MissingCatAssistance@groups.io | New to group - (2024)

#41168

#41169

On Jun 23, 2014, at 10:01 PM, "Lisa Amatangel amatangel@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

TODAY’S DATE:

SECTION 1: BASIC INFO ON YOUR CAT:

Your name: Lisa

Your email: amatangel@...
Your cat’s name(s): Teddy
Is this an indoor-only cat – or an outdoor-access cat: Moderate outdoor-access cat (typically for an hours or so during the day, 5-10 minutes or so before dinner, and then in and out for an hour or so after dinner and before bedtime).

Does your cat have a kitty door? (can cat go in and out as he/she pleases, or did you have to physically let him/her out each time?): Physically let in/let out
Cat’s age: 14

Cat’s sex: M

Type & Color: (large, small, shorthair, coloring): Large orange long-hair

Was your cat neutered or spayed? yes

What age was your cat neutered or spayed? kitten

City and State where your cat disappeared? Portland, OR

Date, Time, and Place you last saw your cat: am or pm? Teddy (and his sister Samantha) came in just before midnight on Wednesday, June 11. My husband let them in (I was traveling) and went to bed. Teddy came upstairs with him, as usual, to get a drink from the faucet while Duane got ready for bed. When Duane got in bed, Teddy settled in under the bed. (this is a little unusual since when I’m home Teddy sleeps on the bed for a while each night). In the morning, Duane was surprised to see Samantha at the back door (where they typically go in and out). Duane then realized that he mistakenly left the garage door open, along with the doors leading to the garage. The cats could have gotten out at any time that night.

When did you become aware that your cat was missing: Date, Time, am or pm? Duane let Samantha in around 5 am on Thursday, June 12; Teddy did not show up that morning and we haven’t seen him since.

Did your cat have a collar on? Was it a breakaway or a regular collar? If breakaway did it ever used to come off? No collar.

Did your cat have I.D. tags on? No.

Does your cat have a microchip? Yes.

Do you have a good, clear photo of your cat? Yes.

Do you have a current missing cat flyer? Does it have a good, clear picture of your cat? If you don’t have a picture of your cat, put a similar looking cat picture on the flyer. Get one off the internet if you have to. Yes and yes.

How many missing cat flyers have your posted so far? We put about 40 flyers in neighbors' mailboxes (before we realized that’s illegal), and posted about 25 small flyers on telephone poles in the neighborhood (spanning about 1 mile radius); this weekend we put up 7 giant neon posters at major intersections around neighborhood, about 1-mile radius.

Have you sent flyers to all vets, shelters, and pet stores in your area, if so, what mile radius? We put flyers at a pet store nearby (w/i 1 mile) and the major shelter for this area (about 30 miles from here); I’ve listed him via email at two other local shelters.

Describe your search efforts thus far, e.g., have you searched each neighbor’s yard, garage? Went door to door (every door within how many blocks?) with flyers? Asking for tips? We’ve been in one neighbor’s garage and have searched the yards of about 15 neighbors, probably covering about 2 blocks (this is up to 9 houses in some directions). Many of the yards in this area are very dense with shrubs, trees, bushes, flowers, are multi-level and have seemingly endless places to hide. In every yard we’ve accessed, we’ve checked under decks.

Have you called for your cat late at night around 3am when it is quiet and cats abound? Yes and no. We’ve been out at midnight, 2 am and 5 am nearly every night, but not at 3 a.m. I will do 3 a.m. for the next several nights.

Have you checked your local shelter? Yes, we’ve been to one shelter 2x, and another shelter once. For 2 of these visits we went to see a cat that had been brought in whose pic we saw online and thought was Teddy. Every day, we check cat intake online at three shelters and craigslist.

Tell us about your cat, his/her personality, and his/her normal everyday
routines, e.g., likes to go lay on porch but never leaves the yard, leaves
the yard but always comes in to sleep at night, etc.

I met Teddy at a shelter when he was a young kitten; he was sick but adorable, fuzzy and orange. He required medicine initially, and then grew to be a large robust cat with a giant personality. He moved with me from RI (a large apt) in a suburb-ish area, to Boston (two smaller apts in the city, where we added his rescue-sister Samantha to the mix), briefly to DC (high-rise apt), a year+ in Houston (large apt with a balcony), Denver for one-year (townhouse with occasional backyard access), and to Portland 6-months ago (living with Duane in a house, in a neighborhood with many trees, many large wild yards, and the city within a two-mile walk through a densely wooded park). He started off exclusively indoors, but his outside access has grown over time, with the most outdoor time being here in Portland. In Portland I wanted him and Samantha to have outdoor access because they’d handled it well in other locations (rolled around near wherever I let them out and didn’t run off) and loved going out. In Portland we would let them out pretty much whenever they wanted to go out, they would spend some time in a mostly-enclosed back yard, sometimes venturing a bit farther into two adjoining neighbor’s yards, but they were always in for dinner, and then usually around 10 or 11 pm, they would come in for the night. These days, at 14 years old, he sleeps a lot, hangs close to us when he’s indoors, enjoys his outside time, is a ravenous eater, and loves drinking at the faucet.

SECTION 2: PROBABILITY OF THEFT
1. Is your cat a purebred, exotic cat? Describe what he looks like. He’s long-hair and orange. Beyond that I’m not so sure.

2. Does your cat have any distinguishable markings? Several weeks ago he had his front paws shaved when he had his teeth cleaned (for the sedation). That fur is mostly grown in now. He’s got a very furry mane, and he seems to have much longer hair than the “long-hair” cats in missing/found photos I’ve been seeing online. As a younger cat he always had one or two black whiskers but these days they’re mostly all white.

3. How does he respond to strangers...runs & hides, aloof, or in their lap purring? hides at first; will come out when she realizes they are no threat? Ted hasn’t been around that many people. I lived mostly alone for the years I’ve had him, but he’s gotten to know some family and friends and neighbors over the years. He was friendly with these folks, would come up to them and want to be pet, but I was the only person who would pick him up. He came to like Duane and would sleep on or near both of us. He had an occasionally aggressive youth, biting/scratching several people, but he mellowed out over time. Because of his occasional aggressive reactions to others, I would tell people, pet sitters, etc that it was ok for him to “pet” them, but to be careful about /resist petting him because you really had to watch his face to see if he was handling it ok. I could pick him up no problem, put him around my shoulders, have him in my lap, etc, towards me he was a very affectionate cat . . . would always come to the door . . . would never give me a hard time when I came back from traveling . . . . He would mostly hide from strangers but recently would venture out a little bit if I was there too. A new pet sitter got him to hang around and play a bit after about 4 visits.

SECTION 3: PROBABILITY OF RESCUE

4. Are there any feral cat colonies in your area? Any known "cat person" who collects cats? Or anyone who feeds the neighborhood cats or where a number of cats congregate? I’m relatively new to this neighborhood, just about 6 months. I see a couple of neighborhood cats passing through the yard (I have confirmed that they are not lost, just strolling) but no known feral cats or “cat people”. One neighbor said that cats hang out in her yard and she’d let me know if Ted was among them.

SECTION 4: PROBABILITY OF INTENTIONAL DISPOSAL

6. Are there any suspected "cat haters" in your neighborhood? Has anyone complained about your cat? Are there any neighbors who are obsessed with their lawns, cars, or gardens that do not like cats going in their yard? This seems to be a pretty cat tolerant neighborhood. One or two neighbors keep chickens . . . we haven’t met them but I’d imagine they aren’t thrilled with having cats running free.

7. Any known "dog fighting dogs" i.e. skuzzy looking/acting gang-like neighbors with pit bulls? Many dogs but all seem to be well-behaved and looked-after.

8. Is there or was there at any time an abundance of loose cats in the area? Not that I know of.

9. Have cats been seen but suddenly they have all vanished from the area? Unfortunately, we are in a neighborhood where people seem to see coyotes regularly. The reports vary from “I see them all the time” to “I haven’t seen them in a couple of years”. The mailman told our neighbor that he saw a coyote the day before Teddy went missing. That neighbor’s cat, a purely indoor cat, went missing the day before Teddy.

10. Have you seen or heard of any neighbors with a humane animal trap in their yards before? No

11. Do you have any neighborhood children who fit the following profile -- Caucasian male, age 10 to 17, introvert (loner) with a suspected history of cruelty to other kids, animals, bed wetting behavior, and/or fire setting? (don't expect you to monitor your neighbor's peeing behavior, just if you KNOW of it!) Not that i know of.

12. Are there any other cats missing in the immediate area? If so, provide as many details as possible. Yes, the one I mentioned above (Cookie the indoor cat) and we met another neighbor who said their roommate’s cat is missing (for 2 months) but has been missing before for periods of time and has always come back. We got a description of the cat and determined that it sounded a lot like a cat we came across while looking for Ted. We showed this guy the photo we had snapped of this kitty and he seemed to think that it was his friend’s cat (he didn’t seem too concerned). It was encouraging for us to hear that there is a neighborhood cat who spends extended periods of time outdoors and so far has not been taken by a coyote or other predator.

13. Any disputes with spouse, boyfriend, friend, roommate, neighbor or any other individual who would want to do you harm? No.

PROBABILITY OF UNINTENTIONAL DISPLACEMENT

13. Did this cat disappear during warm weather (when car windows were left down?) Not particularly warm, but there could have been windows down.

14. Were there any moving vans, construction vehicles or property being moved the day he vanished? Not that we’re aware of. Although there is always some activity going on in this neighborhood . . . arborists working on trees, gardeners, deck repair etc.

15. What day of the week did he disappear? What time of day was he/she last seen? He got out early Thursday morning (between around 1 am and 5 am).

16. Does your cat have a history of climbing into cars or laying on top of cars? No

17. Does your cat seem attracted to cars, afraid of cars, or does he not care much either way? More afraid than not, but not particularly aware either way.

18. Is your cat overly curious? Does he crawl into open spaces and boxes and explore? Not overly curious but he does like to climb into boxes, bags being packed . . .

19. Is your cat missing from an apartment complex, condo, or area with a high population of people and vehicles? Describe your neighborhood (i.e., end of cul-de-sac in residential area of Los Angeles, rural road surrounded by grape vineyards in Sonoma, California, etc.) Describe each household within 5 houses on each side and behind, do you know these neighbors, what are they like? Did you search each front and backyard of these houses? Are there piles of junk around or places a cat could get into or stuck? What is
the farthest house you have seen your missing cat at, or the farthest distance?

This neighborhood is very jungle-like from a cat perspective. It looks relatively normal from the street, but behind many of the houses there are steep drops and giant trees and many many places for a cat to hide. We’ve been in most yards within 5 house on all sides, and checked under them. Some we haven’t gotten into because the folks haven’t been home. Our neighborhood has been broken into a couple of times in the past month so I assume people are suspicious of people wandering into their yards and wouldn’t appreciate that . . . many of the houses are up steep driveways, or have long staircases leading to them, so it’s even a bit intrusive to even go up to the front door, but we’re getting around relatively well and feel we’ve covered this 5-house radius reasonably well in spite of the dense grasses, flowers, trees, bushes, windy paths, nooks and crannies, steep drop-offs that are so common here. We know Ted ventured at least once pretty deep into our neighbor’s yard because he came home soaking wet, and we’ve since learned that there’s a mini-pond (only about 3 feet across) about 100 feet from our property. (Duane checked that pond and did not find Ted there).

SECTION 5: PROBABILITY OF INJURY, ILLNESS OR DEATH

20. Is this a male cat? If yes, have you noticed any problems urinating in the litter box lately? Yes male, no problems with box.

21. Is this an elderly cat? 14 and in good health.

22. Was this cat recently injured or sick? Under the care of a vet or on medications? He got his teeth cleaned, but otherwise fine.

23. Have you ever seen this cat in a situation where it was hurt or sick and it took refuge and hide somewhere? He’s never been seriously injured but he has cowered the few times that we’ve bumped into him or mistakenly nabbed his tail in close quarters. He’s very furry and probably 5-6 times he’s had a poop stuck to his backside which I’d have to remove. I’d know it was happening because he’d look sheepish and uncomfortable and would try to stay away from me, but he wouldn’t hide out of sight. He hated getting his nails cut, so when I’d finish with that he’d run off to another part of the house, but again not hiding. They both would definitely run and hide from the vacuum cleaner, and probably the doorbell. There are pretty major thunder storms here and while he didn’t love them, he’d stay out in the open with me.

24. Before your cat disappeared, did you notice any cat fights as of late? No fights recently. Over the years he’s had some stare-downs with stranger cats but I’ve never seen any contact.

25. Have there been any new cats or new dogs brought into the immediate neighborhood? If so what kind (size and type): We’re new. Mostly I’ve seen a decent size grey cat in our yard (about 10 lbs? Teddy is 12-13lbs and looks bigger due to his fur).

26. Is there a know rat or snail problem in your neighborhood? Samantha (Ted’s sister) catches moles but no rats that I know of. Big slugs, yes. People do put out slug killer.

27. Have you heard that any of your neighbor dogs are aggressive towards cats? No

28. Considering the houses where your kitty spent his time, what homes in that area have dogs? None that I know of. I think he was mostly in our yard and one yard over, (no dog there).

29. Is this a solid black cat? No

30. Are you aware of any occult activity in your immediate area? No

31. What is the average speed of cars that travel on the roads right by your home? 25 mph? we’re on a pretty curvy, relatively narrow road. It’s steep, and skateboarders regularly zoom by.

32. Are there any known cultures in your area known to consume cats (Korean, Chinese)? No

SECTION 6: PROBABILITY OF WILDLIFE KILL

33. Do you live in an area where there are coyotes, fox, bobcats, owls or hawks? (if you do not know have you called your local state Fish & Game department and Animal Control to ask?) Yes. And since we’ve been out looking for Teddy, we’ve heard coyotes twice in the early morning. Most of our neighbors respond to “missing cat” with: “Coyote took him”. I think people ascribe more cat disappearances here to coyotes than statistics on coyotes bear out. Many neighbors have said that they’ve seen coyotes trotting down the street. We haven’t seen any, but we haven’t been here that long. There are a lot of other animals around, squirrels bunnies etc that coyotes can get at without a fight. One neighbor said she saw two bald eagles around recently. We’ve seen hawks out on the highway, several miles from here, but not in the neighborhood.

34. Have you seen or heard the above wildlife in your area? If so, when and where? (above)

35. In your search for your cat, did you come across any tufts of cat fur? Yes. There were a few tufts of hair at the base of our driveway. Two that were about 2 inches long and dry - these were orange/red and pretty certainly Ted's. A few others that were smaller, more white/light-color, and matted to the cement, and dirty. These clumps seemed more like evidence of a cat fight than a coyote attack, but that could be wishful thinking. What I’ve read about coyote attacks is that they rip their kill apart at the scene and you’d likely see big remnants . . large tufts with skin, or the tail, etc. However, other neighbors have said no, they take the whole kill away with them. That does make sense if they’re taking the kill to their pups. Ugh. One thing in Ted’s favor is if a coyote did approach him, he had major claws (I clipped Samantha’s nails the day before I left home but not Ted’s) and he has never been shy to use them.

