My cat's missing. :(

[Allinafankle]

Our dear rescue cat was very timid when we rehired him last year and it's taken a lot to get him used to going outside. He went out last night at about 8pm and hasn't come home. I'm beside myself. I didn't sleep last night for worrying about him and I don't know what to do. He's our first cat so we're not very experienced.

It might be worth knocking on your neighbour's doors to see if they have seen him and ask them to check their gardens/sheds. Last year we had our neighbour's kitten get stuck between our shed and wall (she was fine).

It also would be worth posting his picture on Facebook and asking people to share. Also post on your town's local page, buy and sell sites and Cats Protection branch page to get his picture out to maximum people. Lots of people will share missing cat pictures so it will mean lots of people are looking out for him.

Calling local vets could be worth doing as well, just in case he has been hurt and someone has taken him to the vet. Is he microchipped?

Hopefully he will be back soon and none of this will be needed. Occasionally they go off on a random adventure.

Just to reassure you, every cat I had growing up disappeared over night at one time or another. The all came back, it just seems to be something they do.

Thanks for the re-assurance, I know I'm probably over-reacting! He is microchipped, yes and I've registered him as lost on Petlog and posted to a local community Twitter page. Might call the vets then.

I'd knock on neighbours doors, people would have been gardening on Saturday & a few would have had the "no you go and lock the garge/shed up" argument before bed.

Keep calling them & put fliers though doors.

My friend has just found her cat after 5 days ... she learned that you have to go much further than you expect to find them-her cat was living 'rough' 12 streets away and just didn't know how to get home.-think about that distance around your house. My cat was stuck in an allotment for 2 days..
Make your posters look as professional as possible-if you have pet insurance they might pay for it.
Put fliers through loads and loads of doors and hand out at school gates.
Get friends to help you look.

If you are very desperate and rich there is a service with a 80% success rate who will come and look for your cat! They were on This Morning and seemed very professional-my friend used them.

Check if your area has a facebook spotted page. I see missing cats on ours.

I got up in the night to get a drink of water and he was sitting curled up asleep on the sofa! Thank you all for your advice. x

really pleased to read this.

Yay! Was he hungry?

Great! And I bet he looked up at you as if to say 'And what's your problem?', eh?

lol He's always hungry so it's hard to tell. He's being more affectionate than usual certainly. He's normally only out for about 5 minutes at a time and rarely leaves the garden, that's why it was so out of character. All's well that ends well. Just need to be brave and let him out again now ...

PS - probably best to keep him in at night. It's more dangerous for cats then (cars, predators etc) and they become quite used to staying in at night as long as they know they'll be allowed out come the morning. (I think, myself, that they actually prefer to be in and safe once they've got a schedule going.)

i keep my boy cat in at night. he has a litter tray. have lost a few to the road over the years.
it obviously doesn't always happen at night but it lessens the likelihood. he is a black cat too so i like knowing where he is. x

I am glad he is back and safe