I NEED HELP FAST REGARDING MY MISSING CAT THAT WAS FOUND AFTER 5 YEARS MISSING

m0nk444

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I'm likely in the wrong sub forum but I have a crisis regarding my 5 year missing cat the was located. Please forgive me, for this might be a short story. 5 years ago my 5 year old cat went missing after i had to move 3 times in a short amount of time. Her name is Tiny and she'd done very well with keeping her bearings during these moves. She's an indoor/outdoor cat. Long story short after 5 years missing a vet friend let us know somebody had brought her into the vet. She's chipped. I haven't contacted the person that has her yet .

My living conditions have changed. I'm living in a pretty small apartment with my brother that has 4 cats. Two, 2 year old cats, 1 is three years old and one is about 5 years old.

My concern is that if I recover my lost cat and bring her here, that she will be unhappy because of the other cats and that she will be unhappy because she will be locked in the house for a couple months until she gets her bearings straight.

I love this cat and actively searched for her for 3 years before accepting that I'd never see her again. I want her back but the most important thing I want is for her to be happy.

I'm assuming she's in a good home because people don't bring stray cats to the vet usually. This lady that has her told the vet that Tiny started hanging around her house 2 months ago. That makes me assume that my poor Tiny has been wondering around looking for me for the last 5 years @(((( in the cold winter state of Idaho.

I don't know what to do. I need a lot of advice. Tiny is 10 years old. There's a lot more to this story but this post is already too long. Please help me. Thank you.
 
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m0nk444

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Basically I'm asking if it would be better if I leave Tiny with the people that took her in or if it's doable to reunite with her without causing her mental anguish. Like I said, I love this cat and want to have her back in my life. But more importantly I want her to be happy. I am so happy that she's alive and right now that's good enough for me. I think about her unusually often and the morning before I found out she's around, I was thinking about her pretty strongly. Very weird situation I have.
 

Margot Lane

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I’m no expert either in the multiple cat dept but wonder if you could have it both ways…it sounds as if what you most care about is your cat’s welfare and I think only multiple cat owners can speak to the subject of older cats living in a small space with livelier cats. I would just take their advice, mingle it w/ your gut instincts on the subject…maybe at least go SEE your cat and take it from there, maybe see what set up the cat has there and how attached the lady is to it. If you feel it would be uncomfortable in your new space is there any way you could visit it, receive photos and/or even strike up a friendship w this woman? I think this is a “dig deep down” personal, moral decision that perhaps only you can answer….but do please keep us posted on what happens!!!!
 
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m0nk444

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I’m no expert but it seems like a sign from above for you to unite ❤😻
I know, right!!! I'm just worried about the environment I'll be putting her in @((( i want to make sure I do the right thing for Tiny ❤
 

vansX2

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I know, right!!! I'm just worried about the environment I'll be putting her in @((( i want to make sure I do the right thing for Tiny ❤
I think it would be best to leave Kitty with that woman whose caring for it. Those Cats of your brothers likely won't take well to a intruder. I agree making friends with the current caregiver seems the best solution. That way you could occasionally still see your kitty.
 
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m0nk444

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I think it would be best to leave Kitty with that woman whose caring for it. Those Cats of your brothers likely won't take well to a intruder. I agree making friends with the current caregiver seems the best solution. That way you could occasionally still see your kitty.
Unfortunately I've thought the same. It's bitter sweet. Just her being alive and taken care of is good enough for me. I definitely want to make sure the lady wants to keep her. If she doesn't, I'll for sure get Tiny and figure something out. I really appreciate the responses from all of you. Thank you
 
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m0nk444

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I’m no expert either in the multiple cat dept but wonder if you could have it both ways…it sounds as if what you most care about is your cat’s welfare and I think only multiple cat owners can speak to the subject of older cats living in a small space with livelier cats. I would just take their advice, mingle it w/ your gut instincts on the subject…maybe at least go SEE your cat and take it from there, maybe see what set up the cat has there and how attached the lady is to it. If you feel it would be uncomfortable in your new space is there any way you could visit it, receive photos and/or even strike up a friendship w this woman? I think this is a “dig deep down” personal, moral decision that perhaps only you can answer….but do please keep us posted on what happens!!!!
Thank you
 

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Do you have information that indicates the person who brought her in loves her and wants to keep her? I have taken cats to the vet that I've found, to be checked for a microchip, but have not been able to keep them myself.
It's wonderful that she's been found, but, to be honest, if she's in a really happy home and you are now in a situation with many cats and she was an only cat before, and if she was now in a loving home, I'd tend to leave her where she is. Perhaps the new caregiver would be OK with a visit but I think that could make it a lot harder.
 
