Advise on catching my cat

[paulineb]

My cat went missing from the vets surgery 6 weeks ago. We have now found a garden that he is visiting (and sleeping under the lady's summerhouse). The lady has been very kindly putting food out for him so that he has a place that he knows he can go. After many visits to the garden and not seeing him, I finally managed to see him myself today. However, after coaxing him close enough to me, I made the mistake of trying to pick him up and hold him. He twisted out of my arms and bolted, I had to let him go or I would have hurt him. My question is, is it likely that he will go back to the garden or have I blown it? I know I should have been more patient, but I have missed him so and didn't think we'd ever see him again when he went missing.

[Meandmymunki]

Hi Pauline
By far the easiest way will be to borrow a trap off a local rescue or cats protection, then when he goes in for the food just cover trap with a towel and take him home and let him out when safe and secure at home.
Good luck!

[Crewella]

It's an understandable mistake - you must have been so pleased to see him! I doubt you'll have frightened him off altogether if he knows he gets fed there, but I agree that a trap is probably the best way to go. Good luck.

[paulineb]

Thank you both. I will feel much better if the lady says he's been back for food. Very wary of trapping. That was tried in the vets after he went back there a couple of times when he first got out, something spooked him and he never went back. We've only just located him again after no sightings for the past month.

[Meandmymunki]

Really trapping is the least stressful way of getting him, and fastest.
You can take the end panel off the trap and feed him in it for a few days to get him used to it and then set it, or get yourself a medium dog crate and put food at the back, and you would need to tie string to top and bottom of door, sit nearby (ideally behind a bush) and pull string as soon as he goes in, it helps if at this point you have another person nearby who can rush forward and secure the door.

[jillyvillyvoo]

Hi I agree with others as this is very similar to a situition I found myself in. We rescued a local stray as he was in a dreadful state and nicknamed locally as scabby cat. Anyway vet checked, neutered and my neighbour gave him a forever home. He was a scratcher a nd biter so it was up to me to taken him to vets etc as no one else would. On my last visit to the vets to get final jabs he got out of his carrier and bolted. I was so upset as I had to tell neighbour I had lost him. Posters, searches and posts on the usual sights etc etc I contacted local papers who ran a story with his picture and finally got him sighted just over 3 weeks later. Same thing happened I went all excited gave him food and forgetting he was so wild I lifted him to put in carrier and he went mental . I cried, I lost him again! I contacted a rescue lady I knew who was well aware of my plight and she came with her trap and we got him that night If the lady that feeds your cat him could coax him into her house with some food, even better. That's what happened to scabby cat, even though I scared him and he ran off he came back to same place for a feed and they managed to get him to wander in to their hall to eat then phoned me again. Sorry it's a long winded post but I never thought we would ever see him again and trapping him was not stressful for him compared to stupid me! I did have a nice scar on arm for a few weeks! There is every change you will get the wee soul. Keep us posted x

[paulineb]

I'm fairly sure that he won't go into her house, as she already has a resident cat, but my hope is that one of us will be able to trap him in her summerhouse whilst he's eating in there. Unfortunately, unless I actually move into her property, the onus is probably going to be on this poor stranger to catch my cat for me!

[jillyvillyvoo]

Your vets should have good trap which you could set up in summer house maybe cover with one of his blankets? Then all they need t do is keep an eye on it and contact you when he is trapped. Or stray was found over 10 miles away but vet pyt out a few traps near where he ran off from and checked every few hours. Obviously he wasn't around but we caught a few baby foxes so they do work. Was his name by the way?

[paulineb]

We've bitten the bullet and borrowed a trap. We have set it 3 days running now (the first day, we're pretty sure a fox set it off) but our cat Jasper won't enter it. Jasper has now been away from us for nearly 2 months. He wasn't particularly people oriented when we took him on, but now is so wary that we despair of ever catching him!

[Jacks]

Don't give up! Trapping really is the only way, and you will get some frogs before you get the prince - if you know what I mean.

I've had it take 3 weeks, and I've had it take 5 months - but the latter was an exceptionally wily character who lived wild in the neighbourhood for years. We got him in the end though!

If you've got any blankets that were his, anything that might smell like him or his home (even vaccuum dust), put a bit in the back of the trap to tempt his curiosity.

Good luck and don't give up hope!