Should I Still Be Hoping My Missing Cat Will Come Home?

[Margret]

Thank you to everyone so far. Scent trails? I think i read about that

Yes, that's here:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/help-my-cat-is-lost   Be sure and read the comments, too, for more ideas.  Basically, the comments have served to add on to the original article written by @Anne, who owns and maintains the site.

For an indoor only cat who manages to get out, the problem is that she doesn't really recognize anything.  The vision of cats is adapted primarily to detect movement, which isn't especially helpful when it comes to finding home, and besides, she doesn't know what home should look like.  What she does know is how home smells, what her litter box smells like, what her humans smell like, what her favorite food and treats smell like.  So you can lay scent trails to guide her home, similar to the way dogs mark their territory, except with things like sweaty tee-shirts rather than peeing on every tree you can find (the neighbors would complain).

Margret

 

[Norachan]

@BellaB  There are some useful tips in this article too.

 [article="32600"]Help My Cat Is Lost​[/article]  

Is your cat indoor only or does she have outdoor access? How long has she been gone now?

If you tell us as much as you can about your cat, the area you live in and what happened we'll try to come up with some suggestions for you.

 

[bellab]

Margret thank you..i'm using my phone so while on mobile I can't see everything. But i switched to full site and I see it. Also thanks for the information.
Norachan thank you.
Should I just say it here or a new one? It doesn't matter to me but this was yours.
Thank you for the information so far. I will tell everything..that would be helpful for anyone to try to help. Sorry i haven't done it yet. I will right now.

 

[Margret]

@Margret thank you..i'm using my phone so while on mobile I can't see everything. But i switched to full site and I see it. Also thanks for the information.
@Norachan thank you.
Should I just say it here or a new one? It doesn't matter to me but this was yours.
Thank you for the information so far. I will tell everything..that would be helpful for anyone to try to help. Sorry i haven't done it yet. I will right now.

Please post a link in this thread to any new thread you begin on the subject, so we'll be able to find it.

My personal experience is that it's virtually impossible to post properly on TCS using a smart phone.  The minute you try to preview, do multiple quotes, or anything else even remotely advanced it all goes wonky.  The screen is just too small.

My primary laptop was out of service for a couple of weeks recently and I went into major TCS withdrawal.  The secondary laptop wasn't working at all well, the first generation iPad kept having problems with Safari when I was on TCS, my mobile didn't work effectively for posting, and my Nook's browser tells me that every site I visit (including Barnes and Noble, their parent company!) has inadequate credentials and I should get out of there.

Margret

 

[bellab]

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/323327/missing-cat-can-anyone-help-i-dont-understand#post_4063688
There's my post. It's long and I'm sorry about that. I just needed to say everything i could. Thank you very much. Especially if you read the whole thing. Sorry.

 

[bellab]

There's still a few things that I should have added but I'll wait. If/when you reply there I will tell you more about him ( my cat) or more about the area or whatever else . Thank you.

 

[mrseperjesi]

My beautiful male Ragdoll has been missing for 2weeks now. He I just over a year old. He has the most loving, funny and sassy type of personality. He easily gets frightened of certain thing. We believe he got scared of a watermelon he saw me pick up and darted out of the kitchen. We haven't seen him since. I'm sick to my stomach over him being gone I can't eat or sleep. I'm so sad. Miss him so much. I also have another female cat, she's a menx. She doe not seem to miss him,infact she is happy. I'm not sure if this is good news. She mite sense that he's still around somewhere!?! People tell me cayotes probably got him, I don't wanna think that. I had had cat before who was outdoors for 12 years, she was the happiest cat. She once got scared of a loud noise while outside, ran away and was hiding for 2weeks before she returned home. That was in 2007, in the biggest snow we had in Vancouver, it was cold and I didn't think she would survive that, but she did. I'm hoping for that same outcome this time.

