UPDATE: Missing Cat 'Maggie' Found

UPDATE: 4 p.m., May 17: Maggie was rescued this morning by Pamela Ott, the founder of Saved Whiskers Rescue Organization.

"Since she was so timid, a specialized drop trap had to be used to catch her," Bialy wrote. "We are donating $100 towards Pam’s cat rescue to thank her for hard work."

Thanks to all the Patch readers who helped the search!

UPDATE: 5 p.m., May 16: The search continues for Maggie, but Collingswood Patch received a note from Bialy thanking Patch readers for all the help she's gotten from residents in the area where the cat was last seen.

"We are hopeful that we can catch her using humane traps," Bialy wrote, "and in the meantime, I found some tiny kittens at an abandoned house on the street during my search for Maggie today."

Bialy said the kittens will be fostered through volunteers at the shelter until they are old enough to be adopted.

Stay with Patch for updates as we receive them.

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The Animal Adoption Center of Lindenwold is offering a $100 reward for the safe return of Maggie, a brown and white tabby cat, recently adopted by a Collingswood family.

"Normally we don't do that," said Susan Russell, office manager at the Animal Adoption Center. "We just want her back."

Russell said that Maggie, who has been at the shelter for a while, is very skittish and that her caretakers are fearful for her safety.

One of the volunteers at the center who fostered Maggie "is very distraught," she said, "and wants her back and wants her unharmed."

Maggie reportedly fled the home, which is located in the vicinity of Bellevue Terrace and the White Horse Pike, via a second-floor window on Sunday, May 12. 

Russell said the agency does not suspect the adoptive family acted negligently.

"The woman had [Maggie] separated from the children in a room upstairs, and the screen just popped out of the window," she said.

Anyone who spots Maggie is asked to call the shelter 856-435-9116 or the local police non-emergency number.

Heather M. Bialy, executive director of the Animal Adoption Center, also sent along information from The Missing Pet Partnership about what to do when an indoor-only cat escapes outside (or when any cat is displaced into an unfamiliar area):"

The cat is likely hiding (usually near the escape point) in fear. That is because cats are territorial and your cat's territory was inside of your home. Once a cat is transplanted into unfamiliar territory, it seeks shelter because it is afraid.

Cats that are afraid (and cats that are injured) will seek areas of concealment such as under a deck, under a house, under a porch, or in heavy brush and they will not meow! Meowing would give up their location to a predator.

Their behavior has nothing to do with whether the cat loves you, whether it recognizes your voice, or whether it can smell you--it has everything to do with the fact that a frightened cat will hide in silence!

(See the attached sheet on lost cat behavior for some tips—ed.)

Are you missing a pet? See our Patch how-to on ways to use the site to find your lost loved one.