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Original poster

To ask for your positive stories about missing cats returning home

78 replies

mightymalties · 30/12/2022 00:09

In the midst of a really, really tough time for me and my family, our little cat has gone missing 😢

We've tried all recommendations, posted everywhere online, searched nearby and pounce on every possible sighting. We hope he's found food and shelter somewhere. There has been no bad news, so there's hope.

I miss him terribly. Please tell me some positive stories about cats who returned home after being missing for a while.

OP posts:
Letthekidsplay · 30/12/2022 00:12

Mine disappeared mid March, absolutely no sign, searched everywhere, 3 months later he walks in like nothing happened and shouts at me and follows me around for 3 days desperately trying to tell me what happened!! He’s still home a year and a half later and doesn’t wander far now.

Badgerstmary · 30/12/2022 00:14

When we moved, even though I kept my cat in for a week, he disappeared for one month & six days. It was horrendous as you do begin to think you’ll never get them back. Fortunately we were lucky & he turned up at a house & they rang the vets. Apart from having lost a lot of weight he was fine.
One of my current cats disappeared for a week once. We still have no idea what happened to her. She too was fine & appeared one day as though nothing had happened.
How long has your cat been missing?

Maya678 · 30/12/2022 00:18

How long as your cat been missing OP?

PumpkinLumpkin · 30/12/2022 00:18

My friend's cat went missing for nearly a year to the day and just wandered home one day. He stays close now, never strays far.

DuckPancake · 30/12/2022 00:21

Our cat returned home after 4 days. We suspect he may have been shut in a shed somewhere. It's a horrible time though, totally understand how you feel, but you're right in that no news is good news.

Have you updated his microchip to say he's missing? Try asking neighbours to check their sheds/garages?

Hugs Flowers

thefirstmrsrochester · 30/12/2022 00:21

DH cat turned up after 3 months missing. They think she has been hit by a car and hunkered down until she was string enough to make her way back home.

Original poster
mightymalties · 30/12/2022 00:38

It's been 2 weeks now. I'd been unwell and needed an operation, was supposed to be back the same day. But delays meant I needed to stay in overnight, and he bolted as soon as he saw an open door, before I got home.

I really hoped he'd return once he knew I was back, but I'm still recovering and won't be able to go out looking myself for quite some time yet.

Thank you all for your stories, they're giving me hope. I'd love to open the door in the morning and find him waiting there!

OP posts:
TheCurseOfBoris · 30/12/2022 00:47

My DC was missing for around 10 days. I really thought the worst.l I put flyers though all the local doors, after about 7 days. He came back in bold as brass but with the worst injuries, it was like he'd been attacked by a fox or something. Vet bill wasn't great but so glad to have him home.

TheCurseOfBoris · 30/12/2022 00:48

@mightymalties I so hope so, keep praying. x

ALongHardWinter · 30/12/2022 03:03

Several years ago,one of my late DM's cats disappeared. He reappeared 5 days later, looking very bedraggled and extremely hungry. We still don't know where he disappeared to.

halesie · 30/12/2022 03:14

OP I really hope he comes back.

A neighbour's cat went missing while she was away and she recorded her voice calling him so other members of her family could go looking for him using the recording so he'd know her voice. Luckily they found him! If you haven't tried this but have friends / family who could do the same for you it would be worth trying (apparently late at night is good when everything is quiet, the cat can hear you and you can hear him).

Gardenerboo · 30/12/2022 03:17

We got our boy back after he went missing for 2 weeks during the recent cold snap. I was worried sick.

Social media helped us track him down.

Good luck!

Lolly86 · 30/12/2022 03:20

My cat went missing one day when I was around 14/15 couldn't find him anywhere, put leaflets out went door to door etc. My parents tried to convince me to get another cat as I was so upset but I refused. 4 weeks later he turned up at a house that we had lived in more than 5 years previously that was a mile away. An old neighbour of ours found him! He never strayed too far after that! 🐈

habiller · 30/12/2022 03:33

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ.

upinastar · 30/12/2022 03:33

My friend was telling me the other day that her cat went missing for months, she was understandably really upset. It turned out that her neighbour had been feeding the cat as she hadn't realised it was my friends and assumed it was a stray, as it was only little she'd kept it inside. Your cat could be getting fed and looked after until someone who hasn't seen the posters yet realises and they bring your cat home. I hope it's soon and to that you are recovering well from your operation.

