# Escaped indoor cat - how to get her back?



## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Hi All,

I've read all the advice on retrieving a lost cat and we're doing everything we can but its a slightly different situation...

Alexa was rescued by a friend about 4 years ago. She had just had kittens, she was very young at the time so the vet thought it would have been her first season - so she was less than a year old. Since being rescued, she's been an indoor cat and quite content with that way of life.

When I've been away for more than a few days, I've taken her to my parents house to stay. Took her a few days to properly settle down the first time but now she just jumps out the carrier and walks around to make sure everything is as she left it. 

I was going to be away for this week on business, so brought her out on Sunday late morning. Again, she settled in immediately and was quite content - playing, grooming etc. 

Unfortunately, on sunday evening (after she ate at about 6pm), she escaped out an open window. They managed to find her on Monday afternoon down between a double panelled fence. They had to take a fence panel off to get to her, at which point she bolted uut of the garden into the cul-de-sac. 

There hasnt been any sign of her since and I'm at a loss for what to do. Everything I've read suggests that indoor cats are likely to go to ground, close to the point of escape and not make a noise, even when called. The way she was when she was in the fence backs this up.

They have been constantly searching high and low in any hiding spots - I returned home yesterday to help out and havent been able to shed any light. There are posters up around the village and been put through doors, we've checked in neighbours sheds and things but no joy. We've also hung up some of my worn clothing outside the window she escaped from, left a bowl of food just inside the window and sprayed around it with feliway.

We've managed to find a humane trap from the local rescue centre, which we plan on setting tonight, just inside the perimeter of the garden where she got out. I've also managed to retrieve some fairly pungent used litter from my bin at home to sprinkle around the trap - hopefully drawing her in and keeping other cats away.

There is another cat around - I was woken up at 4am by a cat outside the window looking at me, which set my heart racing. Turned out to be one of the neighbourhood cats, who also ate the food we left out (in a little box with a cushion in it)

The area is a small residential cul-de-sac on the edge of a village, with a few fields backing onto the gardens. So a few specific questions

- How far afield should we be looking, is she likely to have gone across or around fields?
- Is she likely to be moving place to place, or will she have found one hiding spot and sticking to it?
- Do you think she'll have crossed a (fairly) busy road? When she bolted, she went in the opposite direction so we've been focussing the search this side of the road. Its not a dual carriageway or anything, just the main road in and out of the village.
- Should we keep looking for her actively or is that likely to scare her further away? This is where we've had the most amount of conflicting advice..

Any other words of advice or reassurance would be hugely appreciated - we're all distraught. Its my first cat (had her about 2 years) and my parents have never had a cat, so we're all a bit new to this and finding it impossible to second guess her movements.


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## RabbitMonster (Mar 20, 2012)

First question, is she spayed? You said she had had a litter before, so I just wanted to make sure.

Second, my Molly ran off on Tuesday and came back last night, and I was terrified. She's an indoor cat as well, however this is the third time she's managed to get out, and she came back once she was hungry enough. It's tough, but it sounds like you've done everything you can to tempt her back, maybe the best thing now is to wait for her to come home?


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Rabbitmonkee said:


> First question, is she spayed? You said she had had a litter before, so I just wanted to make sure.
> 
> Second, my Molly ran off on Tuesday and came back last night, and I was terrified. She's an indoor cat as well, however this is the third time she's managed to get out, and she came back once she was hungry enough. It's tough, but it sounds like you've done everything you can to tempt her back, maybe the best thing now is to wait for her to come home?


Hi there - yep, she was spayed as soon as she was rescued. She's also microchipped.

Reassuring to know and it's the same message I'm getting from many people. I think its just the unusual circumstances of being away from home and the fact nobody has seen anything of her at all that are worrying me more. I hope she's not trying to get back to my house, as it's about 15 miles away!