 

[mrseperjesi]

IMG_20160824_235803_edit.jpg

• mrseperjesi
• Sep 17, 2016

I miss him so much!!

 

[Norachan]

Hi @MrsEperjesi  Welcome to The Cat Site. I'm sorry to hear that your cat is missing. Did he have outdoor access or was he an indoor only cat?

Cat's rarely stray that far from home, he might be somewhere close by but be too scared to come out of hiding. Have you tried walking around your neighborhood just before dawn and calling him? That's usually the best time to see scared cats.

One of my cats was gone for 6 weeks once and we found her just a few miles from here.

Put up lots of Lost Cat posters. Make sure you have a large one with his picture on outside your house so anyone who walks or drives by will see it. The more people who know he is missing the better.

Good luck, please keep us posted.

 

[mrseperjesi]

Thank you so much @Norachan  

Yes, he was outdoors most of the time. Came in to sleep and eat. 

We have tried walking around at night. He loves the chicken pate like crazy and we walked around clicking the can, I was sure he would come out of hiding when he heard that, but noting. I also put out catnip in the front yard. I put out his food and tuna. I sat out in the yard talking on my phone (as this was recommended)

I have posted a "Reward" post on Craigslist. Called all the local vets. Took flyers to about 70 homes around our area, I have not received any calls. I don't understand how no one has seen him. In a way, this gives me hope that he is hiding.

I called the local police with my information. I personally visited the local SPCA and I continue to do that. Called the District of West Vancouver to see if they found any cats that may have been hit by a car. So far nothing. The only thing I have not done is post posters. I'm doing that tomorrow. 

I don't wanna lose hope. I miss this cat so much. Just want him to come home. 

 

[ivashanko]

Cats do sometimes come back of their own accord. Corona was missing for 8 days before my roommates found her in a window trying to find her way back home.

I was stuck halfway around the world when my cat went missing, and those eight days were extremely difficult especially because I was so powerless. I'm still so very grateful she's home now safe and sound.

I'm praying for you all and wish you nothing but the best

 

[maureen14]

last week on Friday I pull into the driveway I never saw my cat all of a sudden I hear a very loud cat cry, my heart stops I get out I also had screamed was so scared and I see nothing under the jeep but do find some fur, never saw him coming or going. Well it's been six days now and I've contacted the local animal shelter, the vet and put out flyers. I don't know if he died or if he is hiding and trying to heal himself, I guess I'm just looking for some comfort I don't know what to think the worse or will he come home, we've had him about 8 years now an outdoor cat mostly but comes home each day I'm so sad. Been crying uncontrollably for days now.

 

[Margret]

last week on Friday I pull into the driveway I never saw my cat all of a sudden I hear a very loud cat cry, my heart stops I get out I also had screamed was so scared and I see nothing under the jeep but do find some fur, never saw him coming or going. Well it's been six days now and I've contacted the local animal shelter, the vet and put out flyers. I don't know if he died or if he is hiding and trying to heal himself, I guess I'm just looking for some comfort I don't know what to think the worse or will he come home, we've had him about 8 years now an outdoor cat mostly but comes home each day I'm so sad. Been crying uncontrollably for days now.

Oh, how very horrible that must be for you.  I'm so sorry this happened.  Don't give up hope.  Put out food for him.  Go out at night, when he'll think he's invisible and therefore safe, and call him.  And then wait patiently for him.  It's way too soon to give up hope.  You know for sure that you didn't kill him outright, assume that he's only slightly injured but very frightened.  If you assume that he's gone off to die you give up on finding him, and you mustn't do that.

Margret

 

[maureen14]

Thank you Margret my daughter just came home crying that we don't have him yet, the guilt I have is unbelievable, I'm so depressed I keep praying he comes home.

 

[Margret]

@Maureen14, is there any news yet?