36. Did your cat disappear at dusk, dawn, or in the middle of the night? Yes possibly to all of these times, and I realize that is very unfortunate timing. I should also mention that Ted and Samanthy always went out the back sliding door that led to our back yard. This time, they got out the garage door, which leads to the front of the house (and down a very steep ~25 foot driveway to the street). Once, we came home and found Ted and Samantha lounging at the top of the driveway, so they had come from the back yard to the front of the house that one time, but otherwise I’m not aware that they ever came to the front of the house. So Ted was definitely less familiar with his surroundings when he ventured out the garage door (plus, he had never been out at those hours).

SECTION 7: PROBABILITY OF BEING TRAPPED OR STUCK SOMEWHERE

37. Has this cat every disappeared before? If yes, did it come home acting hungry or thirsty? How long did you cat stay gone? Ted got out of my condo in Boston one time when I was away (my friend was living in my place for the week and left a door open). Ted was out for about 2 nights before I could get home. I searched the neighborhood when I got home, and stayed outside late into the night/early morning hours, standing by a park that I used to take him on a leash. At about 1-2 a.m. Ted came trotting out into the center of the park (it was a small neighborhood park), gave a big meow and headed right to me. This was about 4 years ago. I was so upset that he was missing, and so incredibly happy to see him. Other than that, he’s gotten away from me a few times for a few hours while we were away from home, but each time I’ve gone around calling for him and then I stayed up with the door ajar and maybe a light on and he’s come in on his own.

38. Has this cat come home with cobwebs, grease marks, or lots of dirt on it's fur? Yes, he’d been wandering into brush and coming back with lots of little pine cones in his fur and other dirt, and then there was the night he came back sopping wet that I described above.

39. Are there any homes under construction in the immediate area? Yes, one down the street and some other construction on a house above us, both a decent distance away, about 4-5 houses away.

40. Was there any yard work or construction projects being done (involving any tools) the day he vanished? I wasn’t here but I’d assume yes.

41. On the day he vanished, did any neighbors leave to go out of town? Not that I know of but it’s possible, we haven’t met everyone yet.

42. Have you ever seen this kitty trapped on a roof, up a tree, or up a pole before? Does he climb much? Very minimal climbing, just a few feet up a tree in the past.

43. Did any new neighbors move in recently? Not that I know of.

44. Do any neighbors work on cars in your area (either on your street or the street over?): One teenage neighbor, sometimes.

SECTION 8: PROBABILITY OF RUNAWAY

45. Have you owned this kitty all his life? (how long have you had him?) Yes since a little kitten, 8-10 weeks or so.

46. Did you bring a new baby, a new cat, or a new dog into your home? No not recently. Samantha’s been around for about 13 years.

47. Have you noticed any new neighbor cats or stray/feral cats in your area? Yes some neighbor cats (1-2) have been passing through the yard since we moved in here 6 mos ago.

48. Did any traumatic event happen right before your cat vanished? I went out of town very early Tuesday morning, and Duane stayed home with the cats; Ted got out early Thursday. Ted didn’t like it when I went away but I’ve done it a decent amount and he has been home with just Duane before, so I wouldn’t call the situation traumatic for him, but I know he’d prefer that I was home. Also, since Ted and Samantha and I moved here in December, the cats have gotten used to Duane giving them breakfast because he’s up first.

SECTION 9: YOUR FEELINGS ON YOUR CAT’S DISAPPEARANCE

49. What do you think happened to your cat? Is there anything that sticks out in your mind about your cat’s disappearance that you can’t get out of your mind or that you can’t put your finger on but think it might mean something? Anything unusual happen around the time your cat became missing?

I think Ted and Samantha ventured out pretty soon after Duane went to bed. They usually settle in with us at night for a while but I’m pretty sure they go wandering around the house at night, and then come back in the morning when they want breakfast. I think they went wandering the house that night, realized the doors to the garage were open, wandered down into the garage (where they’ve never been before) and then out the garage door to this driveway area (where they have lounged at least once before, but having accessed it from the back yard area, not the garage). I think they took to exploring the driveway and the front of the house (and maybe down to the street), and maybe did so together at least for a while. They didn’t typically stick together when they were outside. They might join up at the back door ready to come in, but sometimes one was out a little longer than the other. So on this night I think it was different for them to be out by the garage, and certainly different for them to be out at this hour. It seems another cat, or a coyote came down the street (now that I’m writing I think it’s more likely a coyote because all the neighborhood cats seem to be in at night, except for perhaps this one neighbor’s black and white cat that we saw and photographed out one day while searching for Ted). Ted would have been the one to confront this other animal, as he is the one who usually took front stage in confronting cats that he and Samantha have encountered in the past. Ted’s never actually had contact with another animal, that I know of. This time, there was contact because we saw that bit of fur at the end of the driveway. I don’t think this was a fatal encounter . . . of course, could have been, but there was no blood evident and the amount of fur was pretty minor (in fact I wondered at first if the fur had just blown out of our trash barrels because it had been trash day the day before and there’s always plenty of Ted’s hair from cutting mats off him, or brushing him, or the vacuum). The two bigger clumps of fur that I saw seemed to come from his back side. And the smaller white bits seemed to be his underfur, or could be another cat’s fur? I think it’s his, but I don’t know why the white fur would be wet and stuck to the cement and dirty. If he had a non-fatal encounter it would likely have freaked him out enough to run off. Going up the driveway would have been awkward, it is seriously steep and the house would likely have been out of view for him, even though it’s not that far. It would have been much faster, and easier, to dart across the street through the dense bushes of the neighbor’s house. We’ve checked those bushes and the surrounding area thoroughly and found nothing. So, could he have been killed? Yes but we don’t see the evidence of that. Could he be hiding still? Yes but now we’re at 12+ days and he should be hungry enough to come out from hiding. More likely he ran far enough to get disoriented. That’s my guess. He’s not much of a hunter, as far as I know (I think Samantha has always been the one to catch things, and Ted helps himself to eat what she catches). There are many water features/fountains in neighbor’s yards that he can be drinking out of, although no one has seen him. (One neighbor said that recently (just before our flyers came out) he saw an orange cat in the yard next to ours when he was coming home from work -- presumably around 5 pm.-- but he wasn’t sure what night it was and we can’t understand how he would have seen Ted in the yard next to ours, since it is wildly overgrown. We need to follow up with this guy to see if he can be more clear). That’s what I’ve got. Seems like a ton of info but I certainly appreciate all who read through and would love to hear your comments. Thanks so much. Lisa (and Duane)

#41170

#41171

On Jun 23, 2014, at 7:34 PM, "Elisa Ristine elisanpcb@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

you gave great details, and have come to a good place for support and advice. I would suggest getting a trail camera ASAP ( Walmart sells them cheaply ) and put out food .
I too got a lot if coyote responses try not to go there. The fur suggests that there was a possible fight and perhaps since it's a new area he was scared off.
A there are many more people on here with good advice. I am not one of the successful ones I get my moral support from this group.
One thing you mentioned about your neighbors pond I would take a look around there again could he have gotten on the other side or in a place where he wouldn't know how to get back? just a thought.

Everyone is here for you

Elisa Ristine
Sent from Iphone

On Jun 23, 2014, at 10:01 PM, "Lisa Amatangel amatangel@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

TODAY’S DATE:

SECTION 1: BASIC INFO ON YOUR CAT:

Your name: Lisa

Your email: amatangel@...
Your cat’s name(s): Teddy
Is this an indoor-only cat – or an outdoor-access cat: Moderate outdoor-access cat (typically for an hours or so during the day, 5-10 minutes or so before dinner, and then in and out for an hour or so after dinner and before bedtime).

Does your cat have a kitty door? (can cat go in and out as he/she pleases, or did you have to physically let him/her out each time?): Physically let in/let out
Cat’s age: 14

Cat’s sex: M

Type & Color: (large, small, shorthair, coloring): Large orange long-hair

Was your cat neutered or spayed? yes

What age was your cat neutered or spayed? kitten

City and State where your cat disappeared? Portland, OR

Date, Time, and Place you last saw your cat: am or pm? Teddy (and his sister Samantha) came in just before midnight on Wednesday, June 11. My husband let them in (I was traveling) and went to bed. Teddy came upstairs with him, as usual, to get a drink from the faucet while Duane got ready for bed. When Duane got in bed, Teddy settled in under the bed. (this is a little unusual since when I’m home Teddy sleeps on the bed for a while each night). In the morning, Duane was surprised to see Samantha at the back door (where they typically go in and out). Duane then realized that he mistakenly left the garage door open, along with the doors leading to the garage. The cats could have gotten out at any time that night.

When did you become aware that your cat was missing: Date, Time, am or pm? Duane let Samantha in around 5 am on Thursday, June 12; Teddy did not show up that morning and we haven’t seen him since.

Did your cat have a collar on? Was it a breakaway or a regular collar? If breakaway did it ever used to come off? No collar.

Did your cat have I.D. tags on? No.

Does your cat have a microchip? Yes.

Do you have a good, clear photo of your cat? Yes.

Do you have a current missing cat flyer? Does it have a good, clear picture of your cat? If you don’t have a picture of your cat, put a similar looking cat picture on the flyer. Get one off the internet if you have to. Yes and yes.

How many missing cat flyers have your posted so far? We put about 40 flyers in neighbors' mailboxes (before we realized that’s illegal), and posted about 25 small flyers on telephone poles in the neighborhood (spanning about 1 mile radius); this weekend we put up 7 giant neon posters at major intersections around neighborhood, about 1-mile radius.

Have you sent flyers to all vets, shelters, and pet stores in your area, if so, what mile radius? We put flyers at a pet store nearby (w/i 1 mile) and the major shelter for this area (about 30 miles from here); I’ve listed him via email at two other local shelters.

Describe your search efforts thus far, e.g., have you searched each neighbor’s yard, garage? Went door to door (every door within how many blocks?) with flyers? Asking for tips? We’ve been in one neighbor’s garage and have searched the yards of about 15 neighbors, probably covering about 2 blocks (this is up to 9 houses in some directions). Many of the yards in this area are very dense with shrubs, trees, bushes, flowers, are multi-level and have seemingly endless places to hide. In every yard we’ve accessed, we’ve checked under decks.

Have you called for your cat late at night around 3am when it is quiet and cats abound? Yes and no. We’ve been out at midnight, 2 am and 5 am nearly every night, but not at 3 a.m. I will do 3 a.m. for the next several nights.

Have you checked your local shelter? Yes, we’ve been to one shelter 2x, and another shelter once. For 2 of these visits we went to see a cat that had been brought in whose pic we saw online and thought was Teddy. Every day, we check cat intake online at three shelters and craigslist.

Tell us about your cat, his/her personality, and his/her normal everyday
routines, e.g., likes to go lay on porch but never leaves the yard, leaves
the yard but always comes in to sleep at night, etc.

I met Teddy at a shelter when he was a young kitten; he was sick but adorable, fuzzy and orange. He required medicine initially, and then grew to be a large robust cat with a giant personality. He moved with me from RI (a large apt) in a suburb-ish area, to Boston (two smaller apts in the city, where we added his rescue-sister Samantha to the mix), briefly to DC (high-rise apt), a year+ in Houston (large apt with a balcony), Denver for one-year (townhouse with occasional backyard access), and to Portland 6-months ago (living with Duane in a house, in a neighborhood with many trees, many large wild yards, and the city within a two-mile walk through a densely wooded park). He started off exclusively indoors, but his outside access has grown over time, with the most outdoor time being here in Portland. In Portland I wanted him and Samantha to have outdoor access because they’d handled it well in other locations (rolled around near wherever I let them out and didn’t run off) and loved going out. In Portland we would let them out pretty much whenever they wanted to go out, they would spend some time in a mostly-enclosed back yard, sometimes venturing a bit farther into two adjoining neighbor’s yards, but they were always in for dinner, and then usually around 10 or 11 pm, they would come in for the night. These days, at 14 years old, he sleeps a lot, hangs close to us when he’s indoors, enjoys his outside time, is a ravenous eater, and loves drinking at the faucet.

SECTION 2: PROBABILITY OF THEFT
1. Is your cat a purebred, exotic cat? Describe what he looks like. He’s long-hair and orange. Beyond that I’m not so sure.

2. Does your cat have any distinguishable markings? Several weeks ago he had his front paws shaved when he had his teeth cleaned (for the sedation). That fur is mostly grown in now. He’s got a very furry mane, and he seems to have much longer hair than the “long-hair” cats in missing/found photos I’ve been seeing online. As a younger cat he always had one or two black whiskers but these days they’re mostly all white.

3. How does he respond to strangers...runs & hides, aloof, or in their lap purring? hides at first; will come out when she realizes they are no threat? Ted hasn’t been around that many people. I lived mostly alone for the years I’ve had him, but he’s gotten to know some family and friends and neighbors over the years. He was friendly with these folks, would come up to them and want to be pet, but I was the only person who would pick him up. He came to like Duane and would sleep on or near both of us. He had an occasionally aggressive youth, biting/scratching several people, but he mellowed out over time. Because of his occasional aggressive reactions to others, I would tell people, pet sitters, etc that it was ok for him to “pet” them, but to be careful about /resist petting him because you really had to watch his face to see if he was handling it ok. I could pick him up no problem, put him around my shoulders, have him in my lap, etc, towards me he was a very affectionate cat . . . would always come to the door . . . would never give me a hard time when I came back from traveling . . . . He would mostly hide from strangers but recently would venture out a little bit if I was there too. A new pet sitter got him to hang around and play a bit after about 4 visits.

SECTION 3: PROBABILITY OF RESCUE

4. Are there any feral cat colonies in your area? Any known "cat person" who collects cats? Or anyone who feeds the neighborhood cats or where a number of cats congregate? I’m relatively new to this neighborhood, just about 6 months. I see a couple of neighborhood cats passing through the yard (I have confirmed that they are not lost, just strolling) but no known feral cats or “cat people”. One neighbor said that cats hang out in her yard and she’d let me know if Ted was among them.

SECTION 4: PROBABILITY OF INTENTIONAL DISPOSAL

6. Are there any suspected "cat haters" in your neighborhood? Has anyone complained about your cat? Are there any neighbors who are obsessed with their lawns, cars, or gardens that do not like cats going in their yard? This seems to be a pretty cat tolerant neighborhood. One or two neighbors keep chickens . . . we haven’t met them but I’d imagine they aren’t thrilled with having cats running free.

7. Any known "dog fighting dogs" i.e. skuzzy looking/acting gang-like neighbors with pit bulls? Many dogs but all seem to be well-behaved and looked-after.

8. Is there or was there at any time an abundance of loose cats in the area? Not that I know of.

9. Have cats been seen but suddenly they have all vanished from the area? Unfortunately, we are in a neighborhood where people seem to see coyotes regularly. The reports vary from “I see them all the time” to “I haven’t seen them in a couple of years”. The mailman told our neighbor that he saw a coyote the day before Teddy went missing. That neighbor’s cat, a purely indoor cat, went missing the day before Teddy.

