ADMINS: the following is, I realize, quite long. Please feel free to delete at your discretion. The rest of the story... So, yesterday, after the poop and pee was joyously discovered (HA! Never would have thought Id say that!), Jim Branson from Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue returned my call. Jim has rescue dogs that search for lost cats. He explained that hed been trained by Missing Pet Partnership, a very respected local organization, and that the way it works is the dog sniffs for any cat in the area. If they find the wrong one, the dog gets a treat and is told to find another. This is good, especially for multi-cat households, because it doesnt require an object with only the lost pets scent. Since we knew that Darcy had at least been there that day, and, if shed gotten out during the times the garage had been left open since her deposits, shed have a very good chance of still being close by (and SAFE!), we had a consultation and he gave me lots of pointers on what to do to try to determine if she was still in the garage and also reassured me that if she wasnt, wed have a great chance of locating her with his tracking dog the next day. Some of the tips he told me were not things Id heard before, and one even contradicted the MAIN thing everyone tells you to do. And, guess what, HE WAS RIGHT and IT WORKED! So, since this was such great advice, I want to share it in case someone else needs to know this. If Id known it sooner, I might have discovered her on Friday and saved Darcy from 4 days of terror and starvation/dehydration, myself a lot of worry and grief, my friends a lot of time and effort (I love you all for the help!) and all of you a lot of missing cat posts! The biggest thing is do (aside from, of course, start searching IMMEDIATELY and DO NOT GIVE UP) is DO NOT call for your pet! Dont go around calling the pets name; doing that makes a terrified cat retreat further into survival mode. Jim explained that cats have a survival mechanism to protect them from their predators, even imaginary ones such as the monsters that apparently inhabit my garage (funny, Ive only seen spiders - maybe Darcy has severe arachnophobia?). They hide and are very, very quiet and dont move - even up to, and beyond, a WEEK! They do not want ANYTHING to bring attention to them because that might get a predators notice. So, when you call your pets name, in their mind, you are making them visible and less safe. Plus, that loud tone, as you are trying to make sure your voice carries and they hear you no matter how far away they are, conveys anxiety to them. What you want to do is talk in a calm voice, your telephone voice. You can actually talk on the phone to a friend while you are looking, or just talk to yourself. It doesnt matter, as long as you are not saying your pets name and are speaking in a mild tone. And, you know what? Id spent DAYS hollering Darcys name, MANY times right in the garage, probably less than a foot from where she was hiding under the ramp, because I thought if she was far away and couldnt remember how to get home, my voice might help her find her way back. But, all it did was have her keep herself as invisible as possible. However, after Jims advice and talking to him on the phone, during the call I made right after, to my friend Deana, Darcy SHOWED herself to me! That is right, DAYS of calling for her, right in the exact area where she was, and NOTHING! 20 minutes of quiet conversation, and viola! EVERYONE needs to know this!!! It could save a lost pets life. Then, I got excited to see her and she hid again. I knew she went somewhere back under the ramp, but, even hours later, even with a baited live trap filled with fresh, smelly tuna and her normal ProPlan, not another peep from her. I was starting to wonder if Id imagined it. Id seen her around 5 PM and here it was well after 11 PM and nothing else. I even managed to crawl UNDER the ramp myself, moving boxes and was SURE she couldnt still be there. Even now, I have NO idea where she was hiding. The CIA and the military could take lessons!!! So, I finally did one of the other things Jim recommended. He said that a cat she knows, one who is VOCAL, could encourage her to come out of hiding. He had lots of great tips for situations where you couldnt let the friend cat loose (put the other cat in a carrier next to the live trap and cover both so the missing pet has to enter the trap to see their friend, etc.), but I decided to just open the door from the house into the garage and let my other cats explore. My cats were so funny. They had a ball. Zazu give it the cursory once around and then came and curled up in my lap (the photos from last night show this). But, meanwhile, Winston, Bindi and Ellie kept trotting (their paws made the cutest sounds) back and forth from the garage into the house to see me and then back again. They really got their exercise laps in. And, Ellie in particular, was very vocal. Sure enough, about half an hour later, who did I see slink in the kitchen door...Darcy! Woohoo! FINALLY she was home! I think these two tips are so important and I hope they help others. I HIGHLY recommend Jim Bransons Three Retrievers if anyone has a lost pet. He really knows what he is doing. And, he has been where you are. He got into this because he lost a pet and he says now that if hed known then what he knows now, he almost certainly would have found his cat. Aftermath, about mid-morning today I realized Id left the space heater on in the garage. (Id carried it out there yesterday when we realized where she was because I didnt want her to be cold any longer.) I probably had the warmest garage in Western Washington this morning. I also was glad to remove my clothes from the front porch! Anyway, Darcy fussed at me for a full 10 minutes for daring to leave her side. And, she is still feisty with my other cats if she thinks they are getting between her and me. Now for the gratitude. WOW! I had so many wonderful, caring people helping me! I need to start by apologizing for the inadvertent omissions I am about to make. So many people helped, and I was so panicked and sleep deprived, that I am certain to just not remember everything right now. But, please know that it was ALL appreciated greatly!!! Thank you Deana for all that you and your hubby Chris did, especially including spending your Sunday looking for her and putting out posters and then the trip to the Humane Society yesterday. Yall were true friends and I appreciate that so much! Thank you to the wonderful crew at Harbor Hope, Laura and Joe, for the loan of the live trap, the phone calls, the much needed support and encouragement and the offer of search help. And, Laura, your friend was right, there was DEFINITELY a blue car close by - mine, right there in the garage! Thank you Rita for the offer to come search and for calling all the vets. Thank you Maria and Debera for the offers of search help. Thank you to the admins of the Lost Pet Facebook pages for maintaining such a great service and for spreading the word! Thank you to ALL who shared my posts to get the word out. Thank you to all the wonderful community members, from Alex at the Humane Society who took a compassionate interest and, due to my circumstances, went above and beyond and made it personal for her and her coworkers, too, to the owners of the Arletta Store who cried with me and cared about my lost baby and then, when I called to let them know the good news, offered to remove the posters closest to them, to all the folks out walking and jogging who cared enough to listen and promise to look. To my amazing neighbor who searched under my porch (and, BTW, was also one of the three people who HAD searched the garage!). THANK YOU to those I shamefully have forgotten right now. And last, but certainly not least, thank you to all of you here for allowing me to vent and the comfort and support you gave. Now, I promise, no more posts about my cats for a little while.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 01:59:13 +0000
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