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## ella (Jan 1, 2009)

Hiya

my cat Bibi went missing in October - I'd had her 2 months and she escaped. She was seen overnight by neighbours about 5 days later, and was eventually found in a garden about half a mile away. She has no miaow anyway, and was timid - so ran away from people, so I was desperate. I used animalsearch.co.uk and paid for posters etc (insurance covered posters) and the poster helped the 'finder' recognise her. I had a trap and ended up leaving it at the finders' house - because Bibi had forgotten who I was in her fear (she remembered once home) She stayed at the finders house because they were putting food out for foxes and badgers, and she was hungry.

I recommend the posters, leaflets, and word of mouth - speak to dog walkers, joggers etc, and also contact local vets, rescues. I realised that just hunting alone wouldnt work, you need to get as many people as possible aware.

Here is the thread from October - it's long but there are lots of tips too.
http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-chat/198539-postman-left-catflap-open-cats-escaped.html

Keep us posted


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## JTK79 (Mar 22, 2012)

My indoor cat dissappeared last year and is terrified of the outdoors and doesnt like strangers so I didnt think I had any hope in finding her. I went up and down the street calling her and looking in the bushes but not a sign of her anywhere. Then the next day i was in the garden hanging out the washing and started calling her name and I could hear a really quiet miaw, so I kept calling her and follwed the miaw to behind my neighbours bins! She was sat hiding there waiting for me to come and get her as she wasnt stuck she just wouldnt come out bless her  Hope you find her soon, just keep walking around and calling her, she has probably found somewhere safe to hide.


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## Lel (Mar 21, 2012)

When my cat first came to his new home he did a disappearing act on us and a lady at the cats protection gave some really helpful advice which worked for us.

The advice I was given was to go out very early in the morning before it starts to get light (half 3 to 4 o clock).

You need to start a set distance from where you saw her (for example a quarter of a mile away) and walk back in a straight line towards the house, call her all the time whilst you walk back. 

It's important you walk in a straight line because if you are wandering around the area calling for her she may get confused. If she is a house cat in an unfamiliar place she will obviously not know her way.

When you go looking for her, take some tinned fish (like pilchards) and heat it in the microwave til it really smells. Put the lid on it until you get to your starting point and then open it and waft it about whilst you walk back to the house.

When you get back to the house ideally you want someone to wait there in case she comes back. You then need to pick another starting point (eg quarter mile in the other direction) and walk back again towards the house.

It took 3 days of doing this but my boy eventually found his way home after 3 days.

Also bring the contents of your hoover drum and tip some around the house. The familiar smells may also help her find her way back if she is close.

Register her missing on every website you can find, put an advert in your local paper and put posters up where you can.

Good luck and don't give up hope.


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## Lel (Mar 21, 2012)

Also I forgot to add, the conflicting advice you've been getting about whether she is trying to find her way back to your house is not surprising since no one know what goes through a cat's mind; this was exactly the situation we found ourselves in not knowing whether to look around our current area or where his old home was.

I would suggest since she is not familiar with the area that you spend as much time as you can when it is dark calling for her as even if she doesn't usually respond to her name, she will know the sound of your voice.

Check in any areas where there are communal bins as she may have been tempted by some scraps!


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Thanks for that - interesting advice that I havent heard before

Ive read a lot of good things about the use of traps and this obviously relies on not chasing after her at night when she's likely to be out hunting. The other difficulty is the area we're in - it's backed by a couple of fields, so not many acessible 1/4 mile straight lines. 

One of the fields is overgrown and has piles of junk in it. The other is much bigger and is used for crops. The former is prime suspect as there's so many bits of undergrowth and piles of rubbish for her to hide in that it's just impossible to see through. So we're going to set one trap up there and one in the garden here. I might try your suggestion if that doesnt work for a few nights.

How important do you think my voice is in this whole thing? I ask because I obviously dont live here, so coming to search at 4am isnt very practical, but my parents would be more than happy to get up for 1/2 an hour to pop out. She knows them quite well - they often come into my flat to feed her if I'm away for a day or 2 and she's been out here before.


