We learn from every single case we are on and this one was exceptionally high in educational value. If you have a lost cat we encourage you to read the whole thing as we're going summarize a number of topics which can be very important for a lost cat search. Many things we have said in the past or which follow guidelines for lost cats did indeed prove correct - but sometimes it's that we as people don't listen to what we could be hearing. It's suggested that you read over this whole article first and then at the bottom we will recap some key points.
STATS: Tiger was an 11 year old cat, neutered and micro-chipped; de-clawed in the front. All these homes are canal front so the only way to go from one street to another is to go out to the main entrance road and then down to the next street. The canals really worried us since if he'd fallen in he couldn't have climbed out without claws. But this also meant that he could be very close by since it wasn't likely he would go out to the main road.
Tiger escaped from his vacation home on July 30 2015. While this out of town for him, it was at the family's regular place he was used to visiting so that may have been why he stayed close by. And yet, when you really dig down into lost cat behaviors you do find that a high percentage of them are recovered within 5 houses away. Not blocks - HOMES - which can be just feet away. Tiger was TWO houses away when seen for the very first (and ONLY time). Yes, that is correct; he had been missing for 17 days when he was seen for the first time [see note #1] by an alert neighbor who could have so easily have missed him.
Surely he had been out numerous times before as no cat stays under a deck for the entire time; they do come out for food and water. But those short periods of movement and activity would have been most likely late at night, under cover of darkness, or in the very early morning. Not only is that they feel most safe, it's when possible food sources would be available to catch. [see note #2]. See, once a pet goes missing they change. They are no longer the same animal you know; they may not respond to commands or food or anything that would normally bring them running. This is a difficult concept for owners to understand and it's hard for us to explain - and yet once you have seen it you understand. [see note #3]
Let's recap what was done during his search. The owners were at the vacation home for 3 more days before they needed to return home to work (Tiger went missing on Thursday) and they had to leave on Monday. During that time they searched everywhere, talked to neighbors and left his litter box outside the house. We learned about Tiger on Monday once the owners had left and the house was now empty. We ran down the usual list of tasks with the owners: fliers, findtoto.com alert, signs around the neighborhood, talking to all the nearby residents and checking sheds, garages, etc. They had another family member return on Thursday with fliers and signs to put around the area [see note #4] and a findtoto.com robocall alert was done a few days later as was an email blast to the entire community.
Due to a family emergency the owner had to rush to Florida and was unable to return to the home for almost two weeks. During that time we had been over there numerous times just sitting quietly watching the deck under their home and nearby areas....but we were not focused on the deck two doors down. There is a vacant lot in this community and sitting over there was just across the canal and a good place to observe their deck, and yet nothing. Generally the best times to look for missing animals are after 9pm and before 7am. Our preferred hours are 1am - 6am. Despite many trips over to look for Tiger, walking the neighborhood and searching under their deck by flashlight, we found nothing. Looking back from now it's likely that Tiger either was under his own deck and then relocated two doors down because of better food/water conditions....OR that in the first few minutes he was lost, that he bolted two doors down and had been staying under that deck the entire time.
By day 15 we were losing hope. The fact that Tiger was declawed was a big concern, after all, these houses are located on canals. We contacted the owner saying we were less hopeful due to the amount of time without a single sighting and lack of fresh water source around the area. We mentioned that one of the ways to find out more was to have a tracking dog come out because they will generally either lead to the animal they are searching for or lie down at the end of a trail. If they showed that end was at the water's edge it would likely indicate what had happened. The owner told us she felt that Tiger was still out there. That's important to note as an owner's instincts are likely stronger than ours and can give clues to follow. Not always. But often enough to pay attention to.
On Sunday 8.16 the owners had to again return home, leaving the house empty. A few hours later a call came in that a neighbor had seen Tiger; from across the water, on the other side of the canal. He was just two doors down and it appeared he was hiding out under the large deck. A trap was obtained and set under the deck quickly and we cautioned everyone to stay away from it, with the exception of the local contact (Mr. R) who lived nearby. He was to be in charge of the trap - setting it, putting food out and we hoped that just the scent of the one person would not scare Tiger away. 24 hours passed and no luck. Mr. R called us saying he'd been over to check and could actually see Tiger huddled in the crawl space under this large deck, far back in the corner. The catch was that if approached and scared, there were a number of smaller openings he could fit through and escape - and this was a big concern of mine.
Immediate reaction was not to go in after him, fearing too much too soon could cause Tiger to bolt from the only secure space he had and leading to disaster. Regardless, it was important to look at the space so we met at the deck just two doors from home. Looking under the deck, Tiger was approximately 25'-30' away, huddled in the corner. After watching him for a few minutes he got up and slowly moved a few feet to one side and that's when I got concerned. He seemed to be almost dragging his body and very sluggish. I'm no vet but was worried about dehydration and felt we should try to approach. Mr. R. had a bag of his favorite treats and although I didn't think Tiger would be interested I took them. [see note #5] I also took a pillowcase with me which is what I've used before in tight quarters to slip over a scared cat to haul them out in. Despite being fairly dark under there Mr. R. was lying at the entrance way with a powerful flashlight and was able to light the area well.