10. Have you seen or heard of any neighbors with a humane animal trap in their yards before? No

11. Do you have any neighborhood children who fit the following profile -- Caucasian male, age 10 to 17, introvert (loner) with a suspected history of cruelty to other kids, animals, bed wetting behavior, and/or fire setting? (don't expect you to monitor your neighbor's peeing behavior, just if you KNOW of it!) Not that i know of.

12. Are there any other cats missing in the immediate area? If so, provide as many details as possible. Yes, the one I mentioned above (Cookie the indoor cat) and we met another neighbor who said their roommate’s cat is missing (for 2 months) but has been missing before for periods of time and has always come back. We got a description of the cat and determined that it sounded a lot like a cat we came across while looking for Ted. We showed this guy the photo we had snapped of this kitty and he seemed to think that it was his friend’s cat (he didn’t seem too concerned). It was encouraging for us to hear that there is a neighborhood cat who spends extended periods of time outdoors and so far has not been taken by a coyote or other predator.

13. Any disputes with spouse, boyfriend, friend, roommate, neighbor or any other individual who would want to do you harm? No.

PROBABILITY OF UNINTENTIONAL DISPLACEMENT

13. Did this cat disappear during warm weather (when car windows were left down?) Not particularly warm, but there could have been windows down.

14. Were there any moving vans, construction vehicles or property being moved the day he vanished? Not that we’re aware of. Although there is always some activity going on in this neighborhood . . . arborists working on trees, gardeners, deck repair etc.

15. What day of the week did he disappear? What time of day was he/she last seen? He got out early Thursday morning (between around 1 am and 5 am).

16. Does your cat have a history of climbing into cars or laying on top of cars? No

17. Does your cat seem attracted to cars, afraid of cars, or does he not care much either way? More afraid than not, but not particularly aware either way.

18. Is your cat overly curious? Does he crawl into open spaces and boxes and explore? Not overly curious but he does like to climb into boxes, bags being packed . . .

19. Is your cat missing from an apartment complex, condo, or area with a high population of people and vehicles? Describe your neighborhood (i.e., end of cul-de-sac in residential area of Los Angeles, rural road surrounded by grape vineyards in Sonoma, California, etc.) Describe each household within 5 houses on each side and behind, do you know these neighbors, what are they like? Did you search each front and backyard of these houses? Are there piles of junk around or places a cat could get into or stuck? What is
the farthest house you have seen your missing cat at, or the farthest distance?

This neighborhood is very jungle-like from a cat perspective. It looks relatively normal from the street, but behind many of the houses there are steep drops and giant trees and many many places for a cat to hide. We’ve been in most yards within 5 house on all sides, and checked under them. Some we haven’t gotten into because the folks haven’t been home. Our neighborhood has been broken into a couple of times in the past month so I assume people are suspicious of people wandering into their yards and wouldn’t appreciate that . . . many of the houses are up steep driveways, or have long staircases leading to them, so it’s even a bit intrusive to even go up to the front door, but we’re getting around relatively well and feel we’ve covered this 5-house radius reasonably well in spite of the dense grasses, flowers, trees, bushes, windy paths, nooks and crannies, steep drop-offs that are so common here. We know Ted ventured at least once pretty deep into our neighbor’s yard because he came home soaking wet, and we’ve since learned that there’s a mini-pond (only about 3 feet across) about 100 feet from our property. (Duane checked that pond and did not find Ted there).

SECTION 5: PROBABILITY OF INJURY, ILLNESS OR DEATH

20. Is this a male cat? If yes, have you noticed any problems urinating in the litter box lately? Yes male, no problems with box.

21. Is this an elderly cat? 14 and in good health.

22. Was this cat recently injured or sick? Under the care of a vet or on medications? He got his teeth cleaned, but otherwise fine.

23. Have you ever seen this cat in a situation where it was hurt or sick and it took refuge and hide somewhere? He’s never been seriously injured but he has cowered the few times that we’ve bumped into him or mistakenly nabbed his tail in close quarters. He’s very furry and probably 5-6 times he’s had a poop stuck to his backside which I’d have to remove. I’d know it was happening because he’d look sheepish and uncomfortable and would try to stay away from me, but he wouldn’t hide out of sight. He hated getting his nails cut, so when I’d finish with that he’d run off to another part of the house, but again not hiding. They both would definitely run and hide from the vacuum cleaner, and probably the doorbell. There are pretty major thunder storms here and while he didn’t love them, he’d stay out in the open with me.

24. Before your cat disappeared, did you notice any cat fights as of late? No fights recently. Over the years he’s had some stare-downs with stranger cats but I’ve never seen any contact.

25. Have there been any new cats or new dogs brought into the immediate neighborhood? If so what kind (size and type): We’re new. Mostly I’ve seen a decent size grey cat in our yard (about 10 lbs? Teddy is 12-13lbs and looks bigger due to his fur).

26. Is there a know rat or snail problem in your neighborhood? Samantha (Ted’s sister) catches moles but no rats that I know of. Big slugs, yes. People do put out slug killer.

27. Have you heard that any of your neighbor dogs are aggressive towards cats? No

28. Considering the houses where your kitty spent his time, what homes in that area have dogs? None that I know of. I think he was mostly in our yard and one yard over, (no dog there).

29. Is this a solid black cat? No

30. Are you aware of any occult activity in your immediate area? No

31. What is the average speed of cars that travel on the roads right by your home? 25 mph? we’re on a pretty curvy, relatively narrow road. It’s steep, and skateboarders regularly zoom by.

32. Are there any known cultures in your area known to consume cats (Korean, Chinese)? No

SECTION 6: PROBABILITY OF WILDLIFE KILL

33. Do you live in an area where there are coyotes, fox, bobcats, owls or hawks? (if you do not know have you called your local state Fish & Game department and Animal Control to ask?) Yes. And since we’ve been out looking for Teddy, we’ve heard coyotes twice in the early morning. Most of our neighbors respond to “missing cat” with: “Coyote took him”. I think people ascribe more cat disappearances here to coyotes than statistics on coyotes bear out. Many neighbors have said that they’ve seen coyotes trotting down the street. We haven’t seen any, but we haven’t been here that long. There are a lot of other animals around, squirrels bunnies etc that coyotes can get at without a fight. One neighbor said she saw two bald eagles around recently. We’ve seen hawks out on the highway, several miles from here, but not in the neighborhood.

34. Have you seen or heard the above wildlife in your area? If so, when and where? (above)

35. In your search for your cat, did you come across any tufts of cat fur? Yes. There were a few tufts of hair at the base of our driveway. Two that were about 2 inches long and dry - these were orange/red and pretty certainly Ted's. A few others that were smaller, more white/light-color, and matted to the cement, and dirty. These clumps seemed more like evidence of a cat fight than a coyote attack, but that could be wishful thinking. What I’ve read about coyote attacks is that they rip their kill apart at the scene and you’d likely see big remnants . . large tufts with skin, or the tail, etc. However, other neighbors have said no, they take the whole kill away with them. That does make sense if they’re taking the kill to their pups. Ugh. One thing in Ted’s favor is if a coyote did approach him, he had major claws (I clipped Samantha’s nails the day before I left home but not Ted’s) and he has never been shy to use them.

36. Did your cat disappear at dusk, dawn, or in the middle of the night? Yes possibly to all of these times, and I realize that is very unfortunate timing. I should also mention that Ted and Samanthy always went out the back sliding door that led to our back yard. This time, they got out the garage door, which leads to the front of the house (and down a very steep ~25 foot driveway to the street). Once, we came home and found Ted and Samantha lounging at the top of the driveway, so they had come from the back yard to the front of the house that one time, but otherwise I’m not aware that they ever came to the front of the house. So Ted was definitely less familiar with his surroundings when he ventured out the garage door (plus, he had never been out at those hours).

SECTION 7: PROBABILITY OF BEING TRAPPED OR STUCK SOMEWHERE

37. Has this cat every disappeared before? If yes, did it come home acting hungry or thirsty? How long did you cat stay gone? Ted got out of my condo in Boston one time when I was away (my friend was living in my place for the week and left a door open). Ted was out for about 2 nights before I could get home. I searched the neighborhood when I got home, and stayed outside late into the night/early morning hours, standing by a park that I used to take him on a leash. At about 1-2 a.m. Ted came trotting out into the center of the park (it was a small neighborhood park), gave a big meow and headed right to me. This was about 4 years ago. I was so upset that he was missing, and so incredibly happy to see him. Other than that, he’s gotten away from me a few times for a few hours while we were away from home, but each time I’ve gone around calling for him and then I stayed up with the door ajar and maybe a light on and he’s come in on his own.

38. Has this cat come home with cobwebs, grease marks, or lots of dirt on it's fur? Yes, he’d been wandering into brush and coming back with lots of little pine cones in his fur and other dirt, and then there was the night he came back sopping wet that I described above.

39. Are there any homes under construction in the immediate area? Yes, one down the street and some other construction on a house above us, both a decent distance away, about 4-5 houses away.

40. Was there any yard work or construction projects being done (involving any tools) the day he vanished? I wasn’t here but I’d assume yes.

41. On the day he vanished, did any neighbors leave to go out of town? Not that I know of but it’s possible, we haven’t met everyone yet.

42. Have you ever seen this kitty trapped on a roof, up a tree, or up a pole before? Does he climb much? Very minimal climbing, just a few feet up a tree in the past.

43. Did any new neighbors move in recently? Not that I know of.

44. Do any neighbors work on cars in your area (either on your street or the street over?): One teenage neighbor, sometimes.

SECTION 8: PROBABILITY OF RUNAWAY

45. Have you owned this kitty all his life? (how long have you had him?) Yes since a little kitten, 8-10 weeks or so.

46. Did you bring a new baby, a new cat, or a new dog into your home? No not recently. Samantha’s been around for about 13 years.

47. Have you noticed any new neighbor cats or stray/feral cats in your area? Yes some neighbor cats (1-2) have been passing through the yard since we moved in here 6 mos ago.

48. Did any traumatic event happen right before your cat vanished? I went out of town very early Tuesday morning, and Duane stayed home with the cats; Ted got out early Thursday. Ted didn’t like it when I went away but I’ve done it a decent amount and he has been home with just Duane before, so I wouldn’t call the situation traumatic for him, but I know he’d prefer that I was home. Also, since Ted and Samantha and I moved here in December, the cats have gotten used to Duane giving them breakfast because he’s up first.

SECTION 9: YOUR FEELINGS ON YOUR CAT’S DISAPPEARANCE

49. What do you think happened to your cat? Is there anything that sticks out in your mind about your cat’s disappearance that you can’t get out of your mind or that you can’t put your finger on but think it might mean something? Anything unusual happen around the time your cat became missing?

I think Ted and Samantha ventured out pretty soon after Duane went to bed. They usually settle in with us at night for a while but I’m pretty sure they go wandering around the house at night, and then come back in the morning when they want breakfast. I think they went wandering the house that night, realized the doors to the garage were open, wandered down into the garage (where they’ve never been before) and then out the garage door to this driveway area (where they have lounged at least once before, but having accessed it from the back yard area, not the garage). I think they took to exploring the driveway and the front of the house (and maybe down to the street), and maybe did so together at least for a while. They didn’t typically stick together when they were outside. They might join up at the back door ready to come in, but sometimes one was out a little longer than the other. So on this night I think it was different for them to be out by the garage, and certainly different for them to be out at this hour. It seems another cat, or a coyote came down the street (now that I’m writing I think it’s more likely a coyote because all the neighborhood cats seem to be in at night, except for perhaps this one neighbor’s black and white cat that we saw and photographed out one day while searching for Ted). Ted would have been the one to confront this other animal, as he is the one who usually took front stage in confronting cats that he and Samantha have encountered in the past. Ted’s never actually had contact with another animal, that I know of. This time, there was contact because we saw that bit of fur at the end of the driveway. I don’t think this was a fatal encounter . . . of course, could have been, but there was no blood evident and the amount of fur was pretty minor (in fact I wondered at first if the fur had just blown out of our trash barrels because it had been trash day the day before and there’s always plenty of Ted’s hair from cutting mats off him, or brushing him, or the vacuum). The two bigger clumps of fur that I saw seemed to come from his back side. And the smaller white bits seemed to be his underfur, or could be another cat’s fur? I think it’s his, but I don’t know why the white fur would be wet and stuck to the cement and dirty. If he had a non-fatal encounter it would likely have freaked him out enough to run off. Going up the driveway would have been awkward, it is seriously steep and the house would likely have been out of view for him, even though it’s not that far. It would have been much faster, and easier, to dart across the street through the dense bushes of the neighbor’s house. We’ve checked those bushes and the surrounding area thoroughly and found nothing. So, could he have been killed? Yes but we don’t see the evidence of that. Could he be hiding still? Yes but now we’re at 12+ days and he should be hungry enough to come out from hiding. More likely he ran far enough to get disoriented. That’s my guess. He’s not much of a hunter, as far as I know (I think Samantha has always been the one to catch things, and Ted helps himself to eat what she catches). There are many water features/fountains in neighbor’s yards that he can be drinking out of, although no one has seen him. (One neighbor said that recently (just before our flyers came out) he saw an orange cat in the yard next to ours when he was coming home from work -- presumably around 5 pm.-- but he wasn’t sure what night it was and we can’t understand how he would have seen Ted in the yard next to ours, since it is wildly overgrown. We need to follow up with this guy to see if he can be more clear). That’s what I’ve got. Seems like a ton of info but I certainly appreciate all who read through and would love to hear your comments. Thanks so much. Lisa (and Duane)

#41182

#41184

On Jun 27, 2014, at 12:06 PM, "Mari Peloquin mari_peloquin@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

Hi Lisa,

So they kids skipped out during the night, huh? I never did that! ;)

I think Teddy may be behaving like an indoor-only cat if he's in unexplored territory. Put food and water near the foundation of your home or under or porch or in the bushes. He may not want to venture out into the open. And try sitting outside in the early morning hours and talking to him in a calm voice. If he is in survival mode he needs to be reminded of home. And do scour that garage. He may be hiding there somewhere. If you can feed in the garage and leave the door up that would be great. Beware of "visitors" when going in and out yourself.

Do not believe the coyote, fox, raccoon, alien got your cat. You did not find evidence of death so the search goes on!

Good luck!

>^..^<
Mari

To: MissingCatAssistance@...
From: MissingCatAssistance@...
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 23:21:06 -0700
Subject: Re: [MissingCatAssistance] New to group -- Lisa and Duane in search of Teddy

Thanks so much Elisa and Suzanne. I failed to mention, we did put up trail cameras focused on "kitty buffets" ... one in the back yard (where he is accustomed to being, and which seems to be along what other sites have described as a kitty highway -- a path that cats take through the neighborhood??) and also down in the garage where he got out. We've had the cameras up for 3 nights and so far have fed two neighborhood cats, a squirrel and a bird. I agree, I think that yard, near the pond and beyond, deserves more attention. I'll go there tomorrow. So glad to have found this site; great to be connected with like-minded folks. I've read some of the archives and wish everyone the best (!!!) of luck with their kitties.

