Our Indoor Cat Got Outside

Question
Hi Norman.  We have 3 indoor cats because when we moved to Texas, we lost our beloved cat to Coyotes.  After allowing time to grieve for our pets loss, we went to a rescue agency and adopted an older cat that apparently was living near a gas station. That was about 3 months ago.  He was very skittish and at the beginning hissed at us when we came into the room and then immediately purred when we pet him.  Over the past 3 months he has completely warmed up to us and was now exploring the house rather than staying just in the master bedroom.  We are very conscious about keeping the door close, but my son who has autism yesterday, opened the front door.  Our cat was on the front door mat when my daughter yelled out that he was outside and my son when to grab him and he ran into our front bushes.  We tried getting can cat food to lure him out but I think he was very scared.  He ran across the front entry and into the other bushes and we have not been able to find him.  That was last night around 6:30 p.m.  I locked the other cats up in the bedrooms and left the door open and put food, water, and items that he slept on out front.  I even put the litter box out there.  Of course, at night I brought everything in.  Our cat is a tabby and he is extremely skittish (he apparently has a past).  He seemed very happy inside.  Do you have any suggestions to help get him to come back.  I've left the front door open all day today, but there is no sign of him.

We would appreciate any advice you may have.

Thank you,
         Kim

Answer
Kim,

Cats tend to stay around their home territory, but they are also masters at hiding in plain sight.  The odds are that he is still around your house, but I would do all the normal things:

Talk to all your neighbors to see if they have seen him, and where.

Put up flyers with his picture and your address and phone number around the neighborhood.

Check with all the local vets and animal shelters.

Continue to put food and water out for him where he can have access to your house. It is most likely that he will come back during nighttime, so you may need to find a way to give him access to your house or a garage at night.

You can check with your local humane societies, shelters, or animal control to see if you can borrow some Have-a-Heart live traps and bait them with his favorite foods.

I have seen it take a number of weeks to catch an indoor cat that has gotten out.

Please let me know how it goes.

Best regards... Norm.