RoughCollie Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Last night, a cat entered our basement when my husband came in. He never noticed it. That cat has been loudly meowing from time to time, ever since. I do not know if it is full-grown or is a kitten. It has a loud voice which reverberates from the basement as though when it is meowing, it is out in the open. My son and I went down there several times (every time it meowed) to find it. We have searched everywhere with a flashlight, and we cannot find it. We used the flashlight to peer into dark areas. It doesn't come when we call "here, kitty, kitty". There seem to be an infinite number of places it can hide -- definitely at least one more place than we have found. It doesn't meow more than once each time. (I hope that is a meow we are hearing, otherwise anything could be down there ... which give me the willes.) If it comes up the basement stairs, it will can get into the rest of the house as there is no door at the top of the stairs. My dog will kill it. We have a baby gate at the top of the stairs to keep the dog out of the basement as he is eager to find the cat. That will not keep the cat out of the rest of the house, unfortunately. So, I am concerned. I do not have an animal trap, and I am not going to buy one because I have no way to get to town as my car is in the shop. It is quite cold out, so I cannot leave the exterior basement door open all day. I did leave it open for quite awhile last night, but at 3:30 a.m., I was back down there looking for the cat because it meowed, and set the dog off. Thank you for your suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna in Texas Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Open a can of tuna down there? Whenever our male cat hides we just shake his bag of dry food. Be careful, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I was going to suggest a can of tuna also. But try putting a bit on the steps, and then a bit more a few steps up to the exterior door and then at the door and maybe a bit outside to get it on it's way. You shouldn't have to leave the door open long that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 The trouble is, it probably won't recognize cans or food bags as being anything special. We live in a rural area and the cats are either from farms or feral. That's likely why it won't come to me. It definitely isn't the world's friendliest cat - who lives next door and comes over to taunt my dog. She tries to get in our house all the time, even though she has never been indoors anywhere, because she is a super-extrovert who loves people, and probably so she can lord it over our dog. My neighbor says not to worry, cats are faster than dogs ... but he has never had a terrier who has a very strong prey drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 I was going to suggest a can of tuna also. But try putting a bit on the steps, and then a bit more a few steps up to the exterior door and then at the door and maybe a bit outside to get it on it's way. You shouldn't have to leave the door open long that way. Okay, I will try to lure the cat out that way. I haven't heard it since 3:30 a.m. It only makes one loud yowl-meow at a time, every few hours. That's why I am worried it might not be a cat. It sounds like one, but probably other animals can make that meow-like yowl sound (not a howl). I'll update when progress is made. The first time I heard it, my sons thought the dog and I were hallucinating. Now that they have heard it, unless we are having group auditory hallucinations, including the dog, there is a cat or other animal down there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Do you own a Havahart trap? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BX1H76/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BX1H76&linkCode=as2&tag=libhilhou-20 That would be the easiest way. Otherwise, I'd just open the basement door, place food outside, and hope for the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 No, I don't have a trap. The cat just meowed again. He is in the basement, and my son's bedroom is on the second floor. My son heard the cat meowing from up there. We searched the basement again, put out tuna. There is no sign of the cat. I'm worried he is trapped somewhere. Maybe not, because we can hear the tv when it is on in the basement and we are in our bedroom, through the vents. If he's not out this morning, I'll call my neighbor to come over to see if he can find it trapped somewhere -- it is probably one of his many outdoor cats. I wish it would meow while we are down there so I'd at least be able to figure out which area the meow is coming from. The dog can't decide whether the cat is outside or in the basement, and he is on full alert. He is growling, prowling, and bounding from window to window to basement entrance, looking for that cat. I barricaded the baby gate with full baskets of clean laundry to prevent the dog from barreling through them if he spots the cat, which will also hopefully keep him from seeing the cat if it ventures onto the stairs. I absolutely, 100%, do not want anything bad to happen to that cat! I hope the cat has enough sense to be afraid of a growling, salivating dog. The friendly one who visits my dog has managed to raise his prey drive toward cats to 100% by continually taunting him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 If the dog can be controlled, he would have an easy time sniffing out the cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 We usually open a can of tuna, or canned chicken to