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m0nk444

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Do you have information that indicates the person who brought her in loves her and wants to keep her? I have taken cats to the vet that I've found, to be checked for a microchip, but have not been able to keep them myself.
It's wonderful that she's been found, but, to be honest, if she's in a really happy home and you are now in a situation with many cats and she was an only cat before, and if she was now in a loving home, I'd tend to leave her where she is. Perhaps the new caregiver would be OK with a visit but I think that could make it a lot harder.
I haven't contacted the lady yet because I decided it would be a good idea for me to take a few days to process what is happening and to not make the rash decision of running up there immediately and trying to get her and possibly causing more trauma and possibly losing her again.

Tiny was raised with and around other animals, dogs and cats. If she hadn't been gone so long I probably wouldn't have these reservations about her being around new strange cats. I just don't know enough about cats to know if that time lapse would make a difference tolerance of that now.

She is within blocks of one of our old residence. She walked so far, about 5 miles. @(((

The responses I've gotten are pretty much everything I've been thinking. I guess my next step is to talk to the lady, find out if she actually wants to have her and make the decision based off that information. I did find out from Google that the lady is 73 years old, married and it's a more well off part of town.

If my living situation was different I would have already begged and or bribed Tiny back to me from the lady that I'm calling an angel now.

Thank you for your input. I will keep this post updated incase any of you are interested in what ends up happening.
 

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I'm likely in the wrong sub forum but I have a crisis regarding my 5 year missing cat the was located. Please forgive me, for this might be a short story. 5 years ago my 5 year old cat went missing after i had to move 3 times in a short amount of time. Her name is Tiny and she'd done very well with keeping her bearings during these moves. She's an indoor/outdoor cat. Long story short after 5 years missing a vet friend let us know somebody had brought her into the vet. She's chipped. I haven't contacted the person that has her yet .

My living conditions have changed. I'm living in a pretty small apartment with my brother that has 4 cats. Two, 2 year old cats, 1 is three years old and one is about 5 years old.

My concern is that if I recover my lost cat and bring her here, that she will be unhappy because of the other cats and that she will be unhappy because she will be locked in the house for a couple months until she gets her bearings straight.

I love this cat and actively searched for her for 3 years before accepting that I'd never see her again. I want her back but the most important thing I want is for her to be happy.

I'm assuming she's in a good home because people don't bring stray cats to the vet usually. This lady that has her told the vet that Tiny started hanging around her house 2 months ago. That makes me assume that my poor Tiny has been wondering around looking for me for the last 5 years @(((( in the cold winter state of Idaho.

I don't know what to do. I need a lot of advice. Tiny is 10 years old. There's a lot more to this story but this post is already too long. Please help me. Thank you.
I took care of a stray kitten outside plus her mom brother and dad. She was taken away 5 weeks old then showed up on my porch again a year later. I have her now 6 yrs old. Not nearly as long as 5 years. Just give her lots of tlc in a separate room. She might adjust fast and remember you!
 
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m0nk444

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Just a little update for anybody that's interested.

I decided let the lady keep my Tiny for the reasons discussed and figured she'd became attached to her.

What I didn't know at first, is that this lady already has an even older cat than mine. I guess her old cat didn't take kindly to Tiny being there lol. Right now she's keeping them separated.

She decided she couldn't keep my kitty and I understand. I'm going to pick Tiny up and take her home with me. I've ordered a tractive brand GPS cat collar for my Tiny and I'll do my best to get her acclimated to the other cats at the house. I may have been over thinking the situation. Tiny has grown up with other cats and dogs, so I think it will work out.

It came down to this..... Tiny will stay with the lady that found her or she will be with daddy (me). Those are the only options I can live with.

I'm picking her up Friday February 4th.(my gps collar will arrive by then) i didn't want to move her from that location until I had her linked up to satellites lol. I'm so excited to reunite with her. I will never lose her again. I can't stop thinking about it. Very excited.

Thanks again to everybody that helped me through this ordeal.

I was going to post some pictures of her but I couldn't get them to upload. Maybe I'll try again.
 

mani

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That's good M m0nk444 . I'm sure she'll settle back in.
To upload photos, just click on the picture icon in the bar at the top of the text box..
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I'm so happy for you, and her! pLEASE keep us posted. I'm sure this will not be easy, but it CAN be done and we are definitely here for you if you need us!
 
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m0nk444

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I'm so happy for you, and her! pLEASE keep us posted. I'm sure this will not be easy, but it CAN be done and we are definitely here for you if you need us!
Yessss!!! I'm going to do whatever it takes. It's been several ups and downs since she went missing and when she was found. This is definitely another "UP"!! And thank you
 
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