stray we took in ran off

Question
My fiance and I were in our hometown, when we found a wounded cat. (we are both in college 3 hours away from our hometown).  After several dead ends with friends and our landlords, we were finally able to make arrangements for the cat at a local shelter (no kill facility) to take care of the cat until our lease was up and we could move into a different apartment.  We went home and got the cat on saturday.  (caught him at about 10 pm) as of Sunday at about 7:30 pm, he had not yet used the litter box.  we tried to take him outside (he has a wounded front leg, and a very sweet loving disposition, so we didnt expect anything bad) and the second his paws touched the ground he ran off.  My fiance and i are very worried about him, because he is injured.  What advice would you give us to help us find him?   Is there a chance he would try to navigate all the way back home? or is he probably just hiding under a porch?  anything you could do to help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance
Chad

Answer
Chad,

Your new stray friend may have previously been the unfortunate victim of cruelty and he may have run off out of fear that the same would happen again. My general advice would be to notify shelters and vet hospitals in the area where he ran from. You can make up posters to put up in the neighborhood to try to find him. The sad thing is that he may be too afraid of people to allow himself to be found, but if you keep food out on the porch with a way to weather proof it so it doesn't get soggy that will be the best way to catch him. Be prepared though that you may not find him, he may have succumb to his injuries, been attacked by another predator...Anything could have happened. I hope that you do find him, but in the event that you aren't able to find and catch him again you could look at the possibility once you move into your new apartmentof adopting from the local shelter, either way you are saving a life. Hope that I was able to at least offer some insight. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.