If an indoor cat escapes outdoors, how long

[Eurobabe]

could they survive without shelter in cold temps (teens at night)? My mom's youngest cat got out, and he has not come home yet. She is really upset
and thinking that he will die of exposure. I told her that he will probably come home soon, hang in there. Does anyone have experience
with an indoor kitty going missing in the winter? :(

[roody]

1. He probably has a little sheltered niche somewhere or

he is in someone else's house. I hope he comes home soon.

[Eurobabe]

2. Well his collar has my mom's phone number on it

so if someone took him in, you would think they would call her? :shrug: Yeah, we are getting more and more upset with each passing hour. :cry:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. If it's any consolation, here's my story:

One morning about 20 years ago my indoor cat, Leonard, snuck out of the house and disappeared. It was January in Minneapolis, with a ton of snow on the ground and WAY below zero (-10 or more) every night. And he was gone for nearly a week. We searched the neighborhood, tried to follow tracks in the snow (but the snow was too hard and cold), put up signs, etc., with no luck. I was sure he'd frozen solid somewhere. Then one morning as I was leaving for work, I opened the back door and there he was on the porch, hungry but otherwise none the worse for the wear. He had dead leaves in his fur, so I think he must have found shelter somewhere, maybe under a porch or in a garage. He came in, ate until he nearly exploded, then fell asleep on a radiator for like a day. He never tried to take off again.

Cats are tough, resourceful little beasts. If it's only in the teens at night (that's not so cold, relatively speaking) and he finds shelter (which he will) he should be fine. I'm sure he'll find his way home.

[Eurobabe]

5. Well, that is hopeful...

thanks I just told my mom.

[CountAllVotes]

4. this happened to my Maine Coon

he was a kitten at the time and had wandered off. We thought he was gone for good.

We went out searching for him and came to a house about 1/2 mile up the road from where we were living (this was in the dead of the winter - lots of cold rain and ice).

At the house we came to there was a man spotted outside. We asked him if he'd seen a little kitten by chance.

He said, yes he had seen the kitten and that it was INSIDE of his house and was having a nice long nap!

He had not suffered one bit - he'd wandered off and found himself another home in about 15 minutes it seems.

Cats are pretty darn smart.

How old is your mom's kitten?

When this happened to the one we had he was about 4 months old if I remember right.

Hang in there and I hope that the kitten shows up soon.

It is a good thing he has a collar on with a phone # on it. I'm a huge advocate of these types of collars and had one on my latest addition to my household for 2 years. Just recently I decided to let it go being the collar was lost and said cat is micro-chipped.

:hug: from your friend,

CountAllVotes

[Eurobabe]

6. Thanks, he's not a kitten, he's almost 9

Not chipped, but has a collar with my mom's tel # on it. It's possible though that he slipped the thing. He's very high-strung, skittery and not likely to let anyone pick him up. Hell, he won't even let my mom pick him up, but he is affectionate.

I keep telling my mom not to give up hope, I think Biddy just found a nice hiding spot, and he is hangin' out. My first cat got loose for 4 days, and I was beside myself. He came back in the middle of the night, hungry and crying.

I agree, I think cats are very resilient and clever, they find ways to survive. :hug:

[CountAllVotes]

7. is he neutered?

the cat I mentioned was not neutered. As soon as we got him back it was a trip the vet for him.

If he is not neutered, he might be ought having a look around.

Is it possible to post pictures of him around where she lives? That might help.

Keep us posted & I hope he returns home soon!

[Eurobabe]

10. He's neutered, all that jazz

Yes, she has posted pix in her complex. As of last night, no kitty. :(

[demnan]

8. Cats know how to seek shelter

the biggest danger to a cat is the road and their desire to wander if not fixed.

Your new little charge will probably find his way home unless he is unlucky on the highway. At that point, make the appointment to make him a "gentleman cat".

[Eurobabe]

11. He is fixed. No worries there

The only main road through her complex has a speed limit of about 35, I doubt he would cross it. Neighbors saw him on Saturday, now it is just a waiting game.

[femmedem]

14. Don't just wait. Tell her to go calling and calling for him.

I say that because twice I had indoor cats get out, and after the fun wore off they were too scared to move, even to come home. They weren't that far away, but they hunkered down until they heard me. One of them wouldn't even come when I called, but he called back to me. I kept following the sound of his voice until I found him crouched down in some bushes. He's like your Mom's cat--affectionate, but really doesn't like to be picked up. He didn't mind that time, though.

