My girl cat hasn't come in tonight :(

[honeyJD]

My 2 year old girl cat has been out since 8pm and no sign of her :(
She doesn't have a cat flap, and doesn't really spend a lot of time outside. An hour first thing, then again in the early evening and maybe in/out a couple of times in between for a few minutes. She is always in by 8-9pm, rarely til 10. And never been out for this long in one stretch before.
I'm so worried. I can't sleep. I've got the window open so I can hear if she meows during the night.
Where is she?

Oh no

After having just gone through this, I learnt:

She could have got lost (got scared etc. And run too far), got hurt and gone into hiding or just be having a great time.

If she's hurt or in hiding, she could be very close (in your garden or neighbour's garden. If hurt, apparently they can be absolutely silent - you could walk past her and she wouldn't make a sound. Try a torch and look everywhere.

If lost, you need to look or get the message out (poster/ word of mouth/ Facebook). Contact local vets with your details in case someone has found her (is she microchipped?)

Get the message out asap - act too soon and be embarrassed when she swans I'm rather than leave it too late. Spread the message that she's missing. I got my cat back because I read the word and someone spotted her. She was injured and might not have made it back.

Leave the litter tray out (her smell), and maybe somewhere to shelter in case she can't get inside.

I hope this helps and isn't too dramatic. It was the worst time when my cat disappeared

Thank you Robot - she came galloping in when I called her at 3am. Relief! She seems fine though so no idea where she has been!

Brilliant! Mine was missing for two cold nights, so I'm so glad she's back!

Things I learnt with a cat of this age (and no cat flap) - don't let them out after dinner, no matter how much they whinge at you. Being outside is much more fun and they would like to be nocturnal. Only them out either during the day or when they are hungry and always feed them, even just a tiny amount, when you get them back in.

Glad she's back op

So glad to hear she is back

My Siamese went missing for a week a few years ago an I cried my heart out. We think he was locked in a shed. Years later we moved and he went missing for a couple of days. We eventually found him on the roof of a house a few roads away. We made sure to give them a big box of chocolates.

It's so horrible when a cat goes missing and I so glad yours got back safely