Sent from my iPad

On Jun 23, 2014, at 7:34 PM, "Elisa Ristine elisanpcb@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

you gave great details, and have come to a good place for support and advice. I would suggest getting a trail camera ASAP ( Walmart sells them cheaply ) and put out food .
I too got a lot if coyote responses try not to go there. The fur suggests that there was a possible fight and perhaps since it's a new area he was scared off.
A there are many more people on here with good advice. I am not one of the successful ones I get my moral support from this group.
One thing you mentioned about your neighbors pond I would take a look around there again could he have gotten on the other side or in a place where he wouldn't know how to get back? just a thought.

Everyone is here for you

Elisa Ristine
Sent from Iphone

On Jun 23, 2014, at 10:01 PM, "Lisa Amatangel amatangel@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

TODAY’S DATE:

SECTION 1: BASIC INFO ON YOUR CAT:

Your name: Lisa

Your email: amatangel@...
Your cat’s name(s): Teddy
Is this an indoor-only cat – or an outdoor-access cat: Moderate outdoor-access cat (typically for an hours or so during the day, 5-10 minutes or so before dinner, and then in and out for an hour or so after dinner and before bedtime).

Does your cat have a kitty door? (can cat go in and out as he/she pleases, or did you have to physically let him/her out each time?): Physically let in/let out
Cat’s age: 14

Cat’s sex: M

Type & Color: (large, small, shorthair, coloring): Large orange long-hair

Was your cat neutered or spayed? yes

What age was your cat neutered or spayed? kitten

City and State where your cat disappeared? Portland, OR

Date, Time, and Place you last saw your cat: am or pm? Teddy (and his sister Samantha) came in just before midnight on Wednesday, June 11. My husband let them in (I was traveling) and went to bed. Teddy came upstairs with him, as usual, to get a drink from the faucet while Duane got ready for bed. When Duane got in bed, Teddy settled in under the bed. (this is a little unusual since when I’m home Teddy sleeps on the bed for a while each night). In the morning, Duane was surprised to see Samantha at the back door (where they typically go in and out). Duane then realized that he mistakenly left the garage door open, along with the doors leading to the garage. The cats could have gotten out at any time that night.

When did you become aware that your cat was missing: Date, Time, am or pm? Duane let Samantha in around 5 am on Thursday, June 12; Teddy did not show up that morning and we haven’t seen him since.

Did your cat have a collar on? Was it a breakaway or a regular collar? If breakaway did it ever used to come off? No collar.

Did your cat have I.D. tags on? No.

Does your cat have a microchip? Yes.

Do you have a good, clear photo of your cat? Yes.

Do you have a current missing cat flyer? Does it have a good, clear picture of your cat? If you don’t have a picture of your cat, put a similar looking cat picture on the flyer. Get one off the internet if you have to. Yes and yes.

How many missing cat flyers have your posted so far? We put about 40 flyers in neighbors' mailboxes (before we realized that’s illegal), and posted about 25 small flyers on telephone poles in the neighborhood (spanning about 1 mile radius); this weekend we put up 7 giant neon posters at major intersections around neighborhood, about 1-mile radius.

Have you sent flyers to all vets, shelters, and pet stores in your area, if so, what mile radius? We put flyers at a pet store nearby (w/i 1 mile) and the major shelter for this area (about 30 miles from here); I’ve listed him via email at two other local shelters.

Describe your search efforts thus far, e.g., have you searched each neighbor’s yard, garage? Went door to door (every door within how many blocks?) with flyers? Asking for tips? We’ve been in one neighbor’s garage and have searched the yards of about 15 neighbors, probably covering about 2 blocks (this is up to 9 houses in some directions). Many of the yards in this area are very dense with shrubs, trees, bushes, flowers, are multi-level and have seemingly endless places to hide. In every yard we’ve accessed, we’ve checked under decks.

Have you called for your cat late at night around 3am when it is quiet and cats abound? Yes and no. We’ve been out at midnight, 2 am and 5 am nearly every night, but not at 3 a.m. I will do 3 a.m. for the next several nights.

Have you checked your local shelter? Yes, we’ve been to one shelter 2x, and another shelter once. For 2 of these visits we went to see a cat that had been brought in whose pic we saw online and thought was Teddy. Every day, we check cat intake online at three shelters and craigslist.

Tell us about your cat, his/her personality, and his/her normal everyday
routines, e.g., likes to go lay on porch but never leaves the yard, leaves
the yard but always comes in to sleep at night, etc.

I met Teddy at a shelter when he was a young kitten; he was sick but adorable, fuzzy and orange. He required medicine initially, and then grew to be a large robust cat with a giant personality. He moved with me from RI (a large apt) in a suburb-ish area, to Boston (two smaller apts in the city, where we added his rescue-sister Samantha to the mix), briefly to DC (high-rise apt), a year+ in Houston (large apt with a balcony), Denver for one-year (townhouse with occasional backyard access), and to Portland 6-months ago (living with Duane in a house, in a neighborhood with many trees, many large wild yards, and the city within a two-mile walk through a densely wooded park). He started off exclusively indoors, but his outside access has grown over time, with the most outdoor time being here in Portland. In Portland I wanted him and Samantha to have outdoor access because they’d handled it well in other locations (rolled around near wherever I let them out and didn’t run off) and loved going out. In Portland we would let them out pretty much whenever they wanted to go out, they would spend some time in a mostly-enclosed back yard, sometimes venturing a bit farther into two adjoining neighbor’s yards, but they were always in for dinner, and then usually around 10 or 11 pm, they would come in for the night. These days, at 14 years old, he sleeps a lot, hangs close to us when he’s indoors, enjoys his outside time, is a ravenous eater, and loves drinking at the faucet.

SECTION 2: PROBABILITY OF THEFT
1. Is your cat a purebred, exotic cat? Describe what he looks like. He’s long-hair and orange. Beyond that I’m not so sure.

2. Does your cat have any distinguishable markings? Several weeks ago he had his front paws shaved when he had his teeth cleaned (for the sedation). That fur is mostly grown in now. He’s got a very furry mane, and he seems to have much longer hair than the “long-hair” cats in missing/found photos I’ve been seeing online. As a younger cat he always had one or two black whiskers but these days they’re mostly all white.

3. How does he respond to strangers...runs & hides, aloof, or in their lap purring? hides at first; will come out when she realizes they are no threat? Ted hasn’t been around that many people. I lived mostly alone for the years I’ve had him, but he’s gotten to know some family and friends and neighbors over the years. He was friendly with these folks, would come up to them and want to be pet, but I was the only person who would pick him up. He came to like Duane and would sleep on or near both of us. He had an occasionally aggressive youth, biting/scratching several people, but he mellowed out over time. Because of his occasional aggressive reactions to others, I would tell people, pet sitters, etc that it was ok for him to “pet” them, but to be careful about /resist petting him because you really had to watch his face to see if he was handling it ok. I could pick him up no problem, put him around my shoulders, have him in my lap, etc, towards me he was a very affectionate cat . . . would always come to the door . . . would never give me a hard time when I came back from traveling . . . . He would mostly hide from strangers but recently would venture out a little bit if I was there too. A new pet sitter got him to hang around and play a bit after about 4 visits.

SECTION 3: PROBABILITY OF RESCUE

4. Are there any feral cat colonies in your area? Any known "cat person" who collects cats? Or anyone who feeds the neighborhood cats or where a number of cats congregate? I’m relatively new to this neighborhood, just about 6 months. I see a couple of neighborhood cats passing through the yard (I have confirmed that they are not lost, just strolling) but no known feral cats or “cat people”. One neighbor said that cats hang out in her yard and she’d let me know if Ted was among them.

SECTION 4: PROBABILITY OF INTENTIONAL DISPOSAL

6. Are there any suspected "cat haters" in your neighborhood? Has anyone complained about your cat? Are there any neighbors who are obsessed with their lawns, cars, or gardens that do not like cats going in their yard? This seems to be a pretty cat tolerant neighborhood. One or two neighbors keep chickens . . . we haven’t met them but I’d imagine they aren’t thrilled with having cats running free.

7. Any known "dog fighting dogs" i.e. skuzzy looking/acting gang-like neighbors with pit bulls? Many dogs but all seem to be well-behaved and looked-after.

8. Is there or was there at any time an abundance of loose cats in the area? Not that I know of.

9. Have cats been seen but suddenly they have all vanished from the area? Unfortunately, we are in a neighborhood where people seem to see coyotes regularly. The reports vary from “I see them all the time” to “I haven’t seen them in a couple of years”. The mailman told our neighbor that he saw a coyote the day before Teddy went missing. That neighbor’s cat, a purely indoor cat, went missing the day before Teddy.

10. Have you seen or heard of any neighbors with a humane animal trap in their yards before? No

11. Do you have any neighborhood children who fit the following profile -- Caucasian male, age 10 to 17, introvert (loner) with a suspected history of cruelty to other kids, animals, bed wetting behavior, and/or fire setting? (don't expect you to monitor your neighbor's peeing behavior, just if you KNOW of it!) Not that i know of.

12. Are there any other cats missing in the immediate area? If so, provide as many details as possible. Yes, the one I mentioned above (Cookie the indoor cat) and we met another neighbor who said their roommate’s cat is missing (for 2 months) but has been missing before for periods of time and has always come back. We got a description of the cat and determined that it sounded a lot like a cat we came across while looking for Ted. We showed this guy the photo we had snapped of this kitty and he seemed to think that it was his friend’s cat (he didn’t seem too concerned). It was encouraging for us to hear that there is a neighborhood cat who spends extended periods of time outdoors and so far has not been taken by a coyote or other predator.

13. Any disputes with spouse, boyfriend, friend, roommate, neighbor or any other individual who would want to do you harm? No.

PROBABILITY OF UNINTENTIONAL DISPLACEMENT

13. Did this cat disappear during warm weather (when car windows were left down?) Not particularly warm, but there could have been windows down.

14. Were there any moving vans, construction vehicles or property being moved the day he vanished? Not that we’re aware of. Although there is always some activity going on in this neighborhood . . . arborists working on trees, gardeners, deck repair etc.

15. What day of the week did he disappear? What time of day was he/she last seen? He got out early Thursday morning (between around 1 am and 5 am).

16. Does your cat have a history of climbing into cars or laying on top of cars? No

17. Does your cat seem attracted to cars, afraid of cars, or does he not care much either way? More afraid than not, but not particularly aware either way.

18. Is your cat overly curious? Does he crawl into open spaces and boxes and explore? Not overly curious but he does like to climb into boxes, bags being packed . . .

19. Is your cat missing from an apartment complex, condo, or area with a high population of people and vehicles? Describe your neighborhood (i.e., end of cul-de-sac in residential area of Los Angeles, rural road surrounded by grape vineyards in Sonoma, California, etc.) Describe each household within 5 houses on each side and behind, do you know these neighbors, what are they like? Did you search each front and backyard of these houses? Are there piles of junk around or places a cat could get into or stuck? What is
the farthest house you have seen your missing cat at, or the farthest distance?

This neighborhood is very jungle-like from a cat perspective. It looks relatively normal from the street, but behind many of the houses there are steep drops and giant trees and many many places for a cat to hide. We’ve been in most yards within 5 house on all sides, and checked under them. Some we haven’t gotten into because the folks haven’t been home. Our neighborhood has been broken into a couple of times in the past month so I assume people are suspicious of people wandering into their yards and wouldn’t appreciate that . . . many of the houses are up steep driveways, or have long staircases leading to them, so it’s even a bit intrusive to even go up to the front door, but we’re getting around relatively well and feel we’ve covered this 5-house radius reasonably well in spite of the dense grasses, flowers, trees, bushes, windy paths, nooks and crannies, steep drop-offs that are so common here. We know Ted ventured at least once pretty deep into our neighbor’s yard because he came home soaking wet, and we’ve since learned that there’s a mini-pond (only about 3 feet across) about 100 feet from our property. (Duane checked that pond and did not find Ted there).

SECTION 5: PROBABILITY OF INJURY, ILLNESS OR DEATH

20. Is this a male cat? If yes, have you noticed any problems urinating in the litter box lately? Yes male, no problems with box.

21. Is this an elderly cat? 14 and in good health.

22. Was this cat recently injured or sick? Under the care of a vet or on medications? He got his teeth cleaned, but otherwise fine.

23. Have you ever seen this cat in a situation where it was hurt or sick and it took refuge and hide somewhere? He’s never been seriously injured but he has cowered the few times that we’ve bumped into him or mistakenly nabbed his tail in close quarters. He’s very furry and probably 5-6 times he’s had a poop stuck to his backside which I’d have to remove. I’d know it was happening because he’d look sheepish and uncomfortable and would try to stay away from me, but he wouldn’t hide out of sight. He hated getting his nails cut, so when I’d finish with that he’d run off to another part of the house, but again not hiding. They both would definitely run and hide from the vacuum cleaner, and probably the doorbell. There are pretty major thunder storms here and while he didn’t love them, he’d stay out in the open with me.

24. Before your cat disappeared, did you notice any cat fights as of late? No fights recently. Over the years he’s had some stare-downs with stranger cats but I’ve never seen any contact.

25. Have there been any new cats or new dogs brought into the immediate neighborhood? If so what kind (size and type): We’re new. Mostly I’ve seen a decent size grey cat in our yard (about 10 lbs? Teddy is 12-13lbs and looks bigger due to his fur).

26. Is there a know rat or snail problem in your neighborhood? Samantha (Ted’s sister) catches moles but no rats that I know of. Big slugs, yes. People do put out slug killer.

27. Have you heard that any of your neighbor dogs are aggressive towards cats? No

28. Considering the houses where your kitty spent his time, what homes in that area have dogs? None that I know of. I think he was mostly in our yard and one yard over, (no dog there).

29. Is this a solid black cat? No

30. Are you aware of any occult activity in your immediate area? No

31. What is the average speed of cars that travel on the roads right by your home? 25 mph? we’re on a pretty curvy, relatively narrow road. It’s steep, and skateboarders regularly zoom by.

32. Are there any known cultures in your area known to consume cats (Korean, Chinese)? No

SECTION 6: PROBABILITY OF WILDLIFE KILL

33. Do you live in an area where there are coyotes, fox, bobcats, owls or hawks? (if you do not know have you called your local state Fish & Game department and Animal Control to ask?) Yes. And since we’ve been out looking for Teddy, we’ve heard coyotes twice in the early morning. Most of our neighbors respond to “missing cat” with: “Coyote took him”. I think people ascribe more cat disappearances here to coyotes than statistics on coyotes bear out. Many neighbors have said that they’ve seen coyotes trotting down the street. We haven’t seen any, but we haven’t been here that long. There are a lot of other animals around, squirrels bunnies etc that coyotes can get at without a fight. One neighbor said she saw two bald eagles around recently. We’ve seen hawks out on the highway, several miles from here, but not in the neighborhood.

