[BCozhunter]

They normally don’t go far. Often they’ll hunker down near the house, in shrubs or such. They’ll stay put during the daylight hours, maybe venture around at night.

Do you have access to some cage / box traps? Housecats have no problem going in them. Bait it up with canned tuna. Cover the floor of the cage with cardboard. Cats don’t like to walk on the wire. I’ve caught a couple lost housecats in cage traps. You can cover the top and sides if you like.

If you have some trail cams, set them up with some bait. It’ll give you a better picture of what’s happening. Listen when it’s quiet. Call the cat‘s name. Sometimes you’ll hear it responding.

I once had a declawed female slip out and went MIA. Two weeks passed, I figured it was dead. I looked out at my box trap by the garage one night, and I had caught it.

I just did this a few weeks ago. Wife was away for a few weeks and the cat that she loves got out. He was by the balcony door early every morning for a couple of days but would not come inside. Knowing the wife would be devastated I set a box trap out. Exactly as you described, cardboard on the bottom and canned tuna on the trip plate. The first night I put the tuna behind the plate but he wouldn't go to it, even though I could see his paw prints on the cardboard by the opening. Got him the next night.