One of my best friends has gone missing. Our cat, Anubis, managed to sneak out while I was grilling dinner last night, and we haven’t been able to find him since.
We didn’t realize he had snuck out the door until after dinner when I went to feed him. I found pawprints in the snow leading off of the deck. Sure enough, when I looked beneath the deck with a flashlight, he was there. He didn’t come when called, as is so often the case with cats, so I went inside to grab some catnip to try and lure him out. When I came back out a couple minutes later, he was nowhere to be found.
We walked all around the neighborhood with a flashlight, calling for him. We tried to follow the pawprints, but each deck is a dead end and there are several cats here that wander from yard to yard. Around 01:00, the snow began to cover all the pawprints on the ground, and we gave up for the night. We set out a box with one of his blankets in it, along with some food, and hoped he would find his way back in the night.
There was still no sign of him this morning, and following advice online, we set his litterbox out on the deck, in the hopes he’ll find his way back by scent. We even tried the candle trick this evening, which didn’t work. After another round of calling to him through the neighborhood, we’ve concluded that he’s either wandered too far to hear/smell us, or someone took him in. I’m hoping the latter.
Anubis has always been an indoor cat, and his hunting skills are laughable. He’s also diabetic and on a strict diet with insulin shots twice a day. Due to his diet, he would have last eaten yesterday morning, so we’re really hoping he found a friendly human. If someone took him in, he’s more likely to get some food, and hopefully a trip to a vet, where his registration chip should alert someone to contact us. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.
We’re making flyers to give to our vets and the SPCA1, as well as to hand out to the neighbors. It might not make a difference, but we’re going to try anyway, even if it’s just to feel less helpless.
It’s safe to say that my wife and I are freaking out a bit right now. Dealing with this when we’re already emotionally heightened from caring for our five-month old daughter makes for a hard time in our house. We miss our furry friend. He’s been a part of our lives for as long as we’ve known each other, and my wife had him for several years before that. He came with us across the country to live here, and I can’t imagine him not being in our lives anymore.
I really hope he comes home soon. This post is probably way too disjointed, and I apologize for that. I just miss my friend.
UPDATE (2013-02-06): Anubis has been found!
We’ve of course called our local vets, SPCA, and local police department to be on the lookout for him. ↩︎