34. Have you seen or heard the above wildlife in your area? If so, when and where? (above)

35. In your search for your cat, did you come across any tufts of cat fur? Yes. There were a few tufts of hair at the base of our driveway. Two that were about 2 inches long and dry - these were orange/red and pretty certainly Ted's. A few others that were smaller, more white/light-color, and matted to the cement, and dirty. These clumps seemed more like evidence of a cat fight than a coyote attack, but that could be wishful thinking. What I’ve read about coyote attacks is that they rip their kill apart at the scene and you’d likely see big remnants . . large tufts with skin, or the tail, etc. However, other neighbors have said no, they take the whole kill away with them. That does make sense if they’re taking the kill to their pups. Ugh. One thing in Ted’s favor is if a coyote did approach him, he had major claws (I clipped Samantha’s nails the day before I left home but not Ted’s) and he has never been shy to use them.

36. Did your cat disappear at dusk, dawn, or in the middle of the night? Yes possibly to all of these times, and I realize that is very unfortunate timing. I should also mention that Ted and Samanthy always went out the back sliding door that led to our back yard. This time, they got out the garage door, which leads to the front of the house (and down a very steep ~25 foot driveway to the street). Once, we came home and found Ted and Samantha lounging at the top of the driveway, so they had come from the back yard to the front of the house that one time, but otherwise I’m not aware that they ever came to the front of the house. So Ted was definitely less familiar with his surroundings when he ventured out the garage door (plus, he had never been out at those hours).

SECTION 7: PROBABILITY OF BEING TRAPPED OR STUCK SOMEWHERE

37. Has this cat every disappeared before? If yes, did it come home acting hungry or thirsty? How long did you cat stay gone? Ted got out of my condo in Boston one time when I was away (my friend was living in my place for the week and left a door open). Ted was out for about 2 nights before I could get home. I searched the neighborhood when I got home, and stayed outside late into the night/early morning hours, standing by a park that I used to take him on a leash. At about 1-2 a.m. Ted came trotting out into the center of the park (it was a small neighborhood park), gave a big meow and headed right to me. This was about 4 years ago. I was so upset that he was missing, and so incredibly happy to see him. Other than that, he’s gotten away from me a few times for a few hours while we were away from home, but each time I’ve gone around calling for him and then I stayed up with the door ajar and maybe a light on and he’s come in on his own.

38. Has this cat come home with cobwebs, grease marks, or lots of dirt on it's fur? Yes, he’d been wandering into brush and coming back with lots of little pine cones in his fur and other dirt, and then there was the night he came back sopping wet that I described above.

39. Are there any homes under construction in the immediate area? Yes, one down the street and some other construction on a house above us, both a decent distance away, about 4-5 houses away.

40. Was there any yard work or construction projects being done (involving any tools) the day he vanished? I wasn’t here but I’d assume yes.

41. On the day he vanished, did any neighbors leave to go out of town? Not that I know of but it’s possible, we haven’t met everyone yet.

42. Have you ever seen this kitty trapped on a roof, up a tree, or up a pole before? Does he climb much? Very minimal climbing, just a few feet up a tree in the past.

43. Did any new neighbors move in recently? Not that I know of.

44. Do any neighbors work on cars in your area (either on your street or the street over?): One teenage neighbor, sometimes.

SECTION 8: PROBABILITY OF RUNAWAY

45. Have you owned this kitty all his life? (how long have you had him?) Yes since a little kitten, 8-10 weeks or so.

46. Did you bring a new baby, a new cat, or a new dog into your home? No not recently. Samantha’s been around for about 13 years.

47. Have you noticed any new neighbor cats or stray/feral cats in your area? Yes some neighbor cats (1-2) have been passing through the yard since we moved in here 6 mos ago.

48. Did any traumatic event happen right before your cat vanished? I went out of town very early Tuesday morning, and Duane stayed home with the cats; Ted got out early Thursday. Ted didn’t like it when I went away but I’ve done it a decent amount and he has been home with just Duane before, so I wouldn’t call the situation traumatic for him, but I know he’d prefer that I was home. Also, since Ted and Samantha and I moved here in December, the cats have gotten used to Duane giving them breakfast because he’s up first.

SECTION 9: YOUR FEELINGS ON YOUR CAT’S DISAPPEARANCE

49. What do you think happened to your cat? Is there anything that sticks out in your mind about your cat’s disappearance that you can’t get out of your mind or that you can’t put your finger on but think it might mean something? Anything unusual happen around the time your cat became missing?

I think Ted and Samantha ventured out pretty soon after Duane went to bed. They usually settle in with us at night for a while but I’m pretty sure they go wandering around the house at night, and then come back in the morning when they want breakfast. I think they went wandering the house that night, realized the doors to the garage were open, wandered down into the garage (where they’ve never been before) and then out the garage door to this driveway area (where they have lounged at least once before, but having accessed it from the back yard area, not the garage). I think they took to exploring the driveway and the front of the house (and maybe down to the street), and maybe did so together at least for a while. They didn’t typically stick together when they were outside. They might join up at the back door ready to come in, but sometimes one was out a little longer than the other. So on this night I think it was different for them to be out by the garage, and certainly different for them to be out at this hour. It seems another cat, or a coyote came down the street (now that I’m writing I think it’s more likely a coyote because all the neighborhood cats seem to be in at night, except for perhaps this one neighbor’s black and white cat that we saw and photographed out one day while searching for Ted). Ted would have been the one to confront this other animal, as he is the one who usually took front stage in confronting cats that he and Samantha have encountered in the past. Ted’s never actually had contact with another animal, that I know of. This time, there was contact because we saw that bit of fur at the end of the driveway. I don’t think this was a fatal encounter . . . of course, could have been, but there was no blood evident and the amount of fur was pretty minor (in fact I wondered at first if the fur had just blown out of our trash barrels because it had been trash day the day before and there’s always plenty of Ted’s hair from cutting mats off him, or brushing him, or the vacuum). The two bigger clumps of fur that I saw seemed to come from his back side. And the smaller white bits seemed to be his underfur, or could be another cat’s fur? I think it’s his, but I don’t know why the white fur would be wet and stuck to the cement and dirty. If he had a non-fatal encounter it would likely have freaked him out enough to run off. Going up the driveway would have been awkward, it is seriously steep and the house would likely have been out of view for him, even though it’s not that far. It would have been much faster, and easier, to dart across the street through the dense bushes of the neighbor’s house. We’ve checked those bushes and the surrounding area thoroughly and found nothing. So, could he have been killed? Yes but we don’t see the evidence of that. Could he be hiding still? Yes but now we’re at 12+ days and he should be hungry enough to come out from hiding. More likely he ran far enough to get disoriented. That’s my guess. He’s not much of a hunter, as far as I know (I think Samantha has always been the one to catch things, and Ted helps himself to eat what she catches). There are many water features/fountains in neighbor’s yards that he can be drinking out of, although no one has seen him. (One neighbor said that recently (just before our flyers came out) he saw an orange cat in the yard next to ours when he was coming home from work -- presumably around 5 pm.-- but he wasn’t sure what night it was and we can’t understand how he would have seen Ted in the yard next to ours, since it is wildly overgrown. We need to follow up with this guy to see if he can be more clear). That’s what I’ve got. Seems like a ton of info but I certainly appreciate all who read through and would love to hear your comments. Thanks so much. Lisa (and Duane)

#41185

On Jun 27, 2014, at 12:06 PM, "Mari Peloquin mari_peloquin@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

Hi Lisa,

So they kids skipped out during the night, huh? I never did that! ;)

I think Teddy may be behaving like an indoor-only cat if he's in unexplored territory. Put food and water near the foundation of your home or under or porch or in the bushes. He may not want to venture out into the open. And try sitting outside in the early morning hours and talking to him in a calm voice. If he is in survival mode he needs to be reminded of home. And do scour that garage. He may be hiding there somewhere. If you can feed in the garage and leave the door up that would be great. Beware of "visitors" when going in and out yourself.

Do not believe the coyote, fox, raccoon, alien got your cat. You did not find evidence of death so the search goes on!

Good luck!

>^..^<
Mari

To: MissingCatAssistance@...
From: MissingCatAssistance@...
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 23:21:06 -0700
Subject: Re: [MissingCatAssistance] New to group -- Lisa and Duane in search of Teddy

Thanks so much Elisa and Suzanne. I failed to mention, we did put up trail cameras focused on "kitty buffets" ... one in the back yard (where he is accustomed to being, and which seems to be along what other sites have described as a kitty highway -- a path that cats take through the neighborhood??) and also down in the garage where he got out. We've had the cameras up for 3 nights and so far have fed two neighborhood cats, a squirrel and a bird. I agree, I think that yard, near the pond and beyond, deserves more attention. I'll go there tomorrow. So glad to have found this site; great to be connected with like-minded folks. I've read some of the archives and wish everyone the best (!!!) of luck with their kitties.

Sent from my iPad

On Jun 23, 2014, at 7:34 PM, "Elisa Ristine elisanpcb@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

you gave great details, and have come to a good place for support and advice. I would suggest getting a trail camera ASAP ( Walmart sells them cheaply ) and put out food .
I too got a lot if coyote responses try not to go there. The fur suggests that there was a possible fight and perhaps since it's a new area he was scared off.
A there are many more people on here with good advice. I am not one of the successful ones I get my moral support from this group.
One thing you mentioned about your neighbors pond I would take a look around there again could he have gotten on the other side or in a place where he wouldn't know how to get back? just a thought.

Everyone is here for you

Elisa Ristine
Sent from Iphone

On Jun 23, 2014, at 10:01 PM, "Lisa Amatangel amatangel@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

TODAY’S DATE:

SECTION 1: BASIC INFO ON YOUR CAT:

Your name: Lisa

Your email: amatangel@...
Your cat’s name(s): Teddy
Is this an indoor-only cat – or an outdoor-access cat: Moderate outdoor-access cat (typically for an hours or so during the day, 5-10 minutes or so before dinner, and then in and out for an hour or so after dinner and before bedtime).

Does your cat have a kitty door? (can cat go in and out as he/she pleases, or did you have to physically let him/her out each time?): Physically let in/let out
Cat’s age: 14

Cat’s sex: M

Type & Color: (large, small, shorthair, coloring): Large orange long-hair

Was your cat neutered or spayed? yes

What age was your cat neutered or spayed? kitten

City and State where your cat disappeared? Portland, OR

Date, Time, and Place you last saw your cat: am or pm? Teddy (and his sister Samantha) came in just before midnight on Wednesday, June 11. My husband let them in (I was traveling) and went to bed. Teddy came upstairs with him, as usual, to get a drink from the faucet while Duane got ready for bed. When Duane got in bed, Teddy settled in under the bed. (this is a little unusual since when I’m home Teddy sleeps on the bed for a while each night). In the morning, Duane was surprised to see Samantha at the back door (where they typically go in and out). Duane then realized that he mistakenly left the garage door open, along with the doors leading to the garage. The cats could have gotten out at any time that night.

When did you become aware that your cat was missing: Date, Time, am or pm? Duane let Samantha in around 5 am on Thursday, June 12; Teddy did not show up that morning and we haven’t seen him since.

Did your cat have a collar on? Was it a breakaway or a regular collar? If breakaway did it ever used to come off? No collar.

Did your cat have I.D. tags on? No.

Does your cat have a microchip? Yes.

Do you have a good, clear photo of your cat? Yes.

Do you have a current missing cat flyer? Does it have a good, clear picture of your cat? If you don’t have a picture of your cat, put a similar looking cat picture on the flyer. Get one off the internet if you have to. Yes and yes.

How many missing cat flyers have your posted so far? We put about 40 flyers in neighbors' mailboxes (before we realized that’s illegal), and posted about 25 small flyers on telephone poles in the neighborhood (spanning about 1 mile radius); this weekend we put up 7 giant neon posters at major intersections around neighborhood, about 1-mile radius.

Have you sent flyers to all vets, shelters, and pet stores in your area, if so, what mile radius? We put flyers at a pet store nearby (w/i 1 mile) and the major shelter for this area (about 30 miles from here); I’ve listed him via email at two other local shelters.

Describe your search efforts thus far, e.g., have you searched each neighbor’s yard, garage? Went door to door (every door within how many blocks?) with flyers? Asking for tips? We’ve been in one neighbor’s garage and have searched the yards of about 15 neighbors, probably covering about 2 blocks (this is up to 9 houses in some directions). Many of the yards in this area are very dense with shrubs, trees, bushes, flowers, are multi-level and have seemingly endless places to hide. In every yard we’ve accessed, we’ve checked under decks.

Have you called for your cat late at night around 3am when it is quiet and cats abound? Yes and no. We’ve been out at midnight, 2 am and 5 am nearly every night, but not at 3 a.m. I will do 3 a.m. for the next several nights.

Have you checked your local shelter? Yes, we’ve been to one shelter 2x, and another shelter once. For 2 of these visits we went to see a cat that had been brought in whose pic we saw online and thought was Teddy. Every day, we check cat intake online at three shelters and craigslist.

Tell us about your cat, his/her personality, and his/her normal everyday
routines, e.g., likes to go lay on porch but never leaves the yard, leaves
the yard but always comes in to sleep at night, etc.

I met Teddy at a shelter when he was a young kitten; he was sick but adorable, fuzzy and orange. He required medicine initially, and then grew to be a large robust cat with a giant personality. He moved with me from RI (a large apt) in a suburb-ish area, to Boston (two smaller apts in the city, where we added his rescue-sister Samantha to the mix), briefly to DC (high-rise apt), a year+ in Houston (large apt with a balcony), Denver for one-year (townhouse with occasional backyard access), and to Portland 6-months ago (living with Duane in a house, in a neighborhood with many trees, many large wild yards, and the city within a two-mile walk through a densely wooded park). He started off exclusively indoors, but his outside access has grown over time, with the most outdoor time being here in Portland. In Portland I wanted him and Samantha to have outdoor access because they’d handled it well in other locations (rolled around near wherever I let them out and didn’t run off) and loved going out. In Portland we would let them out pretty much whenever they wanted to go out, they would spend some time in a mostly-enclosed back yard, sometimes venturing a bit farther into two adjoining neighbor’s yards, but they were always in for dinner, and then usually around 10 or 11 pm, they would come in for the night. These days, at 14 years old, he sleeps a lot, hangs close to us when he’s indoors, enjoys his outside time, is a ravenous eater, and loves drinking at the faucet.

SECTION 2: PROBABILITY OF THEFT
1. Is your cat a purebred, exotic cat? Describe what he looks like. He’s long-hair and orange. Beyond that I’m not so sure.

2. Does your cat have any distinguishable markings? Several weeks ago he had his front paws shaved when he had his teeth cleaned (for the sedation). That fur is mostly grown in now. He’s got a very furry mane, and he seems to have much longer hair than the “long-hair” cats in missing/found photos I’ve been seeing online. As a younger cat he always had one or two black whiskers but these days they’re mostly all white.

