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Rosie's been missing for about 50 hours. I feel I am exhausting all the tricks I know to get her back and I'm looking for some advice. Let me explain the situation-she got spooked and ran away off the couch in the tv room and into the hall about 1 am Tuesday. There are five rooms off the hall upstairs-the tv room, bathroom, bedroom, office, craft room-as well as the stairs that lead downstairs. We are not sure what room she went into. The first night we put out a Rubbermaid container with food, water, etc... and brought her home cage with sisters into the hallway. In the morning (8 hours missing) we barricaded the cats downstairs. That afternoon we borrowed a trap and set it up in the hall near the box and cage (16 hours missing) and kept the cats downstairs. At bedtime (24 hours missing) we put a line of flour down in front of the doorways to see if she moved around from room to room, cats still kept downstairs. No sign of her. At this point we have checked and rechecked everywhere, and I have pulled everything I could off the floor and looked around. In the morning (32 hours missing) I put the trap in our bedroom (my husband had a feeling she might be in there) with the door closed and lights off and barricaded the other rooms in case she was in one so she was contained and not moving from room to room, even though there's no sign of her. My husband came home and checked the trap (40 hours missing) but then accidentally shut a cat in the room when he checked it again before leaving for band practice! (Cat removed at 48 hours missing). At bedtime, (48 hours missing) thinking maybe she did go down, we put the trap downstairs and barricaded the cats upstairs, but at some point one got down, so that plan was ruined. Now it's been 55 hours.
Rosie is a scaredy-rat. The cats are gentle and often interact with my rats, and do not pose a threat to her, but she doesn't know that. I'm sure the whole house smells like cats to her. She is a rescue rat-still pretty timid and doesn't come to me on her own, although she's friendly enough and doesn't bite. I am leaving for work in a few hours and I am thinking I will put the cats in the basement for the day, put tons of food and water dishes out for Rosie, take down the barricades, and see if I see a sign of her. I am borrowing another trap, but won't get it until after work today. I am supposed to go out of town to a conference tomorrow after work through Sunday, and my husband's gone as well. My father in law can come over several times to check the traps, but I'm unsure what my best course of action should be. I am hesitant to cancel my trip-I can't really. I am worried that Rosie hasn't had any water that I know of and it's been hot.
I need some thinking "outside of the box".
Rosie is a scaredy-rat. The cats are gentle and often interact with my rats, and do not pose a threat to her, but she doesn't know that. I'm sure the whole house smells like cats to her. She is a rescue rat-still pretty timid and doesn't come to me on her own, although she's friendly enough and doesn't bite. I am leaving for work in a few hours and I am thinking I will put the cats in the basement for the day, put tons of food and water dishes out for Rosie, take down the barricades, and see if I see a sign of her. I am borrowing another trap, but won't get it until after work today. I am supposed to go out of town to a conference tomorrow after work through Sunday, and my husband's gone as well. My father in law can come over several times to check the traps, but I'm unsure what my best course of action should be. I am hesitant to cancel my trip-I can't really. I am worried that Rosie hasn't had any water that I know of and it's been hot.
I need some thinking "outside of the box".
