Should I Still Be Hoping My Missing Cat Will Come Home?

[winkie]

Thanks dear Norachan. With all of your blessings and prayers Henry is fine though he can’t poop and also tail is hanging. But he is very active, again ventures out at night And come back home early morning around 3.am Here is his latest pic

hhhhenry.jpg

• winkie
• Feb 6, 2014

I really feel sad about Molu. He is also very dear to me. Whether he comes to me or not I prepare his meals every day morning and evening and wait for him. And when he turns up I feel so happy.

As far as neighbour is concerned I had called the People for Animals group. And they had given him a warning letter and also complained to his work place. But he is same as ever and will not change. Each day when my cats go out I feel afraid. And the cats do not wish to remain inside all the time.

Yes there are lots of monkeys in my city. Unfortunately there is a research institute and they experiment on these monkeys and after that leave them out to wander. Also with expanding localities and builders taking hold on lands, cutting trees they have no home left and now are out in the streets, in colonies of humans. People mistreat them. Mistreat them because they have no food to search as no trees and forests so they enter our homes and snatch the food from our kitchens, hands or refrigerators. Also people beat them with sticks and then they attack humans. Many people were killed too. Now people have brought black faced monkey langur and have tied them near their houses and then the red faced monkey doesn’t come near them. They are afraid of langurs.

Yes monkeys do attack cats. My cats were attacked. Once a monkey had scratched back of my cat with his paws and attacked him. My timely intervention saved him. Once when I tried to shoo the monkey away from my cat he chased us. As my cat and myself ran inside our rooms, the monkey came inside and I couldn’t lock the door. I was very afraid and even I shrieked loudly in fear. The cat was Henry’s mom Murli and she hid beneath the bed and the monkey didn’t said anything to me but began to search the cat. He took a round of the room but couldn’t find murli. And I stood still clinging myself to the wall of the room. Then he left after inspection. But from that day onwards we never left our doors open. Here are few pics of our back terrace where they often come.

monkey.jpg

• winkie
• Feb 6, 2014

monk2.jpg

• winkie
• Feb 6, 2014

monk3.jpg

• winkie
• Feb 6, 2014

Also Norachan to share with you, I have been selected a Friend of zoo here in my city. This is the first time that in our country zoo friends or volunteers are selected. And my activity is to look after the lions, educate and sensitize people. I am doing this voluntarily out of my love for animals.. And there is so much to educate Indian people about animals as they least love them. These lions have been brought from Gir forest. Look at this pic  below

lion.jpg

• winkie
• Feb 6, 2014

Though I don't like zoo. As animals are held in captivity but maybe this small effort may bring awareness among people to treat them well and provide them love and care in zoo too.

I pray each day for your George and also for Patches. And believe me they are on road to return journey towards you and shadows rescue. Keep the faith.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Winkie,

Thank you so much for your kind words of hope and faith.  Your story of Henry and Molu are inspiring.  Molu seems to be a wanderer just like my Patches.  He prefers to be out and about on constant adventures rather than sticking to home even when their is food, shelter and love. 

How exciting about your position at the zoo.  You have a true love of animals and sharing that with others is a gift.

Our weather has been horrible once again.  We received 6 inches of snow and then ice on top of that on Tuesday night.  The cats are having a very hard time walking around as they can walk for awhile on top and then sink down into the deep snow.  I don't expect to see Patches (or the cat who appeared a few nights ago) again for awhile.  It is just too hard for him to travel. 

I do still have hope. 

 

[eicanfly]

Hi! I still check back once in awhile. Sorry to see no good news YET. <3

 

[Norachan]

Hi Winkie,

Poor monkeys, it's such a shame that people treat them like that. I think the monkeys in Japan have a better life, Japan must be one of the only countries in the world where the forested areas are actually increasing every year. Also, there are very strict laws about not feeding wild life or doing anything to attract it into inhabited areas, so there are less conflicts between people and animals. 

