I am so very sorry. The experts suggest that cats use the relative position of the sun/timing to help find their way home. Apparently the cat becomes used to the sun rising and setting in certain positions in relation to their house, and when far away, they orient themselves and set out in a direction that will “correct†this–and amazingly sometimes end up back in the general vicinity.
Cats that go inside and out may have a better opportunity to know their immediate territory. But they can become frightened by a dog chasing them, and run so far away, they become lost and can’t find their way home. Some cats seek shelter in a stranger’s garage and get trapped. Any frightened cat tends to hide. They may be “lost†yet holed up underneath the front porch and afraid to move. In fact they may stay in this hiding spot for weeks, and it can take a long time to find them or entice them into a live trap. Seven months is a long time, but she may have been adopted by somebody else or picked up by the shelter weeks to months after being lost.
Any time a cat becomes lost, contact area shelters and check IN PERSON on a daily basis. Check out the “feral cats†too–your kitty may be so scared she acts wild when she’s not. Create posters. Go door-to-door and check with neighbors. Rent a live trap and bait with her favorite food and set it in a cat hiding spot (under the house, in bushes, etc). Leave the trap out for at least eight weeks. And before a cat goes lost, ensure that she has identification like a collar tag or better yet, a microchip.
For some folks, using a pet detective may be an option. Yes, some search and rescue teams now specialize in lost pet recovery. Check out www.missingpetpartnership.org and www.katalbrecht.com for more information and potentially a team near you.
More: continued here
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