Karla S.
2 months ago
When my indoor cat got outside, this is what I learned: If your cat is indoor only, then it’s likely hiding close by. It won’t approach strangers or be outside during the day walking around. It’s also normal for them not to respond to you because they’re so scared. They are not outside having fun! They are terrified. Look with a flashlight under things around the outside of your house & close neighbors, places like under sheds, porches, decks, under anything a cat could hide under. If you can’t find their hiding place, that’s not unusual. Indoor cats often return to the exact spot where they exited your house, but they do this during the night when it’s dark & quiet. If there’s any way you can leave the point of where they exited your house open during the night, many of them will come back in the same way. If you can’t leave that open, set a humane trap right outside the door they went out through, or under the window they got out through, have it set & baited at dark. Leave outside lights off & resist the urge to go outside to check the trap. If you have a motion activated camera you can put outside pointing towards the trap, you can monitor the trap that way, or baby monitors also will work so you can listen for the trap to go off. Do not leave a set trap unsupervised. You must monitor it during the night from an inside window or a camera in case something goes in it. Keep doing this every night at dark. Your worn clothing with your scent on it can be helpful to place at the point of exit. Until you get a humane trap, set your cat’s food & water at the point of exit when it’s dark. If you have a motion activated camera you can set out there until you get a humane trap, I would do that. Hopefully you’ll see your cat returning during the night. Ask your neighbors with outside security cameras to check the night footage for video of your cat. Make fliers & put one in the front door of your neighbors within a 2 block radius. Sometimes another cat or something else can push your cat off your property to hide, so you want to get fliers out in case a neighbor sees your cat. If that happens, you’ll have to move the trap to where your cat is being seen. A humane trap was the only way I was able to catch my indoor cat in the middle of the night. He returned to exactly where he exited the house. I put the humane trap directly underneath the window he escaped through.