It's quite scary that your cat was attacked by a monkey though. I tried to take a photo of a group of monkey while I was in Rajasthan and one of them charged at me with his teeth bared. They're very fierce looking.

I'll have to ask local people how to discourage monkey. Bears don't like the sound of bells so people hang wind chimes up in their gardens to keep them away. Monkey are so curious though, anything like that would probably attract them.

Congratulations on your new position at the zoo. I think you'll be able to do a lot of good work encouraging people to appreciate these wonderful creatures. I don't like to see animals in captivity either, but the lion enclosure looks quite nice. He's got a great tree to shelter under.

Lots of vibes to Molu and Henry.

 

[Norachan]

ShadowsRescue, I'm sorry there still hasn't been any news of Patches.

Our weather is really wintery at the moment too. We had 40 cm of snow over night and it's still falling now. I'm trying to keep the cats indoors but some of the young males insisted in going out to play in it. Ah well, they're from excellent feral stock, I guess they know what they're doing.

I went out to clear a path around the house to the shelter and feeding station an hour ago but it's snowing so hard you can't tell where the path is now. I turned a big cardboard box on it's side, taped as few plastic bags over it to stop it going soggy and left some bowls of food and water inside. I didn't see who came to eat, but the food's all gone and there are little kitty footprints in the snow, so some of the feral cats have been fed.

I hope they'll be OK. I know they have plenty of places to shelter, and all the other wildlife does well, but I can't stop myself from worrying about them.

Don't give up. You've got to have hope.

 

[shadowsrescue]

 
ShadowsRescue, I'm sorry there still hasn't been any news of Patches.

Our weather is really wintery at the moment too. We had 40 cm of snow over night and it's still falling now. I'm trying to keep the cats indoors but some of the young males insisted in going out to play in it. Ah well, they're from excellent feral stock, I guess they know what they're doing.

I went out to clear a path around the house to the shelter and feeding station an hour ago but it's snowing so hard you can't tell where the path is now. I turned a big cardboard box on it's side, taped as few plastic bags over it to stop it going soggy and left some bowls of food and water inside. I didn't see who came to eat, but the food's all gone and there are little kitty footprints in the snow, so some of the feral cats have been fed.

I hope they'll be OK. I know they have plenty of places to shelter, and all the other wildlife does well, but I can't stop myself from worrying about them.

Don't give up. You've got to have hope.

The cat came again last night.  I was totally shocked as we have 8-10 inches of snow on the ground so it is very hard to travel.  In my yard, I clear paths for the cats, but I can't imagine what it was like to travel. It also was 3 degrees last night.  This time, the cat went into the shelter.  My other 2 ferals were there.  Patches has never seen the new heated house.  It has a large plexiglass window to see in/out of.  Shadow was inside and Patches stood up to look inside, but couldn't figure out how to get inside (side entrance).  Yet Shadow greeted him.  The cat appeared to have an ear tip, but it was hard to see for sure.  It sure looks like Patches, but who knows for sure.  I put one of the small heated houses underneath the bench in case he comes back tonight and wants some warmth.  I keep sending him messages to come when I am awake so that I can get him some food.  Tonight I will set out his favorite scratchy mat and catnip toys.  Will see what happens.

 

[luvnickles]

ShadowsRescue,

I hope it is the REAL Patches.  I sooo want good news for one of us.  So hard to keep hope.  I don't know how you and Norachan do it.  On Wednesday it will be 16 weeks since I last saw Kuzon.  I have hung 300 posters, left 200 leaflets in mail boxes, checked the animal shelter weekly, renewed the craigslist ad weekly, gone door to door asking neighbors, put out a trail cam, feed a feral colony nightly, and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY.    If there was something more I could do I would do it!  I need some divine help!!!

