Kobi’s Great Escape and Capture Story

April 1, 2021 Laura Lawson

On January 21, 2021, it was 47 degrees here in the Kansas City, MO, area. I was at work and my husband at home. My husband entered the house from the garage, leaving the garage door open, as he often does. Kobi, our two-year-old F1 Savannah, ran out the door and into the backyard. My husband followed him, and he ran back into the garage to get back in the house. But the entrance to the house was now closed. Kobi ran back out of the garage, and the pursuit continued. My husband followed him across our backyard into the neighbor's yard, and Kobi ran in front of the neighbor's house. By the time my husband reached the neighbor's front yard, he'd lost sight of Kobi.

We live in a rural area with 1,000 acres of woods surrounding us, including four acres of woods on our property. During my break, I called my husband that day, which I never do, to give him some news we'd been waiting for, and he sounded out of breath. I asked what was going on, and he told me Kobi had gotten outside, and he couldn't find him. My panic set in! He told me he'd walked 9 miles calling him and using his favorite toy to try to get him to come out from wherever he was hiding. I immediately said I needed to leave to find my baby. I got home at about 3:45 and searched for Kobi until dark (about 5:30 pm). I went to bed, heartbroken with the knowledge he was out there terrified, having never before been outside. Kobi is microchipped and wasn't wearing a collar. That night, I posted on every social media site I could think of and registered him with every lost pet registry. We left the garage door open enough for him to get in and put clothes that smelled like home on all sides of the house.

January 22, 2021 - I printed Paw Boost fliers and took them to my three neighbors on our street and three neighbors down another street. We also set traps with his favorite food (shrimp) and covered the traps with familiar blankets from inside the house. I also threw a t-shirt that I'd worn all day on the front porch—NO KOBI.
January 23, 2021 - I enlisted a friend with a thermal imaging camera to help look in the woods, around the neighbor's houses, and under everything imaginable. It was approximately 50 hours of him being missing now, and I'm heartbroken. There were no sightings. We did have over 1,000 shares on social media at this point but still NO KOBI.
January 24, 2021 – NO KOBI
January 25, 2021 – 87 hours missing and with temperatures dropping into the teens in the Kansas City area. People suggested someone may have taken Kobi in, but I know better because he'd NEVER come to anyone. Strangers raised money for a reward and also set out traps in their yards for him. The love for this boy and the help was overwhelming. It started raining this day, and everything I'd put outside with our scent on it got wet. I feared we would lose the smell. I contacted a pet detective/trapper, paid a consultation fee, and discussed bringing her dogs if necessary. She assured us an indoor-only cat wouldn't typically go more than 1500 feet from their house. She suggested we spray the trees with nasty fish juice (mackerel) for four houses in all directions leading back to our home. I also made big bright posters to keep the fact that he's missing fresh in everyone's minds. We put up trail cameras to notify our phones of any movement near the traps.
January 26, 2021 – Still nothing. No sightings and no notifications from the cameras.
January 27, 2021 – There are no sightings and no notifications from the cameras.
January 28, 2021 – We had no or notifications from the cameras. The phone went off at 2:30 am, causing us to jump out of bed fast to check, but it wasn't the cameras. I was a total disaster and a crying mess at this point. I couldn't focus on life. I just wanted my baby home. At about 12:30 pm, we received a phone call from the neighbor who lives two houses over saying she'd spotted Kobi on her deck! Once again, I was at the office and told them I was going home. We were in the neighbor's front yard talking when their son came said Kobi was lying on the back porch inside a wagon. We went around to the back of the house, and there he was! MY BOY!!
I talked to him for a bit as I had his toy and some fish, hoping he'd come to me. He had a blank look in his eyes, as if in shock. I heard this is "survival mode," as an indoor-only kitty who gets outside doesn't recognize anyone or anything as they don't recognize their surroundings. They're trying to survive in an environment they've never seen. Kobi and I have an incredible bond, and I felt so heartbroken when he didn't seem to recognize me. I didn't want to grab at him for fear he'd bolt. I talked to him for a bit, and then he went to the front of the house and disappeared again. Once again, I still didn't have my boy! The neighbors agreed to let us move our traps and cameras to their house, so we did that night.

January 29, 2021 – We'd heard nothing from the neighbors about seeing Kobi again. I wanted to go camp out there since I knew where he was hiding. Around 9:30 pm that evening, the phone alerted me to movement. The picture I received was Kobi halfway in the trap. The next image I received was the trap door closed. I was so excited. I was in tears. I called the neighbors, had them check, and sure enough, my boy was in the trap! We picked him up and brought him home. Within 30 seconds of being in the house and out of the trap, he was headbutting and purring.

A big thanks to Lisa from The Feline Finders in Little Rock, AR. She was amazing!!

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