returning lost cat will not come in runs from me

Question
My indoor only cat got out 2 weeks ago. Finally today she came near the yard
but after  talking to her and shaking her treats she ran from me. We have a trap
set every night but so far nothing. I am so upset as she was from a feral colony
5 years ago and we tamed her and she never aappeared to want to go out. it is 2
weeks!! What else should we do??
thanks   Molly

Answer
HI Molly,

I am so sorry to hear your little girl has gotten out, it is a very stressfull time, I know it's happened to me :(  The good news is you know she is safe as you've seen her which is wonderful!

Right now she is probably terrified of her own shadow, being outdoors when she is not used to it probably has her dealing with all kinds of new things and situations so I am not at all surprised that she ran from you most cats would.  What I would do is open a basement window, or one that would be easy for her to access, take the screen off and put some super smelly food out.  I would put a couple of differen't things to entice her back, she is likely very hungry right now and since you know she is still in the area hopefully will come running pretty quickly.  Put the food inside enough that she will have to come in completely to get it and since the window is open you won't have to be there and won't scare her away just keep checking so she doesn't go back out again and close the window from the outside but once she's back in the house she should be content to stay there.  She will likely come back in the middle of the night so be sure to check first thing in the morning.

I would also allert the local shelters in case she gets brought in and that way you will get a call right away.  Signs and posters are also helpful!

Once she is back home love her to death and get her comfortable again but then a vet visit will be in order to make sure she didn't come into contact with anything serious while she was outside, especially feline aids and leukemia.

Good Luck!!

Natoma
Chenza Maine Coons
www.chenza.com