Lost semi-feral, recently spayed cat on Long Island NY

[taramarie]

Hi all, Recently I found a 9 month old cat outside of my job.  Ive seen her before and I know for sure that she was stray and not someones pet.  One very rainy/cold night she came right up to me and I was able to feed her.  the next day I fed her again and I was able to pick her right up and put her in a carrier.  I brought her to my home which is about 30 minutes away. and then had her tested and vaccinated. she was very loving and snuggly in fact.  she actually let me rub her belly!

 I scheduled her spaying for the next day.  As I brought her back home from a successful spaying surgery....the carrier zipper must have been open about an inch... and she pushed her nose right through and jumped out and ran away.  This happened on 1/22/15.  Ive been searching and putting up fliers and setting up traps all over my neighborhood. I last spotted her on 1/24/15 running about 6 houses away from my house.  I literally gave every house a flier in a 4 block radius.  Ive been waking up at 4am to go searching every morning.  and I have notified all local animal hospitals and shelters. 

And to make matters worse we had about 12 inches of snow yesterday....

I feel so guilty.. I took her from her familiar area...where she obviously was able to survive for 9 months at least...and I put her in a more dangerous situation... in an unfamiliar area....after just having had surgery....with this terribly cold weather.....

I'm so devasted and I don't know what else to do..

Do you think she will die? Im praying that a miracle happens and I find her but I'm feeling very pessimistic.

 

[ondine]

You have done far more than many people would have.  Keep looking.  She's in strange territory right after surgery, so she's going to have a rough time of it.

Have you tried looking near where you originally found her?  She may have tried to find her original territory, so its worth looking.  She sounds like she'd been socialized to humans, so hopefully she seeks one's help again and your efforts pay off.

Vibes you find her!

 

[taramarie]

thank you for responding. her original territory is about 30 minutes away by car.  I doubt she would ever make it there.  i live in a mainly residential suburban area so im hoping someone spots her and feeds her.

please say a prayer! she needs all the help she can get. 

 

[ondine]

Prayers being said!

 

[taramarie]

I've been putting up fliers, posting on social media, going door to door, setting up traps, putting out food. I can't find her. I have no idea where she could be. The weather has been terrible. Blizzards. Any chance she could still be alive after a week and a half? Can she survive and thrive? Every website I read says that its very difficult to relocate a cat. But at the same time... It's instinctual. I want to believe that she has survived and found a warm spot to hide and has been able to hunt. I just think she has so many factors against her... Recent surgery, weather, unfamiliar territory.... Any advice? Words or wisdom?

 

[ondine]

I've heard of cats surviving incredibly harsh situations, so there is hope. Keep looking, keep asking the neighbors. If you haven't called the local shelter and Animal Control, please do. Someone may have found her and turned her in.

Praying you find her soon.

 

[whiskylollipop]

The advice for lost dogs is to wear some items of clothing for 24 hours to get it smelling strongly of you, and then leave them strewn around on the porch/yard, in the hopes that the lost pet will be led back by catching the scent of something familiar. But since you haven't had the cat long, I don't know if she would respond to that, and the blizzards make it unlikely smell would carry far. Maybe if you put the items of clothing in the traps?

Since she's just had surgery, I bet she's hiding somewhere rather than wandering around. Don't lose hope, she's been a stray before and likely knows what she's doing. Go look around storm drains or other hidey areas to make sure she hasn't been snowed in. Ask your neighbours to check around their sheds, hedges, kennels and garages.

Don't discount the possibility of her running back to your place of work. Cats have pretty good inner GPS systems, and many many relocated cats have somehow turned up back at their old homes even if it was hours away. It would be good to put up fliers between your work and your home just in case.

