‘I thought it was more likely Ivy would recognize her.’ Woman uses former owner’s urine to track down her missing cat

Erika Lowe had reportedly only spent a few hours with her new cat, Ivy, before the animal disappeared from her home in Orford, United Kingdom, according to Ladbible. The 28-year-old claimed she had driven 3.5 hours to collect the grey, long-haired cat and was devastated when she realized her new pet was missing. She thought she had lost her beloved pet after searching the area for three days without success.

Lowe believes Ivy may have been startled when someone apparently smashed her car with a hammer while it was parked outside. She suspects the noise might have frightened the cat into escaping through a small gap in the kitchen window.

She reportedly asked friends, family members, and neighbors to help search the area and posted appeals on social media, but none of her efforts were successful. She claimed to leave Ivy’s used litter, some clothing, and the cat’s carrier outside in the hope that familiar smells would encourage her to return.

A neighbour gave a weird suggestion

When Lowe’s attempts seem to fail, she reportedly took a suggestion from a woman who lived around 60 miles away. The woman, a former cat owner herself, suggested that human urine might help attract Ivy back. She said the method reportedly had worked for her before. Consequently, Lowe contacted Ivy’s former owner, who allegedly agreed to provide some urine for the search.

“I thought it was more likely Ivy would recognize her, as I’d only had her for a few hours,” Lowe believed. She “used a continuous spray bottle for better surface coverage” and sprayed a nearby tree with the urine sample. She also set up a camera overlooking the area so she could monitor the spot in case Ivy returned.

The effort appeared to pay off later that evening. Just as Lowe was preparing to call it a night, she looked outside one more time and seemingly “noticed a shadow beneath a van parked near the tree.” She added that, “I froze and just stared. The shadow moved, and I saw a large grey, fluffy cat.”

Upon this, she immediately called out Ivy’s name and recognized her pet when the cat looked up. She rushed outside with treats, and the two reunited, allegedly three days after Ivy disappeared.

Cats are known to be notorious, and Cats Protection has some recommendations in case yours goes MIA. In such a case, the owner should search the surrounding area, call the missing cat by name, use familiar-smelling items and food, put up missing posters, alert neighbors, and contact local veterinarians and animal shelters.