Please advise - lost one cat of a "pair"

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-26-2005
Please advise - lost one cat of a "pair"
6
Thu, 05-26-2005 - 8:46am

Hi all, I'm so sad and do not know what to do.

Last fall we adopted two sweet little black kitties, brothers from the same litter. The runt, Stitch, was so ill that I had to hand feed him for a week and take him for fluids every day until I nursed him back to health. Because of that he was like a baby and always wanted to be on my lap/held. His brother, Spooky, is an awesome cat, very sweet but with a less "needy" tempermant, but they were inseperable (slept together, ate together, played together).

Two nights ago, they went out (we live in a very quiet, cul-de-sac/garden home subdivision) and Stitch never came back. They usually never roamed beyond our yard or the immediate neighbors and only stayed out for an hour or so, so I fear the worst, especially since Stitch was rarely out of my sight (or vice versa I should say). Of course I have hung fliers and called the humane society, clinics, animal control and no sign of him. Like I said it isn't like him to take off.

Spooky is devastated. He is moping around, won't go out, barely eats. Should I think about getting another kitty or will that make it worse? I feel so bad for him. Of course, I miss Stitch as well, and would normally wait a few weeks but I'm afraid Spooky will get so depressed. Spooky is 8 mths old, male and neutered. Would a young kitten be better than a cat more his age? I know it won't bring Stitch back but I feel so bad for Spook.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-07-2003
Thu, 05-26-2005 - 9:34am

I'm so sorry Stitch is missing but don't give up yet.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-26-2000
Thu, 05-26-2005 - 9:35am

I'm so sorry to hear about Stitch. Poor Spooky must be very unhappy. I too have two little black kitties, and while mine aren't from the same litter they are very attached to one another so I can only imagine what you're going through.

First off, don't give up on Stitch yet. He may be very scared and hiding somewhere or may have somehow gotten locked into a neighbors garage, or possibly a storage shed somewhere. I'm assuming since you put up flyers that you have done an intensive search of the neighborhood but I'd do it again and again to be sure. I know of at least one person on the old TLAC board whose kitty was lost for over two weeks and they managed to find her. Be diligent and go our daily at all different times calling for him. Take his favorite treat bags and rattle it and call his name. I know you've probably done all this but all I can say is don't give up, keep doing it and if need be make a larger pass through the neighborhood each time. Look behind and in bushes and shrubs, as another persons kitty was caught up in some type of a shrub.

In the meantime try to engage Spooky at home with interactive play for several sessions a day to attempt to get him distracted from his loss. If you don't already have fishing pole type toys go get a couple and try those. Give him extra TLAC and see if that helps until hopefully his brother finds his way home. I would hestitate after only two days into this, of getting another cat as Stitch may very well make it home. Just be sure Spooky doesn't get so depressed that he stops eating. That is something that you want to keep a keen eye on.

Good luck and keep us posted. I'm sure others here will have some tips too but it sounds like you've made a good start with the flyers and the calls you've made so far. Keep the faith.

Take care, Lynn

Avatar for cl_lcni
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Thu, 05-26-2005 - 11:17am

Hi Lil-mommak8. *Welcome* to Cats. I'm so sorry Stitch is missing.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-26-2005
Thu, 05-26-2005 - 1:41pm

Thank you all for your advice. This is my first time having two cats, so I am really torn between what I want to do and what is best for Spooky. I do plan to give it some time both to grieve and also to give Stitch to turn up if he is going to. It is so heartbreaking not knowing what happened to him or if he is suffering or scared, he is such a baby. I can (sort of) relate to families who have children missing and do not know what happened to them. I would rather just know one way or the other . . .

I kept them both indoors for over 6 months, but my kids are in and out so much now that the warm weather is here they started making a break for it so I eventually just let them out when we were out there. They are both neutered and don't usually roam - we live in a quiet neighborhood on a cul-de-sac so I just let them come out and hang in our little back yard. They would climb around in our small trees and play hide-and-seek in the bushes, but they never went beyond our yard or maybe the immediate neighbors on either side. There are tons of cats in our neighborhood and I think the territories are fairly well established. I guess they started getting more adventerous.

One thing that is good if we eventually do need to get another cat is Spooky seems to like other cats. Our neighbor's cats come around all the time and he never growls or fights. He just kind of walks on up like "hey, what's up".

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Thu, 05-26-2005 - 2:07pm

Everyone else provided some excellent suggestions. Yes, cats do grieve, just like we do. Getting another cat right away may not be a good idea. After our old family dog died, our cat, Tony, wandered around the house moping, and meowing plaintively looking for her, for weeks. He even started sleeping in my mom's lap, something he'd never done before. My mom waited over a year before getting another dog, and by then Tony was fine. He accepted the new puppy with no problem.

I do think you should try keeping Spooky indoors though, he will live a much healthier and longer life. You will never have to worry about losing him, or deal with him being injured (or worse) by a raccoon or coyote. His chances of contracting a disease, or becoming infested with parasites is dramatically reduced, if not eliminated. You already said he doesn't seem interested in going out now - use it. Give him a good window perch, plenty of toys, and he'll be fine. If he cries at the door, draw him away with a toy. Eventually, he will stop trying to get out.

I'll keep Stitch in my thoughts, and hope that he makes his way home soon! I know all too well how you feel - it happened to me, and I have kept every one of my cats indoors ever since. I don't ever want to go through it again.




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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2010
Fri, 05-27-2005 - 12:48pm

I do so hope you find Stitch. My heart goes out to you.

I want to add one thing. If I were you, I'd call all the shelters about every other day. I would also go down to all the shelters. There were 2 cases in our newspaper where miscommunication caused the shelter to not notify the ownwers when their pets were turned into the shelters. They both ended up being adopted out to other people, & the new adopters would NOT give them back. I can't imagine anyone being so unkind. So this is another thing to be careful about.

Good luck!

Katz

 

 Katz