 

[taramarie]

Ive contacted all local shelters and animal hospitals. And I work about a 30 minute drive from my home. But I think I'm gona take out an add in a local newspaper too. And continue to put out fliers. I also put food out all over my neighborhood every night so that if she is somewhere relatively close she will have something to eat hopefully. The bowls r sometimes empty in the morning so I've been waking up at 4a to watch and see which animals r eating. I've met lots of feral cats thisway.
I'm so sad about this I can barely do anything else. I transplanted her to a completely dif area and basically made her life so much more difficult when all I wanted to do was make it better. She would have been a wonderful pet. She was so snuggly and sweet. This sucks.

 

[betsygee]

I don't have any experience with ferals or anything like this, so unfortunately I have no suggestions or advice for you.  I just wanted to say it's obvious how much you care about this kitty and how much you are trying to help her, and I'm very sorry you're so distraught about this situation.  

 

[taramarie]

Thank u. I feel very guilty. I'm grateful to have this website to vent. Thank u again

 

[ondine]

Well, you certainly have nothing to feel guilty about. As I said earlier, you've done more than a lot of other people. Keep trying to find her. The ad is a great idea!

 

[taramarie]

Thank you. Im going to keep trying to find her. I'm praying for a miracle. I just hope she has survived this long... I hope it's possible that she has adapted to her new environment and I hope she is not completely stressed out.

 

[taramarie]

The zipper in her carrier was opened about an inch. I feel guilty that I didn't think to close it completely. But she was so calm and chilled out that I guess I got too comfortable. That's why I feel guilty...

 

[taramarie]

And I did spot her two days after she got out. And she was trotting along. She didn't seem like she was in pain or anything. So I'm kinda assuming that her surgery healed successfully.

 

[catwoman707]

Chances are since you did spot her 2 days after, that the surgery area is okay.

As I was reading your first post, my worry was that, when a female is first spayed they put out a scent that to males smells like they are in heat. If any males found her and attempted to mate with her it can be dangerous for her so soon after her spay.

However I think seeing her 2 days later is a very positive sign.

She is most definitely not feral, it's very common for people to leave cats behind when they move. Also as common are the irresponsible people who get an adorable little baby kitten then lose interest once the small cuteness wears off.

If she snuggles with you, she was def. owned at some time.

These are the ones that I feel for the most.

I have had good luck finding a missing cat by taking several paper plates and some tuna in water and head out right before dark, putting tuna plates down every few houses but within your sight still, the tuna water brings out every darn cat in the entire area! At least she can be spotted this way.

 

[taramarie]

I didn't even think of that....I'm so glad I spotted her two days later and she seemed ok. Luckily my neighborhood, where I'm hoping she is still hiding in, has only about 10 feral cats and all of them are fixed.. so hopefully there are no tomcats lurking.

she definitely didnt act like a feral.. but I really don't think she was ever anyone's pet. i found her with 4 siblings....they were on a 200 acre private preserve...someone could have dropped them off there...but I really doubt they were someone's pet...I'm working on getting them all fixed...in fact, I have her brother in my bathroom right now...the plan was to keep them all together if they weren't handleable. if they were handleable (like the one I lost) I would have tried to get them adopted out. her brother is proving to be a true feral...not handleable at all. 

 

[catwoman707]

Hard to know what happened in their past, but I can say this, when a cat has not had human interactions as a very young kitten, there is no way possible for it to act like she has with you.

Not sure why one is and one isn't, no telling.....

Great that the local ferals are all fixed!

Not that another won't wander that way but she sounds fairly safe regarding her not being a rape victim!

Cats have a great sense of survival, and if there are other cats around, she will find them as well as their food source.

Hopefully you can spot her and get her back.

 

[taramarie]

Do you think if she gets to know the other feral cats, they could help lead her to their food source?? I really hope so! I hope they don't bully her out of their territory. 

It snowed last night.. I'm thinking that part of the reason I haven't seen her is bc of the weather.

thank you for your insight!

 

[di and bob]

Females are accepted a lot more then males, every female that has showed up around here has been accepted. I hope that puts your mind at ease. Believe me, they have wonderful noses too and should find food. All the luck!

 

[taramarie]

ah yes that helps put my mind at ease!

thank u!

I will still be searching and leaving food all over my neighborhood.