lure a cat out. Honestly if it's been down there a while and hasn't been lured by the tuna, it is likely stuck. Are there any gaps where a cat or other creature could get into the walls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8circles Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Not sure it's a cat? :scared: I think I'd be calling animal control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 It'll come out. It doesn't have to know what canned food is to appreciate the tuna. Poor kitty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificent_baby Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Not sure it's a cat? :scared: I think I'd be calling animal control. I was just going to suggest this as well. Please do not try to get it out by yourself, especially if you are unsure what it is. I would be worried about bites/rabies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 Not sure it's a cat? :scared: I think I'd be calling animal control. I'll just call my neighbor. There is no animal control around here. It's probably a cat. I have an imagination that ramps up whenever I have to go into the basement. It looks like a dungeon down there -- stone walls built 100 years ago. I always expect something to jump out at me ... a mouse, a snake, a bat ... so I always take my dog with me for protection. Horror movies terrify me (so I don't watch them), and at 3:30 AM, the basement reminds me of a horror movie set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8circles Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I'll just call my neighbor. There is no animal control around here. It's probably a cat. I have an imagination that ramps up whenever I have to go into the basement. It looks like a dungeon down there -- stone walls built 100 years ago. I always expect something to jump out at me ... a mouse, a snake, a bat ... so I always take my dog with me for protection. Horror movies terrify me (so I don't watch them), and at 3:30 AM, the basement reminds me of a horror movie set. LOL - if that were my basement I'd be putting up a door at the top of the stairs. Hope you get it out soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 It is your neighbor's cat? Why isn't he over there getting it out? I would be telling my neighbor that I cannot assure him the safety of his cat if he can't be bothered to come over and get it. I am not a cat person though, so maybe I am being too mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I would put your dog on a leash and let him find the cat for you. Open the door to the outside first in case it wants to dart to safety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 The cat (assuming it is) is probably really scared. He won't come out if he hears people or a dog. I'd move everyone to the back of the house (I mean, away from the top of the basement stairs), and the dog too. Then, put some food at the bottom of the stairs (just a piece) and more at the top. Can you put a trail all the way out the door? I guess at some point I'd put the dog on a leash to try and find it, but the cat will probably just hide deeper in once he sees a dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I'll take an opposite approach and say keep your dog as far away from the cat as possible. Even a high-prey drive terrier often isn't a match for a scared, mad cat. And who knows if the cat has been vaccinated for rabies? For your dog's sake please don't make the mistake of assuming he'd get the best of the cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Did you get him out yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Did you get him out yet? Heehee. When this posted with your siggy right below it I lol'd. I had a fleeting thought of the cat in the basement being on the boards and looking to see what would be tried to get it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Heehee. When this posted with your siggy right below it I lol'd. I had a fleeting thought of the cat in the basement being on the boards and looking to see what would be tried to get it out. Hey, it's a cat. Anything is possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 LOL - if that were my basement I'd be putting up a door at the top of the stairs. Hope you get it out soon. There is a pellet stove in the basement -- the heat comes upstairs via that staircase. The landlord devised a cobbled-together heating system when he and his family lived here. The cat is still down there. The tuna hasn't been touched. The neighbor isn't home. This may not even be his cat. This area has a lot of feral and barn cats, due to being mostly farms. As soon as DS2 is finished talking to a girl on the phone, we are going down there to try to find the cat for the millionth time. I'm going to harness the dog and take him down as a last resort. I am hoping he will lead one of my sons to the general area in which the cat is located, on the assumption that the cat is stuck somewhere. I haven't done the laundry or turned on the furnace (which only heats part of the house) in case the cat is stuck somewhere in that equipment, including vents. Funny, I'm all set up to take care of a dog if someone drops it off out here in the country, but I absolutely cannot have a cat, and that's all I get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8circles Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 You would not do that if you didn't have a pellet stove in the basement -- the heat comes upstairs via the staircase. Living in this house seems so normal to me now.... You got me. I have no idea