he's up there, hiding from the 2 other resident cats.  They don't actually have to like each other, just to co-exist together is all I'm asking for.

Update:

I got him to come back down on his own last night, just as he was starting to come all the way down to the ground resident cat #1 popped his head in and all hell broke lose.  Cat fighting is really really loud...long story short he is back up there.

I blocked off the entire lower level for just the new cat, problem is that the two other residential cats can't access their cat genie so put up two more boxes until I can get that changed.

Cats I'm finding out are much different then dogs, have always had labs in the past.  New Lab meets Old Lab, they sniff each other for 2 minutes and become BFFs and try to figure out how to get food off the counter together.

Cookin said:

Update:
Cats I'm finding out are much different then dogs, have always had labs in the past.  New Lab meets Old Lab, they sniff each other for 2 minutes and become BFFs and try to figure out how to get food off the counter together.

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That's a perfect description! Your new guy sounds like he's going to need a bit more time to settle in.

How can I get my two other cats to chill around him?  I'm trying the towel/blanket scent thing and it's been around 3 weeks since I got the new guy and it hasn't been going so great.

There's going to be a cat behavioral expert, Pam Johnson-Bennett, doing a guest stint here at TCS next week. She should be able to give you some helpful tips. Perhaps you could have your questions ready to submit Monday?
There are also articles and threads that might help:
Introducing Cats to Cats
Introducing a new cat to your old cat

I will probably write up my entire new cat adventures and see if she has any tips or advice on where to go from here.  Right now I have my entire lower level shut off to the new cat, however the utility room which has the cat genie is apart of this.  So my two resident cats are back to using a litter box and I miss them using the genie - I clean the boxes but you can now tell I have cats the moment you step into my house were as prior I had friends who came over and forgot I even had cats because there was no smell (no litter box smell).

And I just want a somewhat peaceful house again honestly.

And as of this morning new cat is still a ceiling cat.