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## broccoli (Jul 1, 2011)

definately hang unwashed clothes/sofa blankets of yours in your parents garden - your scent could help her find her way.


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## Lel (Mar 21, 2012)

I fully appreciate what a pain in the bum it is and I remember those days hauling myself out of bed at 3 am to look for him. My opinion that if she is your cat it needs to be you - she is probably very nervous and frightened and even though she is comfortable with your parents she might not be bonded enough with them to react to their voice in her confused state. 

Obviously you have to do what you can but I would not have sent anyone else out looking for my boy because I didn't feel that he would really be responding to his name, more the sound of my voice.

Just my opinion though 

I suppose another factor you have to consider is that with her being kept indoor for so long this could be sensory overload for her and she might be having a great time!

As far as finding a straight path, look on google maps aerial view and plan your route. Even in a built up area where we live I was able to find a relatively straight path back. The important thing is that you do not wander aimlessly.

Even if she does not come back straight away when you call her, if she is out there and hears your voice then after a few nights it may reassure her enough to find her way back to you.


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Yeah I get the whole voice thing - just will be near impossible to be out here at 4am every night as I work a 9-5. Might be able to get out for midnight though I guess. It's really hard and I'd do anything to have her back though...

To give you some perspective, here's where she escaped:

ex10 0be - Google Maps

You can see the L shaped building on the south of Down Close - thats the house. When she bolted from the fence, the didnt see her go past the gate towards Exmouth Road (the "main" road I mentioned). I've been concentrating my search on the gardens in Down Close although there are only a few good hiding places and no sign of her in them. You can see where there's a gate to the left into the overgrown field - thats where I think she's most likely to be.

There are posters on lampost and fliers in doors all down Exmouth Road, Little Down Orchard and Badger close. Although its impossible to go through each garden with a fine toothcomb like I have been in the more local area


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## Lel (Mar 21, 2012)

This looks perfect for straight line searching - can you get into the fields even if it means climbing the fence (this is what I had to do!)

She may well be honing her hunting skills - I bet there is loads of wildlife there.

I work a 9-5 too, I know it might seem a bit OTT to go out at 3am when you have to get up for work at 7 or 8 but I couldn't relax with him missing anyway so I wasn't sleeping well anyway.

You could always try going to bed really early, knowing you will be getting up at 3 or 4? Obviously there is no guarantee this will work, just sharing my experience which worked for us.

Whatever you decide you are able to do, I really wish you all the best because I know how worrying this is!

The good thing is that from the map it looks like there are more fields than roads, I'm sure her instincts will kick in and she'll catch herself some dinner!


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

The one thing that put a smile on my face today was a pile of bird feathers near all the piles of junk in that field on the left - so many hiding places there so I'm hopeful that the traps will do the job.


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## ella (Jan 1, 2009)

When Bibi was seen by neighbours overnight, she was walking 'small' low to the ground, and she travelled alongside walls/fences to the house where she was found.

I dont imagine that your cat will break cover by going into open fields (in her mind she will make herself open to prey) - more likely along fence lines/bushes etc.

You DO have a bit of an advantage in that it is light fairly late and early. If you can go out for an hour now and an hour around 5am tomorrow, all good.

Also, similar to the advice around smells, wear unwashed clothes that will have your scent on them (my coat got filthy but I didnt wash it in case she recognised the smell)

We're all here to help


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Thats what I've been trying to look for - straight lines along fences and things. Coming over the fence on the right hand side of the L shaped building, we know she didnt go right or they'd have seen her past the fence. So she either went straight over, or hung a left next to the walls - that takes her straight into the field where there are loads of hiding spots right at the entrance


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## ella (Jan 1, 2009)

How are you setting the traps, and monitoring them?

I set one that I could see from the house, and did catch neighbour's cats at first. I was worried that if Bibi saw a cat trapped that it would make her more scared, so I checked every 2/3 hours through the window overnight (it wasnt as bad as it sounds to wake that often). The trap did take a few tries to get going, so it's worth a practise. 

