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"2:33AM...Kim, details tomorrow but I want you to know Sine Cura is home and inside! It took 32 days. We could not have done this without you. I promise a wonderful recommendation/ reunion story once I've calmed down. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, you wonderful CAT LADY!!!

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UPDATE
My Lost Cat is Found!!!!!

AFTER 32 days, I have my skittish indoor cat is home thanks to the Lost Cat Finder, our local pet detective I found referred on Next-door.

After years inside, my beloved Sine Cura dashed out the front door when I was getting the mail. I chased after her, calling and shaking the cat food jar. She bolted from bush to bush, then disappeared. I figured she would come back hungry in the morning. Wrong.

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Over the next 4 weeks, I followed a trail of bad advice from the internet, not yet knowing any better. I called, I searched, I posted. I looked under bushes, crawled around on my belly, poked under leaves and limbs, looked in drains and pipes, notified vets, checked shelters. I walked the circle around my block at least a million times calling her name, putting up flyers, and talking to neighbors.

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I THOUGHT I had done everything possible.

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As each day passed, I felt more depressed, sad and crazy. It was a roller coaster of emotions, from high hopes she would return, to utter despair that she was gone forever. I spent hours kicking myself for letting her get out. 

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I went back to the day she left (in my thoughts) and tried to rearrange things so the story would have a different outcome. In psychotherapy, this is called “undoing” and it doesn’t work. 

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Finally, I came across a site dedicated to lost cat recovery, (www.lostcatfinder.com) and ordered the Cat Detective’s video and e-booklet “How to Find a Lost Cat.” 

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The booklet outlined what to STOP doing, recommended a new approach and most important, reminded me to KEEP AT IT. After reading the booklet twice, I booked a consult with the Cat Detective (Kim) who went over my cat's profile and every detail using maps and probability theory. 

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After our call I had a plan, down to what to do, where, and when. I set everything up according to Kim's directions and waited.

 

Two nights later, after some scouting adjustments, a check in with Kim and good teamwork, I was able to watch our beloved Sine approach the house on the motion activated trail camera Kim had suggested. My husband was ready and I was in position. I was in place to close the door right according to plan! 

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What a month it’s been. I could not have gotten Sine Cura back without the expertise and guidance from Kim, the LOST CAT FINDER. Should you ever need her service, contact her. Our kitty was missing 32 days. Sooner is better as she can bring her tracking cat out if your indoor escapee has been missing less than 4 days. 

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Don’t wait 30 days like I did. Lost Cat Finder is a pet detective located in Atlanta and her email is lostcatfinder@gmail.com. So happy to have a happy ending and our beloved Sine Cura back home!

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Someone asked what NOT to do to get a missing cat back. Believe me, I did it all. I'll list what I did and the bad advice found on the internet:

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1. I immediately chased her once she got out. This only terrified her and made her run down the drive, around the back, then back up the other side and into a bush outside the fence, and 'I lost her from there. 

2. I called her name over and over, and I know my voice had a lot of panic and anxiety in it which probably made her terrified. 

3. I shook the dry cat food container. At this point, she was NOT coming out to her name or the sound of dry cat food. 

4. I plowed through the bushes searching. This caused her to flee to the next set of bushes and so forth, therefore potentially getting further away from my yard. 

5. I put dry food out, hoping she would come eat and then come inside. 

PLUS more useless or incorrect advice I got from nextdoor, Facebook, and well meaning friends. NOW I know better!

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1. Put out her bed, cat toys, etc that smell like her. (This only attracted other animals.)
2. Sprinkle used cat litter around the yard. I didn't do this but only because I had no used litter at the time. This attracts other cats. 
3. I didn't do this one --put my human urine in various spots around the yard so she will have my "scent”. 
4. Bait the cruelty-free trap and then put more food outside of it to encourage her to go into the trap. If she has food outside the trap, she is NOT going in that trap! 
5. Continue searching whilst calling her--this only made her "go to ground" and continue to hide.
7. Search at night using a flashlight--look for the cat's gleaming eyes. Again, this terrifies a cat and will only make it want to hide in a better spot. 

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What I really didn't understand before this experience is that even the most docile, loving, talkative indoor cat returns to being semi-feral once they get out. They don't want to get eaten by a dog, coyote or owl, so they behave like prey--hide and don't move and don't make a sound. And almost worst of all--they hear you and assume you are a predator so they will not come to you! 

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The other GREAT BIG LESSON I learned from this is I NEVER want to go through this again. It was agony writ large.

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Thanks to all my neighbors and friends who listened to my story and provided support. And a shower of blessings on Kim. We could not have found Sine Cura without her help!

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Jennifer and Wayne R. from Candler Park
Atlanta Georgia

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P.S. I hope this helps prevent some other cat lover from going through a month of hell.