 

[Norachan]

LuvNickles, I know how you feel. I keep asking myself, "What else should I do? Where else can I look?" If I'm not doing something active every day I feel like I've given up on George but I'm running out of ideas. All I can do is keep looking in the same places, hoping he'll show up.

I hope it's the real Patches this time.  

 It's good that Shadow seemed to recognise him.

It's been chaos here over the past couple of days. It started snowing on Friday night and by Saturday morning we had about 10 cm. Half of the cats insisted on going out. There was only gentle snowfall and as I was going to be working from home all day I let them out. Most of them came back after an hour or two, but two of George's sister's, Chicken and Twinkle, and Mia all stayed out. By four pm it was snowing heavily again. I went about a few times to call them but they didn't come back. I figured they'd probably found somewhere to shelter.

It stopped snowing about ten pm. Marley, one of my huge boy cats, started crying to go out so I let him go and went out to look for the three missing girls again. No sign of them anywhere and the snow was well above my knees by then. Marley, Mia, Chicken and Twinkle all stayed out over night.  Started snowing again around midnight.

By Sunday morning we had 54 cm but the sun was shinning so I let the rest of the cats out. The roads were blocked and loads of people were out trying to clear the road and dig cars out of snow drifts. The snow plough didn't make it to this part of town until about four pm. I went out several times to look for them but it was kind of noisy with everyone out digging through the snow, so of course they stayed hidden. 

Marley came home around 6 pm. I found Mia near one of her favourite hang outsaround 9 pm. I'd been there several times to look for her, but she didn't come out. I had a feeling that Chicken and Twinkle were in the garden of an empty house nearby, but I had to wait until dark before I could go and look for them as I didn't want anyone to see me climbing over the walls. I managed to climb in and cleared a path from the porch to the gate, thinking they might have got snowed in under the porch. No sign of them, but I left some food and my trail camera out all night in case they were around. Then I realised that I hadn't seen Lizzie since that morning.

By Monday morning I was starting to panic. Mia and Marley were home but Chicken and Twinkle had been gone for 48 hours and Lizzie for 24. Do cats lose their way and become disorientated in the snow? They couldn't have been hit by a car, no one was going more than 5 mph and there were no other animals around. I sprinkled some cat litter trails in every direction and boiled some chicken with the kitchen windows open, hoping to lure them home.

That did the trick. Around midday Chicken and Twinkle came home. They must have been under the porch of the empty house but for some reason had come out of the hole I dug then gone in the other direction, rather than following my path. They were both covered in ice and snow so I had to give them a hot bath. They've been snuggled up on the sofa together ever since.

Still no sign of Lizzie though and it's been more than 48 hours now. It hasn't snowed since she left so I don't think she can have got snowed in. Where do these cats go? Last time she went missing she came home with a broken pelvis. I hope she's just disorientated and manages to smell her way back home. I'm boiling more chicken with the kitchen window open and every other cat in the neighbourhood has made it over. Poor little Lizzie, where has she gone?

 

[shadowsrescue]

Of course no Patches last night.  I have no idea what he will do next.  It is so hard to keep the hope.  Someone once told me that finding a missing cat is like looking for a needle in a haystack.  When Patches showed up the other night, it was a true surprise.  I had thought the deep snow would keep him away as well as the bitter cold temperatures.  I also have been quite preoccupied with my dog who was diagnosed with urethra cancer last week.  I try to find solace in knowing that it appears Patches is still alive.

Norachan, I hope Lizzie makes it home soon.  You have so much on your plate.

LuvNickles, Keep up with the posters and craigs list postings.  It only takes one person out there who might know where your cat is.  It is so hard to stay strong and have hope.  I hope each and every day for the return of Kuzon, George and Patches. 

 

[Norachan]

ShadowsRescue, I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. 

 Poor thing, that's such a shame.

Do you think this Patches is the real one? I hope so.