I'm glad the neighbors saw him. That must be a huge relief.

[Lorien]

9. Has she put up reward posters

with his photo on them? Maybe someone took him inside.

When I take my cat Puck on her walkies (she's an indoor cat) she often mistakes houses with the same sort of profile and front porch for our home. Biddy could have done the same and may have been taken in by a kindly soul.

[Eurobabe]

12. I think so, I know she has put flyers up

our only guess is that he possibly slipped out of his collar (that had her phone number on it) He is devilishly quick, and very hard to catch. I bet he is just holed up freezing his ass off out there. She is going to flyer her neighborhood again today, I think.

It is possible that he may have darted in someone's garage and is stuck in there. Not too many of the townhomes have garages, but I believe across the street and behind her, people have them. I will suggest that she flyer them as well.

Thanks for the concern. :hug:

[Lorien]

13. Just don't give up hope, even if it takes him weeks to return!

A friend of a friend had a cat go missing for three weeks up in Ohio just recently. She thought for certain that coyotes had gotten him-but she did find him one morning on her way to work. He was sitting on top of the roof of a house down the street from her! Just too weird.

When I was in college I had a pet ferret named Ravi Stinkar. I just loved him to bits-he was so silly! Like a puppy who wouldn't grow up. Anyway, I went home for the summer and Ravi managed to get out of his rabbit hutch which had been put outside in the backyard because of the beautiful weather. We couldn't find him anywhere. And because he was SUCH a silly beast I didn't think that he could survive traffic for a nanosecond. I put up flyers everywhere-even though ferrets were illegal in Ohio back then. Even the local police helped me look for him. I did get one call from a person who said that they saw Ravi playing on the train tracks about a half mile from my mom's home, but they couldn't catch him-he just kept bounding around them in circles and then running off, trying to get them to play. Weeks passed and I had given up hope, but then one evening I heard a scratch at the back door. I opened it and there was Ravi! He wandered in like nothing ever happened. had a little drink, and bite of food, then curled up and took a nap. He wasn't even very hungry. I'm sure that he had quite a few adventures but we'll never know about any of them. It was amazing that a silly little ferret could make it back to a home that really wasn't his after so many days though!

[badgerpup]

15. Another one for "The cat came back, all's well that ends well" file...

When Riktor was about 8 months old (he'd undergone 'the procedure' at about 6 months) he went on a 'business trip'...for ELEVEN. FREAKING. DAYS.

I called and called, asked the neighbors, checked the pound, both calling and actually going down there to look (Riktor has a microchip, but I got conflicting stories re: "Our scanner isn't working"...
"I don't know who told you that; it's working just fine" :grr::banghead: )for him.
He would NOT wear a collar (ditched three before I gave up on collars)...but I put an ad in the "Lost Pet" section.

Meanwhile, Misha (a.k.a. "the Boss") was going absolutely bugnutz...
he not only hated being an Only Cat, but Riktor was his padawan, Little Buddy, apprentice, baby brudder, companion.
Misha had brought Riktor home and informed me that this kitten (about five and a half months, as best as we could tell from his teeth) was now part of the household and would I please make the necessary arrangements.

A week and a half...I'm starting to give up hope. At five in the morning, Misha decides he needs to go out. I let him out, start to close the door....and then there's the most BEAUTIFUL sound in the world from under the car...MRRROOUWWW!! (Hey, wait for ME!)
In runs Riktor. He heads straight for the feeding station and eats for five solid minutes (that's really quite a long time) before he even greets me. Skinny, starving...didn't seem to be hurt anywhere though.
Think he maybe got accidentally shut in somewhere...poor little guy.

As of nearly six years later, he's never taken another 'business trip'. He still goes out, will occasionally spend the night outside if the weather is fine (or too damn hot!), but he sticks pretty close to home anymore.

[XemaSab]

16. Go out at dusk and call his name softly

Our cat got out and was missing for 11 days before we tried that. She had been under the house the whole time. :(

[CountAllVotes]

17. that happened to my cat too

and it was that same Maine Coon. He was trapped under the duplex next door to where we lived. Someone thought they had heard a faint meow. Sure enough he came running out from under the duplex. He'd be nailed in by a handyman fixing the place!

