I've had Nala two days and the cleaner left the window open and she's missing. We've turned the house inside out lookin for her and she's only 12 weeks old. I'm so scared! Can someone please tell me what to do? I've contacted the vet to keep a look out and searched our garden.. Our neighbours next door have an overgrown bush of a garden and they are gone as the house is being renovated. I've searched their garden too.. The other gardens to the back and left of us are quite hard to access and I'm not sure how good a climber she is yet. I'm devastated.. Should I put out flyers.. She's not even been microchipped yet..

Don't stop looking. The best chance of recovery are in the first several hours. Are you sure she is not asleep inside the house?

Please describe the "scene of the crime". When and where was the last time you saw her? Then what happened...? What was the timeline between then and now?

From the very little you've told us, my money would probably be on her getting scared by the cleaners, and finding some really great hiding spot in the house and hunkering down. You said you've turned the house upside down, but there really are a zillion places for a very small, scared, and determined cat can hide.

But that's with minimal information, and I probably wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket. Flyers are good, knocking on doors and having neighbors come and help you look (outside) is good. I know someone recently who lost a pet, and she organized a bunch of volunteers (friends) from facebook to come out and help her scour the streets looking.

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The little monsters 3

Ok so we don't know when she went missing. I was at work and got a call from my boyfriend on the way back from work saying he had gotten home and couldn't find Nala. His friend bunny and his girlfriend helped look. They looked everywhere they could and when I got home I did the same. We've checked the video footage from the outdoor cameras and cannot see her. She isn't the shy one of the two.. If I meow she meows back and unlike her sister is very vocal. The house next door is vacant and I climbed their garden wall which is thick with bushes and plenty of places for a kitten to hide.. I've put out flyers and knocked on neighbours doors but we are in the country so their houses are huge and they have massive gardens that backs onto fields.. I'm losing hope here. She's not been here long enough to make her territory so she may find her way back.. Plus she's a baby.. I'm so scared a fox will get her.. :-(

At 12 weeks of age, could a bengal scale a 6ft fence.. And if she has and has wandered off.. Would she be able to find her way back home?

How easily accessible was the window? Did she have access to the whole house? If you have kick boards in the kitchen, have you checked behind those? Jagger would try to get in the space under the dishwasher every time I opened it and is always trying to get behind them, even now.

She may well still be in the house. They are tiny at that age and can squeeze into tiny places and if she's scared she won't respond to you calling her. Plus all the uproar of the house being searched could scare her even more. I would add that you may think she is the more confident of the two, but it may not be the case. Hendrix appeared the more confident of our two when they arrived, but he doesn't like anyone coming into the house he doesn't know. He would run and hide in the most obscure places.

I've got everything crossed for you that she is in the house and decides to venture out of her hiding place soon.

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

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The little monsters 3

Holy **** on a stick. Well... You guys got it.. You are not gonna believe this! We kept hearing meowing and we thought we were going nuts.. We searched every cupboard.. Every crack and every crevice.. We even took off the skirting board to look behind the oven and behind all the cabinets.. And still! We could hear meowing.. Distant but sure enough.. My boyfriend cracked open the skirting board underneath the sink and we thought we'd cracked it but she wasnt there.. I put some food out and waited, watching she stepped out from a hole beneath the sink.. Like a hidden hole behind the skirting board and I'm not even sure where she got behind the skirting board! So relieved but kinda want to throttle that cat.

OMG when they are that small they get into some tight spots! Mine used to dive into my component cabinet between the receiver and cable box! There is a fan back there and I was afraid they would get hurt with all the voltage going on. I was so relieved when the finally got too big to fit in there! So glad your kitten didn't wander out and is okay!

Really relieved for you! You need to try and work out how she got there so you can block it off. And look everywhere around your house again to look for other hiding place opportunities to avoid further stress!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

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The little monsters 3

Haha yeah it's certainly a learning curve. we are gonna get the builders in to block this off.. I didn't even know it existed and was sure I had cat proofed this room. Just glad she's safe and sound.. She's back on top of her tree and grooming her sister. :-) thank you all for your help and advice whilst I was distraught and losing my mind. Helped keep me sane in these last few hours x

We have a cleaning lady who comes every 2 weeks. Actually, it is a team of women. Those days, I lock Quasar in a room where he can look out a window and has a litter box and toys to occupy his time. When it is really hot, the a/c is on and we have a fan circulating the air. I'm paranoid about his escaping when the ladies are here and this has worked to keep him safe and me sane.

Perhaps you should make some sort of safety plan for them when the cleaning lady comes.

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~ Kyenta

I am late to this party and so relieved that Nala was in the house the entire time and not on the run. I can only imagine how stressed out you were over not being able to find her. These little ones can get into the tiniest of places. You've got to make sure everything is closed off -- child proof everything (bengal proof, actually). Just love that this has a happy ending!!!!! Now calm down, relax and close up all the holes in your home.

That is so scary. I'm glad she's safe and sound! I like the idea of blocking them in a room on the days you have someone coming over, just to be on the safe side!

My husband came home one day last week and the door from our house into the garage was wide open (I think one of the dogs opened it). No idea how long it had been open. I was still at work so I made him go around and do a head count. Diesel was the only cat he couldn't find. He ALWAYS comes when you shake the container of cat treats so I hear my husband on the phone shaking the treats like mad and still no Diesel. So I made him move our sofa that Diesel likes to climb around under and sure enough there he was. Gave a big yawn and looked at him like "why did you ruin my nap".

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes