10.5mth old Kitten ran away 12 days ago from new home :-(

Hi All

this is my first time posting here.

So here is the story......i tamed an outdoor feral cat (10.5mths old) enough where he could be pet and never hissed or anything.

Was very calm around me anyway.....just hung out my at front porch and ate his food and slept in an outdoor cat house.

Well since his mom passed away on Jan 4th I decided to give him a chance at a better life (or so i thought).

Ive done pet rescue for 10 years and gotten over 15 feral kittens into good homes.

So this little fellow - Zo - got adopted into a new home about an hour away from me on Jan 14, 2013 and on Jan 20 the new owner carelessly opened the door and he bolted.  There are 3 other cats in that house btw.

There has been no signs of him at all.  Ive posted flyers, contacted neighbors, spoken to the nearby Church and School.

Any inputs? suggestions?  hopes?  Prayers will be greatly appreciated.

From all your experience:

1.  is there hope?  is he alive and hunting and maybe with a nearby cat somewhere

2. could he have dropped dead under the stress of being captured and put into a new house?

3. is there any hope that he might return to this new adoptive home since he was indoors for 1 week (although he refused to move

from his one corner nor did he want to eat)

Im truly heartbroken....never had a pet rescue situation go so wrong.

What a shame, anything could have happened, I would try and reason that he got lost and did not know where the new house is and someone has spotted him and are offering him food. He may be trying to find the area he came from. Is he microchipped?, so sorry that some people are not aware about the importance when moving to Secure the cat for a week or two to an inside room or something.. Hope he is ok, must be heavy on your heart huh?

no he is not microchipped.  he was never picked up per se since he was born in the wild and still part feral.

however he was pet and fed etc....and was very calm at that point.

the person who took him promised to keep him indoors for atleast 3 weeks but so much for human understanding.

they dont care at all that he is missing cause they had no attachment.

the neighborhood was very nice with tons of people feeding other strays/rescues.

I am prayful that he is being fed.

I dont know if he can make his way 40 miles back to where he is from :-(

Let's hope for a miracle . Sounds like you doing all the " missing cat" and not the new owners, I hope he is approachable and hungry enough to let someone help him. This has got to be driving you crazy but ( I work at a. Shelter) I have heard some pretty amazing stories .

Yes it is like u cannot imagine....i really am losing my mind.
What "amazing stories"?

I am praying he is hungry enough to be helped.

Well we have had some super kind people take ALOT of effort when they see a scared stray cat and though they can't keep it at least they bring it in to our No-kill shelter. One lady spent over a week trying to get a cat to come eat on her porch so she could get him in a carrier and get him to us, and he spent many many months in our facility but someone came along that actually wanted a fearful or just a type of kitty that would be hard to place and she adopted him and has kept up his progress in informative emails. He has taken almost 3 months to even let her pet him but he has a forever home as a indoor cat. It seems like almost all our least adoptable spend endless time in their tiny kennels but then someone ( angel ) adopted them. If not for this I could never work there. Really there are some wonderful caring people out there even if they cant keep, will help a cat. I also hear and know of horrible things happen to outdoor cats and it makes me sick and ashamed of the humane race. However, the good stories do happen and that makes me restore my faith in mankind. I am glad he was in good area at least. Has anyone checked with the local shelter yet? Maybe he got picked up, now that would be another miracle. Hang in there, at least you cared and got him to be trustful of you and that may influence his approachability .

Thank u so much for ur words of encouragement!! I will keep hoping and praying that some kind folks feed him.....and mostly that he does follow some neighborhood cats home.
Im just discouraged that i didnt see him at all......but maybe he was hiding or sleeping and didnt hear me.
Please keep him in prayer!

Oh dear; I'm so sorry this has happened.  It does sound like you are more concerned than the owners!  Have you checked shelters in that area? 

This might have some helpful information for you: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/248019/tips-for-finding-a-lost-cat

I hope you find him!!

Yes the new owners only looked in their backyard and that's it :-(

Checked everywhere. Just at a loss :-(

Thanks for all your kind words.....just need a lot of prayers now!

I had the exact same situation happen, where I captured a feral kitten, found it a good home (I thought), and they only kept him in for a week. He was only 10 weeks old. I beat myself up over it, hopefully he found someone else that leaves food out. His mom was there too, I can't believe he would leave her. You may keep trying, especially with radio and  posters. Now hat its been almost 2 weeks, you may want to go back one more time and look again, maybe he's more comfortable with being out in the open. I'll pray for his safe return, or for him to find a home.
 

Im so sorry that happened to your 10 week old fellow. Thats sad. Zorro was at least 10.5 mths.....still a baby in my books.
I was there just yesterday and looked everywhere. There are so many houses, schools, churches....i knew it was a long short.

Praying someone sees the flyers and calls eventually.

Pls do keep praying.

Thank you.

I am so sorry that happened to your feral kitty. Please don't be hard on yourself. You did the right thing by trying to get him into a home situation. These things do happen and surprisingly these cats do know how to survive. Hopefully he will just stay around the house where he bolted and is just hiding out. Make sure the person leaves out food too as there is a chance he will stick around close to the house especially if there is food/water. It is hard not to worry and my heart goes out to you. for Zorro.

Thank you for the kindness.
He says he is putting food n water out but how to know for sure? He may have quit a week later for all i know :-(

As long as he can survive and maybe make it to another house for help....thats all that matters.