How to get lost and scared cat to come to me

[Kinsters]

My cat went missing two weeks ago. I think I've found her but couldn't get her to come to me.

I was driving home earlier and noticed a cat that looked a lot like her about half a mile from my house. I stopped the car and got out but she ran through a fence into a gated community and just stared at me when I called for her. I went to the gate but she'd disappeared and I had my baby in the car so couldn't spend ages trying to convince the concierge/security guy to let me in.

I went back at night and the night security guy told me he had seen a cat running around the area I'd seen her earlier. I really think it might be her but I went all around talking and occasionally saying her name and rattling her food bowl and nothing. Anyone have any tips for how to get her to come to me? I will just go and walk round there every day but I have a six month old baby and my husband works long hours so it's not easy.

Belly pic for tax

Be still and quiet and smell like home? Has she got a bed you could take with you? Or toys? Favourite stinky food?

Ask the night security guy to check with all the residents, in case it actually belongs to one of them and just looks like yours.

Good idea to get the guard on side.
If it's not one of the residents cats maybe he would help?
Cats do sometimes get a bit lost even if not that far from home.

He thinks it's a stray. New in the area, quite skinny. Can't be sure obviously but it doesn't seem to belong to anyone. He's said he'll call me if he sees her but I'm not sure what to do then.

I guess next time I can be more prepared and bring some food etc.

Borrow a trap? Even if the cat turns out not to be yours it can at least be checked for a chip and neutered.

Take food and a cat basket with you. One of mine got spooked by a neighbour making a prolonged racket in the back garden and wouldn't come into the garden. So I went looking for her and bundled her home in a basket.
Probably looked like I was stealing her as I had to coax her out of a garden.
Good luck!

A trap might be useful if she won't come to you

You need to speak to @Coastergirl who had a similar experience recently.

Can you phone a rescue and ask to borrow a trap?

I've tried to source a trap to catch a neighbourhood stray tom but not had any luck. I'm not in the UK and I don't think traps are common here. I ordered one online and the guy sent me a pasta machine instead 🤷🏼‍♀️

I haven't tried asking all the rescue centres though, I spoke to one who said she didn't know of anyone on the island who used them. Might try that tomorrow, thanks!

Hi @kinsters and thanks paper for flagging this up to me.

One of my cats Bertie was a feral kitten. He came from a rescue and it took a long time and a LOT of hard work and patience to get him settled and trusting us. He would hide when anyone visited, still does.

I got the keys to my new house the day we went into lockdown. Not the best thing ever! Had to move gradually over the course of a week, and all the moving freaked Bertie out, and he disappeared.

I had posters up, posts on Facebook etc. No sign of him. After a few weeks a lady called and said she thought he might be visiting her but she couldn't get close enough to get a photo as he was so timid. She was amazingly helpful. The rescue were adamant that she shouldn't feed him, but that felt wrong to me. At least I had an idea where he was! If she stopped feeding him I was sure he would go elsewhere looking for food. So basically she carried on feeding him and he came closer and closer to her house and she was able to get photos. I couldn't believe it when I saw it was definitely him. We gradually introduced a trap to the area he was feeding but didn't set it, and slowly moved the food closer. Eventually one night the trap was set with the food in and we caught him! He was away for two months!

Bertie is an extreme case, you might not need to take it this slowly!

Good luck. Here are my boys, Bertie on the right.

@coastergirl thanks for sharing that, so happy you got Bertie back. My cat was a stray but we got her when she was tiny so I don't know if she has any memory of that time. I'm going to spend more time in the area I think she is today and hope I can attract her to me. Otherwise I will leave some food in the area I and the guard saw her and then try and get a trap.

If you get desperate then this company are good www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiBzvT_4M7qAhV0wuYKHdaXDLsQFjACegQICxAF&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdcexports.co.uk%2Fproduct%2Feezicatch-cat-trap-solid-floor%2F&usg=AOvVaw1p3Igi5W_SWC_0IdiSrjSc

Thanks for the link.

No luck today. I went down there three times and walked and called and banged her food bowl but nothing. The guard didn't see her last night either. I'm so worried and second guessing myself that I've scared her even more and now she won't come out for ages. I left some food down, hopefully she finds it. She looked really skinny. If it even was her..

Sorry, I'm using this like a diary.

Went down to look for her again this evening (around 9:30pm) and she was walking along the road. It was unmistakably her but she ran as soon as I tried to approach her. Left food down.

Will the guard let you pop leaflets through the residents doors (or he does it for you) or put a poster up for you ? With your cats pic etc on , residents maybe able to shed more info
They say smells of 'home'help lure them home .. dirty washing hung on a line/airer outside and hoover bag contents scattered the idea is they catch this scent and it directs them home

It's great news that it's definitely her. You know she's ok, and you know where she's hanging around. I would do everything you can to get hold of a trap. We wouldn't have got Bertie back without one. He was so terrified, but he's unbelievably happy to be back with us.

Don’t know if your cat will respond but Have you tried shaking a bag of Dreamie’s ?

We often use Dreamies to get cats in but more often than not half the neighbourhood cats come running as well! So maybe worth a try.

Also One of my cats doesn’t recognise us away from the house. She often goes exploring on the fields just behind our street she goes under the fence behind the neighbours garage. But to walk round to the other side Of the fence on the field takes about 10 minutes.
She been gone 48 + hours so went to look for her. Found her on said field but would not come near me kept running away. Had to phone Dh to get the dreamies and call her from street side. Managed to get her back in the house, walked 10 minutes back and once I was in the house, she knew who I was again.

Has happened several times when she’s been spotted elsewhere away from the house/street. She’ll just stare at you blankly or will run away, It’s like she only associates us with Home.Wondering if this could be the case with your cat.

Keeping fingers crossed for you! x

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Ah sorry, just noticed you are not in the uk so have no idea whether you have Dreamies where you are, if not, not sure if that would work!

I got a trap! I remembered a conversation with a family friend about trapping neighbours cats and asked her where she got a trap and turns out the SPCA rent them out for 25p a day! I'd emailed them before and they didn't mention this as they didn't believe my own cat wouldn't come to me. But no matter, have the trap now.

I feel quite scared to use it. Very aware that we get one shot with it and don't want to fuck it up.

coastergirl that's amazing to hear that Bertie is happy to be back home. I keep worrying that Kin Kin's behaviour means she doesn't want to come back.

HowayPet in our house she comes running for the food bowl/dreamies packet but out in the wild no, she's so afraid. Its weird and I expected her to come running to me but she's not. She went missing before but only for two days and when I found her she came running up to me as soon as I called her name. But this time maybe she's been gone for too long and is too scared.

Good luck!