how a pellet stove works. Here, I plead total ignorance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 You got me. I have no idea how a pellet stove works. Here, I plead total ignorance. Thank your lucky stars! Stay ignorant, because regarding pellet stoves, IMO ignorance is bliss! There is good reason I think of myself as the poorer version of Eva Gabor in Green Acres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 I haven't heard the cat in a few hours. My son and I searched the basement thoroughly, with an LED flashlight in hand. We have looked behind and under everything. If there is a cat, it is a Cheshire Cat minus the grin. The tuna has not been eaten. I have searched around the outside of the house. There is no cat anywhere, not fallen into anything and can't get out, nothing. We even looked under and all around the washer and dryer, and I checked the dryer vent and the chimney thing on the pellet stove. There is no place else to look. The neighbor drove by and honked ... he never called me back. Maybe we are all delusional, including the dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 my cats were once chasing a chipmunk . . they lost track of him and he ran in the front door! the cats were clueless and kept searching the flower bed. The dog found the chipmunk within 2 hours and was camping out in front of the shelf unit. dh decided he would 'help' by ramming a broom handle under the shelves and swinging it around. the chipmunk ran off . . . dog was soon camped in front of the shoe holder by the front door. Then dog wandered off. we never saw the chipmunk and never smelled it, so we assume it managed to sneak out the front door. (our dog is a rescue mutt . .. no idea what his life was like for the first 3 years, but he spent the next 5 in a rescue and we'd had him about 2 years . .. he looks a little like a black lab but doesnt act like one) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Try chicken baby food, the plain first foods stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I'll take an opposite approach and say keep your dog as far away from the cat as possible. Even a high-prey drive terrier often isn't a match for a scared, mad cat. And who knows if the cat has been vaccinated for rabies? For your dog's sake please don't make the mistake of assuming he'd get the best of the cat. :iagree: A scared, disoriented cat is going to do far more damage to a dog on a leash than the dog will do to the cat. Even if the dog is unleashed, it's going to be a pretty fair fight. You're probably going to need a trap if you want to get the cat out of your basement any time in the near future. There's a reason someone came up with that "herding cats" expression... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 I have not heard the cat for about 12 hours, because the cat was never in the basement. I went around the house checking for any place the cat could be. Next to the basement is a stone-walled room that can only be entered from the outside. It is under our kitchen. The door is basically falling apart, rotting or something, and there is a 4" gap at the bottom of it that is about a foot long. The cat must have gone inside, and then couldn't figure out how to get back out. It was not in there when I checked, and it is full of the landlord's stuff (junk) so I'd wager the cat got lost among the junk and eventually found its way out. Since it is under the kitchen, and so is part of the basement, it sounded like it was meowing from the basement. That's the best I can figure out. I will tell the landlord about the gap, now that I've discovered it. Thank you all for your help and suggestions; I appreciate that very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 I hope you can get good sleep tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Thank goodness it wasn't in the basement after all. I hope it really did get out and didn't die under there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 I don't think the cat died. The cats around here are well fed and 2 years old or younger. My neighbor's many cats (about 10) live outside or in his shed/barn/garages, and he feeds them twice a day. They all line up outside his front door right on schedule, in a row. Very cute. Plus they eat whatever they catch. The cat was only present for about 14 hours. I spent 3-4 hours searching for the cat, and if it died, I can't find it. More likely it is alive and went home at mealtime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 I'm sure the cat did not die in only 14 hours. Once, one of our cats was missing for a week. It turned out that she had gotten locked in a neighbors shed when they went on vacation and they found her when they returned and opened their shed. She was fine. We figured she must have eaten bugs or maybe mice and maybe licked the condensation on the window. I am sure that your mystery cat is now back at his/her home having a nice meal and "thinking" about the risk of entering small places or maybe just sleeping off its adventure . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 I don't think the cat died either. DS1 heard the same meow this morning from his 2nd floor bedroom. Just to be on the safe side, I opened the door to that little outside room so if it is in there, it can get out. I'm pretty sure it was outside though, because I did not hear the meowing. I am still on full alert, and so is my dog, so we'd definitely have heard meowing coming from the basement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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