Lost My New Cat In The House?

[Julia589]

I just got my first cat about four hours ago, and Ive already lost it. I have looked everywhere in my house. Ive looked under the bed, couch, behind all the doors, behind the washing machine, and about every other small space in my house. My cat is pretty big and its about two years old. Help?

[scorpiojo]

Under a duvet?

[SirOracle]

In a drawer ?

[Buenchico]

In my house opening a bag of 'Dreamies' cat treats produces cats out of nowhere. (I've got 5 of them).

As long as you're sure that there's absolutely no way that your new friend can have got out of the house, don't worry. Just leave some food out and sooner or later he/she will turn up; they always do!

[Jomlett]

IN the washing machine?

[Mamyalynne]

It will emerge when it's hungry.

[Prudie]

Unless you've opened a door or a window it must be there somewhere. They can be highly ingenious.

[petal54]

cats are amazing at hiding,and willreappear and wonder what all the to do is about

[wolf63]

It will be scared and has found somewhere safe to hide. Do you have an airing cupboard? Behind curtains or under the bed are favourite hiding places in this house.

As long as it can't get out just sit and read and it should turn up.

[AlwaysConfused]

It's quite natural for an animal to hide when feeling scared. Leave some fresh water and a bowl of tuna out, dot a few treats about the house and I'm sure you'll see him soon.

[Psybbo]

Put food out

[Psybbo]

Oops, sorry Chris, missed you

[wolf63]

Julia

Can you let us know how you get on. They are sneaky little monsters when it suits them.

They are usually not as confident as they seem and its bound to be scared. I am sure that you will look back and laugh at this some day.

[Hopkirk]

It will come out and explore at about 3am.

[AlwaysConfused]

Any sign of him yet, Julia?

[murraymints]

check window sills behind curtains...

[BRIGHT SPARK]

It took them 3 hours to find me ...on top of the central heating boiler!

[IggyB]

On seeing travel box mine predicted vets appointment and went into vanish mode, long after the appointment he sneaked out from behind the telly... Cunning little monster

[trt]

Have you looked in the fridge, or can you imitate a mouse noise? :-)

[zebo]

We lost ours in a new house, could hear it but not find it for a couple of days. Eventually we recalled that we'd lifted a trap door in an understairs cupboard when we first moved in, being nosey. Sure enough, he shot out much aggrieved, none the worse but very hungry. Good luck, as others have said, put food out.

[AndiFlatland]

Having been a devoted guardian of cats for most of my 6½ decades, I've always found that there is a very useful thing you can learn to do, if you haven't tried it already. Purse your dampened lips very tightly, allowing a very small quantity of air to remain in your mouth. Flatten your tongue vertically so that it forms the back of a triangle with your upper and lower sets of front teeth, and pull the air back, allowing a forced intake of air though your tight lips, making a sound like air escaping from the restricted neck of a balloon (sounds more complicated than it really is, but it's flippin' hard to describe!) If you can't master that sound, I suppose you could try abusing some balloons - that's a sentence I never thought I'd write!
Many people either don't know how to do this, or are too embarrassed to be heard doing it - but the noise you make is an absolutely guaranteed rallying call to all cats.
My mother used to do this all the time, and our dear cat Dinky would always come running from wherever he happened to be lurking in seconds, and all the cats I've ever had have always responded likewise. Once you've got them to associate that high-pitched 'squeakle' with you, you'll never lose them, as long as they're within range - and the range can be very extensive.
Regular practice will gradually improve your technique, and as you learn how to crank up the volume, you'll be surprised to see not only your cat, but others in the neighbourhood suddenly appearing from gardens well away up the street! (But a word of caution: try to ensure that the street has no traffic flow when you make the call, or cats may just come bolting out of gardens on the other side of the road, so fascinated by the sound that they run into the path of a moving car).
Good luck with finding your cat - I'm sure he'll turn up before too long.