Any Cat experts?

[Leomylove1002]

Hello,

we took care of a stray when it first came into our house around 7 months ago. We treated him well and fed him when necessary along with my other cat however in the last 24 hours he didn’t come back and we found him under my car at night and we tried to get him out but he seemed so frightened that he ran away and this was last night around 10 pm. Ever since then we haven’t come across him and we are worried for his safety. He is an outdoor cat so he goes outside for long periods of time but comes back for food but it’s unusual since he never did and we are so worried for him 😔Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I definitely knew his previous owner as she was an elderly lady who was taken into a care home so couldn’t look after her cat, so no one else can claim it’s their cat

Maybe someone else who doesn't know it's backstory has taken it to the vet to check for a chip.

Sorry, pressed send too quickly. What I mean is if you've officially taken the cat on then hopefully you'll get a call if someone has taken him for a chip check. If you've not officially taken him on and he isn't chip registered to you then he may be at a local vets or cat shelter waiting for a new home.

we will give it one more day to see if he comes back but the way he was freaked out last night was very unusual and he definitely is familiar with us as he usually purrs. We wondered if someone else had took him into their house

He looks like this

Try posting on local Facebook pages to see if anyone has seen him, explaining that although he’s a stray, you’ve been feeding and looking out for him.
Maybe he had just been spooked by a dog or a fox or something. Hopefully he will return soon.
One poster on the Litter Tray has a NMC (Not My Cat) who is a regular visitor but occasionally vanishes for weeks before reappearing for ham and fuss. That cat technically has a home but not a very good one, and is a free spirit.
Thank you for taking care of this lovely boy.

I expect something probably spooked him and he's waiting for the all-clear. Maybe worth putting out something particularly delicious and smelly to see if greed trumps fear?

Post photos on Nextdoor app & Facebook asking people to check sheds and garages, go out at night when it’s quieter and rattle treats and call him.
Hopefully he will come home before too long.

UPDATE
An unusual twist to the story but he was cat napped!
My other cat kept sniffing around for him and managed to track him down and we had an argument with the people keeping him. After a lot of yelling etc he was freed and we are gonna keep an eye on his whereabouts from now on
Thanks for all your help!

Catnapped! 🙀
Poor little bugger. So glad you got him back.
And well done to your cat for finding him.
I think they both deserve copious amounts of treats.

I’m proud of both my cats I love them to bits

The ginger cat is in pain as we have now found out that his nail has grown inwards and has become infected I do feel bad for him he’s been through a lot. We’ve booked him an emergency vet appt