sausagekingofchicago · 30/12/2022 21:59

My 13 year old cat has gone missing so many times! Prob doesn't help that we have moved house with him 6 times.
The longest time he was gone for 2 weeks, after we'd moved a few weeks prior the last time. He'd gotten lost and was hanging about at a house about half a mile away where they fed him and made him a bed on their porch as they thought he was a stray. Eventually they took him to the vet as they thought he was a pregnant female (he's a bit chubby), they scanned him and rang me through the micro chip details.
Cats are natural survivors. There is a really good chance you'll get him back. Have you checked on Facebook lost pets? Our cat kept popping up on there when he was lost but we didn't realise because we didn't go on Facebook. I really hope he comes back. Is he micro chipped?

Davina69 · 30/12/2022 22:08

I've had numerous cats go missing and the best advice I received was when our unneutered tom kitten went walkies for 4 days. The local vet recommended we put his litter outside and also anything that he'd slept on so he could find his smell. He was home within the hour of us scattering his litter around and hanging his blanket over the washing line.

I've also found that social media is very useful especially if you have a village notice board or local group. Cats are born survivors but I hope your cat comes home soon Flowers

Hopeyoursproutsarealreadyon · 30/12/2022 22:22

One of mine was missing 6 months!! Found her under a tree literally 2 streets away!

MediumDwarf · 31/12/2022 00:13

Our boy was missing for almost a week. He had managed to get out of our blocks gardens and into the garden block one street over, no idea how. It was one street further than our posters, so we were really lucky the lady who called us had seen them and recognised him!

He was a bit thin but well.

Bettysnow · 31/12/2022 00:29

Put his photo and details up in your local vets. Thats how I found mine and he had been missing several weeks. Also I know of a friend who began feeding a wee cat that appeared at her house one day. Having fed the cat for around 6 months she decided to take him to the vet for a check up. Turns out this little guy was chipped and had been missing from his home 20 miles away! His owner was in tears of happiness when she came came to collect him.
Another woman I know lost hers and he was found a miles away again nearly 6 months later.
Its horrendous when this happens but hopefully he comes home soon x

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 31/12/2022 00:35

My girl disappeared for a week. We were distraught. We had run out of things to do, but then she turned up in our garage (which was the first place we'd checked) minus her collar and with a wound on her leg - my husband found her sitting on a shelf when he went out to fetch something. A trip to the vets for antibiotics and she was right as rain.

Cattenberg · 31/12/2022 00:37

We had an unneutered tom cat disappear for a few days (we couldn’t have him neutered as he wasn’t just ours - long story). Eventually, a neighbour appeared at our front door holding him, asking if he was ours. The neighbour had two young female cats and he’d been hanging around outside their home, like a sex pest. I don’t know how long he’d have persisted if he hadn’t been forcibly removed, but he’d obviously lost some weight. Once home, he ate shedloads.

RelativePitch · 31/12/2022 02:54

My DS"s bestfriend"s house cat got out and through the power of social media got him back after 2 weeks and a lady on our local FB page had her housecat escape in August and turned up 3 weeks ago behind someone's shed having had kittens, again reunited through the power of social media. My own cat went missing for 4 days last year. I cried non stop. The one thing I do know is that most of the cats are found frustratingly close to home. Your little cat is probably very nearby. Keeping everything crossed for you.

pompomdaisy · 31/12/2022 03:09

Friends cat went missing just after they moved house. Two months later they got a call from a lady ( her daughter actually not the lady who seemed to just want to keep it) about half a mile away to say it matched the description of her cat.

MmedeGouge · 31/12/2022 03:10

A neighbour of ours entices all cats whom she considers to be strays.
She feeds them very well and cares for them. (Lots of fluffy blankets, cat beds and treats). I doubt any of them are strays. I see them all going in and out of her house and sitting out with her.

Someone somewhere must be missing them.

Our cat often decamps over there too. It’s quite annoying. I think he gets chased home by the “stray” cats, fortunately.

I have tried to discuss the “strays” with the neighbour but she is elderly and convinced that she is looking after neglected cats.

Hopefully your cat is with a similar kindly but misguided person.