Ginger got out overnight!!!

We have several windows that can only be opened from the top down, and we have no a/c, so we have to keep the windows open, and at some point between 2-8 a.m., Ginger climbed the screen in the kitchen window, her weight causing it to slide down, and she jumped through and ran away!!!

I'm having an emotional breakdown - she's indoor only, and just a year old. She isn't microchipped, but IS wearing her collar with her name, address and my home phone number on it.

I've called the animal control officer, the local animal hospital and the shelter to inform all of them to contact me if they see her, dead or alive, and I'm making up flyers now to put on telephone polls - in between my tears!!!

Is there anything else that I can/should be doing to find her???

HELP!!! I'm SO Scared and worried for her!!!

Oh I'm so sorry! I know I'd be going batty if Napolean got out... I mean I have gone crazy when he's gotten out, I get to the point where I'm bawling so I totally understand.

I would go out and call for her maybe while you put up flyers, and bring a favorite toy. Hopefully she isn't too far out. You seem to have covered your bases. She has a collar on, which to a degree in MY oppinion can be more identifying than a microchip. Yeah she could lose her collar, but if someone finds her they can't think that she doesn't have a home, because she has a physical ID. It always worries me that Napolean without having his collar on and being out someone would think that he was "abandoned" or something and take him in. He's microchipped, but if they never take him anywhere he won't get scanned.

Keep us updated! I'm so sorry you have to go through this.

I'm so sorry and I'm sending vibes that she comes home soon. This site, www.lost-pets.org, gives you ideas of finding your cat. Cats usually are hanging around close to home as they are very territorial.

You can go on petfinder.com and click on lost pets and post your cats infore.
I hope you find her.

Best Friends Radio recently interviewed Kat Albrecht, author of The Lost Pet Chronicles, and she gave some very good advice on finding a lost cat:

Most people donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t differentiate between searching for a dog and searching for a cat, which is a huge mistake, because they are like apples and oranges. Cats are territorial, so when an indoor cat escapes outside, they feel displaced into unfamiliar territory. A displaced cat (and also an injured or sick cat) will hide and they will be silent. So walking around and calling the catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s name doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t work.

What that cat does is to look for the first place where she can hide, and she will stay there. Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had people who have recovered their cats six weeks later, and the cat was two houses down, living under the neighborâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s house or under their deck.

Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve actually recovered lots of cats by treating them like ferals and setting a humane trap. These cats will sit there and watch and even listen to their person calling, but they will usually not respond.

Eventually, some of them will reach a threshold point between the seventh and tenth day where they finally do meow or they go into the humane trap, but many of them, especially the ones with skittish temperaments, just continue to hide.

As for a cat who is used to going outside, we really do advocate making your cats indoor-only. However, if an indoor/outdoor cat does go missing, it may be that theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been chased by a dog or beat up by another cat. They may run into an unfamiliar area, and they may hide in fear as well, or than can be transported out of the area by crawling into a car or the back of a truck.

Outdoor cats are still territorial. They donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t generally travel great distances by themselves, so theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re going to be found within their territory or just beyond it. Youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll want to get into your neighborâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s yard to search under their porch, under their house, and in potential areas where the cat is trapped, because, again, the behavior of an injured or sick cat is that they will crawl in or under something thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s familiar to them and they will hide. And again, they wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t answer your call.

Katie, thank you, that's a lot of good info, but it breaks my heart even more - what can I possibly do, then, if she's somewhere hiding and won't come out at all?

The laser pen is her favorite toy, and I'm assuming she'll be more inclined to venture out tonight after dark when it's more quiet and the cars aren't so many on the roads. Maybe I can try walking araound with the laser, shining on sidewalks after dark, see if she's close to home and will come out to play.

I'll also try opening and closing a bag of treats - the ziploc sound makes her come running.

I've just come back from putting flyers up around the neighborhood, dropped them off at the animal shelter, stuck them on the doors of three vet clinics that are the closest, called animal control officers in my city and the next one over because I'm on the border, dropped flyers off at both those stations as well, put flyers in the Store 24 and local Dunkin Donuts - now I'm sitting at home making more flyers and trying to keep from losing my mind - my heart is torn apart and breaking!!!!

I feel like I've done all I can, but still feel like I should do more - torn between looking for her and sticking by the phone in case someone finds her.

