heat sensor to find missing cat?

[joaks]

I was fostering a stray cat who came to be very friendly and outgoing with me. He started life as a stray, I took him to the vet to get his shots and get him fixed and then my neighbor had him. At my neighbors he would always hide but come out to eat and use the litter during the night. I took him to my place because of his hiding and he was usually out and about at my place. A friend of the family wanted a cat so I brought my foster to her place. And he disappeared! He used the litter box for the first couple of days and has not been seen since. Currently, I do not know if he is in the house (he is FANTASTIC at hiding); the homeowner and I have both looked for him. So far, he is not at the pound either. SO: he is either STILL hiding or escaped.
I had a friend suggest that exterminators have heat sensors to look for things such as rodents in the wall and maybe I should hire one to look for him. Or maybe I could rent one? Any thoughts on this? I am also considering setting up traps outside. The house is an hour and half drive from me so this could become a little problematic.

 

[Donald]

I think the cat will come out to eat. Or it got outside.

 

[bepperb]

I think you want a FLIR forward looking infra red camera. Those are not cheap, but maybe you could find one to rent.

It might be easier to setup a regular canon camera with CHDK and use it as a motion detection device (like a trail camera) and point it at a bowl of food/catnip... whatever.

http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK_in_Brief

 

[Doog]

My room mate in college had a cat like that. Measure food into a his dish (use dry food and actually count the pieces of kibble). Put the food out for a week with water on the side. Count the kibble at week's end. My guess is he escaped.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Poor cat never knew where home was.
BTW my cat had a hiding place above the Boiler ontop of the sheetrock (firebloc) in betwixt the floor joists. Here, the sheetrock edge was next to the basement stairs so the cat was able to clib up there. Only came out when he was hungry.

Forget the trap and the IR cams. Have food available check out side periodically and he'll be back if he hasnt found a "better" more stable home. Look for cat prints in the snow - too.

Hope someone finds him soon.

 

[HerrStig]

THere's a woman in my town whose dog tracks lost cats. It's not a bloodhound, but like cats and has a good nose.

 

[Benzadmiral]

How can a cat be hard to find? You just run your car for a bit, then crawl underneath and follow the pipes from the engine back toward the muffler.

Oh, wait. . . .

 

[user52165]

I hate to mention this, but do you have coyotes or other predators around?

#1 cause of "lost" pets around here.

 

[joaks]

Thankfully there aren't any coyetes there. Lot of them here though! I had someone check for pawprints in the snow to no avail.
Will try the food outside and see how that goes.