Lost cat. May have botched the trapping attempt!

samsoncat85

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Hi. Need some advice on trapping a lost kitty. I lost my indoor cat a week ago...through an accidently open window. No sightings until maybe last night. I've been working with a humane trap in my yard to find him. Last night I think i may have got him! I came home and found the trap closed and food gone. Unfortunately this was while i was out for the evening..just a couple hours. And I'd asked my neighbour to check the trap for me. I'd kind of lost hope actually it's been set a week now. So when I came home and found the food gone and trap closed. So I went and asked my neighbour what happened. She gave me a flimsy story about how she went to check it and her own (indoor only) cat had escaped too and got in there and ate the food. (But he didnt eat all of it she said... well all of the food was gone when i got home). Frankly it sounded like it was a lie. I think my cat was in there and she may have opened the trap outside trying to pick him up. Instead of bringing it inside as she should have. I realized I never told her how to handle it if he was in there! :(

If this is true...then have I scared my poor kitty away further? Will he never enter the trap again? How should i proceed?? My kids miss him. I live in Northern ontario and it starting to get cold! Poor baby. I live in the city but with bush all behind me. His name is Samson. He's beautiful and very brave and personable even with strangers... black short hair...4 years old. :(

Thanks for any advice on how to proceed...
 
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samsoncat85

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Hi. Well it seems i am wrong! my (very nice) neighbour explained what happened further... her cat was not inside the trap just beside it.  And I now believe perhaps a fox upset my trap. Like it was able to reach in and get the food without getting stuck and then backed out, with the door closing behind it.  :( So now I am back at square 1. Thinking my cat may have gone much further than i thought... thus he can't hear us or smell the food or litter I've spread around the area. And now i seem to be attracting bigger wild animals with the food and trapping attempts.  Its been 6 days and my desperation to find him has turned to very little hope left. We have the occasional coyote in our area, and birds of prey. :( I'm so sad that I feel he isnt coming back.  Sorry to my neighbour. 
 

catlover73

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Years ago one of my cats got out and hid in a small wetland that borders our property. We saw her a couple times but she was scared and kept running from us. It took me over two weeks to trap here. Raccoons kept getting in our trap and setting it off. I was beginning to think I would never see her again. There was an elderly couple that lived a few doors down from. They spent a lot of time sitting outside on the deck and knew about our missing cat. They helped us out by calling animal control when wild-life got caught in the trap. They even had some of our wet food to use so the trap could be reset. One day early in the morning I was woken up by my doorbell being rung repeatedly. My cat had finally gone in the trap. The couple that was helping me woke me up and told me I needed to come get the trap. While I walked over to pick up the trap with my cat in it hubby went and got a cat carrier. He pulled the car out of the garage. We secured the garage and opened the trap to check on the cat. She immediately climbed on me and was clinging to me. I sat in the garage holding her and talking to her. We gave her another can of food and some water. After that hubby placed her in the carrier and we took her to the vet for a check-up. We have other cats and wanted to be sure it was safe for everyone. My baby was fine and the vet said it was safe for her to be around the other cats. I am hoping sharing my story will give you hope.
 
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samsoncat85

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He came home! Its been a week of setting the trap, and I'd almost given up hope. But then we found him in the humane trap this morning on our deck! So he's safe, fed and sleeping on my daughters bed. Thanks for the encouragement! :)
 

Primula

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He came home! Its been a week of setting the trap, and I'd almost given up hope. But then we found him in the humane trap this morning on our deck! So he's safe, fed and sleeping on my daughters bed. Thanks for the encouragement! :)
Wow, you don't know how lucky you are! Actually, you do. That is so amazing & gives hope to those who post here who have lost their cats.
 
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