Kitty ran away...help!

My boyfriends cat Bowie ran away. She bolted out the door 3 days ago and hasn't been seen since. It is so sad. She was such a cool little kitty, I am the one who took her in to find her a new home for someone else who couldnt keep her and ended up giving her to him.

Anyway, we have left food and put her dirty litter and her "sister" Kink's dirty litter outside which I heard is good to do in hopes the cat will pick up the scent in the air. Also, we hung his sweaty workout shirts outside so she can smell his scent.

There are a lot of strays around the area so it might not have been her that ate it. We put lost cat fliers on all the telephone poles around the area. Also, the day she got out, he followed fresh pawprints halfway across town. We notified the animal control and the vet clinics around here and put an ad in the paper. I can't think of anything else we can do!

Unfortunately, on top of everything else, she was not spayed. I don't care if she comes back pregnant, we just want her back you know! She was just starting a heat cycle when she left.

Question time:
1)Do you think she might just be staying out til her heat cycle is over? Or would she have come back by now? Like I said it has been 3 days.

2)Can cats get lost and not be able to find their way back home?

3)Do you think if she hasn't been back by now that someone must have taken her in or she must have gotten hurt?

4)She is a pretty shy cat and rather clumsy, does this factor in when trying to find their way home or is it an instinct to find their ways around?

5)Any other suggestion of things to do? I am going to try to find a trap to trap whoever has been eating the food. I am afraid that she has been coming back just when no one is home.

THANKS! SORRY FOR THE LENGTH!

Hi Jen,

I am sorry she got outside, and the fact that she isn't spayed well she could have gotten chased by an intact male. It sounds like you have done a lot to try and get her back. There is an article here that might help you further.

Guide to finding a lost cat

I wish you the best of luck in locating her-

Oh no -
sending out lots of COME HOME BOWIE vibes

Quite a few years ago, I had a cat who tore through a window screen and escaped. She was gone for about a week, but we thought we had lost her forever. We got her back by leaving the door to our entryway slightly open over night, and she found her way inside during the early morning hours when it was peaceful and quiet.

Don't give up and please let us know what happens.

Well after everything we did to find her, I just happened to park my car in front of some random persons house and just happened to glance on the porch and just happened to notice a sillohette of a little cat on the porch and as I got closer it started to run and I said "bowie? bowie?" and she came right over to me cooing like normal. I was so happy, she most have been cold.

Now I just wonder if she is pregnant, how long will it take to tell? I have one other quick question, when cats are in heat, they are fertile, so when they aren't in heat are they not fertile? Can she still get pregnant if she isn't in heat? Thanks.

Jen...glad you found your cat. I would really suggest you take her to the vet. The vet will tell you whether she is pregnant or not. If she isn't..I would get her set up for an appointment to get spayed ASAP.

Katie

Here is some info. about cats being in heat:

Unfortunately, once a female cat goes into heat, she will do so again and again (as often as every two weeks) until she is either: a) pregnant or b) spayed. It *is* extremely uncomfortable for her and will get worse rather than better. Your veterinarian may be able to give her shots to make her more comfortable. At one time, they gave male hormones, but I think that practice has been discontinued.

Female cats in this condition will go to any lengths to get outside and mate. I've also heard of toms tearing the screens off windows to get to them.

As for bleeding, you'll rarely if ever see any blood from a female cat in oestrus , but you might want to confine her to a room away from the main door to help keep her confined indoors.

http://cats.about.com/cs/healthissues/f/catinheat.htm

Oh thank goodness Bowie came back! Dont have any answers on the pregnancy thing but I'm sure someone will. Just wanted to say phew! it is great she is safe

thanks everyone, as soon as my boyfriend finds a new job and gets some money he will get her spayed. He wishes he had the money to do it sooner, but the whole lost job thing doesn't help any. Maybe I will be able to help if my next paycheck is decent enough.

Jen,

Here is a list of low cost spay clinics in Ohio:

http://www.ohiohumaneeducation.org/lowcost.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/md2/mdpetrescu/Ohio.html

http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html#oh

Good Luck

Katie