These two websites have amazing information about lost cat behavior - and what steps to take to systematically go about doing an effective cat search :

http://www.missingpetpartnership.org
http://catsinthebag.org/ this one has a forum where you can post specifics about your cat and get feedback and support

Im sorry to hear this - I know how worried and heartsick you must be. My cat was gone 6 weeks and the not knowing was pure agony - but the good news is I GOT HIM BACK by applying the information.

Good luck - the more you can follow the steps the better your odds - especially these first few days its important to really get out there and cover all bases . I would write more about it but the websites above cover it all so much more thoroughly than I could here.

Heres hoping your kitty is home soon!!!!

I hope you find her.

kashka_kat......that's good information, I read up!

I've only had my indoor only cat for 4 months. We walk him on a harness....but ......ya never know.....

I hope your cat comes home soon....

I checked out the 2 sites kashka mentioned - they have TONS of good advice on how to search for a missing cat.

From my own experience, they rarely go far. I can only suggest that you start searching again very close to home and very thoroughly.

Worst case, I had a male go missing for well over a week. Signs up, neighbors notified, searches over increasingly wider areas. He turned up IN MY BASEMENT, holed up, injured, skinny, and absolutely silent. My Jack Russell actually found him when I was downstairs doing the laundry. The dog alerted and "pointed" (tail wagging) into an area full of stacked-up boxes. When I moved one box (expecting to find a mouse house), my cat's paw flopped out. He was weak, dehydrated, and turned out to have an abdominal injury, possibly due to a fall from a tree. He survived for many years.

We HAD searched around the house, but outside, we never thought to search the basement itself (if he was in the house, surely he would make his presence known, right? Wrong!).

Another time I had a newish cat go missing for several nights in very cold weather. Looked everywhere, called, made cat noises, shook the Friskies box endlessly. Nothing. Checked neighbors' yards and outbuildings. Nothing. Finally in desperation I crawled under the deck again (it had been searched by 3 different people already). Found the cat wedged inside a stack of wooden pallets. Not a peep out of her.

So I would suggest that you make another beyond-thorough, obsessive VISUAL search starting at the point of exit. Don't expect your guy to respond to your calls or presence.

Good luck, it's excruciating when they disappear like this.

Agree with the above. My two cats began acting strangely one day; they kept going down the basement, circling around, and looking upset many times a day. I looked all over and couldn't find anything making them behave that way. Then about a week later I discovered a neighbor's cat hiding in a corner--he had not eaten nor had water for an entire week nor did he let out one sound. We think he came into the back door when I had it propped open to move some things. Also, one time my own cat got out and I found him a couple days later locked in my neighbor's garage. So I agree with the others--so often "lost" cats are close by! The best advice I know is to put out some of your worn clothes, like old Tshirts to attract them back by smell. Smelly food like tuna, too.

OMG yes - they go into survival mode and keep hidden.

I was in total denial that my cat would be hiding or running from me and wouldn't come when I called. After all, he was always first in line for dinner, why wouldn't he come??? It wasn't til 5 weeks later I got a motion-activated wildlife camera (very affordable these days) and I saw that it wasn't only raccoons eating the food I was putting out - there was my cat!!!!! I got a trap and was going to trap him, but one night he was nearby when I was putting food out, he saw me and made the connection and broke his silence and I got him back inside where e instantly reverted to being the same old cuddlepuss he was before he got chased away (by a neighbor kid) and went missing. Was VERY skinny, ate nonstop for about 2 days.

The thing is - had I put the camera up right away I probably could have gotten him back within a week - my neighbor swears she saw him 3 am the third night. But stupid me - I was in denial, still thinking he wouldn't run from me.

I figure $50 for the camera was a good investment - I'll have it to help other people out.

This post was edited by kashka_kat on Thu, Apr 24, 14 at 20:10