Crawling about halfway under I paused and talked to Tiger. He didn't respond but despite my thinking he wouldn't be interested in food from a scary stranger he did look at me as I crinkled the bag. As I moved closer each time he stood up I would stop and talk to him in a singsong neutral voice. When I was about 10' away I tossed a treat at him and to my surprise he ate it. He then came the last few feet to me and I started petting him and scratching his ears while engaging him with treats. [see note #6]. After a few minutes I had him close enough to reach for and was fairly sure I could hold on.....again, partly because he didn't have claws. I had the pillowcase in case he started biting but amazingly enough he didn't! Since I needed my elbows to crawl back out on I'd hoped to get him in the pillowcase to free my arms up...but at 23lbs this cat was NOT going to fit. I ended up lying on my back and holding him against me and slithered back to the entrance. Mr. R. had the carrier waiting, slid it towards me - and suddenly Tiger was IN THE CARRIER. We couldn't believe it!!
Poor guy, he panicked a little once we lifted him from under the deck and starting yowling so we took off to get him back in his own house. Once in his kitchen Tiger right came out of the carrier and didn't look too bad. He was no longer moving so sluggishly so perhaps that was just from sitting still in that corner of the deck for many hours? His gums looked pretty pink and and he clearly wanted to go find his safe zone in the house (under one of the beds) so off he went. After a few minutes we went in to see how he was and Mr R. brought him food and water which he eagerly dived into. Being able to text his owner a picture of him was pretty cool :)
It's amazing when you start to look at every tiny detail that played a role in his recovery:
- In 17 days only one sighting came in; at the time of day we'd expect (early morning), but at a time when so many people could have missed him. Had that one tip not been reported we wouldn't have known he was just two houses away, and the search would likely have been paused until the owner could come back on the weekend.
- One of my concerns was lack of water and yet Tiger had planned that too. He'd picked a home with a pond and fountain....perhaps because of the water? or maybe he just ran in a panic to that deck and never left. But knowing he needed water maybe the fountain could have been a logical step for us to think of and yet it never crossed our minds.
- Today proved one of the most important points about lost pet recovery, which is that nothing ever hold true all the time. There are ALWAYS going to be exceptions or an animal which doesn't act as predicted. The only thing that IS consistent is that the rules can change at any time.
References to notes from above:
Note #1: SIGHTINGS ARE CRITICAL
You have to saturate an area to get the sightings. Sign in your yard, tagging the vehicles, fliers, more fliers. Talk to neighbors, enlist the help of local kids out of bikes, do email blast to the neighborhood, post on Craiglist. And then don't assume once is enough. After a week or so interest dies down, fliers get rained on and the search can fade out of people's minds. Keep it up and keep your pet's face out there!
Note #2: HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
The first night I was over there I ran into family members out looking for Tiger. One of the things I explained was that he could literally be hiding in the culvert pipe beneath our feet; perhaps he had run into a nearby shed that has a hole in the floor he could slip in and out of; that cats can and do hold still for days and can be in stealth mode far longer than dogs. Think everywhere, look anywhere and then go back and do it all again at different times of the day.
Note #3: SURVIVAL MODE
Watching dogs literally screaming in fear as their owners approached is unsettling to watch, but it's proof that when they are in survival "fight or flight" mode, their instincts kick in and are what you need to understand and work with. This is also a very stressful thing for the owners. Some have called us absolutely hysterical that their well-trained and loving 10 year old dog just looked right at them and when just a few feet away, turned to run. Think of it this way: a chameleon lizard turns from one color to another as a protective behavior. This helps them blend into their surroundings and avoid predators. Your pet is reacting not to you but to what their instincts are telling them and that is to stay safe.
Note #4: WALK & TALK
Whenever fliers are distributed we encourage people to go around interacting with neighbors and doing a "walk and talk", rather than just placing fliers in mailboxes (which isn't technically allowed anyway). Speaking to residents is far more valuable and gives you the search team a chance to personally connect with them. 99% of the time this results in people being understanding and willing to help and it offers you a chance to ask if it's ok for you to come back and look under their deck or around the yard really late at night or early in the morning. Without having that discussion we are leery of searching on other people's property!!
Note #5: FOOD IS NOT ALWAYS MOTIVATIONAL
It's not. Because a terrified animal would often rather starve than come out of their comfort zone, we caution against banking too heavily on food. While it can work on dogs in certain circumstances it's less likely to be sucessful with cats. Fortunately for us Tiger LOVED his treats and that played a part in getting him close enough to us.
Note #6: ALWAYS ASSUME THEY WILL RUN
Generally speaking cats don't approach - and neither does a scared, fearful dog. Normally they have to be pretty well trapped for me to get close enough to reach for them - and yet with about 8' between us Tiger started walking towards me. I tossed a treat each time he'd stop and laid very still until he was within arm's reach. At this point I could have probably grabbed him by the scruff of his neck the first chance I got but I hate taking that first chance. If you grab at any loose animal and miss you could be set back hours or even days, which is why we encourage people to ALWAYS be absolutely positive they can not only grab the animal but hold onto it too.
Thank you to all who helped, cared, listened, offered advice and were out today to bring this guy home. Welcome back Tiger!!
Lost Pet PR | Delmarva's Missing Pet Network