I used smelly food in the trap - sardines, and gravy based foods


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Havent set them yet, only got them today. Plan is a towel inside (sprayed with feliway) with some fish cat food in them and a blanket over the top. 

I'm sleeping in the room she escaped out of with the window wide open (2 duvets for me!) so if she just comes in there then I'll know about it. If the trap in the garden goes, I'll hear it as the windows open.

Not sure about monitoring the one in the field - I dont want to trap any neighbouring cats for too long, but also dont want to disturb Alexa if she's scared and trying to find food - as, from what I can gather, is the point of using traps. There's only one house nearby with a cat and the owner is fine with the traps going out - so we'll probably just check it when the sun's up in the morning. If we do catch the neighbour's cat, he wont get caught again!


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## ella (Jan 1, 2009)

That sounds good, someone did tell me that they thought I might catch foxes or badgers, but the reality was that the trap was too small for badgers, and the foxes just werent interested (and cats can run quicker than foxes too so dont worry about foxes getting her) I did leave a towel in the trap, but it was raining at the time and got soggy, so I gave up on that (figured she wouldnt go on a soggy towel however much she wanted to come home....)

I know it's hard if you are working to do the walking routes, but my routine for looking for Bibi was: 
5.30am walk round (20-30 mins or so)
7.30am another walk then 8am work (although I did work from home some days and added walks)
5.30pm home and another walk
7.30pm walk
9.30pm last evening walk
midnight and 2.30am check trap out window (3 mins each unless I got a cat!)

It was exhausting, and I lost weight (!) but the rewards of getting her home outweighed it all. 

Have you contacted animalsearch? They were great and I did get a couple of calls to their helpline too...


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Yeah I'll still be doing walks during the day - but the really quiet hours of midnight-5ish I want to leave as still as possible for her in case the traps work. I'm wondering if I try Lel's straight line searching at about midnight every night - late enough to be quiet in terms of kids, dogs and traffic but not interfering with the peak hunting hours. 

I've registered her with animalsearch and spoke to Tom this morning about thier search and rescue service too. I'm not convinced they are offering anything more than we've already been doing.


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## ella (Jan 1, 2009)

iaind said:


> I've registered her with animalsearch and spoke to Tom this morning about thier search and rescue service too. I'm not convinced they are offering anything more than we've already been doing.


I used their helpline and was able to sleep without having to check my phone or get fake calls - that in itself was worth it for me.

I agree with the straight line walking too - Bibi went along a path near my house, and then took a left turn along a line of garden fences - basically 2 straightish lines along paths/fences.... she only crossed 1 minor (single track) road

I was advised to try a red light overnight (apparently they dont see it as well as the white light from a torch- I used a bike light) and kept an eye out for the shine from her eyes, and seriously considered using night vision binoculars (I found out a friend of mine had some!!)


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## Amin (Jul 31, 2009)

Good Luck with The search, Don't give up. You will get Her back I,am sure.


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

We've not had a single call from the fliers, so not worried about fake calls. If we used their freephone number on the posters, I'd still be checking my phone for the call from them anyway

If she's likely to have stayed close to fences and walls and not crossed any roads, it really limits where she could be - which is reassuring. The red light idea is a neat one - will pick one of those up.

I actually looked at pricing of thermal imaging cameras! I'd pay anything to have her back, but dont have that sort of cash


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## ella (Jan 1, 2009)

iaind said:


> I actually looked at pricing of thermal imaging cameras! I'd pay anything to have her back, but dont have that sort of cash


Lol! me too - you could ask around, my friend had night vision binoculars for watching wildlife but I guess people might have them for all sorts of reasons (spy/peeping tom etc) - I also though of asking the local army cadets if they had one I could borrow.

Rooting for you that she comes back soon!!

e


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## Staysee (Oct 19, 2009)

I hope she comes home or you find her. I was meant to have been at Bicton college and if i had been i woulda come help you look for her, but im down plymouth so not as easy.


