Need Advice about my kitten

[jnd4rusty]

My 4 month old kitten ran off today and is now lost! We adopted her from PetSmart on August 4th. She loved going outside and I told Jim (my man) to make sure he watches her because she is still young. Well this morning she was outside with him and he decided to take a quick shower and when he went back outside she was gone. She had a bad habid of sitting on the tire of our neighbors truck (he has a big truck) and Jim noticed the truck was gone and freaked. Ray (our neighbor) said that he noticed Molly (the kittie) on his tire and he tried to get her off but she crawled further up under the truck ( she always sat on the back tire, I tried to break her of the habit but to no avail). Anyways he went back inside and a little later got in his truck and left. Now we have not seen any animal bodies laying around the complex or on the road leading to the apartment complex, so I am assuming that she freaked out when he started the truck and hightailed it out of there.

My complex is on the edge of town, with some commercial and wooded areas to the northwest, more plains or flat land to the straight north (across a very busy highway) and some commercial and residential to the south and southeast and southwest. On the side and back of my building is a huge yard that leads to tall grass and then further on the GF&P buildings and wooded area behind. I am describing all this because I am thinking that it is most likely that she would have gone into the open foresty type area than to the more industrial part.

My question is this: Do you think she may have stayed on the truck and jumped when he stopped at a light? or that the sound of the truck starting would have sent her fleeing?
I know cats have a keen sense of smell and direction, do you think she can make her way back home even though she is only 4 months old and has only been in a section of the yard?
I am reallyscared for her and my heart is breaking, Jim is heartbroken and really blames himself! He even started to cry because he is the one who picked her out and they bonded immediately! She followed him everywhere in the apartment and snuggled to him constantly!

Please say a special prayer or send good thoughts our way so that Molly may be found, she had us wrapped around her little paws from day one and we are hurting! Thanks!!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I would call the local shelter every day to see if she's been picked up.

[Seshat]

If she was in the truck, she would have fled at the sound of the truck starting.

Contact all the local vets and local shelters. Provide a picture of the cat, and her microchip ID code. (You do have her microchipped?) If she has a council tag, her council tag number as well.

Put food and water outside the front and back doors of your house every day. Put some blanket that smells of you there as well. Check them multiple times a day.

Check with the local vets and shelters every second day - as in, physically go to the shelters, if she's not microchipped.
(The vets are less likely to have her handed in to them, but might. Because the vets deal with fewer animals each day, they're more likely to call you. The shelters might miss recognising your cat, even if you give them a good photo.)

Actually go to areas she might be hiding, and call. Especially areas around your place, around the neighbour-with-the-truck's place, and any other immediately adjacent properties who might be willing to let you in. Call her name, then listen intently for any response.

Your only response might be a quiet, frightened 'mew'. If that is the case, it's going to be a game of 'hot and cold' - call, get the mew, go towards it, repeat.

Once you have a target zone, lure her out with patience, food, clean water, and something that smells of home. Resist the urge to pounce the moment she comes out! Instead, let her 'come home' to you.

If she's a braver cat, she'll come up to you, tail flagged high, and 'ask' you with her expression what you were doing running away from her!

[jnd4rusty]

She is microchipped, I called the Humane Society and I need to go in and fill out a missing pet report, I will do that tommorrow if she does not come back tonight. I have food and water set outside the apartment and her "blankie" that she layed on everyday. I already walked around the complex with her picture and asked anyone who was home to keep an eye out for her, I made up some flyers but need to print more (I took tons of pictures of her so I put one on the flyer), we are going to canvas the neighborhood tommorrow with those. I plan to put an ad in the paper and pursue found section of the paper daily. I also have pet insurance on her and they will actually pay for a reward up to $150.00 so I may even go that route too. I think that she ran towards the wooded area and tall grass and that is scary because there are all kinds of creatures out there. There is so many hiding places around my area and she is so small. Jim has walked all over the complex and beyond and into several neighborhoods. I am just afraid someone will find her and keep her because she is so darn cute! She has not had her rabie shots yet either, she is due for those in three weeks!! She has upper resporatory complications due to a virus and has been on antibiotics, she was almost over that except for some coughing and sneezing, so I am worried about her health in the "big world". Thanks for all the advice..please keep us in your thoughts!

[MaggieTheCat]

Once, a long time ago, there was a litter of kittens hanging around my parents' yard. They'd seen the kittens climbing around the vehicles but were careful to check every time they got in their car to make sure there were no kitties behind the tires, etc.

One day my mom went grocery shopping. When she got done shopping and got back out to her car, she heard soft mewing. She looked all over, finally looked under the car. Two of the kittens had crawled up into...somewhere underneath the car and hitched a ride all the way to the grocery store.

I would recommend keeping cats on a harness and leash, or in some kind of (completely enclosed, top included) pen while they're outside, especially if you live in town and not out in the country. There are tons of hazards that can endanger cats. Our cats love to go outside, but we don't let them out without a harness and leash and they enjoy exploring our yard and the neighborhood that way.

[Sapphire Silk]

Ditto what Maggie said.

I'm still mourning the loss of Stumps, my cat who was so afraid of cars he looked both ways before crossing the street. . . who died because he got hit by a car

I don't let Taz (my 11 month old kitten/cat) outside at all. She has too much energy to be outdoors; she'd run into the street without even looking (did in fact, one day when she slipped past me when I ordered a pizza . . . scared me to death).

jnd, I hope you find your kitty safe and sound.

[Seshat]

There's also cat cages and cat-proof fences. We have a patio area out the back of our house, which (when we have the chance) we intend to block the gaps in and make into a huge cat cage. This will let our enthusiastic playful boy have some 'outdoor' space to play in, but will keep him safe.

jnd4rusty, did you find your kitten?

[Flying Grype]

http://www.catsinthebag.org/

Excellent resources and psychology for finding a cat.