Anyone's cat been missing more than a couple of days and come home?

[IHeartKingThistle]

Cat last seen on Tuesday morning. We're doing all the usual things to find him but no luck so far. I just want him home. He's chipped and everything.

Anyone got any reassuring stories for me?

Not me, but a friend, they moved house and I assume that the cat got confused with his bearings, came back after 3/4 weeks

MIL's cat was missing for 4 weeks. He had been staying in a neighbours garden (about two streets away). Fortunately she took him to the vet to see if he was chipped.

The one thing we didn't do when looking for him was put up local posters - will definitely do that if there is a next time. Fingers crossed your cat comes home soon.

Yes! Our cat went missing late one Sunday evening. Turned up exactly two weeks later, a bit thin, but otherwise ok.

Don't give up hope!

Yes. One of mine once went off on a jaunt for 4 days. Came back as if had never been away and never did it again. So sorry you going through this as it is really stressful. You asked neighbours and backing neighbours to check sheds etc ? Sometimes older cats do wander off. Please forgive me for saying this (hoping I have been reassuring above）but they also have a tendency sometimes if ill or very old to go somewhere very quiet to die. I am sorry to be so blunt and know you don’t want to think of that but it can be a reason for cats going off.
Anyway ours came back happy as Larry and was cuddled and treated almost to death (!) when back.
Sending you all good wishes and hope s/he gets back soon.

Yes, my boy cat went missing for 10 days, hope your cat returns soon.

Ours does a once a year jaunt for 4-5 days and eventually comes back. The rest of the year he's only ever out 12 hours max at a time. We call it his yearly vacation. Something to do with breeding I've read.

We had a cat that went missing for ten days and turned up just as we’d resigned ourselves to never finding him again. No idea where he’d been, he was slightly thinner but otherwise seemed fine.

Ours went missing for 5 days last winter. Young cat. No idea where she was, presume someone's garage. She was a bit dirty but fine. We'd given up hope after a similar experience with a previous much older cat who sadly remained missing.

Never say never, it's very frustrating, the not knowing, I know .

Yes, we had an indoor cat that got out. He strolled back in a week later and now he's an outdoor cat!

Yes! Ours returned after 10 days, looking a bit thin and dishevelled but ok!

We had a cat (inherited with the house we bought) that disappeared for 3 months when I was a kid. None of us were heart broken, as it was a vile beast, semi-feral. Then it turned up again. A year or so later, it once again wandered off and that time never came back.

I have had a couple of cats that disappeared overnight or for a couple of days but turned up again. I know that dreadful, sickening feeling. I hope your cat turns up soon.

Oh these are great stories, thank you so much!

He's only 18 months, he's massive and placid but not the sharpest tool in the box. So happy to hear positive stories.

My old girl disappeared for exactly a month. Turned up skinny and angry on my birthday .

More recently I adopted my friend's cat; she did a runner and I spent the whole of Christmas driving and walking around my town looking for her She rocked back home three days later all indignant

Don't despair. Our cat left home a couple of months after we got the dog and was gone just over a month. A few people said they'd seen him around and we put posters up but had no sightings ourselves then one morning we opened the door and he was just sat on the wall opposite washing his paws. I'm sure yours will be back

Yes.

Cousins cat went missing for 2 years and then returned on the door step one day!!

Also, good luck and I hope yours returns soon

Mine was gone 8 days. I was a WRECK!

The usual advice is:

Put their litter tray/bed/blanket/contents of your hoover outside so that they can follow their scent home.

Put stinky wet food around the boundary of your property.

Post on Facebook local pages, Petlog, community websites, gumtree etc with a photo, date last seen and location, and your contact details. Contacting social organisations for the elderly including church groups are often very helpful and kind.

Print posters with a photo, date last seen and location, and your contact details.

Put posters/flyers with above information through neighbours doors asking them to check sheds, garages and out buildings.

Contact all local vets, RSPCA and PDSA asking them to keep an eye out.

Go out at night when it is very quiet and still to call for them and listen. (this was what eventually brought my cat home).

Knock on doors with your flyers and put a human face to your missing cat. Neighbours are often more likely to check their sheds of help you look when you’ve spoken to them.

Next door’s cat survived 8 days in my shed after the builders piled bricks in front of the door, not realising she was in there. She stalked out looking slightly the worse for wear after I spotted her trying to scratch her way out of the window. There are fewer mice in there now.

Yep. Many A couple of stuck up a tree incidences - they were easy because we could hear the yowling and knew where he was at least. Then a 3 day stint ... turned up scuffed and a bit battered with the widest eyes in horror at the things that had happened. Then a 2 week wait.

MIL's cat went missing for a year. She shooed it away when it came back She'd got another cat by then and the old cat was very fat and well watered, she told him to bugger off back where he'd been, if she wasn't good enough for him for the past year then she never would be.

We lost our cat for 6 months! Found her one day roaming around the other side of a main road, she had obviously been fed so we put a note under her collar. Got a phone call to say they thought she was a stray and they were pleased we’d found her. She didn’t go astray again in the next 7 years until she passed away

We had a cat go missing for about three weeks. Other cat was pining and we'd given up hope when all of a sudden she appeared in the garden right as rain and never disappeared again. We lived by a park and wondered if she'd wandered to the other side and lost her bearings but we never did find out for sure.

Years ago my old cat Perkins got hit by a car and I looked out of my third floor flat window to see him streak down the road. I went searching every morning and night and weekends for over two weeks. One evening there was a scratch at the door, opened it to find Perkins who had climbed up three flights of stairs with a fractured leg and pelvis. Took him to the vet immediately and he survived.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you, the wait is hell on earth

Yes. One cat went missing and returned none the worse for wear after several days, when she was a couple of years old. I had given up hope and was very upset.

The other cat was away for a few days a year or two ago, and came back but was unwell and wouldn’t move, eat or drink. Still don’t know what happened, we took her to the vet who initially thought she had internal injuries and had been hit by a car. After time on a drip and having been X-rayed and had bloods etc, she came home with medicine and has been fine since, although much more an indoor cat now.

Very hopeful for you and your 🐈

Yes mine went missing for 3 months and returned!

Two stories from the 3 cats we had when I was growing up:

One went missing for 2 days and suddenly came bounding back meowing with the other two escorting her. We never found out where she had been, but she must have been shut in somewhere.

The other was gone for 5 days- we thought he was dead! He sprinted into our house one evening looking skinny and spooked but was totally okay. It turns out he had been shut in the neighbour's garage while he went on a long weekend.