Where do all the missing cats go?

[RichardOsmanTheSecond]

Another poster for a missing cat has been added to my garden fence (people dont realise it's private property but for the most part I dont mind too much).

There are a lot of cats in the area and my local Facebook group is full of "have you seen my cat?".

Occasionally there will be a spate of anti-freeze (that happened recently) and sometimes the police will put out a notice that people are lamping for dog fights. Apparently dog and cock fights are big underground activities in my city which is wtf.

Im guessing a large number are hit by cars but then either the driver would take it to the vet or someone would see the cat on the road. We do get occasional "dead cat on high street" posts. We dont see road sweepers really.

A small proportion I guess are "adopted" or mistaken for strays so are taken to rescue centres etc

But what about all the others? They cant all be hit by cars and never found?

They go for a wander and then someone starts feeding them and they end up staying at the new person's house.
My fucking neighbour steals other people's cats like this. She tempts them with the finest treats and once she's gained their trust locks them in her house and keeps them as indoor cats.
She did this to another neighbour's cat until the cat became ill and then took the cat back to the original owner who paid all of the vet bills. When the cat had to be put to sleep thief neighbour came round to say goodbye and was wailing. Original owner was not amused.
A month later she stole another cat, this time from a small child.

Sometimes if cats are unwell and sense the end is near they disappear off to die somewhere quiet. One of ours did that. She just disappeared and never came back. She was old with a thyroid problem. Probably curled up in a hedge somewhere.

We lost our 10 month old cst recently. He was missing for a week and was found by chance in the neighbours dense shrubbery. Curled up and never woke. It was only a series of quite specific circumstances that we were able to bring him home, otherwise we would still be looking and wondering.

RIP Splodgey boy, you were the best cat

There have been several sightings of Eagle owls in the UK. They are capable of taking cats.
My cat stays in at night.

Also weedkiller 🥺

Foxes, I imagine, or shot like vermin when they interfere in people's gardens. Or injured and die in a bush and the rats eat before dawn.

Apparently cats go away to die, as in they crawl into bushes and the like, so that could sadly account for some of them

A friend of mine lost their cat for over a year. Then one day random day the cat came back home. Having boarded a train home by themselves! 😄

Yep, daily posts of cats going missing in my area - some turn up but most are sadly killed on the roads. I’ve always had indoor cats who have had access to our garden only and have lived long, happy lives.

I have always had cats and my experience is that they come and go as they please. Some cats are adventurous and some prefer to stay indoors. Cats get into all sorts of scrapes (hence 9 lives). Unfortunately some people don’t like cats and will poison them with antifreeze or shoot them with air rifles.
I don’t even want to think about them being savaged by staffs/Pitt/American bull terriers.
I can accept deaths by misadventure, that they find a new nicer home with better food. But the cruelty of criminal men is abhorrent.