There are a lot of strays in my area, so I'm hoping she's just off with a pack of cats having a great time checking out the neighborhood and will find her way home later, but I'm also concerned that she may have crossed a very busy main road in the middle of the night when there was no traffic, and may now be on the other side of town, scared and unable to get home.

Oh this is so horrible!!!

I thank you guys for the support - I've never felt so helpless!!! She's my precious little baby and I love her so much!!! Oh my gosh - I can't see the keyboard anymore - I gotta go cry some more...I'll keep you updated...

Originally Posted by katachtig

I'm so sorry and I'm sending vibes that she comes home soon.

This site, www.lost-pets.org, gives you ideas of finding your cat. Cats usually are hanging around close to home as they are very territorial.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the link, that was very helpful - looks like I won't be getting much sleep tonight - I'll be sitting outside my house talking to myself hoping she comes back...

Good luck finding her, I'll send lots of 'come home' vibes.

You need to calm down and think like a cat. She is probably close and hiding. You want to surround her with familiar strong scents- do you wear a certain perfume? If so, spray a cloth with it and hang it outside. Sprinkle soiled litter outside as well. Also, very important, leave the way she left open if at all possible. Time is of the essence now because of the dad-blarned holiday and fireworks. Walk around the block calling to her and shaking a friskies box. The website I set up which you have already been given a link to, does work to help you get your cat back. Also, if there is a dead animal control in your area call them. I know it is a gruesome thought, but the upside is these folks have better eyes than most for live animals as well. Let them know your cat's description and ask them to call you if they happen to see her.

It is very important to leave the screen off where she got out. When she does return, go to the nearest hardware store and purchase some of that outdoor lattice board. Put those up in your windows, this way you can keep your windows open year round and your cat can't get out.

Good luck because we have the scary part of the weekend coming up- the 4th of July-

I was in the process of putting her toys in the windows - couldn't leave the window she got out of open as it is about 12 feet off the ground, no way would she have made it back in, nothing to climb - and was about to go outside and sprinkle her used litter in a circle around the outside of the house.

I was talking on my cell phone to a friend who was going to come over tonight to help me look for her, when all of a sudden she just appeared on my back porch, looking disheveled and covered in dead leaves!

I said, "Ginger!" and she looked up at me, and then came toward the window I was sitting in front of - I'd opened it on purpose about 8 inches, just in case - and as I spoke to her - still on the phone with my friend, in she came - "Hello, Meowmy!"

Oh my heart - what an experience - my roomie is securing the screens so it'll never happen again.

I'm hoping she enjoyed her excursion into Outside - it'll be her last unless I'm with her and she's on a harness and a leash!

Thank you all so much for your vibes - they worked! And for the information and for just being there by your computer today, I appreciate it so much!

Hooray....Ginger is back where she belongs.

Hey, I'm so glad for you guys.

I am so happy for you - I know that heart wrenching worry when you don't know where they are. Keep safe, GInger!

I'm so happy . I was checking off and on hoping for the best and it happened.

The first thing she did when she came in was use her litterbox - good girl, Ginger! - and then I sat down on the floor in the kitchen near her, talking to her calmly, telling her how happy I am to see her and asking her: "Where did you go, who did you meet, what did you discover, how many new smells did you smell, do you know how much you scared me today?" I wish she could tell me - I'm sure it's quite the story!

She licked my big toe and rubbed her cheek against me, sat up and scratched herself behind the ear (I need to be on the lookout for fleas, ticks and mites on her) then sauntered off into the other rooms, just checking out home, making sure it's ok and as she left it.

She gave quite the look at the kitchen window she went out of, then turned her back and walked into the next room. Now she seems a bit wary of the screens - we'll see what happens now.

What drama - thank goodness it was over quickly! I'm waiting until later to settle down with her to groom her and check her over. She's had plenty of stimulation and I've had plenty of stress, so I think we should both get over that before I stress her with a brushing.

I have lattice work on all our windows and it works so well, plus on really hot days it really cuts down on the amount of sun coming through the windows and makes the house cooler. We don't have air conditioning (bad for the lungs)

Glad that Ginger came home on her own.

Yay! I'm glad she's home!

I'm so glad Ginger made it home safely!

Glad to read that her adventure ended safely!!!

I was praying she would come home safely. I am so happy that she is back home with Mommy!