3. How does he respond to strangers...runs & hides, aloof, or in their lap purring? hides at first; will come out when she realizes they are no threat? Ted hasn’t been around that many people. I lived mostly alone for the years I’ve had him, but he’s gotten to know some family and friends and neighbors over the years. He was friendly with these folks, would come up to them and want to be pet, but I was the only person who would pick him up. He came to like Duane and would sleep on or near both of us. He had an occasionally aggressive youth, biting/scratching several people, but he mellowed out over time. Because of his occasional aggressive reactions to others, I would tell people, pet sitters, etc that it was ok for him to “pet” them, but to be careful about /resist petting him because you really had to watch his face to see if he was handling it ok. I could pick him up no problem, put him around my shoulders, have him in my lap, etc, towards me he was a very affectionate cat . . . would always come to the door . . . would never give me a hard time when I came back from traveling . . . . He would mostly hide from strangers but recently would venture out a little bit if I was there too. A new pet sitter got him to hang around and play a bit after about 4 visits.

SECTION 3: PROBABILITY OF RESCUE

4. Are there any feral cat colonies in your area? Any known "cat person" who collects cats? Or anyone who feeds the neighborhood cats or where a number of cats congregate? I’m relatively new to this neighborhood, just about 6 months. I see a couple of neighborhood cats passing through the yard (I have confirmed that they are not lost, just strolling) but no known feral cats or “cat people”. One neighbor said that cats hang out in her yard and she’d let me know if Ted was among them.

SECTION 4: PROBABILITY OF INTENTIONAL DISPOSAL

6. Are there any suspected "cat haters" in your neighborhood? Has anyone complained about your cat? Are there any neighbors who are obsessed with their lawns, cars, or gardens that do not like cats going in their yard? This seems to be a pretty cat tolerant neighborhood. One or two neighbors keep chickens . . . we haven’t met them but I’d imagine they aren’t thrilled with having cats running free.

7. Any known "dog fighting dogs" i.e. skuzzy looking/acting gang-like neighbors with pit bulls? Many dogs but all seem to be well-behaved and looked-after.

8. Is there or was there at any time an abundance of loose cats in the area? Not that I know of.

9. Have cats been seen but suddenly they have all vanished from the area? Unfortunately, we are in a neighborhood where people seem to see coyotes regularly. The reports vary from “I see them all the time” to “I haven’t seen them in a couple of years”. The mailman told our neighbor that he saw a coyote the day before Teddy went missing. That neighbor’s cat, a purely indoor cat, went missing the day before Teddy.

10. Have you seen or heard of any neighbors with a humane animal trap in their yards before? No

11. Do you have any neighborhood children who fit the following profile -- Caucasian male, age 10 to 17, introvert (loner) with a suspected history of cruelty to other kids, animals, bed wetting behavior, and/or fire setting? (don't expect you to monitor your neighbor's peeing behavior, just if you KNOW of it!) Not that i know of.

12. Are there any other cats missing in the immediate area? If so, provide as many details as possible. Yes, the one I mentioned above (Cookie the indoor cat) and we met another neighbor who said their roommate’s cat is missing (for 2 months) but has been missing before for periods of time and has always come back. We got a description of the cat and determined that it sounded a lot like a cat we came across while looking for Ted. We showed this guy the photo we had snapped of this kitty and he seemed to think that it was his friend’s cat (he didn’t seem too concerned). It was encouraging for us to hear that there is a neighborhood cat who spends extended periods of time outdoors and so far has not been taken by a coyote or other predator.

13. Any disputes with spouse, boyfriend, friend, roommate, neighbor or any other individual who would want to do you harm? No.

PROBABILITY OF UNINTENTIONAL DISPLACEMENT

13. Did this cat disappear during warm weather (when car windows were left down?) Not particularly warm, but there could have been windows down.

14. Were there any moving vans, construction vehicles or property being moved the day he vanished? Not that we’re aware of. Although there is always some activity going on in this neighborhood . . . arborists working on trees, gardeners, deck repair etc.

15. What day of the week did he disappear? What time of day was he/she last seen? He got out early Thursday morning (between around 1 am and 5 am).

16. Does your cat have a history of climbing into cars or laying on top of cars? No

17. Does your cat seem attracted to cars, afraid of cars, or does he not care much either way? More afraid than not, but not particularly aware either way.

18. Is your cat overly curious? Does he crawl into open spaces and boxes and explore? Not overly curious but he does like to climb into boxes, bags being packed . . .

19. Is your cat missing from an apartment complex, condo, or area with a high population of people and vehicles? Describe your neighborhood (i.e., end of cul-de-sac in residential area of Los Angeles, rural road surrounded by grape vineyards in Sonoma, California, etc.) Describe each household within 5 houses on each side and behind, do you know these neighbors, what are they like? Did you search each front and backyard of these houses? Are there piles of junk around or places a cat could get into or stuck? What is
the farthest house you have seen your missing cat at, or the farthest distance?

This neighborhood is very jungle-like from a cat perspective. It looks relatively normal from the street, but behind many of the houses there are steep drops and giant trees and many many places for a cat to hide. We’ve been in most yards within 5 house on all sides, and checked under them. Some we haven’t gotten into because the folks haven’t been home. Our neighborhood has been broken into a couple of times in the past month so I assume people are suspicious of people wandering into their yards and wouldn’t appreciate that . . . many of the houses are up steep driveways, or have long staircases leading to them, so it’s even a bit intrusive to even go up to the front door, but we’re getting around relatively well and feel we’ve covered this 5-house radius reasonably well in spite of the dense grasses, flowers, trees, bushes, windy paths, nooks and crannies, steep drop-offs that are so common here. We know Ted ventured at least once pretty deep into our neighbor’s yard because he came home soaking wet, and we’ve since learned that there’s a mini-pond (only about 3 feet across) about 100 feet from our property. (Duane checked that pond and did not find Ted there).

SECTION 5: PROBABILITY OF INJURY, ILLNESS OR DEATH

20. Is this a male cat? If yes, have you noticed any problems urinating in the litter box lately? Yes male, no problems with box.

21. Is this an elderly cat? 14 and in good health.

22. Was this cat recently injured or sick? Under the care of a vet or on medications? He got his teeth cleaned, but otherwise fine.

23. Have you ever seen this cat in a situation where it was hurt or sick and it took refuge and hide somewhere? He’s never been seriously injured but he has cowered the few times that we’ve bumped into him or mistakenly nabbed his tail in close quarters. He’s very furry and probably 5-6 times he’s had a poop stuck to his backside which I’d have to remove. I’d know it was happening because he’d look sheepish and uncomfortable and would try to stay away from me, but he wouldn’t hide out of sight. He hated getting his nails cut, so when I’d finish with that he’d run off to another part of the house, but again not hiding. They both would definitely run and hide from the vacuum cleaner, and probably the doorbell. There are pretty major thunder storms here and while he didn’t love them, he’d stay out in the open with me.

24. Before your cat disappeared, did you notice any cat fights as of late? No fights recently. Over the years he’s had some stare-downs with stranger cats but I’ve never seen any contact.

25. Have there been any new cats or new dogs brought into the immediate neighborhood? If so what kind (size and type): We’re new. Mostly I’ve seen a decent size grey cat in our yard (about 10 lbs? Teddy is 12-13lbs and looks bigger due to his fur).

26. Is there a know rat or snail problem in your neighborhood? Samantha (Ted’s sister) catches moles but no rats that I know of. Big slugs, yes. People do put out slug killer.

27. Have you heard that any of your neighbor dogs are aggressive towards cats? No

28. Considering the houses where your kitty spent his time, what homes in that area have dogs? None that I know of. I think he was mostly in our yard and one yard over, (no dog there).

29. Is this a solid black cat? No

30. Are you aware of any occult activity in your immediate area? No

31. What is the average speed of cars that travel on the roads right by your home? 25 mph? we’re on a pretty curvy, relatively narrow road. It’s steep, and skateboarders regularly zoom by.

32. Are there any known cultures in your area known to consume cats (Korean, Chinese)? No

SECTION 6: PROBABILITY OF WILDLIFE KILL

33. Do you live in an area where there are coyotes, fox, bobcats, owls or hawks? (if you do not know have you called your local state Fish & Game department and Animal Control to ask?) Yes. And since we’ve been out looking for Teddy, we’ve heard coyotes twice in the early morning. Most of our neighbors respond to “missing cat” with: “Coyote took him”. I think people ascribe more cat disappearances here to coyotes than statistics on coyotes bear out. Many neighbors have said that they’ve seen coyotes trotting down the street. We haven’t seen any, but we haven’t been here that long. There are a lot of other animals around, squirrels bunnies etc that coyotes can get at without a fight. One neighbor said she saw two bald eagles around recently. We’ve seen hawks out on the highway, several miles from here, but not in the neighborhood.

34. Have you seen or heard the above wildlife in your area? If so, when and where? (above)

35. In your search for your cat, did you come across any tufts of cat fur? Yes. There were a few tufts of hair at the base of our driveway. Two that were about 2 inches long and dry - these were orange/red and pretty certainly Ted's. A few others that were smaller, more white/light-color, and matted to the cement, and dirty. These clumps seemed more like evidence of a cat fight than a coyote attack, but that could be wishful thinking. What I’ve read about coyote attacks is that they rip their kill apart at the scene and you’d likely see big remnants . . large tufts with skin, or the tail, etc. However, other neighbors have said no, they take the whole kill away with them. That does make sense if they’re taking the kill to their pups. Ugh. One thing in Ted’s favor is if a coyote did approach him, he had major claws (I clipped Samantha’s nails the day before I left home but not Ted’s) and he has never been shy to use them.

36. Did your cat disappear at dusk, dawn, or in the middle of the night? Yes possibly to all of these times, and I realize that is very unfortunate timing. I should also mention that Ted and Samanthy always went out the back sliding door that led to our back yard. This time, they got out the garage door, which leads to the front of the house (and down a very steep ~25 foot driveway to the street). Once, we came home and found Ted and Samantha lounging at the top of the driveway, so they had come from the back yard to the front of the house that one time, but otherwise I’m not aware that they ever came to the front of the house. So Ted was definitely less familiar with his surroundings when he ventured out the garage door (plus, he had never been out at those hours).

SECTION 7: PROBABILITY OF BEING TRAPPED OR STUCK SOMEWHERE

37. Has this cat every disappeared before? If yes, did it come home acting hungry or thirsty? How long did you cat stay gone? Ted got out of my condo in Boston one time when I was away (my friend was living in my place for the week and left a door open). Ted was out for about 2 nights before I could get home. I searched the neighborhood when I got home, and stayed outside late into the night/early morning hours, standing by a park that I used to take him on a leash. At about 1-2 a.m. Ted came trotting out into the center of the park (it was a small neighborhood park), gave a big meow and headed right to me. This was about 4 years ago. I was so upset that he was missing, and so incredibly happy to see him. Other than that, he’s gotten away from me a few times for a few hours while we were away from home, but each time I’ve gone around calling for him and then I stayed up with the door ajar and maybe a light on and he’s come in on his own.

38. Has this cat come home with cobwebs, grease marks, or lots of dirt on it's fur? Yes, he’d been wandering into brush and coming back with lots of little pine cones in his fur and other dirt, and then there was the night he came back sopping wet that I described above.

39. Are there any homes under construction in the immediate area? Yes, one down the street and some other construction on a house above us, both a decent distance away, about 4-5 houses away.

40. Was there any yard work or construction projects being done (involving any tools) the day he vanished? I wasn’t here but I’d assume yes.

41. On the day he vanished, did any neighbors leave to go out of town? Not that I know of but it’s possible, we haven’t met everyone yet.

42. Have you ever seen this kitty trapped on a roof, up a tree, or up a pole before? Does he climb much? Very minimal climbing, just a few feet up a tree in the past.

43. Did any new neighbors move in recently? Not that I know of.

44. Do any neighbors work on cars in your area (either on your street or the street over?): One teenage neighbor, sometimes.

SECTION 8: PROBABILITY OF RUNAWAY

45. Have you owned this kitty all his life? (how long have you had him?) Yes since a little kitten, 8-10 weeks or so.

46. Did you bring a new baby, a new cat, or a new dog into your home? No not recently. Samantha’s been around for about 13 years.

47. Have you noticed any new neighbor cats or stray/feral cats in your area? Yes some neighbor cats (1-2) have been passing through the yard since we moved in here 6 mos ago.

48. Did any traumatic event happen right before your cat vanished? I went out of town very early Tuesday morning, and Duane stayed home with the cats; Ted got out early Thursday. Ted didn’t like it when I went away but I’ve done it a decent amount and he has been home with just Duane before, so I wouldn’t call the situation traumatic for him, but I know he’d prefer that I was home. Also, since Ted and Samantha and I moved here in December, the cats have gotten used to Duane giving them breakfast because he’s up first.

SECTION 9: YOUR FEELINGS ON YOUR CAT’S DISAPPEARANCE

49. What do you think happened to your cat? Is there anything that sticks out in your mind about your cat’s disappearance that you can’t get out of your mind or that you can’t put your finger on but think it might mean something? Anything unusual happen around the time your cat became missing?

I think Ted and Samantha ventured out pretty soon after Duane went to bed. They usually settle in with us at night for a while but I’m pretty sure they go wandering around the house at night, and then come back in the morning when they want breakfast. I think they went wandering the house that night, realized the doors to the garage were open, wandered down into the garage (where they’ve never been before) and then out the garage door to this driveway area (where they have lounged at least once before, but having accessed it from the back yard area, not the garage). I think they took to exploring the driveway and the front of the house (and maybe down to the street), and maybe did so together at least for a while. They didn’t typically stick together when they were outside. They might join up at the back door ready to come in, but sometimes one was out a little longer than the other. So on this night I think it was different for them to be out by the garage, and certainly different for them to be out at this hour. It seems another cat, or a coyote came down the street (now that I’m writing I think it’s more likely a coyote because all the neighborhood cats seem to be in at night, except for perhaps this one neighbor’s black and white cat that we saw and photographed out one day while searching for Ted). Ted would have been the one to confront this other animal, as he is the one who usually took front stage in confronting cats that he and Samantha have encountered in the past. Ted’s never actually had contact with another animal, that I know of. This time, there was contact because we saw that bit of fur at the end of the driveway. I don’t think this was a fatal encounter . . . of course, could have been, but there was no blood evident and the amount of fur was pretty minor (in fact I wondered at first if the fur had just blown out of our trash barrels because it had been trash day the day before and there’s always plenty of Ted’s hair from cutting mats off him, or brushing him, or the vacuum). The two bigger clumps of fur that I saw seemed to come from his back side. And the smaller white bits seemed to be his underfur, or could be another cat’s fur? I think it’s his, but I don’t know why the white fur would be wet and stuck to the cement and dirty. If he had a non-fatal encounter it would likely have freaked him out enough to run off. Going up the driveway would have been awkward, it is seriously steep and the house would likely have been out of view for him, even though it’s not that far. It would have been much faster, and easier, to dart across the street through the dense bushes of the neighbor’s house. We’ve checked those bushes and the surrounding area thoroughly and found nothing. So, could he have been killed? Yes but we don’t see the evidence of that. Could he be hiding still? Yes but now we’re at 12+ days and he should be hungry enough to come out from hiding. More likely he ran far enough to get disoriented. That’s my guess. He’s not much of a hunter, as far as I know (I think Samantha has always been the one to catch things, and Ted helps himself to eat what she catches). There are many water features/fountains in neighbor’s yards that he can be drinking out of, although no one has seen him. (One neighbor said that recently (just before our flyers came out) he saw an orange cat in the yard next to ours when he was coming home from work -- presumably around 5 pm.-- but he wasn’t sure what night it was and we can’t understand how he would have seen Ted in the yard next to ours, since it is wildly overgrown. We need to follow up with this guy to see if he can be more clear). That’s what I’ve got. Seems like a ton of info but I certainly appreciate all who read through and would love to hear your comments. Thanks so much. Lisa (and Duane)

#41186

On Jun 28, 2014, at 3:52 AM, "Lisa Amatangel amatangel@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

Hi again - we actually got what seemed to be a very good sighting tonight from a jogger about a mile from our house who said he saw Ted right near one of the posters we put up today. He gave us the address and told us which house the cat darted up to. The jogger said the cat went into the backyard and he didn't feel comfortable following him back there.