I cant remember exactly how far bicton is from NP or how much land they own, but maybe its worth getting in touch with the college, seeing as they'll have students living on site and locally in student houses, worth a shot?


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Thanks for that staysee - a very kind offer!

A few days later but no progress. Traps have been out for 2 nights now - first night it was raining quite a lot so imagine she'll have stayed hunkered down somewhere as dry as possible - especially if it was her killing birds in that field the day before!

Last night we caught one of the 2 neighbourhood cats (both owners were aware we are trapping and were ok with it!) but nothing else. This is good in a way, as it means he won't go near the trap again.

She's definitely not hiding anywhere im going to be able to find and get to her, so theories at this stage are

- she's hiding somewhere I can't find here in "complete cover" mode and she'll come back of her own accord after 7-10 days (so early next week) or well get her in a trap
- she's trying to get back to my flat, about 10 miles away. Unlikely as she's never been outside at either flat
- something has happened to her meaning she can't get back to me - injured, stuck or worse.
- or according to the upsetting guilt trip I got yesterday, she's escaped because I don't pay her enough attention. I'm home with her every evening and weekend but have been away for 24 hours max (with someone popping in to feed her) 3 times in 3 months. 
- having been an outdoor cat for the first few months of her life, she saw an opportunity for a bit of freedom and took it. Given her reaction when we found her the first time, this seems unlikely. However, if she does develop a taste for outside life, it's a bridge il have to cross when I get there. I cant offer her an outdoor lifestyle here (city flat near a busy road) but I'm planning to move in the next year or so. This also seems unlikely - if she was happily running around and hunting/exploring then someone would have seen her

I'm really hoping its the first option. Going back tonight to try calling her and another trick I've read - use a recording of cat meowing on the phone. Then early next week if the traps don't yield anything, I'll start the straight line searching later at night.

What a horrible week this has been, she's my little companion and I'd do anything to get her back


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## Lel (Mar 21, 2012)

I'm sure the amount of attention you give her has nothing to do with the situation; cats are inquisitive by nature and the open window at your parents was obviously too tempting to resist.

As to what she is doing now, it's impossible for any of us to know but the best suggestion is to not give up and keep looking.

Does she wear a collar with your details on in case someone finds her?


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Lel said:


> I'm sure the amount of attention you give her has nothing to do with the situation; cats are inquisitive by nature and the open window at your parents was obviously too tempting to resist.
> 
> As to what she is doing now, it's impossible for any of us to know but the best suggestion is to not give up and keep looking.
> 
> Does she wear a collar with your details on in case someone finds her?


I don't plan on giving up, it's just difficult to focus when there are so many potential situations.

She gets lavished with attention when I'm home. The guilt trip was from the lady who originally rescued here before giving her to me a few years ago, think she's just venting stress.

She's got a collar but no details on it (not much need for an indoor cat, so I thought...). She's chipped though and all the vets/rescue centres in the area know to look out for her


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## ella (Jan 1, 2009)

Hiya

wanted to check if you had found her yet? Still hoping she comes home soon

e


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

No news or sightings yet no


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## ella (Jan 1, 2009)

Dont give up yet! The posters may still come good. (Mine did after 9 days!). I found that I reached a big dip in morale after a week or so, but things change quickly - it may be worth revisiting the posters (some of mine were torn down by kids) or rethinking the siting of posters to a wider area

Best of luck

e


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Exactly my plan - was going to re do them today and put them out in the next few days


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Morning all

After nearly 2 weeks - she's back!!

Thanks to everyone here for the advice and support, its been invaluable.

In the end, it was a combination of techniques which brought her home. I was out on wednesday night trying the straight line searching. At one point, there was a rustling sound (which was distinctly cat like!) from some undergrowth in a field when I called her name. Couldnt see her and didnt want to go ploughing through the undergrowth in case she bolted again. Was hoping she'd show up that night, but no joy.

