Missing a cat for the first time.

My little girl Little Owl has been missing for about three weeks now and I am incredibly stressed. I had to move away from home and that was a week after she went missing. We live out in the middle of nowhere in a tiny town. My fear is that a coyote got her or one of my neighbors dogs. I've put up a few posters and posted on Facebook to the people with my towns group. My mom also got one of her friends who is well known in town to go out and ask around. I don't know what to do. She is a little over a year old and can be quite skittish. The first time she "disappeared" she was under the house and was meowing to let us know. We have had no sign not even from the other two cats. Should I keep waiting or just move on? She was to help me with my depression and its been hard without her. Any advice would be great.

Jazlyn S.

Don't give up. My SIL's cat went missing about 5 months after they moved into a new home. He came home a month later as if nothing happened. 

However, since you moved in so soon before she may have trouble finding her way home. If where you were is within 10 miles I'd check there too incase she somehow made her way there.

If she's indoor only, did you put out her litter box so she can smell home? You could also rent a live trap from the local rescue or shelter and see if you can catch her incase shes coming out at night looking for food. 

If she's indoor/outdoor its more of just keeping your eyes open and searching all the little places you think are too small (although a trap might work too). 

Try contacting the local feral feeders and seeing if they can keep an eye out at their feeding stations or anyone in your area that feeds strays. Do you have a vet, shelter or pet store in town? Try putting up posters there too. It sounds like your town is small so some options just aren't available that bigger areas have. But you also have the benefit of a better chance of knowing your neighbors so you can talk to the sympathetic ones in a mile radius. I know your Moms friend did but it makes more of an impact if you knock on their doors and ask them to take a flyer and keep an eye out.  

We put out her litter box and our blanket for about two weeks. The litter box is still out. My neighbors already know and have been somewhat looking. We all know that coyotes come into town all the time and thats how most cats go missing there. She is quite shy and skittish so she would stay away from other people. I dont think we have a roadkill service or a feral cat feeding service. We have one vet and they already know. She is chipped so if she was brought in we would know. Unfortunatly her collar was not on but she had a flea collar on. If she was around the house our other two cats would give her away as to where she was or lead her back home. My family is still home but i moved away for school. My sister keeps looking and still hasnt seen her. The town is so small it would be hard for her to not been seen unless she went out to the farm fields.

It sounds like you are doing all you can. I have been right in your shoes so I understand your pain. I hope she comes home.

Jazlyn

My cat, Mouse went missing almost 1 month ago, and i've been through hell in these past 4 weeks. I've been thinking about "giving up" so many times, but it just doesn't seem like a possibility. Just like you i live in a small village, and it often feels like that if my cat was here, i would've found her already.

But, Mouse wasn't very friendly with strangers. She's curious, but also very scared of everything. And for me, one of the most hurtful thing was the amount of people with their negativity telling me she's dead and will not come back. I really hope we can prove them wrong.

My suggestion for you would be to spend 5-10 minutes of every hour outside once it gets dark until you go to sleep. You don't have to go looking, just be outside in case your cat shows up. I've seen a cat twice already this way that could be Mouse, but i was too slow to catch it, and didn't see much because it was too dark. If you can wake up early, do the same in the morning.

There are so many stories online of cats coming back home after weeks, even months like nothing happened, there's no reason for us not to be one of those stories.

One thing cats do really well is escaping from danger. They are fast, small, good climbers and have great reflexes. I once accidentally stepped on my cat as i was walking down the stairs, and by the time I've heard the meow and realized what happened, she was already across the yard hiding.

I'm not saying it's impossible for another animal to catch a cat, but it sure is damn hard.

Best wishes for you and Little Owl