oh shit, have just brought a cat home and she has run away already! help me what do i do? Have half an hour before school run.

[JohnnyTwoHats]

Have come home about ten mins ago with MIL's cat (she has just had mastectomy and terrified of her scratching). Installed cat in downstairs study, showed her the cat flap in back door and she has run off. Shit.

Can't see her anywhere in the garden, her food bowls and bed etc are here right by back door but I am worried she doesn't know how to use cat flap (MIL doesn't have one) and will not find her way back here.

What are the chances of her finding her way back here?

frantic bump!

prop cat flap open (a clothes peg is good) and leave food down by cat flap.

If the cat doesn't already know your home and garden, she won't have gained her bearings, and may find it difficult to get back. In a strange house they need to be kept indoors for at least a few days.

Cats often try to get back home - how far away from your MIL's house are you?

She'll be hiding somewhere dark and dry. Look under cars, bushes, sheds etc.

ah good idea. or thought about leaving door ajar while i go and pick dd up from school?

Do you live near to MIL? If you do she will almost certainly find her way home. If not do as suggested, prop catflap open and leave food down to temp her back. If no joy you'll probably have to go looking for her I'm afraid!
And when you do get her back you'll need to keep her in. When you move a cat they will almost always try to find their way 'home' so you need to keep them locked in with litter tray etc until they get used to being where they are.

hth

Not good at all sorry. When you move house you're meant to keep your cat inside for a good few weeks or they run off.

Have you tried calling her and rattling cat biscuits, etc.

She is too far away from MIL's I think, and we came in car. Maybe 6 miles?

She doesn't have a litter tray you see, so I let her out in case she needed loo.

oh shit DP will go mad when he gets home

how crap of me

You'll definitely have to keep her locked in when you get her back I think or same will happen. Any cat will use a litter tray if there's no way to get out, they're clean animals and will always go where they can 'cover' their dirt.

will i need to get dp to buy litter tray on way home from work then do you think? If she comes back that is?

If you do find her, DON'T let her out again. Get her a litter tray (a garden seed tray with newspaper in will do at a pinch, if you really can't get a proper tray) and keep her shut indoors.

I hope she turns up, but she will find it difficult as she doesn't know the area and will be trying to find her way home.

Oh not inconceivable tat she will find home either, I've known a cat find home from further away! you probably don't want to worry MIL understandably is there anyone else there with her who you can warn to keep an eye out for wandering moggy coming home?

I do not know the first thing about looking after cats unfortunately. Do i need to do anything special re moving stuff? is she likely to knock stuff over etc?

Has she definitely gone out of the cat flap? The first night we had our cat, we lost him for ages, and in the end found him hiding under our bed. He will still bolt for the darkest corner in any stressful situation - his current favourite is under the plinth of the kitchen cabinets!

No cats won't knock things over unless you startle them usually, they're very agile and get around obstacles easily. Nothing special you need to do other than keep her locked in really. Make sure she has somewhere comfy and warm to sleep.
you might find that she gets a little 'down' if she's in a new place with new people so be gentle with her and let her hide away if she feels the need.

O.M.G.

She is back. On her own!

So, I need to improvise a litter tray? Have shut study door as I thought it might be best to leave her in one room until she gets used to the new home?

She is sitting behind me on the chair as I speak!

Oh and one last thing If you're keeping her for a while, when she does eventually go back to MIL she will need to do the same i.e keeping her locked in for a few weeks (normally a fortnight) to get her used to being there again.

She has her own bed, sctatching post and food bowls etc so they are familiar at least.

She does know me and DD, and absolutely LOVES DP (i tend to give her a wide berth at MILs as I am allergic to cats). So we are not totally unfamiliar, it's just the house really.

Oh good! while you're waiting for litter tray, shred some paper and put down on anything remotely suitable

Good luck!

Think it might be permanent fixture TBH as MIL is going to have to be extra careful with her arm, she has had lymph nodes removed as well. So no no to scratches, bites etc on affected arm.

You don't need to shut her in one room - she may well scratch the doors and drive you mad if you do. She will want to have a look around and explore the house.

She will probably be frightened - cats become very attached to their homes and don't like change very much - so you will need to be patient with her. They don't generally knock things over or off, but it depends really on what kind of things you're talking about and where they are.

You need to get her a litter tray quickly. Watch out for her sniffing in corners; if she's doing that she may be looking for somewhere to wee. Stick her some paper down if you can't get a tray just yet and keep your fingers crossed that she uses that and not your carpet!

get your dp to buy a cat tray and some cat litter and keep her in for a few days! It's a good sign that she's come back thou. Maybe she did really just want a wee.

That's good news [smile}.

With both my cats I found they went and hid places in the house when they were first here. The second one in particular would get in the furthest corners. So don't worry if she goes missing again but you haven't let her out!

DP is getting a litter tray and litter on the way home from work.

She has been fine, has found herself a nice comfy spot and is surveying us.