We decided to move one of the traps up closer to that point last night - sure enough at 6am my phone rang - the trap did the job!

She's lost a fair bit of weight, her collar's gone and she's gained a small scratch under her nose, but otherwise she's fine. Seems really happy to be home, not distressed at all - being very vocal but think she's just enjoying the attention.

Didn't want to bundle her straight in the car and leave her at home alone all day, so she's still out at parents (with windows firmly closed!!) and will pick her up tonight.

Thanks again all, so happy to have her back and safe


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## MoggyBaby (Mar 8, 2011)

What wonderful and fantastic news!!!!! 

Absolutely delighted for both you and your little girl. I think this is going to be a very good weekend for you.

Thank you for the update.


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## ella (Jan 1, 2009)

Fantastic news!!

So glad she's home.

May be worth a de-flea treatment and wormer (Bibi came back with a tick)


So happy for you


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Yeah I normally give her frontline every 5-6 weeks but she was overdue, so will definitely be doing that.

She had a 3 month spot on worming treatment with her jabs (probably about 3 months ago) so will probably do that too.


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## merrimate (Apr 21, 2012)

aww iaind I am SO pleased for you ..and your cat!! I am new to the forum so have just been reading through this thread for the first time, and I have to admit that by page 3 I was losing hope for her safe return.

Well done for your untiring efforts in looking for her.

Sooooooo happy this story ended happily!


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## Etienne (Dec 8, 2010)

Congratulations on getting your cat back.


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## smudgiesmummy (Nov 21, 2009)

iaind said:


> Morning all
> 
> After nearly 2 weeks - she's back!!
> 
> ...


that's great news she's come back... they really do worry us ... my smudge who's also a house cat escaped a few years ago ... took him a whole month te reappear .. he had blisters on his feet and lost a few pounds , we used the animalsearchuk and they were brilliant

we had quite few sightings of him but because he's timid with strangers no one could actually catch him... in the end he just walked back to the front door the same way he walked out ... i will never forget that day we opened the door by chance and he was sat there with a silent meow .. he disappeared when we had the really bad snow and came back the day it melted


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## Lel (Mar 21, 2012)

So so SO pleased for you! I'm sure she is relieved you have found her too! 
:biggrin5:
You might find her to be a bit clingy-er than normal when she's back home - mine was initially after he went missing.


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## Jiskefet (May 15, 2011)

Reason for a party!!!!!!

I am so happy for you...
My Tosca got herself shut in somewhere, a garage or shed, probably, a couple of ywars ago, and she only came home after 2 weeks, so I know the state you must have beenin.....

So good she's back home!!!


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## iaind (Aug 30, 2010)

Lel said:


> So so SO pleased for you! I'm sure she is relieved you have found her too!
> :biggrin5:
> You might find her to be a bit clingy-er than normal when she's back home - mine was initially after he went missing.


She is a bit yeah 

She spent the day at my parents house and I picked her up after work - went home via the vet. They pulled a tick off her and shoved a worming tablet down her, clean bill of health otherwise.

When I took her out the car at home, she immediately realised where she was and started meowing excitedly - paws were even coming out the front of the carrier. She had a good run around the flat to make sure everything was where she left it, scoffed a good pile of food and went to sleep on my lap. She didn't want to leave my side yesterday evening and night at all - spent the whole night asleep on me. Think she was absolutely exhausted, didn't want to play at all and even shouted at me when I went to bed to carry her through.

She's had a good nights sleep - even when 2 cats started fighting right outside the window in the middle of the night she barely moved. A good breakfast and a poo and she's happily asleep on my bed on her own... Not before a good belly rub though


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## Lel (Mar 21, 2012)

Gorgeous!


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## Kat86 (Jan 26, 2012)

So pleased for your happy ending! Was trying to find this thread recently in the hope that all your efforts had been rewarded..delighted that it popped up again with happy news!


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