Lizzy still isn't home. She showed up on the camera on Sunday night, sniffed the food but didn't eat any. Last night a cat with white paws and a grey stripy tail slept in the feral cat shelter, but the camera was positioned badly so I'm not sure if it was Lizzie or not.

I last saw her on Sunday morning. I remember there was a guy clearing snow with one of those diesel powered snow blowers and the noise made all of the cats bolt out of the garden.

Yesterday I had a good look around for her. Most of the fields and gardens are still thick with snow, no prints anywhere. The roads are only half cleared so traffic is going really slowly. (We only get a few cars down this lane anyway) Found some fox prints about a mile from here, going in the other direction.

She was born under my neighbours shed but she can't get under there now as there is a big snowdrift in front of it. No prints in the neighbours field and it hasn't snowed since I last saw her, so I doubt that she got herself stuck in there.

I keep telling myself that she spent the first six months of her life outside so has probably found herself a good hiding place. Can't understand why she doesn't come home though. I keep making chicken soup, her favourite treat, in the hope that she'll smell it and come home.

Come on Lizzie, come back home.

 

[Norachan]

Still no sign of Lizzie.

The cat that has been sleeping in the feral shelter turns out to be a male. I TNR'd him a couple of weeks ago and I haven't seen him since I brought him home from the vet, but it looks like he is sneaking back every night to finish off whatever food is left. He looks very thin, I'm going to leave extra food out tonight.

I'm worried about Lizzie, she usually doesn't go far. Neither of the other people who feed cats around here have seen her and there are no tracks in the snow to indicate that she has gone through the fields. That means she must have followed the lanes or she must be hiding out around here somewhere. I've been leaving kitty litter trails up and down all the lanes just in case she went further than usual. Little girl kitties don't usually stray, do they? Not if they've been spayed

There is another heavy snowfall forecast for tomorrow. I have to find her before then. 

henrylizzie.jpg

• Norachan
• Feb 12, 2014

Lizzie with her brother Henry, just a week ago.

 

[alisa brown]

I have had females stray but usually following one of the neighbors kids, I did have one get in a moving van out of curiosity and if the men hadn't stopped at a a gas station to re-shift some items they wouldn't have seen her until they got to their destination. I was out looking for her as they drove back. They were going to just let her out in the neighborhood and let her out hoping she would go to the right home as they didn't know whose cat she was. When I saw them with her I was glad. If she got into a shed or garage she could be locked in, you could ask your neighbors if you can peek in.

Don't give up my co-workers cat was gone 17 days in the 2 degree weather. Keep looking, post signs, go out very early in the morning when it is quiet or late at night with a flashlight. She's got to be somewhere hiding.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Oh Norachan, I cannot believe poor Lizzie isn't home yet.  You have enough on your plate.  I think about George each and every day.  I will now add LIzzie to the list as well. 

I do believe the cat that has been coming around is Patches.  On Wednesday night I caught a brief brief glimpse of a cat peeking around the corner of the deck around 7pm.  When it saw me it ran.  During the middle of the night, Patches came onto the deck and wanted into the shelter.  Both of the other ferals were there sleeping.  It looked like Stellar chased him away.  I was out of town last night so I don't know if he came.  More snow for tonight so he probably won't come.  The pictures I have do look very much like him.  He also is interested in Shadow.  We will see what happens.

 

[luvnickles]

Norachan,

I am soo hoping that Lizzie is around and will show herself.  One missing cat is too much - but to have another?  NO!!

ShadowsRescue,

Very pleased to hear you think this one is the real deal!  Winter has never seemed so long probably!  All the snow and freezing temps are making an impossible situation so much harder.

I think about George and Patches all the time, and now will also add Lizzie to the list.

The days are slowly starting to get longer....  and I am able to walk the dog later in the day when it isn't already quite dark.   And I have been wondering....the week Kuzon went missing was the week we turned back the clocks.  Suddenly everyone was getting up and coming home in the dark.  If he is out there and not being looked after, then it is possible that people are missing him lurking around.  I am eager for the spring to come and for the clocks to go back to standard time.  I am hoping the long days may be just the thing that he needs to be seen!

