Re: Extremely scary cat missing for 10 days - what can I do?

"Ton Muller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> For about a year we have/had a, declawed, about 7 years old spayed
> female cat, Maisie, which we had obtained at a pet adopting weekend at
> a pet shop in South St. Paul. Maisie is extremely scared of strangers,
> dogs, etc. When relatives come to visit, she hides under the blanket
> on the bed. By the way, we live now in the center of St. Paul, MN. We
> let Maisie go out in the garden, at first with a lot of supervision,
> later with less. On her own she does/did not leave the garden. The
> last few weeks we gave her less food, she had to go on a diet because
> she had become too fat.
> About two month ago my sister in law brought in a female kitten, about
> 7 months old, not declawed, which we called Lizl. After a month in
> quarantine we brought her in the house as well, in order to give
> Maisie some company.
> They did not get along well, though. Maisie did not like to play, and
> Lizl became more aggressive, smashing Maisie with her paws. For
> instance, she jumped on Maisie from a chair while putting her claws in
> her. So we were forced to put Lizl on a leash inside the house for
> most of the time. On Sunday the 19th we did not Maisie for quite a
> while, she seemed to be in hiding in the house, we thought hiding from
> Maisie.
> On Monday the 20th of October I let Maisie out in the morning; I let
> her enter the house again, but must have let her out again, I cannot
> remember. Anyway, when I got home from work, Maisie could not be
> found. At first I thought she was in hiding again. But now we have to
> assume that she remained outside, and has gone into the neighborhood.
> It was a very windy day, and in fact a big tree fell in the garden
> that day. No, we did not find her under the three.
> The question is: how do we get her back? She has name tages on,
> including phone number and home address, but she is extremely wary of
> strangers, and fortunately, cars. I fear she will not let herself be
> touched by strangers.
> We live in the center of town. There are other stray cats in out
> gardens.
> We brought Lisl to my mother in law; her cats are not so easily
> intimidated, and keep her in check.
> We have walked around the neighborhood, looking for Maisie, but did
> not see her.
> I put posters on telephone poles in the neighborhood with a picture of
> Maisie, I sent E-mails to a neighborhood group.
> I borrowed a cage, and caught indeed another, white stray cat that I
> released again. (I also caught a squirrel - never heard a squirrel
> make sound before!).
> The last few days no one has eaten the food that we put outside,
> however.
> I went to the Humane Society, and the Animal Control center.
> I put her litter box in the porch, in the hope that the smell would
> attract her back.
> Like so many pets, she has become a member of the family, and because
> of her vulnerability we worry a lot about her. Snow has been
> predicted.
> Has anyone an idea how to get her back?
>
> Ton Muller

Not trying to discourage you, but most of the declawed cats that are
reported missing for more than a couple of days are not found alive.  Their
natural defenses (their claws) are gone and even climbing a tree to run from
a dog is not possible.  It's not your fault that she was declawed (assuming
she was declawed when you got her) and it may be too late now, but it's not
a good idea to let declawed cats outside on their own, ever.  In addition,
when we have a declawed cat for adoption, they typically must go to homes
where they will be an only pet, because they feel defenseless and almost
always do not get along with other animals including other cats.

It's hard to say what has happened to Maisie, but the combo of being on a
diet and possibly went hunting around for her own food, being declawed, and
feeling threatened by a newcomer, isn't a good sign.  Best case, I would
hope that someone saw her and took her in, and for some reason doesn't know
you're looking for her.  I didn't see mention of a Lost ad in the paper -
make sure you do that, and of course check the Found ads.  Most papers offer
Found ads for free so that it's easy for someone who has found an animal to
report it.  Good luck with your search and Maisie will be in our prayers.

-- 
~ Lori
and Jack, Sasha, Rufus, Joey, and Bug
{Clean the doghouse to reply}
~ http://www.smithandwest.net/
~ PETS, Inc -   http://www.petsinc.org/
~ http://petsinc.petfinder.org/