Izzie still missing, seen around Legacy Mill Apts.

$50 Reward for Return of Izzie the Cat

Izzie the Cat is missing from her home in Athens, GA (Jennings Mill Road area). She slipped out without my knowing (and I thought I was watching so carefully!) on the morning of 12/17/07 (maybe 9:30 am). She was not wearing a collar (long story - the one with our new contact info came in the mail today) and she gets confused about where our apartment is.

About Izzie:

• 13 years old
• Tortoise shell colored domestic shorthaired cat
• Spayed female
• About 12 pounds (although I really haven't weighed her lately)
• A talker if she wants something
• Has been eager to explore the outdoors!
• Friendly to people, but she may not come up to you to be petted

Please call me if you see her:

• (706) 614-6568 (best number)
• (706) 850-0321 (backup)

There is a $50 reward for information leading to her safe return.

Thank you so much for your help!
Shannon

The Background - and What I've Tried So Far

Izzie's Life Before We Moved Here

We just moved to Athens, GA from New York, NY about 6 weeks ago, and Izzie has been an indoor cat for the last 8 years, much to her chagrin. In fact, she has been an indoor cat for most of her life with me (13 years), with the exception of 2 years in Washington, DC, when we lived in a house with a yard. She loved to go out into the yard, and we trained her to hop up on a ledge by a certain window to let us know she was ready to come back in - we gave her a treat every time, so she was very good about coming back, and when we had to call her and she didn't come, I just shook her bag of food, and then she came back.

She Can Hunt

Izzie was a very good mouser and birder - and I think she still is. There have been two mouse situations since we left DC, and I found out about both of them only after Izzie caught, and/or ate them.

No Collar, No Microchip, No Tattoo

When we lived in DC, she would never keep her collar on - at least, she would always get rid of the dangling tag - which of course is the whole reason for the collar. I noticed that she liked to go out at night (or maybe that was coincidence because I was often home at night and taking out the dog), so I ordered her a reflective collar that had her name and my new phone number printed on it. It just came in the mail yesterday, so she wasn't wearing it when I lost her. I also haven't had her microchipped. It's something I've been thinking about, meaning to do, etc. But she is out there with no ID now.

Adjusting to Athens

Izzie has been dying to go outside and just hurling herself at any opening in the doorway. I've been watching really carefully and walking along with her (which cramped her style). The first time she went to the parking lot, which made me nervous, but the times after that, she crept along the back of the building, in the hedges, and in the air conditioners, and scoping out people's patios, especially the ones that had dogs or food. A couple of times I lost sight of her. Calling her back didn't work, but when I shook the food she would come (in about 5 minutes) to the apartment directly below mine - seems not to fully understand how the stairs work). Then I picked her up and carried her up the stairs. I've had the dog with me a lot of this time, and that doesn't make it more fun for her, I'm sure.

What Happened to My Apartment?

Izzie slipped out on the morning of Monday 12/17, no doubt when I was trying to get out of the house with an armload of bags and boxes. I didn't get home till 8:00 PM or so, and wasn't that worried that I didn't see her, figured she was just napping in some quiet spot in the apartment. Later was calling for her, and surprised she didn't come. Later looking around apartment. Eventually I started to wonder if she'd slipped out in the morning when I was carrying all that stuff, and I was calling outside, but I really doubted that it was possible. Finally at 1:00 am I thought to check the litter box, and I could see that she hadn't used it.

Tuesday morning I made flyers and put them up in the places where my apartment complex allows me to (not door to door, but they're around the mailboxes). My downstairs neigbor saw the flyers and then told me that Izzie had meowed at their door Monday morning, they had opened the door, Izzie had come in, seen their cats, freaked out, and left. There are lots of cats who wander around here, or live in the woods (in fact, the neighbors feed the woods cats), and since Izzie didn't have a collar on, he just thought she was one of those. So now poor Izzie is out there who knows where thinking alien cats have taken over her apartment.

What I've Tried So Far

Humane society recommended a have-a-heart trap because lost cats usually come out at night when we're sleeping. The first night with that I caught two woods cats. The first was banging his head against the metal door to get out and shot out of the chute so fast when the door opened that I didn't even see the blur, he was just gone. The second one was not much happier. They'll be traumatized for weeks.

Have an ad running in the Athens Banner Herald newspaper starting Thursday. Flyers are up some places, but the apartment management is restrictive - I think they're visible enough at the mailboxes though, and everybody checks their mail, right? Filed a report with one humane society - need to hit the one in the other county, and put up the flyers in some stores and at some vets. It's slow. Wish me luck.