We came to the location as soon as possible, which unfortunately was several hours later (!!!). We were pretty far from home for the first time since Ted's been missing.

We've been lingering around this house for almost an hour now (it's 345 am), with a can of Vienna sausage (the closest thing to cat food at our gas stop) ... and all we've seen so far are 2 coyotes (or the same one twice I hope). Awful to see the coyote strutting down the street, but if Ted has survived 2 weeks of this I have to believe he's still ok tonight.

I'm sitting in one place, the stairs below the house where this cat was last seen, and Duane has been pacing a bit but mostly nearby too. I was hoping of course that we'd see him tonight but maybe we'll have to go home empty-handed and resume tomorrow by talking to neighbors in this area. Thoughts? Thanks again.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 27, 2014, at 12:06 PM, "Mari Peloquin mari_peloquin@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

Hi Lisa,

So they kids skipped out during the night, huh? I never did that! ;)

I think Teddy may be behaving like an indoor-only cat if he's in unexplored territory. Put food and water near the foundation of your home or under or porch or in the bushes. He may not want to venture out into the open. And try sitting outside in the early morning hours and talking to him in a calm voice. If he is in survival mode he needs to be reminded of home. And do scour that garage. He may be hiding there somewhere. If you can feed in the garage and leave the door up that would be great. Beware of "visitors" when going in and out yourself.

Do not believe the coyote, fox, raccoon, alien got your cat. You did not find evidence of death so the search goes on!

Good luck!

>^..^<
Mari

To: MissingCatAssistance@...
From: MissingCatAssistance@...
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 23:21:06 -0700
Subject: Re: [MissingCatAssistance] New to group -- Lisa and Duane in search of Teddy

Thanks so much Elisa and Suzanne. I failed to mention, we did put up trail cameras focused on "kitty buffets" ... one in the back yard (where he is accustomed to being, and which seems to be along what other sites have described as a kitty highway -- a path that cats take through the neighborhood??) and also down in the garage where he got out. We've had the cameras up for 3 nights and so far have fed two neighborhood cats, a squirrel and a bird. I agree, I think that yard, near the pond and beyond, deserves more attention. I'll go there tomorrow. So glad to have found this site; great to be connected with like-minded folks. I've read some of the archives and wish everyone the best (!!!) of luck with their kitties.

Sent from my iPad

On Jun 23, 2014, at 7:34 PM, "Elisa Ristine elisanpcb@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

you gave great details, and have come to a good place for support and advice. I would suggest getting a trail camera ASAP ( Walmart sells them cheaply ) and put out food .
I too got a lot if coyote responses try not to go there. The fur suggests that there was a possible fight and perhaps since it's a new area he was scared off.
A there are many more people on here with good advice. I am not one of the successful ones I get my moral support from this group.
One thing you mentioned about your neighbors pond I would take a look around there again could he have gotten on the other side or in a place where he wouldn't know how to get back? just a thought.

Everyone is here for you

Elisa Ristine
Sent from Iphone

On Jun 23, 2014, at 10:01 PM, "Lisa Amatangel amatangel@... [MissingCatAssistance]" <MissingCatAssistance@...> wrote:

TODAY’S DATE:

SECTION 1: BASIC INFO ON YOUR CAT:

Your name: Lisa

Your email: amatangel@...
Your cat’s name(s): Teddy
Is this an indoor-only cat – or an outdoor-access cat: Moderate outdoor-access cat (typically for an hours or so during the day, 5-10 minutes or so before dinner, and then in and out for an hour or so after dinner and before bedtime).

Does your cat have a kitty door? (can cat go in and out as he/she pleases, or did you have to physically let him/her out each time?): Physically let in/let out
Cat’s age: 14

Cat’s sex: M

Type & Color: (large, small, shorthair, coloring): Large orange long-hair

Was your cat neutered or spayed? yes

What age was your cat neutered or spayed? kitten

City and State where your cat disappeared? Portland, OR

Date, Time, and Place you last saw your cat: am or pm? Teddy (and his sister Samantha) came in just before midnight on Wednesday, June 11. My husband let them in (I was traveling) and went to bed. Teddy came upstairs with him, as usual, to get a drink from the faucet while Duane got ready for bed. When Duane got in bed, Teddy settled in under the bed. (this is a little unusual since when I’m home Teddy sleeps on the bed for a while each night). In the morning, Duane was surprised to see Samantha at the back door (where they typically go in and out). Duane then realized that he mistakenly left the garage door open, along with the doors leading to the garage. The cats could have gotten out at any time that night.

When did you become aware that your cat was missing: Date, Time, am or pm? Duane let Samantha in around 5 am on Thursday, June 12; Teddy did not show up that morning and we haven’t seen him since.

Did your cat have a collar on? Was it a breakaway or a regular collar? If breakaway did it ever used to come off? No collar.

Did your cat have I.D. tags on? No.

Does your cat have a microchip? Yes.

Do you have a good, clear photo of your cat? Yes.

Do you have a current missing cat flyer? Does it have a good, clear picture of your cat? If you don’t have a picture of your cat, put a similar looking cat picture on the flyer. Get one off the internet if you have to. Yes and yes.

How many missing cat flyers have your posted so far? We put about 40 flyers in neighbors' mailboxes (before we realized that’s illegal), and posted about 25 small flyers on telephone poles in the neighborhood (spanning about 1 mile radius); this weekend we put up 7 giant neon posters at major intersections around neighborhood, about 1-mile radius.

Have you sent flyers to all vets, shelters, and pet stores in your area, if so, what mile radius? We put flyers at a pet store nearby (w/i 1 mile) and the major shelter for this area (about 30 miles from here); I’ve listed him via email at two other local shelters.

Describe your search efforts thus far, e.g., have you searched each neighbor’s yard, garage? Went door to door (every door within how many blocks?) with flyers? Asking for tips? We’ve been in one neighbor’s garage and have searched the yards of about 15 neighbors, probably covering about 2 blocks (this is up to 9 houses in some directions). Many of the yards in this area are very dense with shrubs, trees, bushes, flowers, are multi-level and have seemingly endless places to hide. In every yard we’ve accessed, we’ve checked under decks.

Have you called for your cat late at night around 3am when it is quiet and cats abound? Yes and no. We’ve been out at midnight, 2 am and 5 am nearly every night, but not at 3 a.m. I will do 3 a.m. for the next several nights.

Have you checked your local shelter? Yes, we’ve been to one shelter 2x, and another shelter once. For 2 of these visits we went to see a cat that had been brought in whose pic we saw online and thought was Teddy. Every day, we check cat intake online at three shelters and craigslist.

Tell us about your cat, his/her personality, and his/her normal everyday
routines, e.g., likes to go lay on porch but never leaves the yard, leaves
the yard but always comes in to sleep at night, etc.

I met Teddy at a shelter when he was a young kitten; he was sick but adorable, fuzzy and orange. He required medicine initially, and then grew to be a large robust cat with a giant personality. He moved with me from RI (a large apt) in a suburb-ish area, to Boston (two smaller apts in the city, where we added his rescue-sister Samantha to the mix), briefly to DC (high-rise apt), a year+ in Houston (large apt with a balcony), Denver for one-year (townhouse with occasional backyard access), and to Portland 6-months ago (living with Duane in a house, in a neighborhood with many trees, many large wild yards, and the city within a two-mile walk through a densely wooded park). He started off exclusively indoors, but his outside access has grown over time, with the most outdoor time being here in Portland. In Portland I wanted him and Samantha to have outdoor access because they’d handled it well in other locations (rolled around near wherever I let them out and didn’t run off) and loved going out. In Portland we would let them out pretty much whenever they wanted to go out, they would spend some time in a mostly-enclosed back yard, sometimes venturing a bit farther into two adjoining neighbor’s yards, but they were always in for dinner, and then usually around 10 or 11 pm, they would come in for the night. These days, at 14 years old, he sleeps a lot, hangs close to us when he’s indoors, enjoys his outside time, is a ravenous eater, and loves drinking at the faucet.

SECTION 2: PROBABILITY OF THEFT
1. Is your cat a purebred, exotic cat? Describe what he looks like. He’s long-hair and orange. Beyond that I’m not so sure.

2. Does your cat have any distinguishable markings? Several weeks ago he had his front paws shaved when he had his teeth cleaned (for the sedation). That fur is mostly grown in now. He’s got a very furry mane, and he seems to have much longer hair than the “long-hair” cats in missing/found photos I’ve been seeing online. As a younger cat he always had one or two black whiskers but these days they’re mostly all white.

3. How does he respond to strangers...runs & hides, aloof, or in their lap purring? hides at first; will come out when she realizes they are no threat? Ted hasn’t been around that many people. I lived mostly alone for the years I’ve had him, but he’s gotten to know some family and friends and neighbors over the years. He was friendly with these folks, would come up to them and want to be pet, but I was the only person who would pick him up. He came to like Duane and would sleep on or near both of us. He had an occasionally aggressive youth, biting/scratching several people, but he mellowed out over time. Because of his occasional aggressive reactions to others, I would tell people, pet sitters, etc that it was ok for him to “pet” them, but to be careful about /resist petting him because you really had to watch his face to see if he was handling it ok. I could pick him up no problem, put him around my shoulders, have him in my lap, etc, towards me he was a very affectionate cat . . . would always come to the door . . . would never give me a hard time when I came back from traveling . . . . He would mostly hide from strangers but recently would venture out a little bit if I was there too. A new pet sitter got him to hang around and play a bit after about 4 visits.

SECTION 3: PROBABILITY OF RESCUE

4. Are there any feral cat colonies in your area? Any known "cat person" who collects cats? Or anyone who feeds the neighborhood cats or where a number of cats congregate? I’m relatively new to this neighborhood, just about 6 months. I see a couple of neighborhood cats passing through the yard (I have confirmed that they are not lost, just strolling) but no known feral cats or “cat people”. One neighbor said that cats hang out in her yard and she’d let me know if Ted was among them.

SECTION 4: PROBABILITY OF INTENTIONAL DISPOSAL

6. Are there any suspected "cat haters" in your neighborhood? Has anyone complained about your cat? Are there any neighbors who are obsessed with their lawns, cars, or gardens that do not like cats going in their yard? This seems to be a pretty cat tolerant neighborhood. One or two neighbors keep chickens . . . we haven’t met them but I’d imagine they aren’t thrilled with having cats running free.

7. Any known "dog fighting dogs" i.e. skuzzy looking/acting gang-like neighbors with pit bulls? Many dogs but all seem to be well-behaved and looked-after.

8. Is there or was there at any time an abundance of loose cats in the area? Not that I know of.

9. Have cats been seen but suddenly they have all vanished from the area? Unfortunately, we are in a neighborhood where people seem to see coyotes regularly. The reports vary from “I see them all the time” to “I haven’t seen them in a couple of years”. The mailman told our neighbor that he saw a coyote the day before Teddy went missing. That neighbor’s cat, a purely indoor cat, went missing the day before Teddy.

10. Have you seen or heard of any neighbors with a humane animal trap in their yards before? No

11. Do you have any neighborhood children who fit the following profile -- Caucasian male, age 10 to 17, introvert (loner) with a suspected history of cruelty to other kids, animals, bed wetting behavior, and/or fire setting? (don't expect you to monitor your neighbor's peeing behavior, just if you KNOW of it!) Not that i know of.

12. Are there any other cats missing in the immediate area? If so, provide as many details as possible. Yes, the one I mentioned above (Cookie the indoor cat) and we met another neighbor who said their roommate’s cat is missing (for 2 months) but has been missing before for periods of time and has always come back. We got a description of the cat and determined that it sounded a lot like a cat we came across while looking for Ted. We showed this guy the photo we had snapped of this kitty and he seemed to think that it was his friend’s cat (he didn’t seem too concerned). It was encouraging for us to hear that there is a neighborhood cat who spends extended periods of time outdoors and so far has not been taken by a coyote or other predator.

13. Any disputes with spouse, boyfriend, friend, roommate, neighbor or any other individual who would want to do you harm? No.

PROBABILITY OF UNINTENTIONAL DISPLACEMENT

13. Did this cat disappear during warm weather (when car windows were left down?) Not particularly warm, but there could have been windows down.

14. Were there any moving vans, construction vehicles or property being moved the day he vanished? Not that we’re aware of. Although there is always some activity going on in this neighborhood . . . arborists working on trees, gardeners, deck repair etc.

15. What day of the week did he disappear? What time of day was he/she last seen? He got out early Thursday morning (between around 1 am and 5 am).

16. Does your cat have a history of climbing into cars or laying on top of cars? No

17. Does your cat seem attracted to cars, afraid of cars, or does he not care much either way? More afraid than not, but not particularly aware either way.

18. Is your cat overly curious? Does he crawl into open spaces and boxes and explore? Not overly curious but he does like to climb into boxes, bags being packed . . .

19. Is your cat missing from an apartment complex, condo, or area with a high population of people and vehicles? Describe your neighborhood (i.e., end of cul-de-sac in residential area of Los Angeles, rural road surrounded by grape vineyards in Sonoma, California, etc.) Describe each household within 5 houses on each side and behind, do you know these neighbors, what are they like? Did you search each front and backyard of these houses? Are there piles of junk around or places a cat could get into or stuck? What is
the farthest house you have seen your missing cat at, or the farthest distance?

This neighborhood is very jungle-like from a cat perspective. It looks relatively normal from the street, but behind many of the houses there are steep drops and giant trees and many many places for a cat to hide. We’ve been in most yards within 5 house on all sides, and checked under them. Some we haven’t gotten into because the folks haven’t been home. Our neighborhood has been broken into a couple of times in the past month so I assume people are suspicious of people wandering into their yards and wouldn’t appreciate that . . . many of the houses are up steep driveways, or have long staircases leading to them, so it’s even a bit intrusive to even go up to the front door, but we’re getting around relatively well and feel we’ve covered this 5-house radius reasonably well in spite of the dense grasses, flowers, trees, bushes, windy paths, nooks and crannies, steep drop-offs that are so common here. We know Ted ventured at least once pretty deep into our neighbor’s yard because he came home soaking wet, and we’ve since learned that there’s a mini-pond (only about 3 feet across) about 100 feet from our property. (Duane checked that pond and did not find Ted there).

SECTION 5: PROBABILITY OF INJURY, ILLNESS OR DEATH

20. Is this a male cat? If yes, have you noticed any problems urinating in the litter box lately? Yes male, no problems with box.

21. Is this an elderly cat? 14 and in good health.

22. Was this cat recently injured or sick? Under the care of a vet or on medications? He got his teeth cleaned, but otherwise fine.

23. Have you ever seen this cat in a situation where it was hurt or sick and it took refuge and hide somewhere? He’s never been seriously injured but he has cowered the few times that we’ve bumped into him or mistakenly nabbed his tail in close quarters. He’s very furry and probably 5-6 times he’s had a poop stuck to his backside which I’d have to remove. I’d know it was happening because he’d look sheepish and uncomfortable and would try to stay away from me, but he wouldn’t hide out of sight. He hated getting his nails cut, so when I’d finish with that he’d run off to another part of the house, but again not hiding. They both would definitely run and hide from the vacuum cleaner, and probably the doorbell. There are pretty major thunder storms here and while he didn’t love them, he’d stay out in the open with me.

24. Before your cat disappeared, did you notice any cat fights as of late? No fights recently. Over the years he’s had some stare-downs with stranger cats but I’ve never seen any contact.

25. Have there been any new cats or new dogs brought into the immediate neighborhood? If so what kind (size and type): We’re new. Mostly I’ve seen a decent size grey cat in our yard (about 10 lbs? Teddy is 12-13lbs and looks bigger due to his fur).

26. Is there a know rat or snail problem in your neighborhood? Samantha (Ted’s sister) catches moles but no rats that I know of. Big slugs, yes. People do put out slug killer.

27. Have you heard that any of your neighbor dogs are aggressive towards cats? No

28. Considering the houses where your kitty spent his time, what homes in that area have dogs? None that I know of. I think he was mostly in our yard and one yard over, (no dog there).

29. Is this a solid black cat? No

30. Are you aware of any occult activity in your immediate area? No

31. What is the average speed of cars that travel on the roads right by your home? 25 mph? we’re on a pretty curvy, relatively narrow road. It’s steep, and skateboarders regularly zoom by.

32. Are there any known cultures in your area known to consume cats (Korean, Chinese)? No

SECTION 6: PROBABILITY OF WILDLIFE KILL

33. Do you live in an area where there are coyotes, fox, bobcats, owls or hawks? (if you do not know have you called your local state Fish & Game department and Animal Control to ask?) Yes. And since we’ve been out looking for Teddy, we’ve heard coyotes twice in the early morning. Most of our neighbors respond to “missing cat” with: “Coyote took him”. I think people ascribe more cat disappearances here to coyotes than statistics on coyotes bear out. Many neighbors have said that they’ve seen coyotes trotting down the street. We haven’t seen any, but we haven’t been here that long. There are a lot of other animals around, squirrels bunnies etc that coyotes can get at without a fight. One neighbor said she saw two bald eagles around recently. We’ve seen hawks out on the highway, several miles from here, but not in the neighborhood.

34. Have you seen or heard the above wildlife in your area? If so, when and where? (above)

35. In your search for your cat, did you come across any tufts of cat fur? Yes. There were a few tufts of hair at the base of our driveway. Two that were about 2 inches long and dry - these were orange/red and pretty certainly Ted's. A few others that were smaller, more white/light-color, and matted to the cement, and dirty. These clumps seemed more like evidence of a cat fight than a coyote attack, but that could be wishful thinking. What I’ve read about coyote attacks is that they rip their kill apart at the scene and you’d likely see big remnants . . large tufts with skin, or the tail, etc. However, other neighbors have said no, they take the whole kill away with them. That does make sense if they’re taking the kill to their pups. Ugh. One thing in Ted’s favor is if a coyote did approach him, he had major claws (I clipped Samantha’s nails the day before I left home but not Ted’s) and he has never been shy to use them.

36. Did your cat disappear at dusk, dawn, or in the middle of the night? Yes possibly to all of these times, and I realize that is very unfortunate timing. I should also mention that Ted and Samanthy always went out the back sliding door that led to our back yard. This time, they got out the garage door, which leads to the front of the house (and down a very steep ~25 foot driveway to the street). Once, we came home and found Ted and Samantha lounging at the top of the driveway, so they had come from the back yard to the front of the house that one time, but otherwise I’m not aware that they ever came to the front of the house. So Ted was definitely less familiar with his surroundings when he ventured out the garage door (plus, he had never been out at those hours).

SECTION 7: PROBABILITY OF BEING TRAPPED OR STUCK SOMEWHERE

37. Has this cat every disappeared before? If yes, did it come home acting hungry or thirsty? How long did you cat stay gone? Ted got out of my condo in Boston one time when I was away (my friend was living in my place for the week and left a door open). Ted was out for about 2 nights before I could get home. I searched the neighborhood when I got home, and stayed outside late into the night/early morning hours, standing by a park that I used to take him on a leash. At about 1-2 a.m. Ted came trotting out into the center of the park (it was a small neighborhood park), gave a big meow and headed right to me. This was about 4 years ago. I was so upset that he was missing, and so incredibly happy to see him. Other than that, he’s gotten away from me a few times for a few hours while we were away from home, but each time I’ve gone around calling for him and then I stayed up with the door ajar and maybe a light on and he’s come in on his own.

38. Has this cat come home with cobwebs, grease marks, or lots of dirt on it's fur? Yes, he’d been wandering into brush and coming back with lots of little pine cones in his fur and other dirt, and then there was the night he came back sopping wet that I described above.

39. Are there any homes under construction in the immediate area? Yes, one down the street and some other construction on a house above us, both a decent distance away, about 4-5 houses away.

40. Was there any yard work or construction projects being done (involving any tools) the day he vanished? I wasn’t here but I’d assume yes.

41. On the day he vanished, did any neighbors leave to go out of town? Not that I know of but it’s possible, we haven’t met everyone yet.

42. Have you ever seen this kitty trapped on a roof, up a tree, or up a pole before? Does he climb much? Very minimal climbing, just a few feet up a tree in the past.

43. Did any new neighbors move in recently? Not that I know of.

44. Do any neighbors work on cars in your area (either on your street or the street over?): One teenage neighbor, sometimes.

SECTION 8: PROBABILITY OF RUNAWAY

45. Have you owned this kitty all his life? (how long have you had him?) Yes since a little kitten, 8-10 weeks or so.

46. Did you bring a new baby, a new cat, or a new dog into your home? No not recently. Samantha’s been around for about 13 years.

47. Have you noticed any new neighbor cats or stray/feral cats in your area? Yes some neighbor cats (1-2) have been passing through the yard since we moved in here 6 mos ago.

48. Did any traumatic event happen right before your cat vanished? I went out of town very early Tuesday morning, and Duane stayed home with the cats; Ted got out early Thursday. Ted didn’t like it when I went away but I’ve done it a decent amount and he has been home with just Duane before, so I wouldn’t call the situation traumatic for him, but I know he’d prefer that I was home. Also, since Ted and Samantha and I moved here in December, the cats have gotten used to Duane giving them breakfast because he’s up first.

SECTION 9: YOUR FEELINGS ON YOUR CAT’S DISAPPEARANCE

49. What do you think happened to your cat? Is there anything that sticks out in your mind about your cat’s disappearance that you can’t get out of your mind or that you can’t put your finger on but think it might mean something? Anything unusual happen around the time your cat became missing?

I think Ted and Samantha ventured out pretty soon after Duane went to bed. They usually settle in with us at night for a while but I’m pretty sure they go wandering around the house at night, and then come back in the morning when they want breakfast. I think they went wandering the house that night, realized the doors to the garage were open, wandered down into the garage (where they’ve never been before) and then out the garage door to this driveway area (where they have lounged at least once before, but having accessed it from the back yard area, not the garage). I think they took to exploring the driveway and the front of the house (and maybe down to the street), and maybe did so together at least for a while. They didn’t typically stick together when they were outside. They might join up at the back door ready to come in, but sometimes one was out a little longer than the other. So on this night I think it was different for them to be out by the garage, and certainly different for them to be out at this hour. It seems another cat, or a coyote came down the street (now that I’m writing I think it’s more likely a coyote because all the neighborhood cats seem to be in at night, except for perhaps this one neighbor’s black and white cat that we saw and photographed out one day while searching for Ted). Ted would have been the one to confront this other animal, as he is the one who usually took front stage in confronting cats that he and Samantha have encountered in the past. Ted’s never actually had contact with another animal, that I know of. This time, there was contact because we saw that bit of fur at the end of the driveway. I don’t think this was a fatal encounter . . . of course, could have been, but there was no blood evident and the amount of fur was pretty minor (in fact I wondered at first if the fur had just blown out of our trash barrels because it had been trash day the day before and there’s always plenty of Ted’s hair from cutting mats off him, or brushing him, or the vacuum). The two bigger clumps of fur that I saw seemed to come from his back side. And the smaller white bits seemed to be his underfur, or could be another cat’s fur? I think it’s his, but I don’t know why the white fur would be wet and stuck to the cement and dirty. If he had a non-fatal encounter it would likely have freaked him out enough to run off. Going up the driveway would have been awkward, it is seriously steep and the house would likely have been out of view for him, even though it’s not that far. It would have been much faster, and easier, to dart across the street through the dense bushes of the neighbor’s house. We’ve checked those bushes and the surrounding area thoroughly and found nothing. So, could he have been killed? Yes but we don’t see the evidence of that. Could he be hiding still? Yes but now we’re at 12+ days and he should be hungry enough to come out from hiding. More likely he ran far enough to get disoriented. That’s my guess. He’s not much of a hunter, as far as I know (I think Samantha has always been the one to catch things, and Ted helps himself to eat what she catches). There are many water features/fountains in neighbor’s yards that he can be drinking out of, although no one has seen him. (One neighbor said that recently (just before our flyers came out) he saw an orange cat in the yard next to ours when he was coming home from work -- presumably around 5 pm.-- but he wasn’t sure what night it was and we can’t understand how he would have seen Ted in the yard next to ours, since it is wildly overgrown. We need to follow up with this guy to see if he can be more clear). That’s what I’ve got. Seems like a ton of info but I certainly appreciate all who read through and would love to hear your comments. Thanks so much. Lisa (and Duane)

#41192

#41195

#41200

Me too Lisa. We have to hold on to that thought. This is an important time to learn if you have not and practice positive thinking. Imagine Teddy watching a butterly or mouse, basking in the sunshine, and picture him coming home. Do this anytime your mind takes you in the other direction. It will do you a world of good. Sadness and negative feelings will bring you down, make you eat or lose your appetite, and make life seem like an awful chore. Positive thinking will help you be motivated and healthy so you can do the things you need to do to search, to work, to think about possible next steps. There is no limit to what you can do. Be sure to take walks and talk to him. If he is in unfamiliar territory and is in survival or silence mode he may return to you through the sound of your voice.

#41201

I think there is a lot to what Mari says, not just because positive thinking is better for us, which it is, and better for them, which it is, but also because I think it is just true. I was recently talking to a deeply animal-aware woman at one of our local Animal Shelters, she has had many jobs related to animals, was once the cruelty investigator for our county, many other jobs and experiences with animals and an outlook that I think just fits the way we all seem to feel about our little ones. In the conversation, she was making the case that they may not be suffering as we assume - as I have assumed, and so deeply grieved over. They are so good at this, so able and so adept at living outside and hunting, and finding food and water, and I just wondered if maybe she is right. I think they genuinely love their home with us, and I think they will love it again when they are back home, but maybe this outside time is part of who they are too, part of what they love, and what they are.

Maybe it's like the water - I can't run fast, and I can't really hit a ball or shoot a basket, but I swim really well. In the water, I'm like a different person, I am in my element, if the water isn't cold, i can swim for hours, and feel a peace and a connection to something much deeper than I can understand. If someone who didn't feel that way about being in water saw me or imagined someone out in it for hours, they might think it was a time of great stress and discomfort, when it is anything but that. I am good in the water, I can move with great ease and skill - not unlike our cats when they are outside. So maybe instead of picturing them alone and cowering in fear and hunger, maybe this is not true and therefore just a torture for us to imagine it that way. Maybe, as Mari said, we can picture them 'in their element," able and strong and loving that life too. I don't think this in any way changes our search or the fact that they will be SO HAPPY when they are home, but maybe we can hold onto the fact that this is a world they know, and love too. Assuming they are suffering not only isn't good for us, it very well may not be true.

- and just a small favor here. If you disagree, if you feel certain that they are suffering deeply, maybe it's best if you don't post that. Because one thing is sure, we owners really are suffering without them. Often, we are just barely holding it together. It is not fun or easy for us without them. We want them home, we need them home, we ache every minute they are not home. Many months ago someone whose cat had come back, posted to another group that knew little about cats, as well as this one, that lost cats really do need help coming home, and detailed the ways in which they suffer. I know her intentions were to enlighten the group that didn't understand cats, but I think it put some of us in a real tailspin, like we are already just holding on sometimes as it is. After reading this, I could barely get out of bed that day, and it was days before I could log on again.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I really think they are not suffering as terribly as we often think. And if I am wrong on this, when Little Guy comes home he is going to tell me, and I am going to listen! But when I picture him outside, to be honest, he was in his element, as I am in the water, and the sighting we had of him was a description of a cat that was doing okay. I think it's okay if we go with that, not just because we need to, but because I think it's true.

And to all the lost cats out there, please come home and TELL US.

Soon.

~ Suzanne

Me too Lisa. We have to hold on to that thought. This is an important time to learn if you have not and practice positive thinking. Imagine Teddy watching a butterly or mouse, basking in the sunshine, and picture him coming home. Do this anytime your mind takes you in the other direction. It will do you a world of good. Sadness and negative feelings will bring you down, make you eat or lose your appetite, and make life seem like an awful chore. Positive thinking will help you be motivated and healthy so you can do the things you need to do to search, to work, to think about possible next steps. There is no limit to what you can do. Be sure to take walks and talk to him. If he is in unfamiliar territory and is in survival or silence mode he may return to you through the sound of your voice.

And #1? NEVER EVER GIVE UP!!!

>^..^<

Mari

NEGU!

To: MissingCatAssistance@...
From: MissingCatAssistance@...

Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2014 15:13:35 -0700
Subject: RE: [MissingCatAssistance] New to group -- Lisa and Duane in search of Teddy

Thanks Mari, will do.Also, we just responded to another potential sighting call that may make some of us feel a bit better?? It wasn't our cat, but this other missing cat has been out for at least a week, looks pretty clean, is sleeping and eating in a nice neighborhood, is very sweet and yet successfully avoiding coyotes etc. The woman whose porch this cat is calling home for the moment hadn't thought to chip check the cat but will do so on Monday, and Duane and I put this cat's photos up on Craigslist (portland or) and on the neighborhood listserve, so hopefully we'll get a reunion soon. It was nice to see a seemingly calm lost cat who found a great temporary caretaker. I can only hope my (our) missing cat(s) are faring so well!