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Old June 14th, 2017, 06:40 AM
Orglethorp Orglethorp is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: CBS, Newfoundland
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Searching for kitty, thinking of adopting new

Hello,

My name is Jenna, and I've just about always had multiple pets in my life. When my fiance and I were living in a basement apartment 2014-2016, we were only allowed a single pet, and I brought my baby boy Billy (tuxedo cat) with us. Taking him away from my mother's home with her / sister's other cats and dogs was hard on him, and he told us every time we got home that he'd been lonely, and how dare we leave him - especially if we were gone overnight.

We bought a house in November, and adopted a friend for Billy on February 2nd of this year. She's a young adult (somewhere between 1 and 2) tortie who we named Camo. She's very loving and affectionate, wrestles and grooms Billy daily and seeks affection from her humans whenever possible - but she always wants to get outside. We believe she used to be a barn cat before ending up at the shelter. Last week our fears were realized when she bolted out the front door while we were taking out the trash, and she hasn't returned yet. She's been seen by neighbours 3+ doors down in the woods at the back of their property.

We're desperate to have her back, but starting to think that even if we get her back, she might be better suited to being a barn cat again. We don't know at this point if we'll ever get her back in, and if we do, how long she'll stay.

Billy needs a friend, and my heart is breaking for him. He's gone back to crying when left alone, which he didn't do the last few months with Camo here. We're about 5 weeks out from the start of a busy summer full of weddings and weekend trips, and expecting our first child in October, so if we're going to bring a new cat into our home, I think right now is the time. I'm 100% open to having 3 cats if our tortie returns after we make another adoption. Thoughts? Suggestions? Am I giving up too soon?

(Yes, I've posted info on the lost pets board.)
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Old June 14th, 2017, 10:27 AM
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marko marko is offline
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Location: Montreal Quebec Canada
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Hi Jenna,

Not sure there's a right answer here but here's my take:

Quote:
Billy needs a friend, and my heart is breaking for him. He's gone back to crying when left alone, which he didn't do the last few months with Camo here. We're about 5 weeks out from the start of a busy summer full of weddings and weekend trips, and expecting our first child in October, so if we're going to bring a new cat into our home, I think right now is the time. I'm 100% open to having 3 cats if our tortie returns after we make another adoption. Thoughts? Suggestions? Am I giving up too soon?

To me it seems like this is the wrong time for a new pet. Way too much on your plate. Weekend trips and a busy summer and then a new child on the way? New pets need consistency and what you've written suggests the opposite. New pets need time to adapt. When owners are away this causes stress on the new pet.

I'd suggest waiting for the tortie to come back. If he doesn't come back...with many travel plans and baby changes ahead...I'd likely wait till after baby is born to think about a new pet. Just my Hope it may help
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Old June 14th, 2017, 11:28 AM
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Reg Reg is offline
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Location: Thunder Bay, ON
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Hello Jenna:

Sorry to hear that your kitty is missing.

Recently we heard of a person using the cat's litter box to attract the missing cat back to the house.

We either heard it or read it somewhere. If you put the litter box outside, the cat will smell it and should return. According to the article, cats can smell their litter box up to a mile away, so it might work for you. It doesn't matter if it has been scooped out - as long as there is some of the litter left in the box after it has been scooped. Hopefully there hasn't been too much of a time lapse since the cat went missing, for this to work. But it's worth a try.

I am in agreement with Marko because bringing a new animal into the house will require a lot of time and patience.

Best of luck and please keep us informed.
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Old June 14th, 2017, 04:14 PM
Orglethorp Orglethorp is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: CBS, Newfoundland
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If we were starting trips right now, absolutely, not the right time to get a new cat, but right now the cat would have a month. The last time I introduced a new cat to our family it took 26 hours for the cats to be inseperable, and then they handled being left home for our weekends trips together. (We do weekend cabin trips frequently and never have problems as our cats free feed from a large bowl of dry food & multiple large bowls of water.) The cat that's still home is expressing loneliness at being left for 2 hours right now, and I want him to have company again before our next cabin trip.
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