I will start again with the handouts in a new neighborhood.  But I probably won't put up the larger flyers until the days are longer.  I am almost thinking that they could be a hindrance.  If someone has him and is purposely keeping him in, it may be that the signs are making them super wary of letting him go out.  If they think no one is looking anymore, maybe they will let their guard down and let him out....where he can be seen or can start for home on his own. 

I'm reading this as I type and I sound so paranoid!  I don't really believe anyone has snatched him....he was so unfriendly.  More likely he is still out there lost or has died.  I was down by the creek yesterday and i inadvertently disturbed a coyote sleeping in the thicket....VERY close to our property.  I don't think he was killed by a coyote or a bobcat either but SOMETHING has happened to him so I have to begin facing the fact that I may never see him again!

 

[Norachan]

Hi Alisa, ShadowsRescue and LuvNickles,

I'm still looking for Lizzie. The snow made it easier to see where the cats have gone. To get to the main road they have to walk across two large fields, but there are no tracks through them. Their other favourite playground, the boat yard behind my house, has got one set of tracks going all the way around it. I've checked inside of all the boats that are covered and made sure no one has been snowed in there. No sign of Lizzie. She may have gone up the lane, which still has snow on it but has been driven over so many times I can't see tracks any more. If she did that she could be hiding out in one of the sheds or barns up there. I've made sure that she can get out of the two I often see them hanging around, asked people to open the garage doors, looked for tracks in the other fields. Nothing. 

I have a bad feeling about this. We had really heavy snows last year and all but one of the feral kittens I was feeding disappeared. I never found any sign of them, but we went from 6 adult cats and 5 ten month old kittens to 5 cats and 1 kitten in a weekend.

I thought that if I could get the kittens used to coming indoors at night they'd be OK this year. Lizzie went missing in the middle of the morning on a clear sunny day. What can have happened to her? LuvNickles, I'm as paranoid as you are. How do they just disappear like that? Do eagles swoop down and carry them off?

We had the heaviest snow on record for this area last night. It's over a meter deep, roads are blocked, EVERYTHING is closed, supermarket, convenience store, drug store, the lot. I couldn't open the front door this morning and Mr Husband had to climb out of the window and wade through chest deep snow to clear a path.

I have 21 cats in the house at the moment, I managed to lure a few of the friendlier feral cats in on Thursday night and I'm not letting them out till spring. Luckily everyone gets on well and we have enough food to last until next week.

I've been doing a lot of litter box scooping, as you can imagine.

Fingers crossed for Kuzon, Patches, Lizzie and George and all the other poor little strays out there. I hope they've found themselves a dry place to hide in until they can get out and look for food.  

Come home kitties, we're worried about you.

 

[luvnickles]

NoraChan,  21 cats!  and I thought I had it bad with 5!  You are AMAZING!!!  I stopped by the Humane Society for a look through the strays...there is a cutie pie seal point kitten that tugs at my heart but I can't let go of Kuzon.  don't want to feel like I am replacing him, so will probably not put a hold on her and hope she goes to a good home when she is finally put up for adoption.  Obviously, no sign of Kuzie.  I looked through the book of lost cats...there are SOOO many from all over the county.  We are all looking and have been for some time.  I just didn't realize how many cats go missing until it happened to me.  Absolutely heartbreaking.  But the woman who took me through the shelter on my search for Kuzon told me of a stray they reunited with his owner last week after 17 months!  I know it happens....it could happen for Kuzon...  and for George and Lizzie and Patches.  Cmon Spring....bring these loved kitties home!!!!

 

[Norachan]

Thanks. I think a lot of it has to do with being blessed with some pretty amazing cats. 21 of them sharing three rooms and five litter boxes and we had no fights, no damage, no litter box issues at all. They're the best.

