The first panic with Pelhi.

[seaside]

So, this evening my house mate left the door headphones on and once I heard the door slam (my room being above the door) there was a meow from outside. Immediately I admit I thought the worst as our little Pelhi was still marching around the house as it's her first week. Looking outside there was no sign of her. I took this as positive. Since, three of us have looked about the house for Pelhi with no luck. Having freshly moved in the past month with arrangements still underway there aren't exactly a lot of hiding places for her to be either.

I also realise us stressing may have encouraged her to hide even more so.

Despite this, I took to the street with no sign of her in the front gardens or the back alleyway. If she has bolted that way the problem is our neighbours have their own back gardens and our street backs onto allotments which back onto a park.

Also there is a large, fat black and white cat that prowls about that my fear dictates would try and scare her off, Pelhi having always lived as an indoor cat on her own I don't think she would take it well.

Working on the side of caution I put out a makeshift cat boxes out front and back with some towels in them and some fabric over cardboard with some of her favourite treats to hopefully coax her back if this is the case.

More realistically I hope she found a comfortable new hiding spot and is snoozing away but being a young and fairly energetic cat, we thought she would have at least eaten or used her litter by now.

My question is, if she doesn't turn up in the house when do I want to be posting fliers and online ads? How long should I wait for her to reappear from a hiding hole?

I realise I'm freaking out as an amateur cat owner but it can't help but feel like failure on my part not to have been keeping a keener eye out so early on.

 

[seaside]

Naturally no sooner do I post a solution prompts itself ... It turns out our room mate in question was keeping garbage bags under her bed with rubbish in them. Pelhi seemed to have scavenged a meal and fallen asleep. Here's hoping she didn't eat anything too bad by then I'd rather scrub a mess than be posting fliers.

 

[msserena]

Oh good, I'm glad she was in the house. Now you know! They are like toddlers, you have to know where they are at all times. I get up & find them like multiple times a day, just to make sure they're safe & sound. usually sleeping somewhere & they like to frequent the same spot(s) with their napping

 

[seaside]

Yeah! One more hiding hole to add to the list, though maybe we should have that housemate find a better place to store garbage first. Well, I guess I'm ready to take on whatever Pelhi throws at us next.

 

[hellomisskitty]

*phew* I was reading down this thread in a panic about little Pehli outside all alone!! I'm so glad you all found her safe and sound!!

I once accidentally shut my girl in a kitchen cupboard she had crawled in when the door was open and I wasn't looking. I thought she had gotten outside. Like Pehli she is indoor only. Scariest 15 minutes of my life!! They are sneaky little critters [emoji]128580[/emoji]

 

[seaside]

Me too! I never took myself for a cat person but I guess I'm a lot more attached than I thought already. She has been a little grouchy since we chased her out of her pizza laden hiding hole but thankfully she's snoozing quietly under my fiance's bedroom couch.

Ah, as soon as she has settled in we're gonna get her set up with a chip. Our vet quoted us £10 extra for one that will also take temperature so we're probably gonna do that.

I'm really sorry for freaking others out too but these furry little devils judging by stories floating around go hand in hand with the unexpected. Gotta redouble those security efforts and reinstall those child locks the landlord took out, haha.

 

[hellomisskitty]

Me too! I never took myself for a cat person but I guess I'm a lot more attached than I thought already.

Sounds like little Pehli has stolen your heart [emoji]128522[/emoji] The best part is seeing their personality blossom as they realize you are their person and that they are home.

And I think your plan to get Pehli set up with a chip is an excellent plan...hopefully the day that you need it will never come but it's so good to have one just in case and is easy on the cat and relatively inexpensive.

 

[primal cat]

I'm so glad your Pehli is safe! One time my boyfriend was working on our roof. He had to go out the upstairs bathroom window, and forgot to shut it. A while later I saw it, and one cat was missing. My blood ran cold. I took a can of food outside, calling for my little Mimi. When I was about to wait inside for a while, I heard her meow in a distance. I looked up and saw a black/white speck growing larger. She was running to me through the woods, full speed ahead, meowing away so happily! It was one of the cutest things she's ever done. She let me bring her back inside. I try to leave their tags on in case anything like that happens. A chip is very helpful, in case they loose tags or aren't wearing them. I haven't needed it yet, and I too hope you never need it. No matter how careful you are, things like that can happen. My boyfriend is abnormally forgetful, so I have to double check everything now.