So, a little background: Our cat, Noel, has been with us for the past 6 years. She came to us as a stray, along with her four kittens (two male, two female, all of whom are grown now and live with us), and has been a strictly indoor cat since we adopted her, just like all of our cats are. She is spayed and in a dominant position in the household, ranking nearly equal to or above our 6-cat household's lead tom, with whom she is very close (she's the only one he'll willingly share my mom's lap with, they often sleep right up on each other, and he even occasionally brings her presents).
She is 7 years old, and had to have most of her teeth pulled last year because of a hereditary tooth decay disorder (two of her kids also had it, but we caught it much earlier for them, so they still have most of theirs). As a result, she only has her two bottom fangs left, and is unable to properly hunt, so she hasn't eaten since she got out.
She escaped Tuesday morning while my mom was watering the plants on our back patio, shortly after the cats had had their breakfast. My mom and stepdad failed to get her in, and the neighbors' dogs in the next yard (who have a very bad "bark at anything they see though the fence" problem) frightened her into an old rabbit burrow under our shed, which she has since claimed as her new "apartment."
There isn't enough space for us to kneel down between the burrow entrance and the shed to easily coax her out when she's in there, and we've tried luring her in with food...which almost worked on Wednesday night, but my mom bungled the capture when she failed to get her through the kitchen window. Since then, our girl has been hunkering in her burrow and slipping away when she's out and hears the back door or the window open. She hasn't eaten since Tuesday, she's staying in and close to the yard, but I'm worried about her, since it's getting colder and that burrow could become a deathtrap if we get a really heavy downpour.
I've tried leading her back with a trail of familiar scent from her favorite spot on the back of the loveseat (clumps of cat hair with her scent and the scent of the rest of the family there), I've tried food, I've tried talking to her gently and normally, we've tried catnip...and I doubt that my mom or stepdad will buy a humane trap or go though the effort of getting one from the local humane society.
So, does anyone have any advice on how to get her calm and ready to come home? I'm worried sick and my mom and stepdad's lackadaisical attitude though this whole thing (nothing is ever urgent unless their money or a messy bedroom/kitchen is involved) is driving me up a wall.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/j3sgox/our_indoor_cat_refuses_to_come_in/
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