I let the two feral cats and two of my mainly outdoor kitties out this morning as they were showing signs of cabin fever. Two of the big old tom cats showed up to be fed today and something keeps eating all the food I leave out in the feral shelter, so I guess they're surviving somehow.

Apparently the whole village is cut off as the snow ploughs can't make it over the mountain roads, so no supplies are getting in. Supermarkets are still closed. I'm SOOO glad I buy all my cat food in bulk online. It's just impossible to get out and look for Lizzie and George at the moment. I'm still hoping they're holed up somewhere.

LuvNickles, I know you don't want to feel that you're replacing Kuzon, and of course no cat ever could, but if you feel like you want to adopt another cat maybe you should. Two of the feral kittens I'm taking care of this year are George's half brothers. It's comforting to have them around, to see them growing and filling out to be huge, fluffy cats like George is. Of course it's good to see them get adopted and go to good homes too. Two of Lizzie's sisters and one of her brothers were re-homed recently but in a way I'm happy the the two boy kittens are still with me at ten months of age and unlikely to get adopted now.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I was so hoping to hear good news of Lizzie's return.  This winter seems to have been brutal in many locations.  We have had more snow that we normally get.  Our average is about 28 inches (71 cm) but so far this season we are over 50 inches (127 cm).  The worst has been our bitter cold.  Night time temps are normally in the teens during the winter.  We have had 9 days when the temp never got above 0 F (-18 C).  I don't know how Patches has managed to survive.  We have had 5 or more nights when the temp dropped to -14 F or more (-26 C).  Spring cannot come soon enough.

LuvNickles, I think you will know when the time is right to allow another cat into your life.  I cannot figure out how these cats just vanish into thin air without someone noticing them.  My guess is many of them stay hidden during the day and only come out at night. 

I am beginning to realize that Patches may never come home.  Last night I saw him on the camera in the yard.  He never even came up on the deck.  He was just walking by.  It broke my heart.  I believe Stellar chased him the other night.  Also when he saw that the shelter looked very different from the last time he was here, he may have decided it was no longer home.  I believe if it had looked like he remembered he would have jumped up and gone to sleep.  That too makes me sad.  Every day I have mental conversations with him.  The other day, for the first time ever I felt I received a response.  He had let me know he was still alive, but he had no plans of ever living here again.  I just can't help but feel that he does need me.  He looks skinny and disheveled. 

 

[Norachan]

Wow, that's a lot of snow. It's amazing that anything is able to survive out there. All but one of the ferals I feed has been back to eat every day since it snowed. I can't imagine how they find their way in all this, but they come picking their way through the snow drifts and sit outside waiting for me to feed them.

I'm so sorry that Patches isn't sticking around. It's hard to understand why he doesn't want regular meals and a warm place to sleep. Mr Husband keeps telling me that I have to remember these are wild animals and some of them are happy that way.

I feel terrible about not being able to get out and look for Lizzie, but it's just impossible at the moment. There is a trench up the middle of the lane where people have walked back and forth but all the fields and gardens are still waist deep in snow. I just have to hope she is holed up somewhere. Lots of little villages are completely cut off  and some places don't have electricity. We're a lot luckier than most.

There are some pictures here if anyone is interested.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teapot175/

Not many cat pictures, just ridiculous amounts of snow.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Thank you for sharing those pictures.  You have massive massive amounts of snow.  We have nothing compared to you.  I see now why it would be very hard for Lizzie to make her way home.  Will it warm at all soon to all for some melting?  When does spring normally arrive for you? 

We had freezing rain and some ice last night.  Fortunately it was on the light side, but not a night to be outside.  I did dream of Patches last night.  He was sleeping in the shelter and came to eat in the morning.  I knew he wouldn't come last night as the weather was just too bad.  Maybe tonight as we are to have a bit of a warmup this week. 

Spring has got to be better for all of us with lost cats.