PONCHO the cat was taken up to the California hills for an "adventure." Unfortunately, he got way more than that. When they let him out of the car, he bolted down the mountain slope, with them chasing behind.
NOTE: You cannot catch a cat, so resist the urge to chase. Even a cat with 3 legs dragging a leash is faster than a human -- especially on a steep, barren mountain slope.
Red and grey dots below show the direction the cat ran-- down and away from the road.
here's the note from Alek I got 7 days after his escape from the harness.
"Please help us, Lost cat Finder! On Tuesday we took Poncho away for the first time to a California park near Berkeley. After we got out of the car, he freaked out, got out of his leash and fled down the slope."
"After that, we never saw him. We’ve left water, wet food in humane traps, put our dirty laundry there, but nothing had been touched so far. We have a team of volunteers go and search every day and some nights, but no luck. Now it’s been almost a week since he was lost. "
This area has many coyotes although we have not seen any clumps of cat fur or bones yet. Please help us find our cat!
Alekandra
Once I got the coordinates for the area and a feel for the personality of this poor displaced cat, I was able to create a plan for them, so they could focus on a targeted strategy instead of making more mistakes, or worse, giving up.
I told them to pull the many traps they had scattered around the area as they would only draw in other critters, but it was too late. The damage was done:
Lost cat survives coyote, bobcat, deer 12 days in the California wilderness.
Poor Poncho was miles from home, at a much higher altitude that was used to at home in town. Plus, with other critters moving in the night, probably very scared.
I studied the map to determine where he would most likley go, places he would choose to hide by day, the direction of travel last seen, and just in case, and even the direction he might migrate along if he tried to get back to his home in Berkeley.
Some lost displaced cats will stay put near the location lost (unless chased) but some will start migrating toward home, so it's key to cover all angles rather than focus on just one,
It took a lot of equipment for surveillance and "sitting shifts" from local volunteers who we had instructed to SIT STILL in one place...NOT beat the bushes calling, searching and pushing him away.
Finally around night 12, close to midnight, the breakthrough: just as we were about to leave, we heard a very faint and plaintive MEOW.
It was PONCHO. He was at the bottom of the hill (where the dense green area is marked) very close to where they had first parked when he escaped. he was rolling in the road, looking very skinny and needing help. AS instructed, she lured him to her, then wrapped him into a towel and did not let go. At last, Poncho was safe.
Next visit: cat off to the vet, and human off to the hospital.
Lost cat happy reunion. As you can see, Alek is very, VERY happy to have her Poncho back home safe.
After 12 days lost in the wilderness, Poncho is found and taken to the vet.
Here's the update from Alek:
"Hi Kim! Poncho is recovering and doing great! He's already back to his normal self, but we are still working on getting him back to his normal weight.
He's been sleeping a lot these past few days, and he seems less interested in playing with his toys, but now he's getting better. I'm still amazed by how well he took care of himself during these 12 days he was in Tilden. We had a vet give him a checkup: no ticks, no fleas, just dehydrated and underweight.
We probably came out of this more beat-up than he was!
I'm so glad we got him in time - the heatwave and wildfires in California have gone crazy. The sky is a sick yellow in Northern Cal right now. Thank God Poncho's home in time to escape all that and just rest and eat.
Thank you forever!
Aleksandra
Glad to report another happy reunion via LostCATFinder.com lost cat search, offering info &coaching to lost cat owners all over the world.
Comments