4 1/2 month old kitten has gone missing

Question
Hi,
Our kitten has gone missing.  We never let her out at night as there are a few foxes so once it is doing dark we keep her inside, she seems content with this as she potters about all day.  When she goes out she only ever goes out for a short period of time- 30 mins an hour at the longest before she comes back crying for love and throwing herself at us.  She is extremely affectionate and very dependent, she wont go outsdie without me walking out with her and for the first 10 mins if I come inside she comes in looking for me.  She follows us around the house and hates to be left alone, i have never had a cat like her.  She also walks around outside quietly crying whilst sniffing around.  Just though i would give some background on her.  Anyway 48 hours ago we were getting ready for bed and My partner opened the front door for 10 seconds to go outside.  He thought the cat was upstairs.  He came upstairs continued to get ready and then i realised the cat was gone.  There are 2 things we can think of...She either jumped from our top window on to a factory wall and has gone missing down there- this would be difficult but she may have just managed it.  Or failing that she got out the front door without us seeing and possibly got attacked by a fox as i dont believe she wouldnt come home.  We went out looking for her 30 mins after she got out calling her with biscuits which ALWAYS gets a response within 2 minutes.  We looked for hours and then left the lounge door open all night in case she came back trying to get in.  Nothing.  We did the same last night and nothing.  She is 4 1/2 months old so not neutered and not in season as far as we can tell.  we are so baffled as we are sure we would have heard if a fox got her.  Please help.   We are desperate to find her.

Answer
Krissy,

At 4 1/2 months of age, it is possible she has come into a mild season, which could explain some wanderlust. If she got out, she would, probably, stay close to home, and she is absolutely frightened.  Also, cats are excellent at hiding in plain sight, so you could go right by her and not even see her.  It is possible she was nabbed by a fox, or taken in by another household, or, who knows what?  But, without any evicence, I would not think the worst!

So, here is what I would do.  First look all through the house to make sure she did not inadvertently get locked in somewhere, especially an unlikely spot, like a slightly opened file cabinet that later got closed, or the like.

Secondly, I would print up flyers with her age, description, and, if you have it, a picture and canvas the neighbors to see if they have seen her.  Also, check with local animal shelters, RSPCA's, veterinary clinics, pet stores, and the like to see if anyone has seen her. Cats tend to be very territorial and will, usually, stay very close to home. You can also check out if she could have gotten trapped should she have gotten to the factory wall!?!?!?

Thirdly, continue what you are doing and keep the lounge door open, so she has access to food and water.  Being thoroughly frightened, she will be ultra cautious and may take some time (a few days to a couple of weeks) to get up the nerve to come back home.

If you spot her, you can get a live trap from your local shelter or RSPCA, put her favortie food in the trap and see if you can get her that way.

Please let me know what develops.

Concerned regards... Norm