Hi everyone, yesterday morning around 8am I let my cat, Prince, outside to explore (it's also part of his routine, he and my other cat go outside for a few hours every morning then come back.) At around noon, I noticed that Prince hasn't returned but never thought much of it because he tends to be more of an outdoor cat, and on nice sunny days he also likes to be outside longer than usual.
It wasnt until around 4pm where I started to grow worried because this is the first time that he's been out for so long. I figured something was wrong because when he's out for long periods of time, he always comes back to eat and drink water, then go back outside. But he hasnt been back since I let him out. I spent the rest of the evening trying to look for him around the neighborhood but wasn't able to find him.
After losing hope and jumping to the conclusion that maybe someone stole him, it wasn't until 11pm when he finally appeared on my porch waiting for me to let him in. When he came back I noticed he was really dirty and his face was sorta scratched up. He didn't have any major injuries aside from one of his nails from his front paw was pretty torn and busted.
What worries me most is how different he seemed in terms of behavior. When he came home he was super tense and would flinch at any sudden noise. He also wasn't able to fall asleep for a while because he kept waking up to any sort of noise that you would make. He's also a very affectionate cat (especially with me since I'm his favorite) but this time he was pretty distant and while he didnt mind receiving affection, he preferred to be alone which was red flag for me because when he always comes home after being outside, all he wants to do is sleep with someone. I thought this would all go away the next morning but he's still acting like this. This morning, he only went outside for less than an hour and quickly came back and didnt go out anymore today at all. He also spent most of his day sleeping as well. I feel so devastated as it kinda feels like he's had the life sucked out him, and whatever happened to him when he was out yesterday feels like it traumatized him as he's still acting tense and distant even right now as i'm typing this. Any tips on how I can help my poor baby come back to his old self? I feel like such a bad cat owner for not knowing what to do.
It wasnt until around 4pm where I started to grow worried because this is the first time that he's been out for so long. I figured something was wrong because when he's out for long periods of time, he always comes back to eat and drink water, then go back outside. But he hasnt been back since I let him out. I spent the rest of the evening trying to look for him around the neighborhood but wasn't able to find him.
After losing hope and jumping to the conclusion that maybe someone stole him, it wasn't until 11pm when he finally appeared on my porch waiting for me to let him in. When he came back I noticed he was really dirty and his face was sorta scratched up. He didn't have any major injuries aside from one of his nails from his front paw was pretty torn and busted.
What worries me most is how different he seemed in terms of behavior. When he came home he was super tense and would flinch at any sudden noise. He also wasn't able to fall asleep for a while because he kept waking up to any sort of noise that you would make. He's also a very affectionate cat (especially with me since I'm his favorite) but this time he was pretty distant and while he didnt mind receiving affection, he preferred to be alone which was red flag for me because when he always comes home after being outside, all he wants to do is sleep with someone. I thought this would all go away the next morning but he's still acting like this. This morning, he only went outside for less than an hour and quickly came back and didnt go out anymore today at all. He also spent most of his day sleeping as well. I feel so devastated as it kinda feels like he's had the life sucked out him, and whatever happened to him when he was out yesterday feels like it traumatized him as he's still acting tense and distant even right now as i'm typing this. Any tips on how I can help my poor baby come back to his old self? I feel like such a bad cat owner for not knowing what to do.