Margret

 

[Norachan]

Just catching up with this tread now. I hope you've found your cat by now @Maureen14

Injured cats usually hide themselves in the smallest, most difficult to access spot they can hide and wait until they feel well enough to move. Look under decks, under bushes and low trees, in wood piles, anywhere that would be difficult for anyone to spot him. Take a flash light so you can see his eyes even if he's in a dark hiding place.

Please keep us updated.

 

[maureen14]

Thanks he's not home yet.[emoji]128542[/emoji]

 

[cleopatras mom]

I came in here to post, again, that all hope should NOT be lost. I lot Cleo in -10 degree weather for three days, with snow piled up several feet high. She had NEVER spent a night outdoors, or even an hour outdoors! Needles to say, I was petrified that my 5 pound kitty would become lost, not be able to eat or drink, and succumb to the cold. We found her in the middle of the night when she wandered back to the house and started meowing to come in.

AND, to top it all off, we had moved, and had not even been there for a two months, so I knew she had no clue about her surroundings. But she came back!

 

[noblibluewolf]

How likely is it that a cat will return home after 3 months? My beloved George went out for his regular evening prowl on April the 3rd and I haven't seen him since.

George's mother was a feral cat that I have been feeding since she was a kitten. She had her first litter (she has since been spayed) but didn't take very good care of them.  By the time I found the kittens George was the only one still alive and he was so weak that he couldn't walk. I brought him into the house, half expecting him to die overnight, and fed him. He was such a tough little guy and started eating straight away. I took him to the vet, got him treated for worms and other stomach problems and he was soon eating huge amounts of food. Two years later he's grown to a sturdy 6 kilos.


He's always had outdoor access, I live in the country so there isn't much around here except for fields and woods, and he regularly stays out overnight or sometimes for as long as 24 hours. He's neutered, so I don't think he goes looking for females or starting fights with other tom cats. When he comes home after his nights out he never seems that hungry, which makes me think he is hunting and eating what he catches. However, he's never been gone for so long before.

I've done everything I can think of to find him. Searched the whole area, including empty barns he may have got into, called all the vets and animal rescue centres, registered him as missing at the town hall and animal control centre, put posters up all over town. (I replace these with new posters and a different picture of him every month, the latest poster offers a reward for any information.) I've also spoken to two different animal psychics, who weren't a lot of help, and George's picture is broadcast daily on the lost pet spot on our local TV channel.

I'm trying to stay hopeful. I know he knows this area well and seems to be able to hunt. He'd occasionally bring me home little "gifts" of mice and frogs. There are no predators in this area big enough to take a full grown cat and people keep their dogs chained up or indoors. I call animal control regularly to ask if any cats have been turned in or found dead on the roads, they keep records of this kind of thing and have promised to let me know about ANY cats they find, even the ones who look nothing like George. I have the feeling he is still alive out there somewhere, probably having a fine old time roaming around the woods. It's really heartbreaking not to have him at home. I've had a lot of cats but he really is a special one.

I know some people find their pets months or even years after they go missing but I think these cases must be the exception rather than the norm. How likely is it that I'll ever find George again?

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• Norachan
• Jun 22, 2013

My heart goes out to you.. this is such a sad situation as we want to know so much where our loved animals are.

But of course we just don't know the answer.. maybe someone has taken him and wants to keep him, although if he is used to being outside he would probably not take kindly to being enclosed.  Perhaps he has joined a feral group or, as you say, just decided to go it alone for a while. It is impossible to know.

Of course cats do return.. it has certainly happened. I would not give up hope and would keep doing what you are doing.

Maybe someone here can offer more ideas for you.

In the meantime, I send you lots of good wishes for the welfare of your George.

 

[noblibluewolf]

I hope that you find your beloved cat! There's still a chance you can find him! My cat Beauty has been missing for 3 months and when i think of her I just feel sad/cry! This is a picture of her

Screenshot_2016-11-03-17-39-33.jpg

• noblibluewolf
• Jan 14, 2017

she will always stay in my heart! And George will be in your heart :'(