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Conference misery::feline_v1

Title:Meower Power is Valuing Differences
Notice:FELINE_V1 is moving 1/11/94 5pm PST to MISERY
Moderator:MISERY::VANZUYLEN_RO
Created:Sun Feb 09 1986
Last Modified:Tue Jan 11 1994
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5089
Total number of notes:60366

2414.0. "Wandering n.males, where, how long?" by EUCLID::PAULHUS (Chris @ MLO6B-2/T13 dtn 223-6871) Fri Apr 28 1989 11:53

    Wandering cats: Where do they go, How long do they stay away?
    
       I have (had?) a healthy neutered male three year old Maine Coon
    cat who comes and goes as he pleases using his cat door.  I live
    on a dead end street in a wooded rural area.  I last saw Copy 4
    days ago.  A friend tells me that their neutered male dissapeared
    for a week during his younger days.  So, I've got hope that I'll
    see Copy again.
    
    	Does anyone have a good idea how far cats roam when they take
    off like this?  What is a typical (if you can call this typical)
    length of absense?  (I'd love someone to market a minature tracker
    collar, with radio direction finder unit for me, for a cat that
    I could use to figure out where he goes during the day and night.
    Sort of like the things they track animals in Africa with...)
    
    	Please, no comments on outdoor vs. indoor.   - Chris
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2414.1You'll find him!FSHQA1::RWAXMANA Cat Makes a Purrfect FriendFri Apr 28 1989 12:3429
    Chris, I'm not going to flame you on the indoor/outdoor topic because
    I have 3 indoor/outdoor cats.  My fiance has also mentioned the
    fact that he would like to market one of those devices you described
    to see where Chauncey goes when he's out (the other two stay primarily
    on the deck and in the backyard).  Sometimes Chauncey comes home
    smelling like a fireplace and once he even had soot covering his
    right front paw.  We think he has another family nearby.  He also
    wears a collar and tags so people know that he is owned.
    
    My guess is that if Copy always comes home and does not stray far
    then he is most likely entrapped somewhere.  Do you have other houses
    around you where he might have gotten locked in a garage or basement?
    We live in a townhouse complex and one Sunday, Chauncey decided
    to attend open house and accidentally got locked inside when everyone
    left (my neighbor saw him looking out the window and alerted us).
    
    Take a walk through the woods to ensure Copy didn't get tangled
    in something, or worse, caught in a trap.  My guess is that he will
    return and you will find him; however, be thorough in your search
    (I'm sure you are doing that anyway).  Post signs around the
    neighborhood in case anyone has him or has seen him and call all
    the local shelters and vets in case he shows up there.
    
    Good luck.  Please keep us posted.  I know the feeling of not knowing
    and it isn't a good one.
    
    
    /Roberta
    
2414.2YOSMTE::CORDESBRO_JOFri Apr 28 1989 14:245
    Where and how long depends on the cat.  Unneutered males will generally
    stray farther and stay away longer than neutered ones.
    
    Good Luck,
    Jo
2414.3CIRCUS::KOLLINGKaren, Sweetie, & Holly; in Calif.Fri Apr 28 1989 15:494
    I second the suggestion that he might be shut in some place he can't get
    out of, perhaps the garage or basement of a neighbor, maybe of some one
    who is away and hasn't opened the garage in a few days.        
    
2414.4put up postersFSHQA1::DHODGDONMon May 01 1989 10:1420
    Don't give up hope yet.  We had one of our cats (spayed female)
    stay away for seven days.  The last two days were pouring rain and
    so we thot for sure little "Ebony" was dead.  Lo and behold, all
    of a sudden Ebony appeared on our windowsill meowing to come in.
    Nothing wrong w/her.  She was apparently hunting.  
    
    We have had others do the same thing for 3-4 days at a time, coming
    back w/no problems.
    
    However, you may want to put up signs at intersections around you.
    Use poster board covered in Saran wrap (so it won't bend as it gets
    damp).  Use very few words, make them very large so they can be
    seen from a car.
    
    And the suggestions you have already had for looking into the
    possibility of getting caught in a leghold trap - or some empty
    bldg - are good.
    
    I hope he comes home soon.
    
2414.5Returned after 5 daysEUCLID::PAULHUSChris @ MLO6B-2/T13 dtn 223-6871Mon May 01 1989 11:118
    	Saturday shortly after noon Copy came blasting thru his cat
    door, healthy, a bit dirty, tired, and VERY hungry.  He's a good
    mouser, so the shut in somewhere theory sounds plausible. But, I'd
    think he'd be well rested if that were so...
    	I noticed a small tracking device being used on Eagles in the
    Quabbin on a TV show yesterday.  Wonder how much that rig costs.
    	So, I'm not going to worry about 5 day absenses in the future.
    		- Chris
2414.6YOSMTE::CORDESBRO_JOMon May 01 1989 14:424
    Glad he is back, hope you chastized him greatly for worrying all
    of us half to death! ;^)
    
    Jo
2414.7Copy is gone again.ENGINE::PAULHUSChris @ MLO6B-2/T13 dtn 223-6871Wed Jun 21 1989 11:197
    	Well, got back from a weekend bicycle rally in Saratoga Springs
    and found that I was down to one cat again. That was Sunday night
    6/18.  Hmmmm.  He could have left anytime from 6/15 when I left
    and last saw him, to 6/18......so, if he stays away for 5 days this
    time, he's either overdue or due back anytime up to Friday 6/23.
    	I'm starting to seriously think about the tracking device.
    		- Chris
2414.8In neighbor's basementEUCLID::PAULHUSChris @ MLO6B-2/T13 dtn 223-6871Thu Jun 22 1989 12:503
    	One mystery solved: next door neighbor, Charlie Barker (BXB)
    called and said Copy had been in his basement.  Dumb cat!  Hope
    he learns not to go into other people's houses. - Chris
2414.9CRUISE::NDCFri Jun 23 1989 08:256
    I hope he learns too.  Goliath (a neighbors cat) once got locked
    in another neighbor's garage for a week with no food and no water.
    Fortunately, Mrs. Landry happened to see his little face peaking
    out of the window.  
      Nancy DC