Look around close to where she lives. Has anyone had any work done around the premises recently?

I hope he returns soon!

:dem:

[yellerpup]

18. My friend's cat escaped one January

He was missing for a week and there was no response to the posters they put up around town. I went out canvassing the neighborhood and no one had seen him. What we did was bundle up then sat outside on her back porch after midnight and talked very quietly together. She sang his 'hungry song' that she always sang when she served his dinner. Well, the song made her a little weepy but it was almost inaudible because of sleeping neighbors-- and guess who came out of his hiding place to comfort her? I suppose this could happen at any time of day because cats don't usually go far from home base, but sound carries better late at night and kitties don't like yelling. Good luck to you. My cat got out overnight and we didn't notice him gone until the next morning. When I found him he hissed at me (which he NEVER did) but I brought him in and he gobbled a meal then slept all day. He was mad at me for a couple of days, but he never tried to escape again. Let us know how it turns out. :hug:

[Azlady]

19. Cats are smart kiddos -

Has your Mom tried putting out some tuna or a favorite smelly food? Sometimes that will call them in. If there is a door that her cat greets her at when she comes home, I'd stick out some food there. Be sure and tell you Mom to pound on the front of the car real good before starting the engine, cats will tuck themselves up by a warm engine. I also wonder if perhaps a neighbor had an open garage, cat went in garage, they loaded up their car, closed the garage door and went somewhere for the Holiday??????

We had barn cats, wild, I realize that they always lived outdoors, but they did just fine in the bitter cold.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

20. I second the advice to go calling him

Back when I was in grad school, I lived in a household with an indoor-outdoor cat who went missing one day.

After 24 hours, we went outside and called his name. We heard a disembodied meow from an unknown direction. We kept calling and following the meows, and realized that the sound was coming from our neighbor's basement.

We went next door and explained the situation, and the neighbors allowed us into their basement. However, the basement was a bare space with no obvious kitty hiding places. Then it dawned on us that the noise was coming out of the wall, specifically out of a metal door in the wall.

We opened the door and the cat hopped out, meowing furiously. It turned out that the door was the inside door of the old coal scuttle. Somehow the cat had found his way into the coal scuttle and gotten trapped there.

[Eurobabe]

21. UPDATE: Kitty is still missing

:(

No new sightings.

[BrklynLiberal]

22. I am so sorry to hear that...

The only thing I can suggest is that you must picture her in a safe, warm place, being taken care of by some kind person.
I know this is difficult, but it is the way that will allow you some peace of mind for now. Until you know for sure that is not true, you can try to imagine the best.:hug:

[Eurobabe]

23. He is my mom's cat, but I seem to be

more upset about it than she is. He's the one who has had a "peeing" issue for the past 5-6 years. I hope maybe someone took him in, and he is loved. That's about all I can wish for. :shrug:

[femmedem]

24. I'm so sorry to hear this.

I've been checking the thread daily hoping for better news.
But it's too early to give up. Cats are desert animals and they can go longer than you'd think without food and water.

[AZBlue]

25. Any news?

I keep hoping you'll update that he's back home!

[Eurobabe]

26. Nope. He's still missing.

I saw a picture of him today in my photobucket account and felt very sad. He was a sweet boy.

[AZBlue]

27. What a cutie!

Oh, my heart is breaking - I'm sure he's ok wherever he is, but I'm sure he's awfully missed!

[catgirl]

28. Tell her to go door knocking!

The kitty may be trapped in someone's garage or shed. Or perhaps someone took him in.
I once lost a cat and found her in someone's apartment down the street. I went out and
loudly called her name. She heard me and started wailing (loud meowing cries).

This same cat also got stuck under a neighbors porch, another neighbors bathroom floor (!!)
and fell into a fenced alleyway. Cats get stuck in places. Your mom needs to get there and
scream his name, door knock and put up fliers. Check the pounds too. If he hasn't come home
on his own in that kind of cold, it means he isn't able to.

I know how she feels

[Eurobabe]

29. She has given up hope

it's been over 3 weeks since he was sighted. At first I thought he got trapped in a garage, but now I think either someone took him in (sans collar) or he didn't make it.

I feel so sad that he won't be there to greet me at her house anymore. :cry: :cry:

[catgirl]

30. Maybe he'll show up when the weather gets warmer

If someone took him in, he'll probably meow to go outside.